Whats Next?

A common question asked in the automotive world is "whats next" this refers to what will happen when all the gasoline is gone. It is going to happen, I am 24 years old and am hoping against hope that it doesn't happen in my lifetime (however it probably will). There are many options for what happens after the gas is gone, Diesel could become the main means of fuel (I don't see it happening though), there is always bio fuel made from corn and what not (we would have to grow a shitload of corn though! and we seem to be having this slight problem of city expansion taking away farm land, so that's kind of out), major manufacturers seem to be betting all of their marbles on electric power. There are even company's specifically devoted to creating electric cars that compete with and are in my opinion better than their gas counterparts. 

http://elonmusk.com/

One such company is Tesla Motors, founded by a man who I consider to be a god among men Elon Musk. This guy makes normal humans feel inadequate, He is under 50 and his strategy in life was to change the three main driving forces (as he see's them, The internet, space exploration and the automobile) in the world forever so what does he do. He founds Paypal, he gets bored of that so he founds Space X, a company which can take rich people into space, he gets bored of that and decides to change the automotive industry forever by founding Tesla Motors. which made the Tesla Roadster, the first truly desirable electric car. Than the company produces what I think to be the most gorgeous and most advanced sedan (maybe vehicle) on the market, the Tesla model S

http://mediamatters.org/blog/2013/05/30/fox-reporter-conjures-mystery-numbers-for-new-t/194273

This car is The best electric option available today. It can beat a Dodge Viper in the quarter mile, It can go over 300 miles on a charge, Oh and it's DROP DEAD GORGEOUS, It also outsold all of it's gas competitors in the first quarter of 2013

Top five luxury cars, first quarter 2013

1. Tesla Model S, 4,750 US sales January-March (estimated)
2. Mercedes-Benz S-Class, 3,077
3. Lexus LS, 2,860
4. BMW 7 Series, 2,338
5. Audi A8, 1,462

   http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/155897-tesla-model-s-is-now-the-best-selling-luxury-car-with-an-asterisk

That's an impressive feat for a company that produces only electric models. Now don't get me wrong I love this car and this company but this post is not about praising the electric vehicle NO! or writing a biography of Tesla Motors. I actually (as much as I want a Model S) hate the idea of electric cars taking over. 

There is one MAJOR flaw with an electric car, you guessed it the battery. Yes they take along time to charge (I heard a rumor that Tesla has found a way to swap battery's in 90 secobds but don't quote me on that). Tesla has also created a way to half charge the car in half an hour without harming the battery. The charging time however is not the fundamental problem. It's something that not many people have not realized or at least written about, the problem is that unlike an internal combustion engine which can be fixed and can basically run forever if treated properly (there is a Volvo P1600 that is about to top 3 million clicks). Once a battery conks out completely it can't exactly be repaired.

http://autos.aol.com/article/three-million-mile-volvo-still-running-after-47-years/.

An electric car runs off of a battery (or many little wee battery's in the case of the Model S) which eventually will need to be replaced. Now this isn't like dropping into you're local auto shop and swapping out a timing belt, this is very expensive major surgery. A battery of this magnitude can run anywhere from 14 to 50 thousand dollars plus (approximately depending on the car) and I don't know I thought people bought electric cars to save money. If you buy an electric car what are the odds of you saving up the money to buy a new battery when the old one craps out, If that were the case what is the point of buying the car in the first place. Now to give Tesla credit they do offer a minimum 8 year battery warranty but what happens if the battery dies at say 9 years, you're screwed and I'm guessing you go buy a new car.

Which brings me to my second point. If the electric car takes over, the collector car market will cease to exist for the simple fact that when the battery dies it is unlikely anyone will pay to replace it, So the car is garbage. This in turn will cause a massive influx of scrap cars which we will need to find something to do with. There are two options I can see.

1. we find places to put them I.E. scrap yards (which I already mentioned we don't have space for when I said we don't have space for farms to grow bio-fuel)
  
2. We recycle and/or melt them down which will cause a large increase in pollution. Which just so happens to be exactly what we are trying to avoid in the first place.

To sum all that up, basically I don't see electric vehicles taking over completely from gas anytime soon for the simple fact that an electric vehicle cannot be sustained like an internal combustion engine, the most I can see the E car doing is slotting in where diesel is now, as a possible second option when looking at a new car.

This isn't to say there are no other options and we are all doomed, I read that Volkswagen is working on a fleet of Audi A3's that run on natural gas, which is plentiful. 
http://www.thestarphoenix.com/life/Preview+Audi+tron+tron+powertrains/8487924/story.html

There is also a  company creating bio-fuel from algae that is comparable to gasoline apparently.
 http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-35040_162-57592375/powering-the-future-will-algae-fuel-your-next-car/ 

I stand by the fact that Tesla Motors is an amazing company and Elon Musk is an amazing man but I think that he may be going down a path that won't end well. I am stating right now that Electricity will NOT take over from gasoline unless they can find a way to make a battery that never needs to be replaced. 

Although the Tesla Model S is still super badass!