Sep

Chrysler to offer electric cars in 2010

We couldn’t agree with Treehugger’s closing comments on their post about Chrysler’s entry into the electric car market more. They said:

Final Thoughts on Chrysler Electric Cars Prototypes
It’s nice to see Chrysler finally come out with some electric cars and plug-in hybrids. They had some interesting fuel cell projects, but we know that hydrogen won’t make a difference for a long time. Plug-in hybrids are probably the next step, leading to a transition to vehicles with longer and longer electric ranges as batteries improve until we can abandon internal combustion engines all together.

We also loved the pictures that Chrysler released. They’re so nice and new and shiny looking. There’s a jeep, a minivan and a race car.

Isn’t that a perfect demographic spread? So, why are we so, um, underwhelmed?

Perhaps it’s because there are several big and small automakers scrambling to come up with “high performance” electric cars that can accelerate to speeds beyond illegal or practical. Chrsyler’s lineup just seems like a “me too” entry designed to play on the same old speed and looks harp strings and not the real issues an electric power car is suppose to address.

At the same time none of these carmakers are having much luck in developing better batteries to extend the range of the cars. These cars, for example, are still heavily dependent on gasoline. Their electric range is still half that of the Zenn cars at 40 miles.

Perhaps some of our disappointment stems from the timing of this announcement. While not new, we finally set aside the time to watch the vidoe series chronicling one man’s effort to build his own electric car. We think that knocked the socks off Chrysler’s accomplishment. Watch the second video in our “EVs for Everyone” post and tell us you don’t share the tension and excitement when he turned the key on the car he remade himself, for example.

What do you think? Are we being a bit of a reverse snob on this one?

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