It took a global recession and an expensive tea party in Copenhagen to make the electric car look great, more importantly as a viable alternative to the internal combustion engine which made its debut in late 1800’s or so. 100 years on, this little contraption has been lugging the world on its shoulders in its various Avatars.
This bag of nuts and bolts catapulted this world into a whole new dimension. Last century owes its prosperity to the engine. I mean, think about a world without engines…. Crazy isn’t it? After a stupendous century of gas guzzling, rubber burning,and iceberg melting performance it looked like that there is no worthy contender to the almighty internal combustion engine. Sure, there are a few radical alternatives like the fuel cell, electric vehicle, the air pod but none could deter the legions of petrol heads from their path to motoring nirvana.
In the last couple of years I’ve noticed an insurgence of battery powered boxes in to the domain of the internal combustion engine. This time they are lean, mean and green.
This whole green party has the tree hugger inside me all excited , but every time a straight six, a V8 or a W12 is pulled out of the market a part of my petrosexual soul dies and I know that I’m not the only one.
You might mistake me for a motor head who is high on exhaust fumes and doesn’t give damn about the planet I live in and that I’m being unfair towards these glorified battery cases.
That’s not entirely true.
A fellow gearhead shuddered at the thought living in a battery powered world. He wondered whether these battery powered cars will put the internal combustion out of business just like it made the horse look for greener pastures. Well,I don’t think so; in fact the internal combustion engine freed the horse from mundane job of hauling weight around, for more pleasurable activities these thoroughbreds were meant for.
Likewise, I think these battery powered cars will do the same for the internal combustion engine what the latter did to the horse. It will free up the oil reserves that we so callously use for routine activities and save these masterpieces of automotive engineering and enjoy them the way they are meant to be enjoyed. Wot say! ……….
The electric car has still a long way to go,partly because of the defunct battery technology we have. this puts constraints on the range and power of the vehicle. If that is sorted, urban yuppies would yap them up eagerly, leaving the petrol heads to the lil precious black gold thats left.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion however, the future lies in hydrogen with cars like the Honda FCV leading the way because it doesn't ask us to compromise on the fill-shut-drive culture we are so used to.
Point taken!!!!! By battery, I meant all other alternative fuels...but will be more specific next time.
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