Believe it or not, electric cars have been around for a very long time. In the early 1900s, there were more electric cars than there were gasoline powered cars. Back in the early 1920s when vehicles were becoming more popular, gasoline was very expensive. It also was hard to start a gasoline engine, you had to turn and turn and turn a crank in front of the car to get it to start. There was no key to start the car like we have today.
Gasoline vehicles were also noisy and put out lots of smoke. The cars either had no mufflers, or the mufflers did not do a good job. So, electric vehicles were a big hit. At one time there were 50,000 of them on the roads and streets of the United States.
But electric cars soon faded away like the horse drawn carriage. New ways to make gasoline cheaply were being discovered. A new invention called an electric starter was made. It started an electric car with a key instead of a crank. A gasoline car could go much farther than an electric one. So, gasoline powered vehicles soon became the main method of transporting people.
Now that there is a push for cleaner green cars, electricity is once again being looked to as a way to help reduce greenhouse gases released into the air by gasoline and electric cars could be one of the answers to this problem.
Electric cars do not burn gasoline in an engine. They use electricity stored on the car in batteries. Sometimes, 12 or 24 batteries, or more, are needed to power the car. Just like a remote controlled, model electric car, electric cars have an electric motor that turns the wheels and a battery to run that motor. To charge an electric cars batteries, the car is usually plugged in at night. Some electric cars can plug right into a regular electrical wall outlet. Others need a larger outlet, like the kind that a stove or electric clothes dryer plug into. Electricity, is then stored in the batteries of the car.
The batteries can be lead acid batteries, like the batteries you find in our flashlight or in regular gasoline cars. Or they can be ni cad nickel cadmium like the kind that run portable video recorders or a portable video game player only much larger. Better batteries that hold more energy and last longer are being developed. In 2001, by the time todays fifth graders are ready to drive, electric cars should be able to travel 150 to 200 miles before recharging. Car manufacturers and scientists are constantly coming up with new ways to fuel our vehicles in a cleaner, more environmentally friendly way. The production of the electric car is an exciting one that is being embraced by more and more people every year.
With more and more vehicles roaming and zooming through the streets and roads, it is not very likely that one day we will find ourselves waking up to a foggy environment. Smog would surely fill the air and children would no longer remember what it was like to live in a place where the breeze was fresh and air was very clean.
This has been one of the great concerns of the auto industry. Despite being the culprit behind creating vehicles that would bring about dirt and smoke to the environment, auto manufacturers are now concerned about the welfare of the environment as well as of the people. That is most certainly they have created the Zero Air Pollution which they believe would be one of the best ways to reduce pollution.
Now ZAP, the world leader when it comes to electric cars, have set out to Europe to bring about the good news that would surely reduce the number of smoke belching machines on the streets. Steven Schneider, ZAP's chief executive officer also came with the batch of vehicles to Europe so as to be able to further discuss the benefits of having electric cars. Though electric cars may not have easy to find replacement parts like Ford parts, these cars do provide a lot of benefit to both man and environment.
?With large car and gas dependent automakers closing plants, gas prices soaring and growing public awareness of the need to switch to alternative energy, ZAP's global market position is stronger than ever. We hope to forge partnerships with some of the automotive industry's most respected companies,? says Schneider.
During ZAP and Schneider's stay in Europe, they would be presenting the various aspects of building electric cars as well as the advantages and disadvantages that this type of vehicle has. Important people in the European continent and from the auto industry would be enjoying the information that would be shared with them.
Ricardo Machado is the president of a Brazilian auto making company and he states, ?In Brazil, we recently won the support of the Rio de Janeiro government that will help ensure we break sales records. We expect to create four thousand new jobs and boost Brazil's economic infrastructure. We hope to parlay this great business plan by bringing on European partners as well.?
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