Like it or not, America post World War II was redesigned as a country for cars first, people second. We can all hope that will change and push for legislation that favors more variable use communities, better public transport, and urban renewal, but for many years to come there's going to be a need to shuffle people down the highway on a regular basis in areas where mass transportation is inadequate.
So we better look at ways to do it more efficiently -- ways that do as much as possible to prevent repeats of the big disaster we're all still dealing with... the war in Iraq. Oh, and also that godawful mess from BP.
This week there was some news on a couple of fronts when it comes to replacing our current generation of automobiles with something that slurps up less petroleum.
When it comes to big manufacturers offering consumers something different in the marketplace, we already had Nissan offering the electric Leaf which will become available in some states this fall for around $33,000. That sounds pricey for a little hatchback that only goes 100 miles on a charge, but thanks to Federal tax breaks, the price of the Leaf should be knocked down to around $25,000. This morning General Motors announced that the Chevy Volt will also be available around the end of the year at a price of $41,000. Again, that price is a bit daunting, but federal tax breaks bring it to around $33,000 and some states will offer additional breaks. The Volt offers up quite a different bundle of technology from the Leaf. Nissan's offering is pure electric. The General's option is a "plug-in hybrid" (or "Extended Range EV" depending on who does the naming). The Volt will travel around 40 miles on an electrical charge, then kick in a gas-powered engine to recharge the batteries and keep the system moving after that. The Leaf is smaller, lighter, simpler, and cheaper. The Volt has the advantage of essentially limitless range, since the gas engine can keep things moving indefinitely. As an over-generalization, the Leaf is well suited to a daily commute, while the Volt is a better option for those who regularly need to face a longer journey.
The best thing is that these two vehicles should start showing up in American driveways within a few months, and by this time next year they should have competition from several other EVs including electric versions of some "regular" cars, such as the Ford Focus. For those of us who have been holding onto a increasingly unreliable vehicle waiting for the day when an EV was available, I can only say "hurry up and start offering these in the Midwest, darn it, my 'check engine' light has been on for 20,000 miles."
Meanwhile, as big manufacturers gear up to start production, don't count out the little guys. The Automotive X-Prize is coming down to its last phase, with only a few teams remaining. In the "mainstream class" (essentially four-wheeled vehicles holding at least four passengers) only a single team remains. The Very Light Car from Edison2 hews close to the ideas that Amory Lovins introduced years ago in his "hypercar" design. As the name implies, it's very light and very aerodynamic. Rather than running on an electric engine, the Very Light Car has a regular internal combustion engine burning E85 -- it just doesn't burn very much of it. There are two other classes in the Automotive X-Prize: alternative tandem class (one driver in front, one passenger in back) and alternative side by side (just what it sounds like). In the tandem class, only the E-Tracer from Swiss team X-Tracer remains. The side by side group includes five remaining competitors, among them Aptera, Li-ion, and Zap.
There's potential prize money out there in the shape of $10 million for the team that proves its vehicle is practical, safe, maneuverable, and capable of getting more than 100 MPG (or MPG equivalent, for electric vehicles). The ways the rules are set up, it's quite possible that none of this year's teams will take home the money. But already the competition has been a showcase of innovation. With only a handful of teams remaining, it's interesting now to look back at all the teams that began the competition.
Honestly, if I could get my hands on an Aptera 2e, an e-Tracer, or a Very Light Car, I'd buy one today -- even over a Leaf or Volt. These highly efficient vehicles look like just the thing to get me down the road with minimum gas use and maximum jaw droppage. Maybe one of these teams will shortly get a multimillion boost toward getting their factory running.