Seems like more and more companies are working on electric cars. Tesla, Nissan leaf, Honda Imiev amongst others. Renault and peaoget and citreon soon in 2011. There was a recent event in london with electric cars.






Ofcourse special mention should go to the G-Wiz and Toyota for the Prius that kicked started the 2nd or 3rd renaissance:




Robert Llewllyn (Red Dwarf and scrapheap challenge) does a documentary on youtube called Fully Charged about electric cars. There are 7 episodes so far:



Although expensive, they are Uber cheaper to run, can go 200 miles on a charge, and most people don't use cars for long distances, they do trains usually or planes. Engine just has one part, the electric motor, so much simpler to maintain, cleaner. Makes sense.
Its the way of the future. Combustion engine is inefficient and a thing of the past, Time to evolve.

How far can they go on one charge ? It seems BMW are reluctant to release the results of the electric mini. Rumour has it that in the cold, it only managed a measley 18 miles per charge Just a rumour though......

Nice tax breaks avaiable but the best bet at the moment is still probably the hybrid Toyota Auris. I think there is a Lexus as well which manges to aviod the congestion charge (Boris won't be happy) and manages 0-60 in 8.7 secs - but with very low emissions (albeit costing 40K plus)

What about Hydrogen powered cars that just give off water vapor as fumes - surely this is the way to go.

Hydrogen costs 5x as much energy to make and its far harder to contain and transport and you'll have to setup a network just like petrol stations. You have to make hydrgon using electricity and then contain it at 20000 psi. Its also just as expensive as petrol, that's why oil companies are investing in it into it as they get to keep you under their grasp. Its a bizzare idea when batteries are so much more senisble and easier to recharge as you can just plug the car in anywhere. Now with better technology you can do a full charge in half an hour.

I (and millions of others) often travel over 200 miles a day. That is the one stat they need to fix before they can even dream of catching on, especially when recharging points are few and far between (and note 'can' - most do far less)

The milage issue would go away if the companies set up battery garages where you drive in and change your drained batteries for charged ones, paying a small charge to cover staff costs and recharging - no waiting for hours to re-charge and would probably take about as long as it takes to fill up with petrol - just a quick swap over and the garage recharges the swapped out batteries for the next customer - it just needs all the manufacturers to agree on a standard battery.

It's hard enough dealing with cars when you can hear them. Often the first clue that you get that a car's going to pull in front of you is the change in engine note. Electric cars are silent assassins to a cyclist

As others say, battery technology and improving the 'grid' are big issues. Hybrids are probably the first step. Oil companies won't be happy, which will cause its own issues. Fossil fuels will run out sometime, so needs to be a push to alternative fuels, but it's not going to change overnight. People have to have a real reason to buy one if you're going to get mass change, and at the moment there isn't one.

Jaguar C-x75 Hybrid. Get the back of the que guys and gals.

Mitsubishi i-MiEV will give you 80 miles from a six hour charge - providing you don't use the radio or air-conditioning Pretty clever that you just plug it into the mains overnight, but 80 miles is not that impressive. Apparently they are developing new quick-chargers that give you extra mileage after a 30-minute top-up. It will sell for £23,990 which includes a £5000 from the government.