In a decade or so we won’t call them "electric cars", we’ll just call them "cars". The modifier will drop away, just as dropping the "horseless" part of "horseless carriages" left only "carriages", which we shortened to "cars".
News: Soon to be "the year of the Electric Car?"
The rationale for electric vehicles is so compelling it hardly needs explanation. They actually cost less, in terms of total cost of ownership, (TCO) as pointed out:
Battery EVs run on pure electricity, unlike hybrids which use a mix of gasoline and electricity. Batteries need recharging, so here’s a look at the various charging standards and how they work. Don’t be put off by the variety of levels and plugs; the bottom line is that almost any EV you buy in North American can be charged almost anywhere!
Getting a Charge You can find charging stations using your car’s inbuilt charging app if it has one and/or by visiting plugshare.
Why should car drivers have all the fun? There are now scads of all-electric motorcycles available (or in preview for near-term release) and some of them are listed here. This chart focusses primarily on the US market. Excluded are all electric bicycles ("e-bikes") as that segment of the market has way too many players for me to even try to keep up. Also excluded are most mopeds/scooters, except at the high end.
We need to continue electrifying all modes of transport, to get rid of noise, carcinogenic fumes, pollution and climate-damaging emissions. Water craft being cleaned range from the smallest dingy with an outboard, to the overnight cabin cruiser, to the hundred foot yacht, up to commercial ferries and even oil tankers and container ships. That’s pretty much also the order they have been or will be electrified. While I’d known about Silent Yachts and a few others, I was a bit surprised by how much progress had been made recently, when I went to look at the PlugBoats "Gussies" election ballot.
The title pretty well sums it up. Although Toronto’s Metrolinx notoriously chose to build a diseasel-powered line from downtown to the airport, saying "we’ll electrify it someday" (but they haven’t), parts of Europe are of course heavily into electrification, but are now taking the final step with battery electrics. "A lithium-ion battery pack is mounted under the train’s floor and is charged while it moves along via overhead lines, using them to both power the train and charge the battery.
News service Financial Times has a writeup on the significant growth in EV sales over the last few and next dozen years. Headlined Electric vehicles: the revolution is finally here, the article covers who the players are: recent comers like Tesla and Rivian, Chinese players, and every single old-line car company. Seems everybody’s "charging" to get on the bandwagon.
Aptera has spent a lot of time designing a small electric car with extreme aerodynamics and efficiency. You can go up to 1000 miles on their largest battery pack, according to their information (not EPA rated yet). And the car has solar panels (some basic, more optional) that can charge up to a full day’s regular commute - for free, from the sun.
You can sign up now to reserve one for a $100 deposit, but it’s only $70 if you reserve with this (affiliate earning) link.
