Owning An Electric Car: Discover the practicalities of owning and using electric cars for business or leisure - 2010 Edition Book

`Owning an Electric Car' is full of factual, relevant information without the `techno-babble' that all too often takes over the debate about electric cars. Where relevant, the book does explain the different technologies that make up an electric car but only in order to help the reader make an informed decision about owning and using an electric car. The author presents a balanced picture of the environmental impact of electric cars, working through hundreds of research documents, meeting with electricity producers, key people in the nuclear industry, environmental pressure groups, car manufacturers and petro-chemical companies to ascertain the benefits and detriments of different technologies. The author has also carried out some real world tests himself, comparing two electric cars with two comparable combustion engine cars to see how they measure up in terms of environmental performance. While the environmental debate is an important one, it is not the sole reason for choosing an electric car. For many current electric car owners environmental considerations were not a significant reason for buying their car. Scattered through the book, there are a number of very short articles about different businesses and groups that are working in or around the electric vehicle industry. Some of these are examples of companies building electric cars today, or extending the boundaries of the technology; others are working behind the scenes on infrastructure, or enabling the wide scale uptake of electric cars in other ways. These articles are designed to give you an insight into the creation of an exciting new industry and show how electric cars can work in the real world. 'Owning an Electric Car' is the book for anyone who is interested in owning an electric car and who wants to know more about them. If you want to know what an electric car is like to own, use and live with on a day to day basis, this book is for you. The book has taken over three years to research and has been written with input from hundreds of people from all around the world. From Bangalore to Paris, from Los Angeles to London, electric car owners have contributed their opinions and their experiences to help you make an informed choice about electric cars and whether they could be right for you. As well as existing electric car owners, the author has talked to vehicle manufacturers, car designers and electric vehicle infrastructure specialists from around the world to discover the technology that makes up an electric car. The result is this book. By the time you have finished reading it you'll understand what it is like to own, use and live with an electric car on a daily basis. You'll understand the benefits and the drawbacks for electric cars and you will know whether or not an electric car is suitable for you.Read More