Article Summary

This is a summary of an article from Popular Mechanics magazine about the future of the electric automobile by G.E. Anderson.
 In recent discussions of the future of the electric automobile, a controversial issues has been whether
 the technology for electric automobile is at a point where it is a feasible replacement for gasoline powered automobiles. On one hand, some argue that the range of electric automobiles has not increased very much over the last almost hundred years. From this perspective, the electric car is not at a point yet where it would be a realistic replacement for gasoline powered cars. On the other hand, however, others argue that the range of the electric automobiles that can be purchased today is substantial enough for a majority of consumers. In the words of Larry Dominique, one of the views main proponents, "a majority of consumers- around eighty percent- drive less that 100 miles per day." According to this view, the technology for electric automobiles is at a point where people could use them in their day-to-day lives. In sum, then, the issue is whether the technology for electrics car is still not at a point where they are feasible for people to use or if the technology has gotten to a point where they are a realistic replacement for gasoline powered cars.
My own view is that the technology for electric cars is still not to the point where they are a reasonable replacement for gasoline powered automobiles. Though I concede that there will need to be a replacement for gasoline powered automobiles in the near future, I still maintain that the electric cars you can buy today are the answer. For example, battery technology has not advanced far enough to make anything more than just short trips possible in electric cars. They also take a very long time to charge the batteries in electric automobiles. Although some might object that battery technology will improve and there will eventually be quick-charge technology, I would reply that battery technology can only improve so far and that quick-charging substantially reduces that life-span of the battery pack to the point where it has to be replaced altogether, and they are not cheap. This is an important issue because with the ever rising price of oil there will need to be replacement to petroleum based fuels in the near future. But with the way things look now the answer is not electric automobiles.