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Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Goodbye petrol, welcome the electric car?
The sound of an engine starting. The smell of exhaust fumes. The tedious yet subconsciously enjoyable (for some people) task of going to the petrol station. Almost every person, in almost every country has experienced these things. Ever since men like Daimler and Benz released the petrol powered automobile, a love for petrol powered cars has gone viral all over the world. But now theres a new threat, the talk of switching to electric cars. Could this be the end of an era? Could the age of tinkering with an engine in the garage after work be over? Well, lets take a look at both arguments. I will brush over some of the important factors from both sides. Being just one of the people on earth affected by this topic, I will give my personal opinion, concluding on the matter.
Now okay I am a man of reason, I can see the world is changing. This meaning that I can see a need for electric cars as technology moves further. We all know that the oil fields are depleting while we speak and that it's not a renewable resource. Coming to the rescue so it seems, is the electric car, which requires no usage of fuel in operation. On top of this, the electric car would put an end to the traffic noise that keeps inner city dwellers awake at nights. Running solely off electricity these cars float down the highways. Floating almost with a green glow to them compared to their spluttering petrol counterparts.
Of course with anything new and innovative, there are some downsides. Noise being one of them, as it turns out electric cars are too quiet. Pedestrians worst nightmare could come in the form of an electric car. Stepping out to cross the seemingly quiet road, just to be struck by an electric car silently on its way.
Could this mean a return of the locomotive act of 1865? Involving a man waving a red flag walking ahead of the automobile, warning people of the new threat on the road. Though it would be a humerous sight, I doubt it will happen.
In addition to being too quiet, electric cars regularly require very costly battery replacements. Which for people who do high mileage, is far from ideal. Drivers who venture out into more remote areas will also find a lack of charging stations for their electric car. Running out of charge in the middle of nowhere would be hideously infuriating, especially if you had passed several petrol stations along the way.
On the other side of the spectrum we have our beloved petrol powered rivals. Of course the downside of our petrol car, is the debate as to whether the oil will run out leaving them unusable. Keeping that basis for a debate in mind, we have to realise that electric cars require oil to be produced anyway. The manufacturing process, and collection of materials all still require good old fashioned crude oil. So why waste all this time, efforts and developments on something that isnt really going to 'pave our future'. On top of that, in China where electric cars will be commonplace, the greenhouse gasses produced will exceed that of petrol cars. This is because of the huge demand it would put on their coal burning power grid during battery charging.
In recent years, the development of hybrid vehicles has introduced the best of both worlds in this petrol/electric debate. Having said this, the hybrid vehicle is still very much considered a petrol powered vehicle. I think that developments like this significantly reveal the benefits of using petrol over pure electric power. Fuel efficiency is outstanding with the hybrids, also without needing a charge station, you are free to venture into the countryside carefree.
I believe in my lifetime we will still be using petrol powered cars in one way or another. 120 years or so of developments has created the near perfect form of the petrol car we see today. Lets face it, the petrol car has become a part of us, a part of our everyday lives. Petrol powered cars have also formed one of man's most popular forms of entertainment, motorsport. I cannot, and will not accept the idea of crowds flocking to see silent electric cars racing around the track. Deafening engine noise and raw power is what pulls the crowd in to witness such unadulterated man made machines.
Motorsport alone will keep the hunger for petrol cars alive and thriving. Of course theres the people who blurt out how unnecessary and polluting motorsport is. Against this argument is the fact that as human beings, we need some forms of entertainment. And in terms of motosport, electric cars do not, and never will fill that space.
Now being a trade qualified mechanic myself, I have a biased opinion in favor for petrol cars. I think that in the future electric cars will be the way to go. However, in my lifetime I am certain that petrol cars will continue gracing our roads with their presence. In closing, contradictory to the title, I do not think it's goodbye to the petrol car...not for a long time anyway.
Now okay I am a man of reason, I can see the world is changing. This meaning that I can see a need for electric cars as technology moves further. We all know that the oil fields are depleting while we speak and that it's not a renewable resource. Coming to the rescue so it seems, is the electric car, which requires no usage of fuel in operation. On top of this, the electric car would put an end to the traffic noise that keeps inner city dwellers awake at nights. Running solely off electricity these cars float down the highways. Floating almost with a green glow to them compared to their spluttering petrol counterparts.
Of course with anything new and innovative, there are some downsides. Noise being one of them, as it turns out electric cars are too quiet. Pedestrians worst nightmare could come in the form of an electric car. Stepping out to cross the seemingly quiet road, just to be struck by an electric car silently on its way.
Could this mean a return of the locomotive act of 1865? Involving a man waving a red flag walking ahead of the automobile, warning people of the new threat on the road. Though it would be a humerous sight, I doubt it will happen.
In addition to being too quiet, electric cars regularly require very costly battery replacements. Which for people who do high mileage, is far from ideal. Drivers who venture out into more remote areas will also find a lack of charging stations for their electric car. Running out of charge in the middle of nowhere would be hideously infuriating, especially if you had passed several petrol stations along the way.
On the other side of the spectrum we have our beloved petrol powered rivals. Of course the downside of our petrol car, is the debate as to whether the oil will run out leaving them unusable. Keeping that basis for a debate in mind, we have to realise that electric cars require oil to be produced anyway. The manufacturing process, and collection of materials all still require good old fashioned crude oil. So why waste all this time, efforts and developments on something that isnt really going to 'pave our future'. On top of that, in China where electric cars will be commonplace, the greenhouse gasses produced will exceed that of petrol cars. This is because of the huge demand it would put on their coal burning power grid during battery charging.
In recent years, the development of hybrid vehicles has introduced the best of both worlds in this petrol/electric debate. Having said this, the hybrid vehicle is still very much considered a petrol powered vehicle. I think that developments like this significantly reveal the benefits of using petrol over pure electric power. Fuel efficiency is outstanding with the hybrids, also without needing a charge station, you are free to venture into the countryside carefree.
I believe in my lifetime we will still be using petrol powered cars in one way or another. 120 years or so of developments has created the near perfect form of the petrol car we see today. Lets face it, the petrol car has become a part of us, a part of our everyday lives. Petrol powered cars have also formed one of man's most popular forms of entertainment, motorsport. I cannot, and will not accept the idea of crowds flocking to see silent electric cars racing around the track. Deafening engine noise and raw power is what pulls the crowd in to witness such unadulterated man made machines.
Motorsport alone will keep the hunger for petrol cars alive and thriving. Of course theres the people who blurt out how unnecessary and polluting motorsport is. Against this argument is the fact that as human beings, we need some forms of entertainment. And in terms of motosport, electric cars do not, and never will fill that space.
Now being a trade qualified mechanic myself, I have a biased opinion in favor for petrol cars. I think that in the future electric cars will be the way to go. However, in my lifetime I am certain that petrol cars will continue gracing our roads with their presence. In closing, contradictory to the title, I do not think it's goodbye to the petrol car...not for a long time anyway.
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