Will Electric Vehicles Replace Gas

Hey guys, I am doing a paper on electric cars in my college English class; for now its just the history, development a impacts. This will, later on, turn into an argumentative essay on weather or not electric cars will be the only vehicle on the market, if we wanted to go even further and say that internal combustion vehicles may be outlawed.

My opinion is kind of split between what I want, and what I think will happen. I WANT to keep gas and diesel engines, it is a feat in engineering and I really enjoy working on them and whatnot. However I do think that one day, in our lifetime we will see the end of an open market for the internal combustion engine. China just released plans to completely ban all non electric vehicles by 2020 and other countries are following suit.

What do you guys think? I know there are many forums on this subject elsewhere but I like tacomaworld and what you guys have to say even more.

 

I think we'll eventually get to a point where gas/diesel engines are the minority, but I don't think alternative technology isn't far enough along for that yet. China and numerous other countries have "pledged" to ban or not use gas engines in the future, but that's just unrealistic right now because 1. they're too expensive, 2. they don't go far enough, 3. people aren't convinced, and 4. we don't know about resource sustainability (nickel). Contrary to what the electric car industry promotes, nickel mining is necessary for a lot of these rechargeables and a lot of people are saying that it has a greater environmental impact than mining for fossil fuels. Whether or not that is true, I don't know, but it is an argument that will be had.

I'm no expert on the matter, but I do try to keep up with the goings on of the world and, with my small amount of knowledge on the matter, I'm not convinced enough to sell my truck and go buy a Prius. The #1 issue in America is going to be convincing the population that electric is better than gas, which is not going to be easy. Even if the manufacturers start offering more electric vehicles, it's going to take a lot to get your average American to buy one because we don't like change and gasoline is American as baseball. Another issue is cost: most Americans can't afford new tires for their 1993 Carolla, much less a $25,000 electric vehicle. The biggest issue with convincing the masses that electricity > gas is convenience: I drive around 300 miles a week and, to me, the benefits of buying an electric vehicle just don't outweigh the negatives such as dealing with new technology that is bound to screw up. There's also the issue of truckers, offroaders, and guys that like to go fast...they're going to cling to their gas because it works and it works well. Another issue is that people that like gas don't care about environmental issues: why would Joe Sixpack go drop money on something he doesn't believe in? Lastly, folks can argue that the government can just ban gasoline vehicles. The fossil fuel industry is one of the biggest lobbyist groups in the world and they're not going to bend over and let a bunch of tree-huggers destroy their livelihood.

TL;DR: maybe one day electric vehicles will rule the road, but not until you convince and prove to the American people that it's better than gas, that gasoline destroys the environment and that is an issue, and that it's affordable enough for the average American to go buy one.

 

I do agree with all of that, Ni-Mh batteries are incredibly bad for the environment (google nickel mine runoff and tell me that shit is clean). I still do think that it is a matter of time until it will be difficult to find a traditional engine. Technology is one of the fastest developing things in human history and batteries are right on top of the list of priorities. The electric car has been around sense the internal combustion engine (atleased in a pratical manner). Today the tesla model s will get 300 mi to a charge and it can do 0-60 in 2.5 seconds. Granted thats when its put in the vehicles "Ludicrous mode" but still for a production electric vehicle thats amazing. Freight train locomotives are all electric driven, they have a diesel engine but they power a generator for an electric motor to actually provide the torque. Speed and torque are not limited with electric motors

You are absolutely right with the technology not being there for an electric motor to replace an internal combustion engine. While all this stuff exists... it is simply too expensive for it to take the place of an internal combustion engine, for now.

That all being said, I want to reiterate my statement of I WANT to keep the internal combustion engine in all forms, but I think that one day it will come to be that it may not be around anymore, and I do think based on how fast technology (specifically battery technology) is advancing it may be sooner than we think. It may not come as a law either, auto manufacturers may just shift their focus to making electric vehicles. This would all start a chain of events that lead all of the off roaders, racers and what have you eventually accept the electric motor.

This is why I came here, to get the opinions of everyone and get more ammo for me to use in my paper.

 

I really don't have a dog in the fight and I'll accept a battery-powered vehicle if it can offer the same benefits of a gas-powered one for a comparable price. My main concern is what you said: the electric industry is trying to make the fossil fuel industry look evil when their industry might be just as bad for the environment as the other...but you can tell "that" group of people that they're saving the world by going electric and that's all they'll need to hear.

 

What about the logistics nightmare of "banning" fossil fuel cars and what to do with them? How do you force someone to give up their car/truck? Or is the ban on selling any new fossil fuel cars/trucks?

 

The ban would be on selling, it would be an absloute nightmare to outright ban gas engines, also not to mention the uproar that would ensue

 

Ban would be on selling.

My opinion is that most will eventually adopt a hybrid technology. Long haul trips and the time it takes to recharge would kill alot of productivity. If I could fully recharge in 20-30 minutes (factor in bathroom break and a food stop on a road trip) and drive 400 miles I wouldn't have much of a problem with all electric.