In the next ten years petrol/electric hybrids will go the way of their fossil fuel predecessors.The Auto market will rapidly move to "all electric" cars,and its going to happen faster than anyone can imagine.
The problem with the petrol/hybrid,is that they are just that:hybrids.You still have to visit the petrol station, just not as often.
Passing by the pump permanently....
Fortunately,the Auto industry is hard at work.Coming right behind the hybrids are PHEVs.These all electric vehicles have no internal combustion engine.Instead they sport a large bank of batteries that store power.
Now if you're thinking it will take forever to accelerate to highway speed,think again:Electric motors have fantastic torque characteristics that translate into neck-snapping acceleration when they're integrated into a drive train.
Electric vehicles will ultimately out-accelerate their fossil fuel predecessors and leave nothing in the atmosphere in the process.The driving public won't have any trouble making the transition from their former petrol guzzling vehicles.
PHEVs have other advantages as well.Braking can actually be accomplished in part by turning the motor into a generator and pumping the generated power into the battery bank.
This technique-referred to as dynamic braking-puts a load or drag on the motor generator and slows the vehicle.Diesel/Electric locomotives have used dynamic braking for years to help slow down freight and passenger trains.
While PHEVs are a potential game changing tech up until this point, and have been essentially relegated to the Auto development labs/Auto shows.All that is about to change:Nissan just announced that it will mass produce PHEVs for sale in 2012.Mitsubishi has unveiled a PHEV, it comes with a US$48,000 price tag.
There are other PHEVs that will be announced over the "coming months" as no manufacturer wants to be left out of the game.
The bottom line is that car buyers in the next few years will have a number of PHEVs to choose from,with prices starting in the $20,000 range.This puts them squarely in the "high volume",mass produced car market. ____________________________________________________________
Corporations now owned by China have cornered around 95% of the world's Rare Earth production and RE plays will have their day in the sun via mass battery production. However.."not one word"..is ever mentioned in the world press about where all this extra power will come from to run these vehicles.[When Patterson's were pricing Cougar recently ...willing to bet they didn't think of that either.]
Recent costing by Energex,Qld suggests that upgrading of the transmission system for air-conditioners alone, is around $15,000 per household.With mass production of electric vehicles, and mopeds for city use [power points in parking bays].. a major rethink by power companies is on the cards.
With our antiquated power stations [especially Vic] barely able to cope in peak periods.And with the PHEVs soon to make their debut,Cougars role in the Grand Plan of Australia's electric power generation will be an important one.. supplying power to an energy hungry society.
HM.
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