Mar 26 2013

Weekly Photo Challenge: Future Tense


This week the challenge is to share a phoneography picture that means “Future Tense” to us.

Whilst I was away in the USA, I saw my first electric cars. The first one was at a mall in New Jersey at Christmas time. I spotted this beautiful car and went over to have a look. After walking all around it, I was quite puzzled to note that there didn’t seem to be an engine. How weird! My son patiently explained that it was an electric car, and they don’t actually have engines. Well, I’m blonde for sure, because I ‘d never realised this. All I knew was that they didn’t need to be filled up with gas, and I also thought that they all looked like little ‘Noddy cars’. 🙂

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When we got back to Florida, I saw another even more beautiful car at our local mall, and this time, there was no confusion, because they’d thoughtfully written on the side, ‘Electric Vehicle’, especially for me. 🙂

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Wouldn’t it be wonderful if in the not too distant future, all our vehicles could be powered by battery. Apparently they are silent, and of course create far less pollution than gasoline-powered cars. Environmentally friendly is certainly the way we should be aiming for our world’s future. Electric cars are not a new invention, and the first four-wheeled electric car was built by the German engineer Andreas Flocken in 1888. In 1900, 34% of all cars in New York, Boston, and Chicago ran on electric motors, whilst nowadays, the percentage of cars on American roads that are fully electric is less than one percent. I wonder why it’s taking so long for them to become more popular than our gas-guzzlers? I’m sure some technically minded blogger will be able to give me the reason. 😕

73 comments on “Weekly Photo Challenge: Future Tense”

  1. Pingback: Weekly Photo Challenge: Future Tense – The ‘Future Tense’ Of Death | Just another wake-up call

  4. Oooh, I like the black one… I really hate filling up with gas. However, I understand that if I had an electric car, I would have to plug it in every night, and I could never go on long drives/commutes. I drive about 100 miles a day, so I don’t think [currently] an electric car would work for me. But I do want one!

  5. I’d like to buy me ! .) that beautiful black. ma and the other one can just. have a nice day Have a nice ! maxima with love

  8. My son also has a Prius car. Goes as quiet as a mouse! When he comes to visit we never hear him coming(that’s between Trompie and me) It hardly uses any petrol

  13. I have a car with an engine, but it runs part time on the battery (Prius)…. yes, it’s very quiet. My neighbor calls it a stealth car.

    There are a lot of variations in the works – one solution that sounds promising is -instead of an engine (a smaller motor to power the battery to provide longer runs)…. less weight providing better gas mileage. The pollution angle could be solved with smarter alternate sources of energy (other than oil.)

    Pity that our politicians (bought and paid for by the oil industry) are subsidizing obscene profits for the oil barons rather than putting that money into research for alternative modes of transport and providing power.

  15. If those could be recharged using only solar power – WOW!
    Probably they could, but guess what vested interests would hate to see that happen?

  16. I must be blonde too, cause I hadn’t figured there would be no engine inside the hood!! 🙂 The second one is a beauty!

  17. You run out of gas on the interstate now and AAA comes and brings you some to get you immediately back on your way.
    You lose your charge on the interstate in an all electric car and I guess AAA could bring you up their portable charging vehicle which should have you back on your way with a full charge in a short 6-8 hours. 😉 🙂

  18. ”I wonder why it’s taking so long for them to become more popular than our gas-guzzlers? I’m sure some technically minded blogger will be able to give me the reason. ”

    Let me enlighten you dear AD,
    First though you have to imagine a JR character with full on Texas drawl in front of you…
    Now then.
    “I am in oil, my Pappy was in oil, my Grandpappy was in oil and his Pappy before him, and I am in oil. Hell, even my dang dawg is in oil. God bless America.”

    Figured it out yet? 😉

  19. There’s still the problem of the pollution created by the generation of the electricity to power the cars of course but we’re working on that I suppose with all these wind turbines and solar farms cropping up all over. As you say though Sylvia, beautiful cars and not at all like the electric cars I’ve seen up until now. Noddy cars described them perfectly! 🙂

  23. No gas-guzzlers are indeed something to look forward to, but the thing with electric cars are the batteries – just as harmful to the environment in the long run, but hey.
    I doubt that people will ever go back to riding horses 😉
    These are cool looking cars though!

    • Now horses are another matter entirely. I saw some horse-riders trotting down the road in the snow past my MiL’s house. What a lovely sight. 🙂

      • Can you imagine going back to that?
        I’ll have to stick to a cart – sitting on a horse is not something my ass can do so well 😉
        Maybe n iron horse, but an apple eating one, not so much 🙂

  24. I remember when I was at primary school in the UK, many many years ago, the milk floats (delivery vehicles) were electric, but the batteries didn’t always last the day out. So, I often saw them being towed back to their depot when I was walking home from school 😀

  25. I believe I saw a car like the grey beauty on your post while we were in Florida..I was told it cost upward of $100,000.00 As newsferret commented, they are still very, very expensive in most cases…

  26. Love this post.. I saw the Nissan version of the full battery operated.. lovely car except for the price and the distance one can travel on a full battery… not far enough for normal RSA distances I’m afraid… I also think the price would have to come down a lot and something would need to be done about replacement battery costs…

  28. I would love an electric car but you can only drive them a short time and they cost 15 thousand more than the car I just bought. I can buy a lot of gas for $15,000 dollars and go on trips.

  29. Perfect for future tense, Sylvia! I’d be very leery of running out of power and I also wonder how long it would take to recharge. But then, I may be having a blonde moment myself. Or a silver moment? 🙂

  30. And the electric car has to be charged from an electrical power point with electricty suppled by, in our case, Eskom, which does not generate enough for ordinary consumption and creates a lot of pollution. So where is the saving?

  32. The battery assembly is still prohibitively expensive wit a limited life span then it must be replaced. The electric car still has a long way to go before we can really speak of a successful venture.

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