There are annual contests for engineering students, as well as high school students that can enter their electric car designs that promote the development of this technology. Despite the fact the electric car has been manufactured, and forgotten there is a continuous push for better designs that can utilize battery or solar power to move a vehicle.

Some of the major stumbling blocks in electric car designs have been the size and durability of the batteries while designing a motor capable of producing enough horsepower to move the weight of the vehicle using conventional batteries. Many electric car designs use lead-acid batteries, which are the least expensive, however their ability to hold a charge to make the distance traveled on a single charge has been unfruitful. Other battery types, such as lithium-ion, have a longer lasting charge but are considerably more expensive in a battery large enough to supply the necessary power.

Cars have built smaller and light to remove a lot of the payload begin pushed by an electric motor, requiring less power but a car able to move one person for short distances has lacked consumer appeal. Many are not thrilled with the notion of having to plug their car into an outlet every 60 or even a 100 miles to recharge the batteries.

Charging Systems Have Not Been Successful

Keeping the batteries charged for longer drive times has been an opportunity in electric car designs and friction generators built into the wheel of electric cars do not generate enough power to offset the power used by the electric motor. Placing a generator on a separate gasoline-powered engine makes the vehicle a hybrid and adds additional weight to the vehicle.

Some of the current electric car designs look more like a three-wheeled bicycle with a body surrounding it and do not lend themselves for the commuter. While some of the electric car designs have been applauded during competitions held every two years in Australia, they have not been sufficient to win major approval for mass production. However, battery technology for those in marine use, the so-called deep cycle batteries, are being successfully used in electric car designs.

Having enough power to allow an electric car to travel at normal highway speeds and have sufficient acceleration to make them safe to use on a highway filled with gas or diesel powered engines is at the frontline of the battle for electric car designs. While some of the current crop can accomplish this, the distance they can travel is greatly diminished by their use of power at take off and extended high-speeds.


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