The future of motoring ~ inc. electric cars

[IL LEONE]

So what do petrol heads think? With Venturi releasing the first electric supercar, the fetish (seen this at goodwood this year) and then this little car, the Tango. Are we on the brink of a motoring revolution? The Tango which was produced in conjunction with Prodrive, reportedly does 0-60 in 4 secs & a top of 150 mph. Apparently a small production run is being made, the first car to be delivered shortly to George Clooney of all people.
There's lots of inroads being made into how we drive with some whacky technological break throughs and what with big 'green' issues that the governments of today face, is this the future?

To see the tango click HERE

[Bluebottle]

We are at last seeing electric cars that are a viable option. I see quite a lot of Ford Think's in London but their range is too short, about 50 miles, so they are only good for a short commute, eve if power is available to charge them.
The biggest thing in favour of electric cars is less pollution. They shouldn't, however, be counted as Zero Emissions cars because the electricity has to come from somewhere, usually fossil fuel power stations.
The future is hydrogen fuel cells.

[IL LEONE]

Good point. But still, I think this Tango is a great idea for inner city commuting. Current ranges show around 80 miles, enough for the London commuter, with a possible 150 mile range with high tech batteries. At 5 inches narrower than a Honda Goldwing you can get two of these side by side on one side of the road and park just about anywhere.
With an initial production of around 100 by Prodrive, costing around $85,000 they are looking to enter into a full scale production line bringing a retail cost of around $20,000. So thats about £20,000 to the Uk then! Now if this happens these will go down very well, especially in London. All we need now is to sort out Ken with his traffic light policy, congestion charge (just gone up!) and those damn traffic wardens.

Although, don't elec cars escape the congestion charge? think they do..

[garcon]

One thing we may well see in the near future is some competition for diesel engined cars, particularly in the medium to large car sector. The petrol/electric hybrid format Lexus has introduced in its RX 4x4 range will, I believe, soon be available on the GS saloon. It'll be very interesting, especially in countries where petrol/diesel prices are similar, to see whether this car will make inroads into the premium diesel sector dominated by Audi/BMW/Mercedes. There are definite advantages to the hybrid format, particularly in emissions and urban consumption, and I will certainly be considering the hybrid GS when the time comes to change my every day car (not for a few years yet though...)

[GP Racer]

Diesels have been really slow to catch on here in the States. They are almost non-existant right now. Hybrid technology is probably the future here, but it will be quite awhile before it becomes mainstream IMO.

I think the manufacturers have been doing some wonderful things with the good ol internal combustion engine these days. They are able to get some serious power out of smaller and smaller engines, while giving some impressive mileage figures. They are also becoming nearly maintenence free, which makes them more attractive. I think there are even more impressive things yet to come with these engines, so I don't think we'll see Americans jumping at the hybrids to quickly...

[HiRich]

I am hearing tales from dealers that economy has become the new NCAP Rating - everyone is asking about it.
My feeling is that we are getting to the point where an electric (and/or hybrid) will finally become viable, but as an extra car. My logic for this is:
- In Britain at least, fuel is starting to matter.
- Sooner or later, there will be enough legislative carrots for this:- low tax, congestion charge free, etc. But eventually we will see things like electric black cabs, dedicated parking bays (with charge points), even restricted roads.
- We are seeing a new breed of electric cars arriving, which are in essence 4-wheeled motorbikes. They are designed for specific work rather than maintaining capability for all occasions. This Tango thing is a good example (and I particularly note how the drive system can be replaced as technology advances). Also, Gordon Murray's city car (though apparently petrol driven) appears to be following similar lines.
So I foresee families adding such a car to their exisiting fleet for specific journeys. They will still have the Cayenne/MPV for the school run, motorways, etc. But this extra car (think of it as a scooter for those with a sense of self-preservation) is available for one or two people on short runs (station, shopping, etc.).
This of course requires a sea change in the direction that the market is going. At present, we drivers are asking for more and more from our car. We expect them to run in absolutely all conditions (urban, motorway, off-road). They have to be able to carry an entire football team, And we expect to be cossetted with aircon, armchar-quality leather seats, home-spec hifi, electronic gadgets and electric motors everywhere. And despite all this extraneous weight, we still expect them to go like an '80s Ferrari, and handle like an original Mini. So to convince people to consider two different tools, you need to present a very strong argument:
- Cheap to buy.
- Very cheap to run (so rapid payback)
- A decent car for your money. So it needs to be safe, well-built, comfortable and nice to drive.

I also recently saw an article where Iceland has converted all public transport to Hydrogen. Benefits are cleanliness and self-sufficiency. This will be an important, controlled experiment that will iron out the practical problems. The one concern is of course a tank of hydrogen running at phenomenal pressures.

In Europe, hybrids have huge potential, especially in the smaller categories (Golf, Focus). In the urban/commute market, they offer the efficiency of electric (not truly seen in the standardised economy tests) with the safety net of easy/quick refuelling, all within a standard, acceptable package. Add some degree of charging (overnight) capacity, and people will take them seriously. I see the key point being when a couple of major manufacturers (Ford? VAG?) are able to offer mainstream models at only small premiums.