Maybe you don’t know that there are more than 287.3 million cars in the U.S. as of 2020 and there are 38% more cars on the streets of the United States today than in 1991. More than 900 Americans out of every 1,000 Americans own cars. With the development of technology, the price of cars has been greatly reduced and more Americans have been able to afford a car. The increase in the number of motor vehicles has improved our quality of life, but at the same time, the sharp increase in exhaust emissions has caused a serious threat to our environment. Greenhouse gas emissions from automobile exhaust account for 30% of total carbon emissions in the US. This ratio is the highest in the world. For many years scientists have been committed to researching the application of clean fuels to run cars instead of our traditional gasoline or diesel. Clean fuels considered include compressed natural gas (CNG) or renewable natural gas (RNG). Perhaps few people know that most of the buses we see on the streets of New York City everyday use CNG or RNG technologies. President of MTA Mr. Cipriano said that switching MTA buses to fueling with RNG is reducing harmful greenhouse gas by 40,000 tons per year, the equivalent of taking 5,000 cars off the road. It is undeniable that cleaner energy sources will greatly reduce the air pollution problem and lessen greenhouse gases, thereby directly slowing down climate change. But due to the gas mileage, supporting facilities, and safety reasons, widespread use of natural gas vehicles has become difficult in the United States, most importantly: natural gas still leads to pollution and cannot completely solve the ecological damage caused by the chemical composition of automobile exhaust. This deadlock was broken in the 21st century. Electric energy was used by scientists and engineers to drive motor vehicles, it allowed the car to achieve zero emissions for the first time.
Whether it is cleanliness or convenience, electricity has great advantages which makes electricity most likely to replace traditional fuel for motor vehicles. Although compared to traditional gasoline or diesel vehicles, the cost of electric vehicles is often higher at the first purchase, but there are many advantages of electric vehicles over traditional gasoline or diesel vehicles. One of the most important points is that the driving cost of electric vehicles is lower than a fuel vehicle. From the principle and mechanical structure of electric vehicles, we can see that electric vehicles do not have a powertrain with an engine and a gearbox. Therefore, when doing maintenance, electric vehicles do not need to replace spark plugs, oil filters, etc. So, it is clear, the maintenance cost of electric vehicles is lower than that of fuel vehicles. Another plus is that compared with unstable gas prices, electricity prices are much more stable. Long-term ownership of an electric car will also save the owner a lot of money on fuel. In addition, the driving comfort of electric vehicles is better than that of fuel vehicles because of the working characteristics of these two engines. The traditional fuel engine outputs power by converting the linear reciprocating motion of the piston into the rotational motion of the crankshaft. Because of the non-linear power output frustration and noise are inevitable. But for electric vehicles, most of the electrical energy can be converted into mechanical energy, so the power output is linear, and because there is no oil and gas explosion, the noise and vibration of electric vehicles are much less than that of traditional fuel vehicles.
Outside of these, in terms of the policy, federal,state and local governments have provided electric vehicle owners with a lot of conveniences. For example, all-electric and plug-in hybrid cars purchased in or after 2010 may be eligible for a federal income tax credit of up to $7,500. And for the state of Georgia state government will rebate up to $250 for Charger Install. Also, Electric vehicle owners can drive on many toll roads for free for example according to the announcement on the Peach Pass website: “Alternative Fuel Vehicles (AFV) with the proper AFV license plate (does not include hybrid vehicles) can use the I-85 Express Lanes toll-free.” So, it is clear whether it is a maintenance cost, comfort, or policy, it is better than fuel vehicles.
Obviously, the development of electric vehicles is still in its infancy; we still have a long way to go to transition to zero emissions. Also, we still lack the technology that can provide trucks with powerful torque and batteries on a long-range. That’s why we haven’t seen an electric truck. The voltage of 110v means that many cars need to be charged for more than ten hours, which has become a nightmare for many electric car owners. At the same time, the lack of public charging stations severely limits the range of activities of electric vehicles. The popularization of electric vehicles requires government support and the efforts of scientists and engineers, as well as the support of our citizens. It is clear from an objective perspective that it is difficult for electric vehicles to became widespread in the United States in a short time.
Back to the topic: Should you buy an electric Vehicle in 2021？Obviously the answer is different for everyone. But there is one thing I need to mention: you need to do a lot of research before you buy an electric car, and the bottom line is not to let electric cars become your burden. If you have electric vehicle usage conditions, please give priority to electric vehicles because they will not only bring you a better driving experience, but also reduce carbon emissions, slow down climate change. If you don’t have the conditions for electric vehicles, please don’t force yourself to buy one because we can use other methods to reduce carbon emissions, slow down climate change, such as buy a hybrid vehicle, a small-displacement vehicle, or a flex-fuel vehicle.
Citation:
Gilbert, N., 2020. The Number of Cars in the US in 2020/2021: Market Share, Distribution, and Trends – Financesonline.com. [online] Financesonline.com. Available at: <https://financesonline.com/number-of-cars-in-the-us/> [Accessed 4 February 2021].
Statista. 2021. Number of cars in U.S. | Statista. [online] Available at: <https://www.statista.com/statistics/183505/number-of-vehicles-in-the-united-states-since-1990/> [Accessed 4 February 2021].
Energy, C., 2020. Clean Energy to provide renewable natural gas for New York MTA buses. [online] Mass Transit. Available at: <https://www.masstransitmag.com/bus/vehicles/gas-diesel-cng-lng/press-release/21153050/clean-energy-clean-energy-to-provide-renewable-natural-gas-for-new-york-mta-buses> [Accessed 4 February 2021].
Clean Energy Fuels. 2020. Clean Energy’s Redeem™ RNG Hailed as a Win-Win for the NY MTA and the Environment – Clean Energy Fuels. [online] Available at: <https://www.cleanenergyfuels.com/blog/clean-energys-redeem-rng-hailed-as-a-win-win-for-the-ny-mta-and-the-environment> [Accessed 4 February 2021].
Pressman, M., 2017. These U.S. cities and states are embracing electric vehicles. [online] EVANNEX Aftermarket Tesla Accessories. Available at: <https://evannex.com/blogs/news/tesla-town-these-u-s-cities-are-embracing-electric-vehicles> [Accessed 4 February 2021].
Yongle Li., 2019. What is the principle of a car engine?. YOUTUBE.COM. Available at:
< https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbzjqLLQINI> [Accessed 4 February 2021].
