Current & Futuristic Electric Cars



With many of us becoming increasingly concerned about `green` issues, and saving our planet, I thought I`d take a look at the transformations taking place in the motor car industry.

In order to lessen our reliance on oil, some car manufacturers are giving some serious attention to electric cars.

Now, many of us might remember the days when virtually all the electric vehicles being driven on Britain`s roads were called milk floats, and their top speed was around 20 miles per hour.

Quiet, almost non-polluting, yes, but hardly something to stir the emotions.

A lot has changed though as the car industry has started to get to grips with producing vehicles which won`t pollute, are quiet, and cost less to run than conventional petrol driven cars.

The UK's first four-seater electric car which can travel up to 70 miles without recharging has recently been announced. The car, based on a Citroen C1, is a joint venture by Toyota, Citroen and Peugeot. The car will be fully recharged after plugging into a normal 13a socket, taking around 6/7 hours to fully charge.

The British government has spoken about giving subsidies of up to £5,000 on electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles to try to boost people`s converting to electric vehicles. It`s likely though to be 2011 before the scheme is fully in place.

Up until now, electric vehicles have failed to make much of an impact due to the length of time it takes to charge an electric car, the fact that only two-seaters have been available and that top speeds are a lot lower than their petrol and diesel counterparts.

Hopefully, with more money being poured into research and development all these issues will be resolved, and more of us will opt for these quieter, less-polluting alternatives.

Although some small vans have been produced with electric motors, or as hybrids, it`s really the car market which needs to evolve.

Now, think of 3 wheels, an electric motor, and what do you have? An Aptera!

         

The Aptera 2e is a car conceived in California, USA,  and already has around 3,500 people placing $500 deposits for a car. The Aptera was expected to be available, according to its owners, by the end of 2009. It was initially planned to be offered firstly in California. Florida and Texas were next on the list, with a national rollout to follow in late 2010 or early 2011.

It is claimed the Aptera 2e will travel for 100 miles in between recharges. It is plugged in to an ordinary garage outlet (110v), costing approximately just 50c to charge. That distance of 100 miles is with 2 people in the car, luggage, and the air-con switched on.

The futuristic looking Aptera 2e will feature air conditioning and a navigation system. It will also have electric windows, power locks and front and side airbags.

Doing 0 to 60 in a little under ten seconds doesn`t make the Aptera the fastest car on the planet, but it certainly competes with some other small compacts, like the Toyota Yaris. With a top speed of 90 mph it can sit at the speed limits quite comfortably on most of the roads in the US.

Sadly though the car hasn`t hit the production lines as the company had promised. They`ve laid staff off as money has got tight. According to car forums some people who readily paid their $500 deposits are now demanding their money back. Communication from the company seems at an all time low, and prospective Aptera car buyers are fast losing confidence in the company.

Will the company go into liquidation? Will it be taken over by another firm? Or, just maybe it will pull itself out of the mess it`s in and make a go of things. Time will tell.
 

Articles page