The electric car is certainly enjoying a surge in popularity. Nov. 19 and 20, Nissan and Chevrolet are previewing new electric car models in San Diego, according to the San Diego News Network.  

One can already go online to purchase an Alias, a three-wheeled electric car from the ZAP Company. Tesla’s Roadster Sport will begin shipping in July 2009, according to their Web site.

However, even as these new electric cars hit the market, there are still problems  with them that need to be addressed. Many electric cars are expensive, and there need to be more models produced by companies. Private corporations and the federal government have to start spending more to get this kind of technology fully integrated into the modern world. Oil won’t last forever, after all.

Tesla’s Roadster has a base price of $101,500, which includes a $7,500 federal tax credit for battery-powered cars. The tax credit is helpful, but it does little to take the sting out of the Roadster’s hefty price tag. ZAP’s odd little electric car, the Alias, is going for $35,000, but its three-wheel design is probably not something that’s going to catch on in the U.S. any time soon.

If the federal government truly wanted to support electric car production and sales, there would be a much more robust tax credit system in place. Fully electric cars are expensive and out of reach to lower income groups who drive much of the time when possible—groups such as college students. Allowing students, working-class families and others who can not afford a Roadster or hybrid Prius to have easy access to electric vehicles will cut down on greenhouse gas emissions across the country.

More companies need to start manufacturing electric cars. Nissan, Chevy, Tesla and others are progressive in this area, but other major companies such as Toyota and Ford need to jump on the electric bandwagon. Manufacturing hybrid cars is a temporary measure. They still emit greenhouse gases and use gasoline. Even if the whole world starts driving hybrid cars and only hybrid cars, we will run out of gas. It will just take longer. Widespread manufacture of zero-emission vehicles, like electric cars, is a must.

Electric cars are certainly not perfect. Their battery lives give them a limited range before they have to recharge, custom in-home installations of the car charger might be necessary and they are still expensive to the average consumer.

However, if the United States is serious about protecting the environment and finding alternatives to oil, it needs to spend more on research for electric cars and subsidize companies who are pursuing this type of vehicle. One day the world will be without oil. It’s better to be prepared for that future now rather than watch the doomsday clock tick down to midnight.

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