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Published online 26 November 2008 | Nature | doi:10.1038/456436a
Car industry: Charging up the future
A new generation of lithium-ion batteries, coupled with rising oil prices and the need to address climate change, has sparked a global race to electrify transportation. Jeff Tollefson investigates.
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Very interesting article on electric vehicles. Too bad that the clunky looking Chevy Volt was the head-liner. It still has an internal combustion engine! Not one mention of an all-electric, 200 mile range vehicle that is already on the road - the Tesla Roadster, soon to be followed by the White Star Sedan - from the same company in San Carlos California! Imagine if that company got some additional financing from the government to move more rapidly into the general market, and out of the expensive boutique market. Their slick looking electrics would be common place on the daily commuter trip! And this would be going on without all of the dripping oil, fluids, and crap into the air. It is easier to control pollution at the stationary source of electric generation than on a billion mobile polluting units called cars. One of many obstacles to getting that block of oil burning metal out of American cars - the UAW! Just think for a moment: Making a vehicle with 5 moving parts that runs on electricity as opposed to making internal combustion engines and drive-line with hundreds of parts would eliminate a lot of union jobs! What about the after market racket on spare parts? I believe that much innovation in our auto industry has been stifled by a union strangle-hold, and that there has been little incentive to change the status quo. Electrics won't replace the heavy lifting to be done by trucks, but as an alternative to the millions of folks sitting in their 6,000 lb. 20 ft. long SUVs, the daily commute in an electric makes some sense for me. Soarhead
It is truly unfortunate that this article makes no mention of Tesla Motors. Unfortunate for two reasons. One, the company has generated a great deal of interest in all-electric vehicles, which seemingly ahs all but awaken the traditional car manufacturing giants. Two, the firm bares the name of Nikola Tesla who experimented with electric vehicles in the early 20th Century and who had envisioned the wireless distribution of electricity necessary to power those vehicles. Imagine how the world would look today with electric vehicles receiving their power through an antenna. Utopia? Maybe, or maybe not. I can only hope that the talent matching Mr. Tesla?s has been already born and who will bring to fruition this one of Mr. Tesla?s so many brilliant ideas.