Introduction
For our project in Technology & Environment we focused on the topic of Electric Cars. We’ve made some interviews, test drives and a short video clip. Our goal was to find out how an Electric Car works and figure out the advantages and disadvantages. Furthermore we wanted to collect experience for ourselves with a test drive.
Below you will find an interview with the owner of an Electric Car. This conversation is about the pros and cons of such a vehicle.
Interview
Profile of the owner: He is 22 years old, uses the car to go to work and also in his leisure and owns it for about 3 years now. He drives a Twizy.
Q1: Is it easy to find a charging station?
No, it’s really difficult
Q2: Are there big differences between a normal car and an electric one?
Yes, there are some differences
Q3: The most positive thing about it so far?
Cost efficiency, fuel efficiency, low maintenance, fun to drive
Q4: Would you still buy one? Why or why not?
Yes
Pretty satisfied. Perfect alternative for driving to work
Q5: Do you think you’re doing something good for our environment?
Yes
Q6: Main reason why you bought or rent an electric car?
Environmental thinking, cost reduction compared to petrol car
Q7: Are you satisfied with the price-performance ratio? What could be better?
Yes
Battery life is still limited for cheaper cars. Only Tesla offers a huge range, but again the Tesla is way to heavy. An electric car needs to be small, light and not seen as a normal car.
Q8: How do you see the future for electric cars?
We need to rethink mobility. It is clearly not the solution to simply replace petrol with electricity. Look at the Twizy: that’s a hint to where we are, or at least should be going to in the future. To be efficient, the electric car has to be small and light. We can’t just “burn” as much electricity in a car and think it is environmentally positive just because it’s electric. Also we need to consider the production of electric energy. Electric cars are a good think, but only as long as they are driven by renewable energy!
Test Drive
After the interview we have made an appointment with an owner of an Electric Car for a test drive:
To see how an Electric Car is being charged we have made a few photos which you will find in the photo gallery at the end of this post.
Survey
Furthermore we have made an online survey for everybody.
In Conclusion
The electric cars make sense in any case, for short distances. After you have bought it, you don’t have high fuel costs like an ordinary car does and this saves a lot of money.
A disadvantage is, however, that the production of electric cars is not as environmentally friendly as the final product. There is a large amount of CO2 exhaust gases, which stands in complete contrast to the product. Additionally, it would not be advantageous if each person would have an electric car, because how should we minimize the number of nuclear power plants then? (There might be smart alternatives, see Q11 – Substitution of nuclear energy)
For more Information about the power and technical details of an electric car, please follow this link: Q70 – Electric Car’s Power
Finally, it is not yet a fully mature thing you can stand behind 100 percent. But we’ll see how it’s going to be evolved. Perhaps there will be discovered an even more appropriate solution to protect our environment.
Team Q50: Jean-Luc
Featured Image: motorkultur.com
Everything (all pictures except heading picture, text, interview ) we have posted on our Website is made by our own.
☷ See the project teams here »
☵ Some words about the contributions »
Den Elektroautos – oder den \”Nichtbenzinverpuffern\” gehört m. E. die Zukunft. Die Holländer und Norweger machen schon mal Ernst damit! Ab 2025 werden nur noch Elektroautos zugelassen:
http://www.golem.de/news/elektromobilitaet-die-niederlande-wollen-verbrennungsmotoren-verbieten-1604-120380.html
Finde ich & und mutig, solche Pläne für die Zukunft wünschte ich mir vermehrt auch bei uns in der Schweiz!
Hi Q50-team!
I like the fact that you have put on so many pictures, it simplified it a lot to understand what is necessary to charge an electric car. I never really knew a lot about electric cars, but your project has shown me the basics of how they are working and it helped to imagine what it would be like to own one by myself.
I\’m glad you found an owner of such a vehicle 🙂
Just a tip: I now know how this person feels about driving such a car, but I\’d also like to see how other owners are feeling about it. Could be shown with a little online survey for example.
Dear Robin,
Thank your for your comment.
That\’s a good thought. We have noticed it and we will look how we could implement your idea because we didn\’t know already where we will find other owners of an electric car.
Dear Team Q50
I find your topic very interesting. You have highlighted some useful and controversial points that make your topic a great discussion in a classroom setting. I am shocked to find out that the production of the electric car is bad for the environment, especially when the car sells with the headline of an \”environmentally friendly car\”.
My family and I own an electric car and your project has given me much more insight about how other owners think. As we have only had our electric car for a few months, I wonder how much money one saves annually by owning one and if it\’s worth it.
In my opinion, I would have liked more statistics and numbers explaining more details about the car such as the expenses, number of electric cars that exist in the world, as well as a clearer comparison of the average car versus the electrical one. I agree with Mara that a graph would have suited well for this part. Maybe this following website demonstrates the comparison well; https://www.masterresource.org/electric-vehicles/energy-usage-cost-gasoline-vs-electric/
In conclusion, I think you did a great job on your project!
Sincerely,
Corinne Kälin
Hi Corinne,
Thank you for your opinion and the helpful link.
We will analyze the graphs accurately and maybe embed in our project.
Dear Team Q50
I really like your work. It is very informative about using a electric car and all the work which is behind. I never have driven a electric car but due to your work I can imaginate it much better. Well done!
I think it would be a alternative car for someone who lives in a city and want to save money. Thanks for the informative conclusion.
Kind regards Rafael Gallardo
Dear Team Q50
I think it is great that you have done an interview with someone who already has an electric car. Another point is that the pictures make it more interesting and they are also good elected.
As you mentioned, it doesn\’t make much sense if they won\’t use renewable energy to charge the car. So that\’s one reason i wouldn\’t buy an electric car. I think it\’s a good point, that this sector isn\’t fully developed. We will see how this sector will change.
I for myself would have found it usefull if you would have done a graph, which shows exactly how much fuel and money you would save by buying an electric car.
Overall, I think your topis is great for our website.
Kind regards, Mara Furrer
Thank you for your comment Mara.
A graph, which shows exactly how much fuel and money you would save by buying an electric car is a great idea, but it is really difficult to find datas because the whole topic is still very immature.
Hallo zusammen
Euer Projekt finde ich sehr interessant, da sich meiner Meinung nach nicht viele mit diesem Thema beschäftigen. Super ist es auch, dass ihr ein Interview gemacht habt. Das macht das Projekt lebendiger und spannender für Aussenstehende.
Die Bilder finde ich auch toll, die machen das Ganze anschaulicher. Leider blendet bei manchen das Licht im Hintergrund, was ein wenig schade ist. Ansonsten finde ich es sehr interessant.
Ronja Wigger, VZA