The entire world has been bound to gasoline almost since the inception of the first successful gasoline car built in 1893 by Charles Edgar Duryea and his brother Frank. While we can’t say for sure where exactly we went wrong, our reliance on foreign oil has led to a crisis that we face at the gas pump today. With gasoline prices biting at nearly $5 per gallon, it’s clear that while prices may go up and down, it could be less than 2 years before we see $6 per gallon in the United States alone.
While it seems like an electric car is far off in the future, the fact is that they’re somewhat readily available to us now. Hybrid technology allows cars to run off of electricity that is generated once the car is in motion. When the car comes to a complete stop, the engine completely shuts off while electric components continue running. This essentially increases your mileage for more than double what it is for regular gas cars today. Each year, new hybrid cars are released that offer a higher MPG than the year before, and our reliance on oil can slowly drop.
However, in order to really get rid of our dependency, we need to see fully electric cars that can drive for hundreds of miles before needing a recharge come full swing. There have been several models that have come out that are now available, however specific recalls have certainly slowed down the technology a little bit. Things like sockets melting when a car is charging, and accelerators getting stuck on these vehicles. has given them somewhat of a bad name. It’s important to remember that these incidents are not typical of these cars, and they should still be considered safe. Unfortunately, the media doesn’t help the problem, and we see an evolution quickly slow down.
While the technology is being perfected, it shouldn’t be more than another few years that we see affordable electric cars come to the market. Our advice would be to consider what you pay for gasoline on a regular basis and look at how much you could save by choosing an electric car.
