Electric cars make sense
What's interesting now in the automotive industry? Of course, the first thing you think about are autonomous cars. Recently, talking about autonomous cars has become as fashionable as “data science” in the IT industry. This time I don't want to focus on them for one simple reason. We don’t have a road infrastructure where we could set the autopilot. First of all, it's dangerous and if I’m not mistaken it’s still prohibited by Polish law.
Let's focus on technology closer to us – electric cars! You will be surprised how many of them are on our streets. I bet you've seen this cute car from the photo above on Warsaw's roads!
It's time for some statistics.
Number of electric cars in the world in individual years:
What a huge increase in the number of electric cars in recent years!
At the end of July, over 13,000 electric cars were registered in Poland. This is a good result considering that such cars are present mainly in larger cities. I'll tell you why in a moment.
Summarizing the above it’s a technology that has settled for good and is the future of automotive and transport.
At the end of July, over 13,000 electric cars were registered in Poland. This is a good result considering that such cars are present mainly in larger cities. I'll tell you why in a moment.
Summarizing the above it’s a technology that has settled for good and is the future of automotive and transport.
Historical curiosity
The first electric car in the United States was developed in 1890-91 by William Morrison of Des Moines, Iowa. The vehicle was a six-passenger wagon capable of reaching a speed of 23 kilometers per hour.
Specifications for the 1890 Morrison Electric included 24 storage battery cells mounted under the front seat. The Morrison designed and produced the batteries. Finally, the motor developed about 4 horsepower… which is as much as our mowers today.
Let's go over what is most interesting in electric cars - performance!
This video shows the extreme possibilities of both internal combustion engines and electric drive. Seemingly, this has nothing to do with an electric car such as the BMW i3 that we can rent in Warsaw. However, one feature of electric motors is very clearly presented here, in which they predominate over combustion ones. Maximum torque is available immediately! Put simply, the car accelerates instantly after pressing the gas pedal with great force, giving a feeling of being pressed into the seat. Classic cars with an internal combustion engine have a moment of hesitation before we feel them accelerate. I can assure you that the BMW i3 from the famous rental company can also surprise you with its fast acceleration.
Another undoubted benefit – silence
Imagine driving a car hearing only the noise of tires and air, with the silent whistle of the electric drive in the background instead of the loud drone of the diesel. Isn't it beautiful? If you don’t like silence and want to feel like in a petrol car, you can turn on the simulation of the sound of petrol engine in the car speakers. I don’t recommend this because it sounds artificial.
Chart description:
EV - Electric Vehicles,
ICE - Internal Combustion Engine
Berlingo - car model
ICE - Internal Combustion Engine
Berlingo - car model
It’s clearly noticeable that at low speeds the volume level inside the car is much lower in an electric car. The differences blur at higher speeds, but I would like to mention one detail. The internal combustion engine has a pronounced peak at 63 Hz which means low bass registers. It’s this frequency that makes us uncomfortable with prolonged listening. The electric car wins!
How to refuel it?
- At home - you can just plug it straight into your domestic mains electricity supply. The problem is this is slow. It will take many hours to fully charge an empty battery. A faster option is to get a home fast-charging point installed. The government will pay up to 75% of the cost of installation so it pays off.
- Public charging points - firstly, they are paid, although still cheaper than fuel. A serious problem is that there are very few of these chargers and we can find them mainly in large cities. We have only 1,282 public chargers in Poland, which means that we must plan our trip wisely.
Is it really eco-friendly?
An electric vehicle causes less environmental damage over its entire life cycle than petrol car. It’s mainly due to the fact that they emit much less greenhouse gases. In the case of electric vehicles, the production and disposal of cells have the greatest environmental impact. Overall, cars can be considered environmentally friendly and the cell utilization process is constantly being improved.
Currently, the fastest mass-produced electric car
PORSCHE TAYCAN TURBO S
750 horsepower
2.5-seconds to 100km/h
Questions:
- Do you think William Morrison would be proud of today's electric vehicles? Or maybe the development of electric cars could go the other way?
- Have you ever driven an electric car? What is your impressions?
- Do you prefer the sound of internal combustion engines or electric silence? Why?
