What Is An Electric Car

The simplest definition of an electric car is one that runs on electric motors as opposed to the gasoline engine. A controller that controls the quantity of power depending on the usage of the accelerator pedal by the driver is used to supply power to the motor. This car which is also termed as EV or electric vehicle runs off the power stored it its batteries that are rechargeable. These batteries can be recharged via the common household electricity outlets. The normal car, termed as hybrid cars use gasoline as fuel and use a battery along with a motor to improve competence, whereas electric cars are powered solely via electricity.

For a long time, EVs have not be widely accepted because of the limited mileage they cover before they have to be recharged again along with the long time they take to recharge their batteries. There is also the lack of assurance by car manufacturers to manufacture and market electric autos that have all the inherent comforts of cars powered by gasoline, but this scenario is rapidly changing. Battery technology is improving and along with it the energy storage capabilities of the same. The prices of batteries are also decreasing. Thanks to these changes, major auto manufacturers are likely to introduce a new generation of electric autos.

There are many advantages of electric cars since they hardly emit any tailpipe emissions, are cheaper to run than gasoline cars and also reduce our dependency on gasoline. There is no doubt that production of electricity too is associated with air pollution but comparatively that is far less that the CO2 emissions that the current generation of cars running on oil produce. One should not forget the convenience factor. One can fill a 10 gallon tank with 330 KWh of energy in a single trip to the gas pump. It will take 9 days to derive the same amount of power from standard household current. The good news is that it takes just a few hours and not a couple of days to recharge the electric car due to its efficiency. Unlike the gas driven cars which take a proportionately higher time to accelerate from standstill, the electric driven ones can zip from 0 to 60 mps silently and quickly.

Just a few years back, during 2004 & 2005, car manufacturers pushed their electric car manufacturing programs in the backburner, but with the global increase in price of oil along with awareness of global warming, they are changing their thoughts. Most major car manufacturers are now planning to release electric cars sometimes in the next few years. Mitsubishi plans to introduce a small electric driven car as early as 2010. The same year will also witness the launch of Chevrolet Volt, a small 4-door hatchback in the same year. There are few auto manufacturers who have nut jumped into the bandwagon and you should expect to see most of them launch their electric cars pretty soon. They might cost more initially, but they are worth it in the long run.