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Electric cars were initially more common than those powered by gasoline. Gasoline has very high energy density and they aren't really that fiddly: It is fairl
by coredog64 10y ago
Electric cars were initially more common than those powered by gasoline. Gasoline has very high energy density and they aren't really that fiddly: It is fairly common for an IC vehicle to rack up 200k miles with no service but consumables.
Unless electric cars ramp to crazy levels overnight, they will have the effect of keeping fuel prices low.
Demand for oil is (mostly) inelastic, with small surges in supply and demand responsible for large swings in price. As electric comes online, it will reduce those surges. When it gets more common, demand will shrink, lowering prices even further. I don't see electric powertrains taking over all the varied use cases for vehicles for a long time.
- astrodust 10y agoCharcoal powered cars were initially more common than those powered by gasoline as well. Energy density was the initial driver behind the push to gasoline, but if they'd had lithium-ion technology in 1880 the world would be radically different. Electric powertrains won't take over all uses, but they'll take over enough that the remainder is mostly an anachronism. As batteries are produced at higher capacity and lower cost, as alternative energy becomes more pervasive, the whole thing tips steeply to electric. For example, even for a cottage application with a boat electric might be better since you can charge it yourself vs. having to truck in marine fuel. With the right battery technology and solar panel system you'd save thousands. It's merely a decade or two away.