INTRODUCTION
The electric car was introduced to the market over a hundred years ago. The car used a battery to power most of its applications during operation. There are two varieties of the electric vehicle in the market. First, the hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) has a battery and a system of the electric drive but has no capacity to plug in. The second type is a plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) which obtains its energy from liquid fuel or the battery and has a plugin. Over the years, the performance capacities of these cars have been improved up to 300 hp engine capacity. Gasoline vehicles are the common vehicles on the road and their history of invention dates back to the invention of the steam engine. This paper seeks to analyse the parameter difference between an electric car and a gasoline vehicle. A detailed variety of electric cars in sports is also considered in details (The History of the Electric Car, 2016)
Comparison between Electric and Gasoline Vehicles
Maintenance & consumer care
The gasoline-powered vehicles and electric vehicles have a different number of moving parts. In an electric vehicle; the moving part is only the motor while a gasoline-powered vehicle several moving parts. The small number of moving parts in the electric vehicle makes it less liable to maintenance. The increased number of parts in a gasoline vehicle makes it prone to maintenance such as change of oil filters, periodic tune-ups, fuel filter replacements, repair of exhaust systems, alternator, water pump, fuel pump, etc. What the maintenance needs in an electric vehicle is lower than a gasoline car and hence the costs involved in maintaining it is low. The electrical motor possesses the shaft which is very reliable and that requires little or no maintenance. Moreover, the lead acid batteries are sealed and no maintenance is required. However, these batteries have a limited life and need periodic replacement. The good news is that new designs of batteries that have better range and life (Ford & Yanik, 2008).
Performance, purchase and operating cost
With the rise in the cost of gasoline, the unveiling of electric vehicles in the market has will make them cheaper compared to gasoline types. Electric vehicles are not only cheaper and easier to maintain, but they are also more efficient compared to gasoline types. This makes them cheaper to operate. For instance, in an electrical efficiency of 3 miles/kWh with electricity costing 7’’/kwhr, the car will travel a distance of 43 miles for $ 1.00. In a gasoline vehicle, the costs of $ 1.25 per gal will enable the vehicle to travel for a distance of 18 miles. This is more than twice the distance that can be travelled by the electric vehicle (Ford & Yanik, 2008).
Existing and future sport Electric cars
Tesla
Tesla Motors was established in 2003 by Silicon Valley group of engineers. This invention aimed at improving the performance of the gasoline –powered cars by establishing the electrical cars. The Tesla cars could possess zero emissions, incredible power and instant torque. The first electric model of Tesla Company was model S. Launched in 2012; the car is built from scratch to a hundred percent electric which redefined the four-door car concept. The car has a passenger capacity of seven and a space of more than 64 cubic metres is also available for storage. The can achieve an acceleration of 0 to 60 mph in five seconds. The battery of the car is integrated into the chassis below the occupant cabin making the car have a better stability while operating at 265 miles per charge. Another model of Tesla Company called 85D was unveiled in 2014 having all-wheeled driving features. The 85D mode has a larger efficiency at the rear and front of the car enabling the unparalleled traction of control in all situations. The model can achieve a speed of 0 to 60 mph within 3.2 seconds with the help of a rear motor performance ("About Tesla | Tesla Motors", 2016)
Porsche
Porsche Company has a new model electric car that operates at 600-horse power with a speed of 0 to 60 miles per hour (mph) in about three seconds. This is the first sports electric car in the company, mission E, with four seats and can travel over 300 miles without powering with a recharge in fifteen minutes. This kind of power enables this all-wheeled-drive car competing with the one of the world’s luxurious famous titans such as the Elon Musk-run and Tesla. This mission E model costing over $ 100,000 is not resting on the battery laurels and has features that need improvements in the next generation. It has an eye-tracking camera that is installed for detecting the driver’s mood and displays it as an emotion on the dashboard. This will enable sharing of this information on the social media together with the speed and the car’s route. ("Porsche’s Tesla killer; A superfast electric sports car that can read your emotions", 2016)
Formula E
