How do we get electric cars back?

Question

What can we do?

Answer 1

There are still many companies that produce conversion kits for electric cars, and anything in the compact or sub-compact range (and even many modern sedans) are light enough to function well on an electric engine.

The problem isn't the technology. That's been stable for over a decade. It's the lack of infrastructure (recharging stations) and the industry momentum against the idea (because the oil industry doesn't like it). Until we can get people excited about changes, or until gas hits $5 or more per gallon, people are going to just keep doing the same thing, and there will be no incentive for communities to support any alternative.

But for a local commuter vehicle, where you can recharge at home, it's very achievable, and not very difficult or expensive.

Answer 2

I'll assume you mean those that store a charge in batteries and then use that to power the drivetrain. We don't really want to have the same electric cars as existed back in the 1930s or earlier. The most difficult challenge for electric cars is the battery properties: weight, cost, energy charge stored, peak and sustained energy delivery rates, recharging speed, temperature sensitivity, longevity, performance decline with aging. As Jacob Jorne said in one of the links below,
"Batteries are the Achilles' heel in electric car development. Developing a battery that powers a car as many miles as a tank of gasoline, furnishes bursts of power, recharges quickly, lasts for thousands of charges, and is safe, reliable, and inexpensive, is a monumental task."

Monitor the progress. Watch greencarcongress.com for updates.

Go see the electric car exhibits when you go to fairs, exhibits, and electrathon races. Encourage the exhibitors.

Support "green" sources of electric generation as this will be supplying the grid that EVs will be drawing on. Perhaps you can switch over to better sources, such as in Pacific Power's 'Blue Sky' Usage program.

Support governmental incentives for EV battery research. Typically this is in the form of grants through agencies such as DOT, DOE, or EPA.

Some links provided below for your further interest.

Answer 3

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Well, electric cars never went away. It's always been out there, "underground", for those who are determined enough to find them. Here's a site showing a couple thousand EV owners and their cars:
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http://www.austinev.org/evalbum/
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It's amazing how many people think that technology hasn't changed in 30 years, and that electric cars never improve.
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Technology does not stand still. Take a look at a modern electric car:
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http://phoenixmotorcars.com/models/fleet.html
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The Phoenix electric pickup truck - using new, advanced Altairnano batteries (based on research from MIT) - can:

-Travel up to 250 miles per charge
-Carry 5 passengers plus cargo at 95mph.
-Charges batteries in as little as TEN MINUTES.
-Has batteries that last 250,000 miles (never need replacement.)
-Efficient electric drive only a penny or two per mile in electricity costs.
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Of course it is expensive ($45,000), because it is hand-built, and it is new technology. Even Henry Ford had to build cars, at first, for the wealthy before he could afford to build a Model T factory.
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Is it possible to build inexpensive electric vehicles? Yes, it is, with mass production. Example - look at these Chinese electric cars, priced in American dollars - note that prices start at only $6500:
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http://www.fevehicle.com/services.html
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Is someone working on a deal to import Chinese electric cars to the USA? Yes, they are, we should see a couple of them here in the next year or two. They will be priced to compete with mainstream cars. It should be VERY interesting. Take a look:
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http://milesautomotive.com/showroom_xs200.php
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Incidentally, even if powerplants pollute, EVs still cause very little pollution. This is because the gas cars they replace pollute much, much more. Click on my profile to see some of my many discussions on this topic.
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Answer 4

We never truly had electric cars. We had concept cars that were electric but they were ineffective. GM has hydro cars ready to mass market but the oil lobby will not let them. Our best bet fro getting either electric or hydro cars (and not hybrids) is make sure our next President is NOT a multi-millionaire due to oil. Yes, I meant a President the exact opposite of President Bush.

Answer 5

There's a new company--Tessla Motors--which is starting production in the UK this year--and plans to open a US plant in 2009.

If the oil companies don't figure a way to kill it like tey've done every time in the past when someone has introduced electric cars.