Electric cars have been in the news recently.
Several automakers are producing them. Volvo recently announced that it will quit making gas-powered vehicles by 2030. That may sound like a long way off, but its less than nine years.
Marysville has made preliminary moves to plan for the new type of car by installing a charging station at the northeast corner of Plum and Sixth streets.
Interestingly, electric cars are not new. When the oil shortage hit in the mid-1970s, they appeared. My father-in-law, Mel Tharp bought one. It was called the Lectric Leapord and the frame was a French Renault Le Car. It was powered by 16 12-volt batteries. As I recall, there were six in front under the hood and 10 in back where the trunk was so he didn’t have enough room for his golf clubs!
Its speed was about 50 miles per hour and it could travel 50 to 60 miles on a full charge.
He would drive it to work at the Dispatch in downtown Columbus, plug it in and charge it, and then drive it back home at the end of the day.
There have been many improvements since the Lectric Leopard days. No longer are 16 batteries required, and they are much roomier.
There are good and bad features with electric cars. On the positive side is the cost savings- electricity is much less expensive than gasoline.
On the negative side, the top distance they can travel today on a full charge is about 300-400 miles. And because it takes hours for a complete charge, it is not conducive for long trips.
But for shorter distances, and driving around town, they have a lot of promise.
One thing is for sure – the more they are produced, states will be forced to develop a way to tax them to make up for the severe decline in gas tax revenue.
Tuesday, April 13