Sources:
https://imagazine.pl/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/BMW_i3_Innogy_f_DKalamus_0105.jpg
https://www.virta.global/global-electric-vehicle-market
https://www.american-automobiles.com/images2/Morrison-Electric-1890.jpg
https://www.toi.no/getfile.php/1340825-1434373783/mmarkiv/Forside%202015/compett-foredrag/Lykke%20-Silent%20Urban%20Driving.pdf
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-54989167
https://img.chceauto.pl/porsche/taycan/porsche-taycan-liftback-4234-45074_v1.jpg
Comments
If you show him the comparison in speed in my opinion he should be amazed by them. No idea if their development could be change in previous year, but they should develop better ways of manufacturing such engine. When we eliminate the tons of CO2 that are emitted in this process then electric cars really will be better and more green then let say a car with LPG.
2. Have you ever driven an electric car? What is your impressions?
I can't tell as I never had a chance to even be in one of them. ONly in electric buses.
3. Do you prefer the sound of internal combustion engines or electric silence? Why?
I prefer electric silence but I know it is dangerous. For animals and blind people for example. They may not hear tires fast enough to react let's say when passing the road.
I think that today's car development is going in the right direction. Even if we are not talking about electric cars, machines are built in such a way that they do not pollute the environment. Of course, cars lose their performance, but you have to survive it...
Electric cars are an interesting thing. An important thing for development is the availability of charging stations for such cars. So as the world moves in this direction, there will be more and more electric vehicles on the streets.
2. Have you ever driven an electric car? What is your impressions?
Yes, I had the opportunity to drive an electric car. This is a nice option for the city. Acceleration allows you to move more dynamically.
3. Do you prefer the sound of internal combustion engines or electric silence? Why?
I prefer the sound of internal combustion cars, especially when it is a large engine. I also know that electric cars have loudspeakers installed to imitate an internal combustion car, but I consider it a fake.
2. I have driven a BMW i3. Linear acceleration and no gear ratio is a really interesting experience. But I wouldn't say this car is quiet. The screech this car produces is annoying to me. I didn't feel good driving this car. Hope Tesla would do better :)
3. As I mentioned, I have not experienced electric silence so far. Only electrical annoyance. I think I prefer gasoline and diesel cars. Especially diesel. I really like the sound of these motors and the torque. Of course, I mean units with a reasonable engine capacity - max. 3 liters. Larger units are expensive to maintain and more harmful to the environment.
Electric cars are constantly evolving, getting better, but never equal to internal combustion cars. Why do I think so? Because when you run out of electricity, you need a minimum of 1 hour to charge. Even this beautiful Porsche Taycan has a very limited range, so it is only suitable for showing off around the city. In general, I think that electric cars only work in developed countries, possibly in cities - in other places they do not make any sense. In my opinion, car makers spent a lot of money developing electric cars, now they have to get back that amount. However, electric cars are not the future in my opinion. I believe that synthetic fuel engines are the future. The exhaust from these engines is water. It is not a new technology, because already during the Second World War, all German tanks were powered by synthetic fuels obtained from coal. The news comes to light that Audi has developed such an engine.
2.Have you ever driven an electric car? What is your impressions?
Yes, I had the opportunity to drive an electric car. I liked the generally available torque - the car was dynamic. However, as it turned out, the battery drained quickly and I had to change to a car with a combustion engine. In Poland, electric cars do not make sense. They are not ecological at all - electricity in Poland is produced from coal, they are not cheap - the costs of purchasing electric cars are much higher than those of internal combustion cars, electric cars are not durable - batteries have a lifetime, my question is what to do with used batteries later?
3.Do you prefer the sound of internal combustion engines or electric silence? Why?
I am a fan of motorization and mechanics, so I prefer internal combustion engines. Nothing can replace the sound of a V8, V10 engine and 12 cylinder engines. I don't like when electric cars have programs that imitate the sound of other engines - it's such an internal lie in the style "I want to be a strong and loud internal combustion engine".
