Friday, May 1, 2009

Electric Cars

Let’s face it. Global Warming, better described as Global Climate Change is becoming a major issue. Have you seen Wall-E? Do we really want a world that’s toxic to us because of our own stupidity? I have a solution that will, at least, slow down, Global Warming. It’s a new type of car. “Whoa!” you say, referring to the fact that most new types of cars require new infrastructure and investment. Then the oil companies have done their job well. “What?!” you say, thinking I’m crazy. But they want you to think that. Their marketing and announcements make you think a new car is next to impossible. But it’s not true. They just want to hold on to you as someone who has to buy gas. They make millions of dollars on oil. But there’s a loophole to “big investment needed”, which is true, except for the electric car.

“Why?” you say, knowing your gas guzzling car runs fine for you. I mentioned one already. Climate Change. The number one cause of it? Gas guzzling cars. More reasons for it? How about Gas prices? You claim “Charging an electric car would rack up my energy bill!”, but that’s a lie. Another reason to switch to electric, is that the time is ticking on our oil supply. When that runs out, your gas car may run fine, but it can’t run without fuel. Another reason is that, as I said earlier, no new infrastructure or investment is needed. Just proves oil companies aren’t as loyal as they say they are. They are really liars.

GM once tried to sell an electric car. It was called the EV¹. EV stood for electric vehicle, the one meant it was GM’s first. It was hugely popular among drivers, who adored it! Even so, for some reason, after all the leases on the EV¹ expired, GM took the cars from the hands of the drivers! And even worse than that, they had forbidden the public to know what had happened to the cars. Someone finally figured it out, but they had to fly over in a helicopter just to do it! What happened to the cars? They were crushed, and valuable parts were salvaged. Why was it destroyed? There are a variety of reasons: 1) Oil companies want to keep their grip on drivers, 2) GM knew it could make more money on a Hummer than it would on electric vehicles, and 3) GM claimed consumers hated the cars, which was false!

Some people say “And how do you think you’re gonna do that?”. First of all, hub motors would be more efficient than one central motor, and a gearbox. Another thing is that we have, if someone would build them, the technology to create long range batteries. These aren’t technical specifications, but they are a basic design. If a ten year old like me can create a basic design of an electric car, why can’t GM?

Admittedly, there are some drawbacks to electric cars. For one, they take awhile to charge. Another one is that we’re in a “hybrid” stage. We want to get over that, because if a hybrid runs out of gas, it’s a weak electric vehicle, and vice-versa. Another peeve is that someone needs to make the huge batteries for these cars. The technology is there, but they need a little more of a technical design.

GM is making some effort into reviving the electric car, in the form of the Chevrolet Volt. It’s an electric car, like the EV¹, but it has a gas generator for larger range. The gas engine never directly powers the wheels, but I still think GM needs to eliminate it in order to make a good electric car. One way that you could replace the gas engine that I read, would be to cover the roof with solar panels. It could also charge the car while parked. It also has a gearbox, which needs to be eliminated. I heard that a gearbox wastes 10% of the total energy that the engine is putting out! And that reduces efficiency, therefore reducing range.

In conclusion, I think the world needs electric cars, and we’re making steps towards that goal, however it’s not here today. Come on, I heard the army uses electric tanks, so why can’t we have a basic electric vehicle!? Today, there’s only one way to get a fully electric vehicle of your choice, and that is converting your current vehicles engine, however I won’t talk about that in detail right now. I think electric cars are the solution to global climate change. They also don’t need much investment or infrastructure, like natural gas or hydrogen fueled cars. They also don’t use oil like diesel cars, which are the today of eco friendly cars. So I think the electric car is the final solution.

2 comments:

James Osborne said...

Hey Casey
What a great essay! Well argued and very well written. I'm impressed and very proud of you. While I have little technical knowledge about electric vehicles, the thesis you propose appears very sound and consistent with the direction the automotive industry appears finally to be headed. Well argued essays like yours make a verh important contribution to achieving the goals you so correctly support. Good for you.
Love
Grandpa

Anonymous said...

Hello, Casey! I sure am glad you told me about your blog and what a fabulous essay you shared here. Well done and I look forward to visiting your blog again and seeing more essays like this!
Love you! Grandmommy and Grandpops