Our Dreary Electric Future: The Skinny With Craig Cole
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Electric power offers many, many benefits over internal combustion.
Battery-operated vehicles generally require less maintenance, offer instant torque and are appreciably quieter, all while being cleaner to operate, so long as the electricity used to power them isn’t generated by burning heaps of used tires. The only real downsides to EVs are their lengthy charge times, limited range and higher initial cost, but you can bet engineers are hard at work addressing these issues.
SEE ALSO: Just Offer me a Damn Manual Transmission!
However, there is one other downside that should have enthusiasts worried. It has nothing to do with recyclability or crash performance, styling or amenities — it’s character that’s got me concerned. What’s it going to be like when most vehicles are electrically driven? It sounds like the bleak dystopian future laid out in some post-apocalyptic action movie.
How boring is it going to be for gearheads when every vehicle whirrs along like a golf cart or mobility scooter. Whether you’re driving a luxury sedan or a commercial van, their powertrains are going to feel pretty much the same, and to me, that sucks! Plus, when everything goes electric, the manual transmission will truly be dead, gone like Abe Lincoln or Laika the space dog.
For more of my thoughts on this topic, make sure to watch the embedded video above. Am I off my rocker about all this, or will automakers really be able to differentiate electric cars and make them interesting? Good or bad, let us know in the comments down below.
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Born and raised in metro Detroit, Craig was steeped in mechanics from childhood. He feels as much at home with a wrench or welding gun in his hand as he does behind the wheel or in front of a camera. Putting his Bachelor's Degree in Journalism to good use, he's always pumping out videos, reviews, and features for AutoGuide.com. When the workday is over, he can be found out driving his fully restored 1936 Ford V8 sedan. Craig has covered the automotive industry full time for more than 10 years and is a member of the Automotive Press Association (APA) and Midwest Automotive Media Association (MAMA).
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There's a quite a character difference between a MItsubishi iMiev and a Tesla Model S. We'll probably never see a manual transmission in EVs. It'd be very retro arcade to have a 2 speed transmission for an EV with just low and high. It will be easier to have RWD(even the Smart and iMiev are RWD) and AWD because the EV motors are lighter and smaller.
video didn't work for me either :*(