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You've probably heard about electric cars - here's more on them.

The batteries in an electric car are similar to the fuel cells on the previous page in that they use a chemical reaction to generate electricity. However they are not absolute zero emission vehicles. The difference is that the batteries have a life span. Eventually they will need to be replaced. The fuel cells will not. They act almost as catalysts themselves, while the batteries act as reactants. Another disadvantage of the batteries is that they take a long time to charge. Drivers could be sitting at the station for over an hour waiting for their batteries to charge. You could fill a tank of hydrogen in about fifteen minutes. The speeds of electric cars are also limited.

Another problem is that the standard of charging electric cars defers from car to car, much like the battle between VHS and Beta. With the EV1, GM introduced the "inductive charger". The actual charging mechanism is outside of the car with a paddle that extends to the car. Nissan's ALTRA wagon also uses "inductive charging" with the same Magna-charge system as the EV1. The GM ( General Motors) EV1

The Honda EV

Honda's EV+ uses a "conductive charging" where the charging mechanism is onboard the car and you connect a plug from the car to a 220 charge port (like an electric clothes dryer socket - but a different plug). Ford and Toyota have also indicated they'll use conductive charging in their electric cars.

Fortunately, GM and Toyota have recently announced that they will combine their efforts. Both companies will use a modified version of GM's "Magna-Charge" inductive charging system. This may be an industry standard in the works.

Because GM and EV1 came out first there are hundreds of public "inductive chargers" all over Southern California, and not as many conductive ones.

Electric cars, mainly because of their limited range, have limited uses. For long and medium range commuters, the EV (electric vehicles) fall short of the needs of these consumers.

What happened to solar cars?