By far the most efficient, comfortable and easy on the eyes mode of transport that humanity has ever come up are cars. Although the automobile is nice, it is far from perfect. Actually it is nearly perfect. Over the years, cars went from bulking non aerodynamic messes to the sleek and powerful designs you see today. Every aspect has exponentially improved except one. Basically this futuristic technology is running on ancient grease stored in the ground. And to make matters worse, oil is not an infinite resource, and we are very near to the point when we exhaust all of the oil on our planet.
Being aware of this, auto manufacturers have been struggling for years to make sure that the extinction of oil, will not mean the extinction of the automobile. But usually as far as major companies are concerned, green energy is just a side project, more of a gimmick for a niche audience instead of an entire respectable department. It’s very common to see companies put out good green cars, and after that they release a massive gas guzzler. That’s not caring for the environment, that’s just covering all of your bases.
But there are companies that truly care. In 1995, a company that focuses entirely on green energy for cars has emerged. Their name is BYD, or build your dreams. This China based manufacturer has an influence that reaches the entire world and since their inception, their reputation has gotten better and better. Their manufacturing does not stop at vehicles, seeing as they are one of the most important manufacturers of cell phones, rechargeable batteries, LED lights and electric vehicles.
Basically if it is good for the environment, odds are they made it. Who knows maybe in the future the biggest used car export in the world will be electric cars, and not those using an internal combustion engine.
Why BYD is in the news today is because they are opening a branch of their company in the united states. Not to generalize, but the united states market is a bit biased against electric and hybrid cars. The reason is quite simple and very understandable. When their car companies were first being founded, they basically had a vast continent with nearly limitless oil supplies. So American cars were juggernauts compared to their European counterparts, which were designed to navigate the more compact European streets.
Being used to such behemoths and gas guzzlers, one could understand why hybrids or electrical cars might seem a little underpowered and wimpy. But that’s just something that will change with time, as oil lessens and CO2 emissions rise. In fact , electric models have the potential to be even better than their oil based counterparts. But combustion engines had a century to grow and develop, and electric engines are just at their starting point. If history has taught us anything, it’s that human ingenuity will never stop improving our vehicles.
