How far are we from a totally electric automobile?

Question

100 % reliable and selfsufficiant And how can I invest money in the future of this car. where Is the future

Answer 1

you guys are kidding right? there are electric cars around now. and they are quite viable. check this site out;

http://www.teslamotors.com/index.php

Answer 2

One approach I see as a possible is not generally considered, and that's on board generating to pick up some of the load. With more effecient solar panels coming out all the time, having the top of the car covered with this would help generate electricity as you go. Flywheel braking would be another, and using the shock absorbers as pumps so their action pumps fluid through a turbine instead of just back and forth in the shock. Half the motion of a shock absorber takes energy from the car, but the other half is gravity which is free. I'm sure there are other modifications that would also help. Of course it all makes the car more expensive. I can see the ads now. Next years cars only $499,999.95

Answer 3

You can buy smaller EVs today. Thousands of people are converting cars to electric.


The cost of advanced batteries is dropping fast. So is the cost of advanced AC motor controls. It'd cost you only a few thousand dollars to build a "yesterday's technology" EV conversion with DC motors and lead-acid batteries (which you'd need to replace often). Starting at about $10,000 you could use more advanced technology, including batteries with good life and range.

And yes, they DO work. A few misinformed people think the batteries are not ready, but they're fine. Watch the movie "Who killed the electric car".

Here's a great example of ignorant people: On a mail list I'm on, a guy insisted that electrics are no good unless they can go 1700 miles on a charge. He didn't say that, he said a battery must hold the same energy as a tankful of gasoline. Except, whoops! Gas engines are only 10-15% efficient. Electric drive is more like 95% efficient.

Answer 4

Minus100 years. They had them in 1910. And they still do. Most golf courses have a fleet of little electric cars for rent. But it has been a long time since a battery powered car could go as fast or far as an electric one, so you don't see them on the road any more. Even some golf courses use gas carts, if they have lots of hills, because climbing the hills runs the batteries of electric carts down too quickly. Batteries have not improved much since 1910, but gas engines have improved a lot.

Answer 5

Electric cars will become quite popular once we develop batteries that will allow them to operate at faster speeds and are compact enough to install in a car. The batteries will also have to a hold a charge for a decent amount of time. The only thing is that it's just as likely someone will invent an acceptable car engine that uses an alternative fuel source such as hydrogen.

Answer 6

There are 2 missing links, and both are very significant. First, battery technology isn't ready yet. Second, and most importantly, most of the electicity in the US comes from burning fossil fuels. And, the generation facilities are usually many miles away from the electric charging places ... much electricity is lost in transmission. In other words, it's more efficient to burn the fossil fuel (as gasoline) directly in the car, than to first create the electricity and transmit it to the car.

Electric cars simply aren't going to "spark" much interest (pardon the pun) until we begin generating electricity from something other than fossil fuels .. no benefit to the environment. And, as soon as we do have a different electricity source, you can bet that Toyota, Honda, GM, and Ford will be building them by the millions.

Answer 7

About 20 to 40 years. The main problem is the recharge time of the batteries. If u are on a trip u should be able to travel 700 miles a day. Now the charge time is the big problem.

Answer 8

well the closes thing to a electric automobile is the Hybrid wich in my opinon is a very good way to go it is realy good wit the environment and it seems to be a reliable car but u might wana look into the hydrogen prototype that their workin on that seems to be promising

Answer 9

As soon as we develop a time machine to take us back about 15 years we can revisit the electric automobiles. I'm guessing about 100 years.

Answer 10

Give or take 2-3 years. I believe 2010 will be the year when breakthrough electric cars will be manufactured for the general population.

http://www.autoneato.com/the-all-electric-zap-x-suv-too-good-to-be-true/

Answer 11

We're actually past that. I saw the movie "Who Killed The Electric Car" in Science class, and it explains it all. California used to have electric cars. Toyota, Honda, Ford, all the big manufacturers had an EV version of their cars. But due to the government, they were all taken back and demolished in the desert. See more about the movie and info here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_killed_the_electric_car