Electric car history: positives and negatives. Here are the negatives, Part 2.
EV Negatives 2
Marketing of ICEs over EVs: Car markets over time have tended to reinforce available power and range, whether you need it or not. It is a fact that most trips, in the USA at least, tend to be local runs to the store. Whether or not you need a 500 HP fire breathing dragon to blast past everybody on your way to WalMart is beside the point. The oil companies love it. Marketing has had a huge effect on electric car history.
Personal Power: This is pure speculation, but it appears that a lot of people feel that they can obtain power behind the wheel they can’t get in other places. If your rig makes a lot of noise and smokes the tires, all the better. The statement is, “Look at me, I am powerful!” This is a bit more difficult in a quiet EV, though a 1000 AMP charge controller will let you smoke the tires.
Cost of Electricity: Electricity was way more expensive than gasoline ($1/hr) in the days of Spindletop and other huge US oil strikes. These were the days of oil gushers and electricity trickles. That situation has pretty much reversed itself today where the most gushers are in the Middle East or way out in the Gulf of Mexico.
Gasoline Refining: One of the great things about gasoline besides its high energy density is its portability. You can haul a lot of power to wherever you need it. Once gas stations started to pop up, it was easy to keep them and ICE cars supplied with power. Oil companies today are the biggest corporations in the world.
Mass Production of ICEs: Companies like Ford chose the ICE platform for development. The EVs of the day were not produced in such quantities. Thus the infrastructure developed in support of the ICE. This marked a turning point in electric car history.
Versatility of the ICE: Not much mentioned is the versatility of the ICE. The gasoline (and diesel) engine can be easily adapted to a multitude of uses from skateboards to skylines. The fuel is portable and powerful, a tough combination to beat. Mechanical designers were able to produce machines welcomed by consumers the world over from small to ship-sized in climates from hot arid to arctic.
Technical Improvements to ICEs: Once the ICE gained ground, technical improvements like electric starters took hold. Gas powered vehicles became easier to use. Ford made lots of cheap cars. Oil companies sold lots of gas.
EVs Limited for Heating/Cooling: One byproduct of the ICE cycle is wasted heat. It’s pretty easy to duct this heat to your feet on a cold day, or rob the engine of a bit of power for AC on a hot day. EV’s generate very little heat, and get robbed of power to run appliances.
