Real Electric Cars Not Here Quite Yet

After the 2010 Detroit auto show and the surrounding media hype, one might think we’re on the verge of zipping around in snazzy, new vehicles powered entirely by electricity. The auto show included a showcase called Electric Avenue that highlighted the future of the automobile. Cars.com writer Joe Wiesenfelder loves the idea of electric cars, but he also wants to bring us back down to earth. The truth is, electric cars still face many hurdles, and they’re still a long way away from making a sizable dent in the auto market. Read his full story to learn more about what we should actually expect from the electric future.

Beyond the Hype: Real Electric Cars Are Few or Far From Market (Cars.com)

Comments

I love the car, is it the new Volt? I'm glad they got rid of the robotic look and went with something that's more upscale. I only hope it's more reliable than Chevrolets other cars.

Pat,
That is a picture of Nissan's Leaf all-electric car slated for sale by the end of the year in limited numbers.

1 of the most critical factor that's preventing electric car from being mass produced (due to limited market need) is an established infrastructure. If Obama gov't can REALLY promote the green industry by NOT JUST HIS WORDS, but with real $$$ and efforts to build electric charging stations along major fwys and across the nations. Think 'bou all the stimulus $$$ wasted toward executives pay/auto industry buyout/etc...Have the gov't build the infrastructure (by hiring contractors/companies), and not to ask companies to submit proposal to "borrow" those money from the "green" fund.

I don't think the infrastructure is really the problem - at least in regards to the power grid system. EPRI has a nice report about this.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28699258/

I also don't think the cost of charging stations is the major issue. It has more to do with the batteries and cost associated than anything else. And without a greater demand the technology in this area may not be moving as fast as we would like it.

I think we will slowly be moving from hybrids-to plugin hybrids-to electric cars. And we do not need infistructure...because in 5 years we will be using home solar to power our electric cars!

Hybrids and plug-ins: great concept cars were on full preview at Detroit! The Ford Focus, the Toyota FT-CH, and the Honda CR-Z hybrid are all great eco-friendly cars of the sort Americans are now demanding: let’s hope Detroit isn’t just a show, but an indication of where the auto industry is headed.

If you are interested in green cars, check out: http://www.greencollareconomy.com. It has the largest b2b green directory on the web and sustainability white papers on fuel efficiency, hybrids, and clean cars.

Belly nailed it. It's all about batteries - their cost, their weight and how quickly they can be charged. Some of the exciting new technologies like Zinc Air batteries promise a full charge in five minutes and a 250 mile range. There seems to be a report like that every day. If the battery people can pull this off, the switch to electric will be immediate.

Well, a lot of hard work is put in to create new electric cars. With petroleum sources depleting getting used every day it is nice way to save earth's natural resources.

I think even though electric cars are not being used that much now they will be used a lot in the future considering the amount of fuel spent everyday.

The trump card for electric cars is China. The government there has decided that China is going to go electrify its transportation for three reasons, 1) Lack of access to sufficient oil, but plenty of access to hydro, nuclear, wind, and coal 2) Air pollution in cities, 3) They want to build an export auto sector and the Germans and Japanese are decades ahead of them in ICE technology, but on par if not behind in electric vehicles.
China is pouring huge sums of money into developing the technology and is going to be by far the world's largest auto market in a few years. Electric vehicles made in China will rapidly develop and be vastly superior to ICE vehicles in no time. If the western world drags its feet in developing the technology itself and instead tries to hold on to ICE cars until forced to let go, China will come to dominate the auto industry within the next 10-20 years.
Electrification is going to be the biggest change to the auto industry since its invention. Unless we free ourselves from the tyranny of old ideas soon, we'll be left in the dust.

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The trump card for electric cars is China. The government there has decided that China is going to go electrify its transportation for three reasons, 1) Lack of access to sufficient oil, but plenty of access to hydro, nuclear, wind, and coal 2) Air pollution in cities, 3) They want to build an export auto sector and the Germans and Japanese are decades ahead of them in ICE technology, but on par if not behind in electric vehicles.