Have you ever wondered when cars will replace the internal combustion engine, a technology that’s been around for over 100 years? Aren’t there alternatives that avoid using fossil fuels such as electricity or fuel cells? but how long will it take to have these technologies commercialized?
If you’re into cars or into protecting the environment, I’d recommend a documentary from 2006 called Who Killed the Electric Car?
But I know a couple sentences will typically not be enough to persuade the average reader to sit through an hour and a half for a documentary. I’ll nicely summarize the gist of it for you.
Basically, the technology for an electric car has been available since the 90’s. It is clearly sustainable (especially today compared to back in mid 90’s) but has been pressured by a mix of oil companies, car manufacturers and the government (they caved in) to halt production of it. So back in 1996, because of a mandate passed in the state of California, there were minimum standards for car manufacturers to make a % of their production be electric vehicles, and that was when the EV1 was born. Car companies were hesitant and you could argue they even tried to sabotage it’s own product by having eerie commercials
As you can see, it’s creepy, its very grey, and we don’t see people (only their shadows), not the typical car commercials where we see models or have the vehicle be part of some manly activity.
But just recently, I saw a new Nissan commercial promoting their electric car, the Leaf, in a much more positive light
Hopefully having Japanese car manufacturers be willing to invest in electric cars will create pressure for the rest of the manufacturers to do the same.
Lastly, if you think all electric cars or hybrids look lame or has an “economy”-look, check this out
Tesla Motors’ Roadster, an electric car
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