Tesla. We need this now.
I’ll be honest. I’m not much of an environmentalist. I don’t even take well to people who try to impose their belief of climate change theory by using a pathos-based argument about Al Gore’s climactic struggles to get people educated about his views on global warming based mostly on one obscurely discussed piece of evidence brought up only once in the entire film… but I digress.
The truth is, regardless of your views about the actual effect we’re having on the environment, it’s obvious that society is simply doing something wrong. It shouldn’t take "Who Killed the Electric Car" to make people realize that the way we continue to build vehicles is grossly inefficient. We should already know this. I didn’t, I’m guilty. However once you realize how silly our automotive industry is being, it’s really hard to sit silent… and a lot harder if you don’t live in California.
I’m probably being sort of cryptic to those who don’t know anything about Electric Vehicles, or EV’s. For those who don’t, the documentary above is a great (but biased) starting point about their short-lived history. They basically lived, and then died… and of course we blame corporate America (GM, specifically) for their abrupt death. Conspiracy theories aside, EV’s are an amazing idea. After watching that documentary and informing myself more about the pros and cons of electric cars, it became obvious that they have tremendous potential. Even more potential than Hydrogen vehicles, though I’ll admit, those are looking pretty good too. The problem is really that no one wants to make them.
This is History
Fortunately, however, there is a company by the name of Tesla Motors who decided a few years back to resurrect the EV. They were smart though (more on that later), which is probably the main reason they have so far been successful. As reported by the AP, they open their first store next week.
Stop and think about this for a second. What you are seeing is unprecedented in the automotive industry. You are currently witnessing the birth of a completely innocent, completely pure, automotive manufacturer. This is not a subsidiary of Ford, nor GM. They weren’t contracted by any multinational, or the ex-VPs of any car company at all. Heck, this may not even be a selling point, but these guys haven’t even made a car before in their lives. It’s actually amazing they’ve come this far to begin with.
Whatever Happened to Efficiency?
Now I could go on and on about the amazing steps they’ve overcome, the awesome car features, and why they did what they did, but I’d rather point out why this car is simply "done right"… and all I need for that is to illustrate it with one graph:
Bam. How obvious is that? To any engineer out there, isn’t this the most obvious head-smacker? Nothing illustrates the ridiculous inefficiency of an internal-combustion engine better than a graph like this. I mean, the torque of the conventional engine doesn’t even peak anywhere near the operating torque of the electric engine.
No Thinking Inside this Box.
To me, this really exemplifies the beauty of the electric motor, and really brings the point home.
Yea, everyone knows increasing MPG is a good thing, more mileage this, decreased emissions that. We’re all thinking in the same box there. What really sets this car (and the capability of all EV’s) apart here is the simple fact that efficiency is how you solve the problem. If you have a flawed design, you don’t try to pump more juice in it to make it more powerful. You don’t find ways to make it lighter, or use less energy to get similar power. You design a better system from the ground up. That’s how people in the automotive industry should be thinking. You don’t stick to ridiculously dirty, hard to maintain catalytic converters just because you’ve been using them for decades. That’s not engineering. Engineering is about using the best tool for the job. Now look at the graph above again, which tool looks better to you?
Frankly, no car company could have done this. GM, Ford, et. al have had their heads stuck under the hood for so long they don’t even know what box they’re thinking in, let alone what the outside looks like.
Save the Comments, I Know It’s not Perfect.
It’s obvious this car comes with its share of problems. Electric power doesn’t get you across the country (YET), and the distance a car like this won’t be making any vacation-type road travelers all too happy. But there is huge potential here. There is tremendous room for improvement. They just got started. And if their work is adopted rather than pushed away, it will only get better. Most importantly, we need this. If not for the environment, for the peace of mind knowing the improvement of transport technology is about improving transport, not how many seating arrangements we can achieve.
July 7th, 2008 at 9:35 am
Gas can’t get you across the country, either. We need a vast (and wasteful, if you think about it) network of stations every 2 or 3 miles to cater to our ICE’s thirst. There are plenty of areas in the Midwest and far North where you have to plan your trip around gas availability or risk a *very* long walk.
But the one thing that even the most remote destination can boast is an electric power line running all the way there. With the proper plug and inverter you could probably drive an electric car across the country *right now*.
Spot on, though. From an engineering perspective, we waste so much energy and resources with conventional engines that it’s ludicrous for us to keep pushing them down a performance and efficiency path they can’t continue down.
P.S. Hydrogen isn’t promising. The amount of energy required to generate that hydrogen eclipses the amount used to power your car. Hydrogen is the oil industry’s way of maintaining their current distribution model (ship a liquid fuel to stations where consumers fill their tank from a pump), but replacing their “bad” product with a “green” one. Hydrogen is a smoke screen to divert our attention from the promise of decent battery technology and improved charge times.
P.P.S. Climate change is as much a “belief” as evolution, gravity, and the speed of light. The evidence is right there for all to see. As a programmer in the atmospheric science realm (and with a wife who’s a geologist), I really can’t understand how people conflate the very real scientific concern about rapid, irreversible atmospheric change with religion. If you don’t believe Al Gore, great! I would encourage you to read more, though, since this isn’t about “belief”, it’s about evidence and action. Gore is the lighthouse warning you of rocks ahead. Does he shine his light too bright? Perhaps, but hopefully enough people will get the hint that this won’t just go away and they’ll educate themselves.