A Plug for Hybrids.

I have been at many times called an idealist, and after watching the film “Who killed the electric car http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_Killed_the_Electric_Car%3F,” it is the idealist in me that groaned aloud. At the end of the film the writers of the film introduce the concept of a hybrid car with a plug for overnight charging and a larger battery for extra distance. This concept is very simple and addresses all the (credible) arguments against switching to electric cars. Here are just a few.

It takes too long to fill up:

• Most battery charging takes place overnight. What you will notice is a saving in time by not having to go to the gas station.

It cannot contain enough energy for a long distance trip:

• The gasoline power plant can be fueled at any gas station.

Most Americans don’t want these vehicles right now:

• Most Americans do not want to stay at war in Iraq.
• Most Americans do not like the smog and air pollution generated by gas powered cars.

Electric cars are ugly:

This is a matter of design. Don’t make them ugly. Here is look at the Volvo 3CC Concept Car.

The cars are not really clean. The power has to be made somewhere else, so why go through the trouble to change. –This argument is one of the most irksome since it contains most of the inanity of the arguments against the electric car.

• First of all, the air where we live is of greater importance that elsewhere. One might ask why we move all of our sewage to the treatment plant rather than allowing everyone to use the city streets as a waste deposition facility. The answer is obvious, it is easier to clean up pollution from a few sources that from many sources, and quality of life increases for the people living in the polluted areas.
• Large scale power plants are more efficient at converting fossil fuels to electricity to drive a car than a gasoline powered combustion engine.
• The energy sources do not have to be power plants burning fossil fuels, but rather wind, solar, nuclear, and geothermal.

It is cheaper to run a gas powered car:

• This argument is just wrong. Not only is the cost per mile less when compared to just the gasoline used, but the vehicle costs much less to maintain over its lifetime.

Electric cars cost more than gas powered cars:

• This was and has been true for many of the recent electric cars and the hybrids, but as production rises, the cost of the cars should come down.

There aren’t many charging stations, so it has to be used exclusively as a commuting vehicle:

• With a gas engine as a back up power source, the distance traveled is greater than the typical electric car. Additionally, fuel stations are plentiful (for the near term) making refueling just as simple as with a gasoline powered car.

So, how do we as a nation proceed? Clearly we cannot mandate the construction and sale of electric hybrid cars. The market must have incentive to overcome the entrenched habits of using today’s gasoline based cars. I suggest that we require electrical cars be used for most of the Federal Government transportation.

The electric hybrid cars would replace gasoline powered cars as they become outdated, and over the period of five years, much of the federal government would become electric hybrid. As the electric hybrids age, they will be sold to the public as gasoline powered cars are presently.

The buying power of the federal government would entice the development of electrical hybrids and the eventual flooding of the Market with aged electric hybrids would allow consumer introduction at a inexpensive rate.

The Federal Government has to pay for the development of the electric hybrids. Blech! Higher taxes! Not so fast. The primary benefit will be to lower our dependence on oil. Presently, the war in Iraq is currently costing $100 Billion a year, all paid for by TAXES! Adding this tax onto the 141 billion gallons of gas per year consumed in America, would set the real gas price at close to $4.00 or more.

Auto makers that offer electrical hybrid vehicles should get preferential consideration for US Federal Government fleet vehicle purchases. This would allow a company to grow and build plug-in hybrids with some security that its investment will be recouped.

It is about time to make some real steps to lowering our dependence on foreign oil, to reduce air pollution and to take an active role in demanding the reduction in greenhouse gasses.