Driving Into The Future
Article By Jessie R.
Web Site By Jimmy K.
Have you seen the
latest car on the market? David Dilts has. Recently Jimmy and I got a chance
to take a spin in his Chevy S-10 Pickup. Electric Pickup, that is.
In 1990 the public
was introduced to its first electric vehicle, the GM Impact. In 1996 the
GM EVI went on sale to the public. Today about five hundred New Englanders
are hitting the road in the electric vehicles. One of these environmentally
conscious consumers is Mr. David Dilts of Stratham, New Hampshire. He's been
driving electric vehicles for three years now.
"One of the main
reasons I am interested in them [electric cars] is because they are clean.
There are no emissions coming out of the tail pipe because there are no tail
pipes on electric vehicles," Mr.Dilts said.
So how do these cars
work? Electric vehicles, or EVs, run basically the same as
any other car.
"They are almost
the same as far as acceleration, cab comfort in cold and warm weather, and
ability to drive on the same terrain," Mr.Dilts explained.
The major difference is that while other cars
are fuel powered, the electric car runs on electricity provided by a battery.
Instead of a gas tank, engine, and tail pipe, the electric car has a battery,
an electric engine, and a computer. Most importantly EVs do not give off
harmful emissions.
Of course,
there are some drawbacks. The Chevy S-10 EV has a driving range of forty
to sixty miles before it's time to recharge.
"I just drive it locally,
around town," Mr. Dilts said of his new car. The electric car he had before
transported him from Exeter to Boston on a daily basis. So depending on the
battery size and the individual car the range of EV's can be prohibitive.
And when the battery runs out you can't just pull up to a Mobil station to
recharge. The S-10 requires a 6.6kw Magne Charge system to recharge the battery.
It takes two and a half to three hours to recharge the battery every time
it runs out. You certainly don't find a charging system on every corner. And
at $34,000 for a new Chevy S-10 Electric
Pickup, EVs can be cost prohibitive. Of course, you do save money on gas.
So why are companies
like GM producing Electric vehicles? Mr.Dilts, who is interested in
renewable energy and runs his own company called Timeless Technologies, had
an answer for us.
"We only have
so much gas and oil left and once that is gone, in fifty years or so, we're
gonna have to do something else. Electric transportation is probably the
answer."
Besides being environmentally
safe EVs were developed by scientists and engineers with an eye on the future.
Currently the use of electric cars is not very widespread. Electric vehicles
tend to be more popular in cities and the south, in states like California,
Arizona, and Florida. There are recharging
stations in busy cities like Boston.
The Chevy S-10 will
become easier for consumers to use as it becomes more popular. There
are already dealerships in Framingham, Wakefield, and Waltham Massachusetts
that sell some type of electric vehicles.
Electric powered
vehicles are as comfortable and efficient as other vehicles. As we move into
the future they will help us protect our environment and prove a solution
to our decreasing natural resources. Come take a drive.
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