The formula E model is an internal combustion engine electric vehicle with powerful modifications of formula one (1). A few years ago, the model was tested in the UK and Beijing for the elaboration of its power in the racing motor sports. These cars utilise an electric motor of the capacity of 200kW, McLaren that built and a race mode of 133kW and 67kW push to pass. The mass of the car is about 800 kg with 200 kg being the mass of batteries from Williams Corporation. The speed translation is 0-60 miles per hour in a span of three seconds. It also has a maximum speed of 225kilometer per hour which is equivalent to 140 miles per hour. In the first year of operation, forty-two of the cars will be identical. The chassis of Spark-Renault SRT_01E was designed by Dallara. Similarly, the carbon fibres are made by the Spark in France. The Formula 1 motorsport circuit was redesigned in coming up with the formula E model. This model has rocketed the market by turning into a Qualcomm making the races promoted to charging standard of Qualcomm Halo Wireless previously used for static charging (“Electric formula: inside the Formula E racing car”, 2013)
Problems and Possible Solutions
Charging stations
Currently, there is limited number of battery technologies available. The existing batteries need recharging after every 50 to 150 miles coverage. The new designs of the new batteries that are being developed have depicted an increased range to 200 miles between recharging. An infrastructure is also needed in recharging the batteries. The presence of electric power in most of the locations in the country enables the recharging of batteries. This is because the electric power is the main element in the recharging infrastructure. Another parameter needed is the strategic location of the stations that supports the electric vehicles. The necessary arrangements are made to ensure the off-peak system of charging to obtain the lowest rates of utility. Moreover, the skilled personnel is being trained to impart a new knowledge on the conventional automotive technicians to enable servicing and maintaining of the electric vehicle (Ford & Yanik, 2008).
Cost reduction
There are two types of electrical vehicles. First, the one the mainly run on the electrical energy stored in the battery (BEV). Secondly, the plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) operates on the gasoline powered engine and a rechargeable battery. In both types, the increased expenses are the cost of the battery. The cost of a PHEV-40 in 2010 was $ 5,377 more compared to the cost of an internal combustion engine. Similarly, the cost of a BEV in the same year was $ 4,819 more dearly. This means that the prices are too high compared to the gasoline vehicles. It is projected that in the next 10 to 20 years, the cost of the battery will decrease while the gasoline cost rise. The cost of BEV is expected to be cheap by $ 1,155 - $ 7, 181. Similarly, the cost of PHEVs will be more expensive than BEV but cheaper than the conventional cars in the costs of batteries and the high gasoline cost.
Increase performance
With the decreased maintenance and ease of operation of the electric vehicle, its performance tends to increase. The performance parameters like reliability and efficiency enable a high vehicle output.
Global attraction
The introduction of formula E into the market in sports racing attracted many people beyond the sports arena. Other designs like Tesla, 85D, and Mission E are also on the like. The electrical vehicle has high performance compared to gasoline vehicles and this will increase the global demand and attraction.
("Will Electric Cars Transform the U.S. Vehicle Market?, Harvard, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs", 2016)
CONCLUSION
The invention of electrical cars has taken a while but the rate of adoption by users is very slow. Most of the electrical cars are used in the sports racing and this makes the popular in this sector. At initial stages of these cars, they seem very expensive a few was in demand. The most important component of the electric vehicle is the rechargeable battery that powers most of the operations in the car. The rising global prices of gasoline shortly will shift the demand for the electrical vehicles that are being modified to meet the required performance characteristics at the least cost.
References
About Tesla | Tesla Motors. (2016). Teslamotors.com. Retrieved 4 April 2016, from https://www.teslamotors.com/about
Electric formula: inside the Formula E racing car. (2013). The Engineer. Retrieved 4 April 2016, from http://www.theengineer.co.uk/electric-formula-inside-the-formula-e-racing-car/
Ford, G., & Yanik, P. (2008). A Fuels Cost Comparison of Gasoline and Electric Powered Vehicles. ASME 2008 2nd International Conference on Energy Sustainability, Volume 1. doi:10.1115/es2008-54238
The History of the Electric Car. (2016). Energy.gov. Retrieved 4 April 2016, from http://energy.gov/articles/history-electric-car
Porsche’s Tesla killer: A superfast electric sports car that can read your emotions. (2016). Washington Post. Retrieved 4 April 2016, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2015/09/14/porsches-tesla-killer-a-superfast-electric-sports-car-that-can-read-your-emotions/
Will Electric Cars Transform the U.S. Vehicle Market? - Harvard - Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. (2016). Belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu. Retrieved 4 April 2016, from http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/publication/21216/will_electric_cars_transform_the_us_vehicle_market.html
