Chrysler jumped into the fray yesterday when they announced their lineup of electric vehicles to be introduced in 2010. GM has been touting their electric vehicle efforts all along, only to introduce the Volt which, like the Prius, wants to let the world know you are driving an 'environmentally safe' vehicle. Smugness becomes ugliness in the form of sheet metal and glass. Anyways, like Apple often does, Chrysler waited until they had vehicles that seem to be well past the concept stage, and already in pre-production. Oh, and they look freakin' sweet! The Jeep and minivan are really brilliant. Why should electric vehicles look any different that the ones we currently drive? That should push adoption a little faster. But the real money is in the Dodge concept. Obviously of the Viper lineage, but inspired a bit by the Lotus Elise, this sports car just looks great.
In cities and congested areas, I can certainly see the benefit of electric cars. Also, the distribution of energy is simpler without needing to supply a million service stations with refined fuel. But, really, the electricity is still coming from somewhere. I think at this stage, at least until we seriously ramp up nuclear power and make leaps in battery development, electric cars are rather unnecessary. A hybrid would hold a lot more practical interest for me. The minivan and Jeep EVs use internal combustion in a fashion they call "range extenders." 10 gallons of gas extends your mileage to about 400. With a gallon of gas worth's of electricity costing $.75, that's a pretty good deal. Chrysler seems to be doing it best. And if you haven't seen the 2009 Ram 1500 - well, it's just beautiful. (And with an old-fashioned internal combustion engine.)
You can view more videos of these vehicles here.
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