Reply #11: You could carry a horse on top of the car [View All]

[bherrera]

And use the horse to pull your car back to the barn. Seriously speaking, I am an engineer and i work on the public transport system for Alicante, Spain. The use of electric cars with batteries is not sensible at this time, because the batteries use lithium, and there is a limited supply of this material. Therefore this is a niche application for individuals who wish to feel good.

The most efficient system is the light rail using aerodynamic trams, such as the one we have, with the lines able to trigger green traffic lights as the tram moves along the tracks. This gives the tram rider a very fast transportation means. For individual vehicles, the most practical solution now is the 5 or 6 speed manual transmission fuel injected diesel engine. A second practical alternative is the hybrid vehicle with a large battery pack, which can be lithium to make it more compact. These all electric vehicles have limited range, and are not sustainable due to the lithium supply problem.