If solar cars can help "save" the environment, why I don't see them running all over the highways?

Answer 1

There is a Barrier of Oil companies. and also because these cars are very expensive. I'm sure with time as the technology develops the prices will go down. Then we will see these cars running on the street and highways

Answer 2

By now you would have glanced through some of the answers you have received. Some are logical and based on sense. Let me put it across again.
The solar energy operated cars are still in development phase.
The commercial production of such cars has not started because of demand has not resine to an extent where manufacturers would have good profit.
Awareness amongst the users is not beyond appreciation level. People appreciate the idea of solar car but they do not have indeapth knowledge about that.
Current technological advancements do not allow the car to be sleek and still able to travel long distances.
The battery charging time is limited to only a few hours of good sunlight. Thus making night journey / journey in cloudy days not feasible.
Also people are not forced to opt for solar cars as the conventional fuels are still availble in plenty (though at an increasingly high rate).

But friend, they are going to be on roads tomorrow if not today.

Answer 3

Obviously, you've never had to put a solar water heater on your home.

Because then youd know that solar collectors are a) still relatively inefficient and b) EXTREMELY expensive. In other words not only will most of the population not be able to afford them, you need at least a very sparsely cloudy day to run them.

Not to mention that Batteries also, are extremely expensive.

Oh, and lets not forget that solar cars wouldnt work on cloudy days, so that makes them darn near impractical in every way.

Expensive + Useful only at certain times = Not reliable.

Solar panels would get cheaper and more efficient over time, but that doesnt solve the issue of weather and clouds. YOU try driving your car ONLY on days when it is sunny/very very very few clouds, and you tell us how practical it is. A 1 ft square solar panel can barely run a fan on a partly cloudy day.

Answer 4

Because there is not enough energy in the sunlight to get you moving properly. Even the best ones are ultralight, don't carry more than one person, and take a long, long time to accelerate.

In other words, a solar powered car would take about a minute to go from stopped at a trafic light to moving at even something like 30 mile an hour.

Which is inconvenient, to say the least.

And you need it to be a sunny day, too.

Hydrogen cells are the best bet; the cells are bieng made and tested as we speak.

Answer 5

Because the technology is just not quite there for completely solar cars to travel the speeds and distances we are accustomed to in our gasoline dependent cars and the oil companies don't want to lose that profit.

I guaranty you that if the technology arrives and puts a crimp into gasoline powered vehicles, the Exxon/Mobiles, Texaco's, and Shells of the world would first try to destroy the industry - even resorting to murder (See TUCKER - A MAN AND HIS DREAMS) as well as buying all the congressmen who have sworn to serve you. If they fail their - they will try to find a way to enter the solar industry.

Answer 6

There are still some technology limitation to let solar cars become in greater use. Example: 1 problem, how to make a solar car move at night?

Answer 7

Although solar power is fine for our homes, solar powered cars are simply not the best solution for powering our vehicles. At this point there are too many technological challenges that need to be addressed in order for solar powered cars to become practical. I think if we want to go green we need to consider ethanol or bio-diesel as the internal gas combustion engine provides the power as well as the distance we expect from modern vehicles.

Answer 8

Thats pretty much it. Those previous answers summed it up. You might have heard this before and it is true. You can look into this. But sometime I believe in the late 80s somebody had created an engine that ran on water. But, as mentioned, the government shut it down due to its economic reliance on oil.

Answer 9

Because companies are selling them at outrageously expensive prices. I'm sure with time the prices will go down. It's just all about the money right now. Remember when the Model T first came out not everyone could afford it right away.

Answer 10

because of the government. check out willie nelsons latest project, making fuels from soy. The government is trying to shut it down. America is blind! Why is it that Germany can make a new volkswagen that gets 60 miles to the gallon and our best hybrids arent even that great?