As I live in the city center of Warsaw I don’t have the urge to buy a car to use on everyday basis (especially during the COVID times, where there is nothing interesting to do on your free time). However, every time the weekend comes me and my boyfriend rent an Innogy car - BMW i3 – some kind of electric car anyway. They are quite cheap to use and I guess they can be quite pleasant to drive. Unfortunately I cannot comment on the quality of driving myself, as we rent this cars mostly to train my boyfriend (he’s earned his driving license less than a year ago and we want to pull up his skills)
Now, that we have had a chance to try out the comfort of silence while driving the electric car, I must admit it’s something that feels to me like some kind of luxury :D Don’t get me wrong – I do love driving, I have nothing against riding fast. There is just something so soothing in the way these cars work. It’s like they are not even on while you are driving. Maybe except of the starting part, that make this funny yet delicate kind of noise. I find it quite amusing.
Thank you for opinion. You absolutely have to drive an electric car as a driver because it's an amazing experience.
I agree with you that silence can be dangerous. Accidents often occur in parking lots because passersby cannot hear the electric car.
Thank you for your comment Piotr. Tell me honestly, would you be irritated by the sound of an internal combustion engine in an electric car coming from the speakers? This is a very hot topic these days. As far as I know, the vast majority of people dislike the imitation of the sound of an internal combustion engine because it sounds very artificial.
Besides, congratulations on driving an electric car!
Thanks Maciej! I understand your point of view and somewhat agree. In Poland, these cars make sense, provided that we live in a large city and only want to move around it. Especially if we have solar farm on the roof of the house and we can charge the car with solar energy. Even in Poland it is a great idea but requires careful thought.
The BMW i3 is a small city car in which silencing the interior was not a priority for the manufacturer. In addition, I presented in the presentation that at higher speeds, the difference in volume between an electric car and a combustion engine is not so large. What separates them the most is that in an electric car you hear a whistle and in a combustion car a bass hum. These low frequencies in a petrol car will be more tiring on longer journeys.
Hi Olga. Thanks for the opinion and I will say right away that I agree with it. I hope your boyfriend has a lot of fun driving this car too. Just make sure that he doesn't accidentally press the gas pedal too hard because this car can surprise you ;) The BMW i3 is a small, agile, comfortable car that works perfectly in urban conditions and, as you can see, also suitable for learning to drive a car.
Yep, I was driving in an electric car and even had a chance to drive it as a driver, not passenger. It was the Renault Zoe, an extremely ugly car. For the first minutes, I had the impression that the engine was not running and the car was rolling downhill. Zoe is a small and tight model, and in addition, the version I was driving was very poorly equipped. I'm not a fan of cars, but I love to drive. I really appreciate the experience, but I would definitely not want specifically this car as my only option. The biggest problem for me with electric cars is range. This is the main aspect that needs improvement.
Like I said, I am not a motoring enthusiast and I don't see anything interesting about the sound of the engine. On the contrary, I think cars should get quieter, both for the sake of citizens and for drivers or passengers. What matters to me is the driving comfort and the possibilities offered by the machine, not attracting the attention of passers-by.
I can't tell if he would be proud. Maybe he hoped for something else. But I'm sure he should be satisfied with the current result of electric cars.
2. Have you ever driven an electric car? What is your impressions?
I have never driven an electric car before. I'd love to try it as i heard that experience is really valuable. It's important to try something before you actually have a strong opinion about it.
3. Do you prefer the sound of internal combustion engines or electric silence? Why?
I feel like the sound of a real internal combustion engine is just brilliant. It makes me feel like i have more power over machine. Also I might be wrong but I think it's easier to control the beast as you can feel it and hear it more.
I think he could be proud of this. As you mentioned he created first vehicle which was capable of reaching a speed of 23 kilometers per hour. Currently vehicles can reach a lot of bigger values and it is keep improving all the time.
2. Have you ever driven an electric car? What is your impressions?
I didn't but it should be interesting experience. In nowadays this cars can also automaticaly drive from place to place without driver but it is not safest sollution yet.
3. Do you prefer the sound of internal combustion engines or electric silence? Why?
I think it depends. Sometimes it would be nice to have completly silence in car but more often i think sound of internal combustion engine is better for me. I like to hear car and the way how it is working.
