Battery Powered Cars: A Hard Cell?

About a year or so ago as the founders of Bedford Skeptics In The Pub were making plans for our first event we hoped that we might be able to attract 20 to 30 people on a regular basis. So it was with quiet satisfaction that 11 months on we found ourselves, and about 110 others, crammed in to The White Horse to hear what Robert Llywellyn had to say about electric vehicles and how how he feels they are inevitably the future of transport.

Robert talked us through a brief history of electric vehicles. As early as 1908 Manhattan had 600 electric taxis and Thomas Edison was a driving force, no pun intended, behind the technology.  However, as time went on and the invention of the starter motor made petrol cars less hazardous to get started, electric vehicles started to lose market share.  Electric vehicle sales peaked in the US in 1912.  Improved road infrastructure made longer journeys possible and electric cars did not have the required range.  They also suffered from lower top speeds making any journeys longer than petrol driven cars.  In addition to this, the discovery of large reserves of petroleum in Texas and California meant that fuel costs fell dramatically. Furthermore, as the mass production of petrol vehicles brought their prices down, the cost of buying electric vehicles was rising.

Electric vehicles were still around as anyone hearing the buzz of a local milk float on an early morning when the majority of milk was still home delivered can attest.  Fork lift trucks were also in most warehouses and factories and still are.  Plus there are three electric vehicles parked on the moon in the shape of the Lunar Rovers.  But the internal combustion engine was king.

Robert explained that the current interest in electric vehicles has its roots in the horrific air pollution suffered by Los Angeles in the 1970s and 80s.  The Californian Air Resources Board (CARB) created legislation which forced motor manufacturers to build zero emission vehicles.  Whilst the management of the car makers grudgingly did this to comply with the law the actual engineers working on the projects were excited by the concept and a new era of electric vehicle technology was born even if actual take up of the vehicles was still low.  In fact, Robert claimed that a possible new era of electric transportation was stymied by the motor vehicles manufacturers and 'Big Oil', he recommended the film 'Who Killed the Electric Car?' to us all.

But Robert's talk wasn't all doom and gloom. He had the audience in stitches with tales of the different approach taken by the US producers when his UK show 'Scrapheap Challenge' made its way across to the States with the new name 'Junkyard Wars'. He also testified to how painful it is to have a tomato shot at your buttock from an electric gun.

Robert addressed the common fears that people have about electric cars, such as low range and no engine noise.  Plus the fact that critics claim that whilst the vehicles are claimed to be emission free the emissions simply come from a power station chimney than the car's own exhaust pipe.

There were doubters in the audience, including a man who owned a Prius hybrid car who remarked that his experience of its fuel efficiency was less than spectacular.  That said, there were several committed electric car owners who waxed lyrical about both the financial and environmental benefits of the cars as well as the better driving experience.

During the intermission Robert showed the assembled crowd his Nissan Leaf parked outside which itself was charging via an extension cable into a plug by the side of the stage.  Whilst across the road cars pulled in to fill up at the local BP petrol station.

As well as the audience there were local journalists and TV crews there to record the evening so keep an eye out for any reports in the press, such as this from the Bedfordshire on Sunday Team.  Our friends at TV Bedfordshire should have a report on their site soon too.

Robert proved to be an engaging and energetic guest with a fabulous array of vocal sound effects and impressions with which he enlivened the evening. 

Speaking to Robert I hear that a nationwide tour is being planned so if you missed him here then you may get another chance soon.



NEXT MONTH: Another top-notch guest when BBC Journalist John Sweeney will be explaining to us why he believes that Scientology is, in fact, a Church of Fear - 7pm Thursday October 17th at The White Horse. You are advised to get there early to nab a seat if this month's turn out is anything to go by.  Full details HERE.