Electric Vehicles Here We Come

2016 might very well be the year we look back on and say that’s one of the key points in automobile history. Internal combustion engines have dominated the landscape since it’s inception. Sure, there was some oddities that used steam or hydrogen, but look around the world and you come to realize that gasoline and diesel is king.

Looking at its properties, it’s really not much of a surprise. Gasoline and diesel are both highly portable, relatively efficient, and rather plentiful for the time being. This won’t last forever though. Eventually, we will run out or it will become so scarce that it’s not worth making in large quantities any more. Take the 1970’s gas crisis for example. The OAPEC embargo against the US was a rude wake up call that sent oil prices skyrocketing to those who could get it. For others, it simply ran dry.

Coming back today, where gas hoovers around $2.00 a gallon for the last year or so, it’s easy to forget the struggles of finding independent and a diverse set of energy to fuel the our transportation needs. Thankfully, we are learning from the past and seeking alternative energy sources to help get us around.

So what’s the next logical step you might ask. What’s portable and plentiful enough fuel our needs? Hydrogen is a great resource. It’s plentiful, it’s safe, and rather efficient. So what’s stopping us? Well two things for start. Our infrastructure is setup for gasoline and building new hydrogen stations isn’t exactly cheap. It’s also not nearly as efficient as other solutions right now.

Queue the electric car. Electricity is everywhere in the modern age. Battery technology has caught up enough so that the dream of an efficient and long range electric car is within our grasp. We have many different places to charge an electric car if need be. Faster commercial and residential chargers are becoming more and more plentiful as the days go by. Our electricity is generated via many different methods so resource scarcity can be better balanced.

Later this year, Chevrolet will introduce the Bolt. The first electric vehicle that will get around 200 miles on a single charge. Tesla isn’t far behind with the Tesla 3 and it’s 215 mile range. Both are relatively expensive up front, but make up with lower cost to own in the long run. As battery technology improves, so will the range of these vehicles. They will help usher in a new generation of personal transportation.