Wednesday 7 December 2011

Electric cars: now come in desirable?

There seems to be a new breed of electric cars (or at least concepts) that are around at various motor shows at the moment. Instead of looking like a child's car, they are starting to look absolutely amazing- to the point where I really want one. This is a step in the right direction for getting electric cars into the mainstream: not many people would claim to own a G-wiz but I for one would brag about owning something that looks like this.


The example I am particularly thinking of is the BMW i-series. As well as all the clever work that has been done in reducing weight and improving the drivetrain/battery, the design guys have done a fantastic job. The i8 in particular is just jaw-dropping. BMW are not the only ones doing this- the Tesla Roadster was the first to go down this route, and there are many others making electric supercars or just well-designed (aesthetically) electric cars. Obviously the G-wiz and the Tesla (for example) are in different price ranges and for different purposes, but the fact that people are making electric cars that could replace the Ferraris and Lamborghinis on young boys' bedroom walls is a good sign.

Hopefully, when I start looking at getting myself an electric car in a few years, I will have plenty of choice of desirable ones!