What’s wrong with the electric car
With the hype this summer about the movie “Who Killed the Electric Car?” I thought I might explain why I think there’s a problem with them.
What it comes down to is that there are not enough parts on an electric car that can break. An electric car as compared to a conventional gas car has no gas tank, and fuel lines, no oil pan, or alternator, no fuel injection system, air filters, spark plugs, muffler, or radiator. The engine in an electric car contains 3 moving parts, compared to the immense complexity of modern gas engines. Because the power band on an electric motor is so consistant the gear box might only require 1 or 2 gears.
That means that there is very little that can break on an electric car. There’s no need to bring it to the service station for servicing, or oil changes. That little light to indicate engine trouble probably isn’t even necessary on an electric car. All that infrastructure built up over the years to supply the millions of cars with the replacement parts they need becomes useless, the entire servicing industry downsizes. Factories that built engine parts will go out of business and many many people will lose their jobs.So I guess the real problem with electric cars is that they doom the replacement part and maintenance industry. They leave consumers with more of their money to spend elsewhere rather than with the car companies.
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It seems to me, the first company that takes the risk and develops an attractive electric car option will not only be cutting edge, but will completely circumnavigate the competition. Sure jobs will be lost in the current automotive industry, but other jobs will surely be created in our free marketplaces as thousands of consumer dollars are liberated to be spent elsewhere.