Electric Cars are here to stay, but Gas Stations will be around longer than Me

The modern gasoline car reminds me of the inefficient Windows computers of the 1990s. Computer operating systems like Windows 95 needed to also run on a second operating system called MS-DOS. Computers running on two operating systems are inefficient and require more memory. Gasoline cars can also be considered inefficient. Gasoline cars require two types of energy systems, electric and gasoline. Lighting systems, air conditioning, radio and entertainment, all types of computers, safety equipment and many more automobile systems are not powered by gasoline. Indeed, most components in the gasoline car are actually powered by electricity. An electric car, however, is pure and runs entirely on electricity.

Gasoline engines also create pollution and contribute to global warming, a trend of increasing severe weather and higher sea levels. The electric car does not create as much pollution as the gasoline car. Wind and solar electricity may one day make the electric car carbon neutral (pollution from the electric car can become insignificant). Electric cars have the potential to become less expensive, lighter and more efficient than gas cars. Unfortunately, "Potential", means electric car improvements have yet to happen. Today, electric cars take longer to refuel, have fewer refueling stations and do not possess the range of the average gasoline car.

Electric Cars have a lot to prove. I recently was overlooking the valet parking station at a casino in the Pocono Mountains. I watched all the shiny new cars come and go. Most of the cars were late model SUVs. I looked to see if I could find an electric car. I couldn't. I didn't see one electric car at the valet. I was disappointed. What will it take for electric cars to begin winning over Americans? According to "Tipping Point: Electric Cars Get Closer On Price," Jack Ewing wrote that electric cars account for only 2% of new car sales in America. I believe five basic issues are either helping or hurting the electric Car from overtaking the gasoline car: 1. Cost 2. Convenience 3. Tradition 4. Government Regulations 5. Pollution. Let's dive into these issues and see if there may be an electric car in your future.

Gas Versus Electric Cars - Cost Comparison

Purchase Price

Home Charging Station Cost

Average Fuel / Energy Cost

Maintenance Costs

Average Gas Car

$42,258 (KelleyBB)

Not Applicable

$800 per year

(compare.com)

$9,200 /life of the car

(compare.com)

Average Electric Car

$49,766 (KelleyBB)

$1,200 (Schwalbe)

$500 per year

(compare.com)

$4,600 /life of the car

(compare.com)

According to ""Average New-Vehicle Prices Hit All-Time High," Kelley Blue Book Media Room shows the average owner of a new gasoline car saved $7,508 compared to the average electric car owner. Thankfully, the tides are likely to change. Battery technology, according to "Tipping Point: Electric Cars Get Closer On Price" is undergoing a type of renaissance. Electric Cars should one day actually cost less than a comparable gas car. The electric car battery is expected to drop in price to below $100 per kilowatt hour sometime around the year 2025.(ewing) A battery price of $100 per kilowatt hour is said to be "the point, more or less, at which propelling a vehicle with electricity will be as cheap as it is with gasoline," Jack Ewing.