The Electric Vehicle, doomed to failure

I know there’s plenty of people out there who think EVs are the future, that they’re the key to saving us from global warming, that everyone will abandon their gas and diesel powered vehicles for them, but they won’t. Not now, and not ever. There’s several problems that EV proponents choose to overlook.

Range: Yes, the electric motor is, all other things being equal, is a more efficient way to generate power. Unfortunately, all other things are not equal. Gasoline, diesel, ethanol, hydrogen and CNG are all considerably more portable than their equivalent in batteries. Very likely always will be. Even with lithium ion, it requires too much volume, and weighs too much. So just to carry around the needed energy to make an EV useful for more than just commuting, it would take an impractical amount of space, and the added weight would decrease the range of the EV considerably.

But that’s not the only problem with regards to range. With an ICE, when you need more energy, you just stop at the pump and fill up. With an EV, you have to wait for the thing to recharge. Hours of waiting. This immediately eliminates tractor trailers, as well as buses. It also eliminates road trips, and you can just forget about air travel, in addition to the range limitations, there’s also the previously mentioned weight and volume required.

There’s also cost, the things are just flat out prohibitively expensive for most people. Look at the Tesla Roadster. The only thing going for it is the electric motor, and that’s really just a gimmick. It’s slower than even a Mustang, and looks just like a Lotus, which aren’t exactly the most inspired of cars to begin with. Yet they want to charge a massive amount of money for it. At least the Mustang has backseats, and it costs less. But that’s not quite a fair comparison, since the Mustang is cheaper than the Roadster. For the price of a Roadster, you can get yourself a Corvette, or a Viper. Both of which have far superior styling, and performance. So why would anybody who’s seriously into sports cars want a Tesla? People who plunk down that kind of cash for a sports car aren’t concerned about fuel economy, or emissions. They want to go fast. And usually do so in a stylish car.

Which brings me to the next issue facing the EV. and this is one that really can’t be fixed. The pleasure factor. Yes, there are many of us out there who like the vibrations and the noise of an internal combustion engine. Hell, why do you think Harleys are still being sold? It’s not like they’re using any state of the art technology. It’s part of the experience. Hearing that engine revving, feeling the vibrations, it speaks to something within the psyche, something very powerful. EVs on the other hand are quiet, and don’t have that sweet vibration. It’s just a smooth, quiet ride. Boring.

Besides, EVs aren’t as green as their proponents make them out to be. They get their power from the grid. So it’s entirely dependent on where the grid is getting its power. If from coal, well, you’re not driving an electric vehicle anymore, you’re driving a coal-powered vehicle. Now imagine an entire city of vehicles running on coal.

There’s challenges with every alternative, but with the EV, I don’t see how they can be overcome. Biofuels have the whole food vs. fuel thing, which is a serious consideration. But with the continued development of algaculture, as well as cellulosic ethanol, and anything else that works, that can possibly be solved.