Electric Vehicles

Electric vehicles are not for most people. They have one enormous downside: their range. The electric version of Toyota's RAV4, for example, has a stated range of 126 miles.

Since your typical American drives only about 27 miles a day, an electric vehicle might be fine for most days. The downside, however, comes when you need to run some errands, forgot something at work and have to drive back, want to take that weekend trip out of town or make an emergency trip to the bowling alley. If an electric vehicle is your only car, you might find your style seriously cramped. But if it's a second car and used only for a commute to work, it could be a good choice you.

There are other downsides to electric vehicles as well: reduced acceleration and the prospect of possibly needing to replace all those batteries when they're worn out.

How do electric vehicles work? They actually use no gasoline at all. The electric motor (or motors) that turns the wheels are powered by a large bank of batteries inside the car which need to be recharged frequently--usually on a daily basis.

The good news with electric vehicles is their lack of emissions: there aren't any. Not from the car, anyway. Since electric vehicles get their power from the electrical outlet in your house, the pollution comes from the increased demand at the nuclear (or, more likely, coal) power plant down the street. However, since electric generating plants have elaborate emission-control systems (at least compared to your run-of-the-mill Taurus), driving an electric car will result in about a 95 percent net reduction in pollution compared to a conventional car.

Finally, because there's no internal combustion engine in an electric car, a lot fewer repairs are needed. No timing belts, water pumps, radiators, fuel injectors, or exhaust systems means fewer boat payments to your mechanic. And you'll never have to pay for a tuneup or oil change. But you will be paying some of this cost up front, due to the high cost of most electric vehicles.

Right now there are several electric vehicles from which to choose: Electric versions of the Toyota Rav4, the Ford Ranger, and the Dodge Caravan Epic; and an entire line of vehicles from a company called Solectria.

Electric Vehicle Resources:

Check out the cars.com electric vehicle area, with up to date information on how electric vehicles work, who makes them...and what's ahead for EV's.

View the financial incentives available to purchasers of electric vehicles.

Research specific models, find an electric vehicle dealer near you, or get your questions answered at the Department of Energy's Alternative Fuels Data Center

Electric car rentals: EV Cars

Virginia Wesleyan College's Comprehensive Alternative-Fuel-Vehicle Directory

Electric car rentals in California and Florida and electric scooter sales: Zapworld

Places to recharge your electric car in California: the Clean Car Map

By Fringe www.cartalk.com