2. Yes, I was driving an electric car and my feelings are very positive. Using torque is not comparable with internal combustion engines. However, one thing bothers me - silence, which may be the cause of numerous accidents on the road. Already during my first ride, I noticed that pedestrians do not look around at all on the pedestrian crossings if they cannot hear the vehicles around them, which is why they enters under the cars wheels.
3. Personally, I prefer the sound of an internal combustion engines. It seems to me that when the engine is running louder we feel more pleasure from driving.
Thanks for sharing your opinion. In conclusion, you have a very practical approach to motoring. You don't see anything exciting in the cars, apart from the machine that is supposed to take us from point A to point B. I understand your approach as much as possible and it is for people with such requirements as yours that the automotive industry is shaped by presenting new electric or hybrid car models. There is a chance that in a few dozen years there will be silence in the cities!
You have to take an electric car as a driver! I think you will change your mind about the sound of the combustion engine and convince yourself of electricians. Well, unless we compare the electric drive to V8 engines, the possibility of enjoying this gurgling is something more interesting than the noise of electricity. The difference is that the large combustion engine will tire on longer journeys and the electric motor is unobtrusive.
It is a pity that the potential of the electric drive was discovered so late. The technology has been known for years but forgotten.
Did you often honk because pedestrians didn't hear you? ;)
Yes, I think he would be quite proud, his first trials with using batteries to power forms of persoanl transportation were quite primitive nevertheless it made some ground for future research in this field.
2.
Unfortunately I haven't. I've watched however some reviews on youtube of electric cars and they seem quite amazing.
3.
I think it's a subjective matter, but I like to hear the engine working so I would pick the first option.
Well, definetly. I think that today's electric cars are very advanced and a huge leap toward healthier environment. Frankly, I cannot imagine another direction in which development of electric vehicles could go.
2. Have you ever driven an electric car? What is your impressions?
No, I have not but I'm looking forward to do that. I think the quickest way to achieve that is to register for the Innogy Go. These little cars are cool and I find them adorable.
3. Do you prefer the sound of internal combustion engines or electric silence? Why?
I love the way classical, petrol engine sounds, especially those with high cylinder capacity. Since, I have never driven or been inside an electrical car I cannot say if I like their "silence" or not. However I think I would find it pleasing since these vehicles are possibly better suited for listening music inside than classic cars.
1. I think so. William Morrison would be proud of today's electric vehicles. He would be glad that his idea has developed and is more and more useful and environmentally friendly.
2. No, I have never driven an electric car, but I had the opportunity to drive a Tesla around Warsaw as a taxi. It really impressed me - the car is incredibly quiet and has very high acceleration.
3. Good question. I think both are interesting. It's very nice to hear a V8 or V12 combustion engine, but on the other hand I also like silence and, most importantly, ecological environment.
I work in the industry of electric engines and batteries, and so I have driven hybrid and electric cars many times. The company in which I work produces batteries for electric buses and in the past, it even created one of the first polish-made electric car. Personally, I prefer plug-in hybrids, as I often travel long distances and its easy to charge at home. I would like to switch to a fully electric car, but unfortunately, on my usual route, there are not many chargers.
I prefer electric cars and buses, as they don't contribute to noise in cities and air pollution. However, if they don't create even an artificial sound, they can be potentially dangerous. Pedestrians are used to hearing a bus or car when it drives by, but the electric ones don't make much noise.
Yes, I think that he could be proud of today's electric vehicles. In my opinion, the electric cars industries are growing and evolving in the right direction
Have you ever driven an electric car? What is your impressions?
Unfortunately, I don't have an opportunity to drive an electric car yet, I hope that I will have an opportunity to change it in near future.
Do you prefer the sound of internal combustion engines or electric silence? Why?
I think that I prefer the sound of internal combustion engines :)
2. I have never driven an electric car, but I have driven it. I believe that they are better than combustion cars because they are quiet, and they do not harm environment as much as internal combustion cars. When driving such a car, acceleration is much faster than in a typical car because of engine
3. I prefer sound of electric cars, it is friendlier to ear in my opinion. Sometimes when walking down street and being tired, sound of a loud engine from a car can be irritating, with an electric car you don't have it