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Start your (electric) engines: the race to revive the electric car is on

Did you know that, back in 1950, an electric car was among the fastest, most efficient cars ever built in the US? It ran on electricity and produced no carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

Now nearly 60 years on, as oil supply approaches its peak and with the CO2 emitted by cars contributing to rapid global warming, electric cars are coming back with a vengeance.

Sporty roadsters to luxury hybrids

The Tesla Roadster all-electric sports car © Tesla Motors

The Tesla Roadster all-electric sports car
© Tesla Motors

It may be news to you that new electric car models are coming onto the market every year. One recent entrant is the all-electric and super sporty, Tesla Roadster. Presently available only in the US, the Roadster can go from zero to just under 100 kms/hr in four seconds, and can do up to 400 kms per charge.

And there's more to come. Ian Wright, a former engineer at Tesla, has created a prototype performance car called the Wrightspeed X1. Though it lacks some of the luxury appointments of a high performance sports car, the prototype is road legal and can reach over 185 kms/hr, and can travel 240 kms per charge. In a filmed roadtest the X1 out-accelerates a Ferrari 360 Modena and Porsche Carrera GT!

The cousin to the electric car is the 'hybrid', the common term used to describe electric/petrol-based vehicles. Toyota's Prius is probably the most prominent and most popular - over 500,000 have been sold worldwide, and Toyota Australia report that they have sold 1423 in 2005 and expect to surpass this total in 2006 - 1324 have already been sold in the year to date.

Most, if not all, major car manufacturers have hybrid vehicles planned for release in the next few years. Hybrids are seen as an important transitional technology, as the cars don't require external charging for the electric engine's batteries. Instead they are charged by the petrol engine and through efficient energy recapture systems - taking usually wasted energy (like the heat generated through braking) and converting it back into electricity.

Electric and hybrid cars in Australia

ReNew magazine reports that some enterprising electric car hobbyists have managed to convert petrol-driven cars to use electric motors. For most of us mere mortals, however, doing our own conversion is not a realistic option.

Toyota has hinted that they plan to introduce a plug-in Prius to Australia soon - allowing the car to be plugged in to charge the inbuilt batteries, extending the range of the car when using the electric motor (Hybridcars.com explains) - but to our knowledge there are currently no commercially available all-electric cars in Australia, although REVA have been fighting to get their electric vehicles onto Australia.)

Although the Sydney Morning Herald recently reported that Australian car companies have been slow to introduce hybrid and alternative fuel options to the Australian market, there are a number of hybrid vehicles available in Australia - the Prius, the Honda Civic Hybrid and the Lexus GS450h to name just three.

What about hydrogen?

Who Killed the Electric Car © Sony Pictures Releasing

The upcoming film Who Killed the Electric Car?, which launches in Australia on 2 November, suggests that some car manufacturers have given up on the dream of an electric vehicle, instead focusing on the promise of hydrogen fuel-cell technology over currently available electric car technology to power the zero emissions vehicles of the future.

Joel Makower, an environmental consultant in the US writes enthusiastically about General Motors' and BMW's rapid advancement of hydrogen vehicle technology.

However, most estimates put the commercial availability of hydrogen vehicles, and the required infrastructure (fueling stations etc.) many years away. Production of hydrogen is also energy intensive, which could make it a much less attractive choice for alternative energy vehicles.

King of efficiency

There's no doubting the efficiency of electric-powered vehicles. The fully electric vehicle is the leader of the pack in terms of efficiency. Information from Tesla Motors shows that an electric car can go up to 32 times as far on the same energy required for an ethanol-powered vehicle, and three times as far as a car that uses hydrogen fuel cells. The makers of the Wrightspeed X1 claim it to be 10 times as efficient as the cars it outperformed on the drag strip.

Even hybrids stand tall in the efficiency stakes, using up to 50% less fuel than an equivalent non-hybrid vehicle. And hybrid electric/diesel vehicles are on the horizon, which will further improve efficiency and reducing emissions.

Electric dreams

With concerns about hydrogen and the long-term scalability of the biofuels industry it seems that electric cars, powered by renewable energy sources, are a very attractive proposition indeed.

Unfortunately, the current models of hybrids and electric cars are expensive compared to their gas-guzzling equivalents. But as new models come to market (even Google has announced that it will be working on a hybrid car), more are sold. And as fuel prices rise, it won't be long before hybrids and electric cars are the norm.

So watch this space! And listen out for the quiet electric Vroom... on a street near you...

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