Electric Cars Aren't as Efficient as Gasoline Cars | Teen Ink

Electric Cars Aren't as Efficient as Gasoline Cars

May 24, 2019
By Anonymous

The idea of electric cars has been around for a while and it seems like in the future all cars will be electric. Common car manufacturers such as BMW, Nissan, Ford, Chevrolet and many others are starting to make electric car models. In parking lots around the country electric charging stations are starting to show up, But is electric cars really the best option?  As of now gas and hybrid cars are a better option because of price, convenience, power, and environment. The first point I am going to talk about is price.

 

According to the visionlaunch July 23rd, 2016 issue by Crystal Lombardo, “gas cars are cheaper than electric cars’’. A good electric car with a 250 - 300-mile range can cost up to $100,000. The average gas car will cost significantly less than that. Although electric cars cost more from the dealership, they require less maintenance. In a gas car the oil has to be changed, and the engine might eventually have a problem because there are a lot more moving parts in a gasoline engine. According to the nbcnews march 28th, 2016 issue by Herb Weisbaum, “an average gasoline engine will last about 15 years or 300,000 miles if it is properly maintained’’. That is a long time and most people will probably trade in their car after a few years. According to ucsusa April 13th, 2018 issue by Rachael Nealer, “most electric vehicles have a battery warranty after 60,000 - 100,000 miles.’’ A gasoline car will last longer than an electric car if taken care of properly. According to the united states department of energy, “an electric car is cheaper to use than a gas car, because electric is cheaper than gas’’. An electric car would be on the charger a lot because most of them only have a range of about 50 - 100 miles. In this case most people would have to charge their car after every trip, this would add up after a while and it might get more expensive than gas. A gasoline car or a hybrid with good gas mileage would maybe only need to be filled up once a week. If we converted all cars to electric, There would be millions of gas stations going out of business, and the government would need to spend billions of dollars on charging stations. That would mean higher taxes around the u.s. The second topic I am going to be talking about is convenience.

 

According to the visionlaunch july 23rd, 2016 issue by Crystal Lombardo, “An average distance for an electric vehicle is 50 - 100 miles.’’ A gasoline car with a 20 gallon tank, getting about 20 miles per gallon will get a range of 400 miles. A hybrid with a 20 gallon tank getting 50 miles per gallon could go 1000 miles on a tank of gas. This proves that a gas or hybrid car is way more efficient than an electric car. It is also easier to fill up a car with gas than charge it. There are gas stations everywhere and when someone needs to get gas, all they need to do is fill up their car and go. According to the ClipperCreek November 14th, 2018 issue, “An electric car can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 12 hours to charge’’. This means a person could only travel 50 -100 miles a day on one charge, which wouldn’t be worth it for most people. According to fueleconomy, “there are about 168,000 gas stations in the united states, but only 22,000 public charging stations in the u.s.’’ It will be a lot more difficult to charge an electric car than fill up a car with gas. The third topic I am going to talk about is power.

 

According to the howstuffworks January 15, 2019 issue by Cherise Threewit , “gasoline cars can make more horsepower than an electric car. Gas cars have a higher top speed than electric car, but electric cars have better acceleration.’’ A tesla model s was put up against a Ferrari LaFerrari, Porsche 918 and a  McLaren P1. In a drag race the tesla accelerated faster off the start, but the the three gas powered cars caught up and passed it within seconds. Gas powered cars can also be upgraded for more horsepower. There are many ways to upgrade a gasoline engine to boost its speed and power. With an electric car there aren’t any ways to upgrade it. A diesel engine is what most big trucks use, because they make more power than a gasoline engine. A semi has a diesel engine so it can haul heavy loads. We use semis for a lot of our transportation and they have to travel long distances. We would have to come up with an electric engine that can make as much power as a diesel engine and go as far as a diesel engine. Right now, the average electric car can only go 50 - 100 miles on a full charge and that wouldn’t be enough for a semi. The fourth topic I am going to be talking about is the environment.

“Some people think that electric cars are better for the environment because they don’t emit any gas fumes’’, but most of our electricity comes from natural gases. According to the guardian December 21st, 2017 issue by Sean Clarke, “electric cars produce more carbon dioxide when being manufactured in a factory.’’ The politico may 15th, 2018 issue by Jonathan Lesser states that “If we converted to all electric cars, all the extra electricity we would be using would actually increase air pollution compared to a gasoline engine. Most people don’t realize how clean today’s gasoline engine actually are.’’ In the future, they are only going to get better. According to politico may 15th, 2018 issue by Jonathan Lesser, “our new vehicles only emit 1% of the pollution they did in the 1960s.’’ According to the wired March 31st, 2016 issue by lizzy wade, “it takes about the same amount of energy to go 20 miles in a tesla model s than it does to make a gallon of gas.’’ The wired March 31st, 2016 issue by lizzy wade also says that “an electric car uses lots of rare metals like lithium for the battery. These metals come from environmentally destructive mines which harm the environment.’’


This is proof that electric cars are not the better option and in the long run they will actually harm the environment more. Each year gasoline cars are getting better for the environment, but electric cars are harming the environment. Gasoline cars are the better option because of the price, convenience, power, and environment. Those reasons are why we shouldn’t convert all of our cars to electric.



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