The problems with electric cars have always been the same: volumetric power density, battery longevity, battery cost, charge time.
Today most of these issues are largely resolved and close to being non-issues. The next generation battery technology is likely to place electric storage ahead of gasoline in terms of power per unit volume.
The next challenge to electric vehicles is safety. Before electrics can reach penetrations in the range of millions of units in major markets they'll have to prove they are safe in such concentrations.
Electric cars with lead-acid batteries date back almost to the beginning of automobiles. This is nothing really remarkable. Electrics in fact were quite competitive with internal combustion engine cars in the late 1800s/early 1900s because internal combustion engines and the transmissions/gearboxes they required were noisy and not very reliable or easy to use.
Many of the "modern" ideas about electric cars, including exchangeable batteries as an alternative to recharging, were available before 1920.
That all changed as internal combustion engines improved, and the convenience of longer range and ease of refueling won out.
Ultimately, the Thunderbolt had the same problems that electric cars have always had: Along with the modest range, the main deterrent was really the price," says enthusiast Peter Williams. "It was being offered at £2,600. Back then, for that sort of money, you could buy two Minis.
So: Expensive, and not very practical. Not much has changed.
This is almost exactly what I thought - and just say me that EVs are not possible/practical, this was made in 70s, now think about the things that are possible now that was not even possible then for car producers.
Electric cars were always unpopular with big auto manufacturers and the oils producers and that probably never allowed them to grow up alongside their smell cousins. Just looking at this little car imagine where we would be if it had started a real push in the 1970s.
nicholassmith|12 years ago
robomartin|12 years ago
Today most of these issues are largely resolved and close to being non-issues. The next generation battery technology is likely to place electric storage ahead of gasoline in terms of power per unit volume.
The next challenge to electric vehicles is safety. Before electrics can reach penetrations in the range of millions of units in major markets they'll have to prove they are safe in such concentrations.
dan1234|12 years ago
ams6110|12 years ago
Many of the "modern" ideas about electric cars, including exchangeable batteries as an alternative to recharging, were available before 1920.
That all changed as internal combustion engines improved, and the convenience of longer range and ease of refueling won out.
Ultimately, the Thunderbolt had the same problems that electric cars have always had: Along with the modest range, the main deterrent was really the price," says enthusiast Peter Williams. "It was being offered at £2,600. Back then, for that sort of money, you could buy two Minis.
So: Expensive, and not very practical. Not much has changed.
jol|12 years ago
coldcode|12 years ago
nmeofthestate|12 years ago