Over the last decade we have seen a huge increase in eco-friendly cars as damage to the environment becomes more and more apparent around the world. This new thirst for eco-friendly cars has led to the expansion of the electric car market and there are high hopes for the future.

Electric cars

There’s no doubt that the eco-friendly electric car is the ultimate in environmentally friendly travel and the historic stigma attached to electric vehicles has all but disappeared. It is the massive investment within this area that has managed to turn public opinion more in favour of electric car travel than ever before. However, there is still much work to be done if electric cars are to become commonplace around the world.

Hybrid Car

Hybrid cars are more eco-friendly than traditional fuel powered cars and they are much like a half way house offering the ability to incorporate both electric motors and traditional fuel powered internal combustion engines. It is his ability to reduce the damage to the environment which is attracting the attention of many people who are looking to do their bit for the environment while also maintaining a reliable form of travel.

Recharging stations

Recharging stations for electric vehicles are few and far between at the moment and this is an area which is a bone of contention for environmentalists. Until governments around the world encourage investment in recharging stations there will be severe restrictions on the distance electric car owners can travel in the knowledge that a recharge is just around the corner.

Solar recharging systems

While the problem of recharging stations for electric vehicles is still to be solved by governments around the world a number of new initiatives have been introduced. Solar panel recharging systems are now available which allow electric car batteries to be recharged on the move and allow energy to be stored for later use. Perhaps solar power is the ultimate in environmentally friendly energy and this is something which car manufacturers are starting to appreciate.

Regenerative braking

The ability to harness what has in the past been wasted energy from a vehicle is actually the Holy Grail of the energy efficiency market. There have been massive improvements in regenerative braking systems which effectively allow the vehicles to harness what has in the past been wasted energy, lost when breaking, into a power stream to recharge onboard batteries. When you consider how many times you brake in your car each and every day the potential for energy efficiency and energy saving is enormous.

Conclusion

Despite having a somewhat slow start there is no doubt that electric cars are the way forward and with problems in the oil market, more and more people are now looking towards alternative means of travel. Governments have now realised that there is a need to encourage investment in this particular area and we’re seeing more government grants and government tax incentives around the world. Indeed the UK government recently announced a £200 million guarantee and loan agreement with Nissan UK to encourage the manufacture of electric cars in the UK.

Do I Need an Eco Friendly Car ?
When you hear reports on the radio news or television from such cities as Mexico City, Cairo, Egypt, Moscow, Russia among others, that give announcements that, “today air pollution index levels are high, so elderly persons and children should not go out” or “asthmatics going outside today must carry portable oxygen cylinders with them” or perhaps that “athletes or others practicing outdoor sports should not do so today”, you should have pause to wonder about what’s happening with gasoline or diesel-powered automobile and truck emissions controls. Are eco friendly cars truly a possibility?

A Solution to the Problem Has Been Found
In 1996 a solution to the problem was found when General Motors Corporation produced the EV1 (Electric Vehicle 1) an eco friendly car, which began circulating on the streets of California. Attractive, sleek and “futuristic looking”, the EV1 met with immediate succes and approval with the limited number of consumers who were allowed to rent them on a trial basis. The eco friendly car EV1 could almost silently go from zero to 100 kilometers per hour in less than nine seconds – pretty snappy for a pollution-free electric car, right? That’s pretty good for ANY type of car. The car could also be recharged from a special outlet installed in your garage. They didn’t even have an exhaust tail pipe. So why haven’t you heard of them? Likely because within ten years, GM collected all the EV1s in circulation as their leasing agreements ended. Finally, do you know what happened to these zero-pollution vehicles? The eco friendly cars were all collected and ultimately destroyed.

The Japanese Get Into the Act
In 1997, Nissan unveiled a hyper-mini electric eco friendly car in Tokyo show rooms. The car was leased by the city of Pasadena, California for municipal employees. The eco friendly car was easy to park, maintain and get around crowded city streets in. In August of 2006 however, when the lease for the cars between Nissan and the city of Pasadena expired, Nissan refused to sell the cars to the city. Again, in this case, these zero-pollution, eco friendly cars were all collected and ultimately destroyed.

In 2003 Toyota halted production of its eco friendly car, the RAV4 – EV (the EV denotes Electric Vehicle). By 2005 all the lease agreements for this vehicle were expired and these cars were returned to the manufacturer. In this case though, after a three-month international court battle against Toyota, consumers who had leased RAV4-Evs were allowed to purchase them from the company.

The Terminator Drives a Hummer
Reportedly, former California governor Arnold “The Terminator” Schwarzenegger drives a specially – produced Hummer, an eco friendly car that runs on hydrogen. BMW also has a hydrogen – fueled, environmentally friendly, commercially available vehicle. So now we know that eco friendly cars truly are a real possibility for reducing pollution coming from gasoline and diesel-powered automobile and truck emissions. We can only hope that petroleum-based conglomerates do not fully succeed in halting the development and distribution of eco friendly cars to environmentally-concerned consumers.

Eco-friendly cars are growing in popularity as technology pushes them further and further towards a par with fuel powered internal combustion vehicles.