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Electric Cars Vs. Gas Cars

Abhijit Naik
With the electric cars versus gasoline cars battle heating up, we decided to run a crosscheck to see where the two concepts stand today if they are pitted against each other.
After a brief stint in late 19th century and early 20th century, electric cars are back in the market with a bang. Their resurfacing can be partly attributed to the fact that gasoline-powered cars have come under the scanner for their tendency to pollute the environment and partly to the rising price of oil over the last few years.
The electric cars in production today do seem a lot better than their predecessors, but are they ready to take on their gasoline counterparts? Do they really stand any chance? The only way to find out, is to carry out a head-to-head comparison of the two.

Electric Cars Vs. Gasoline-powered Cars

The basic difference is the source of power that they use. In gasoline-powered cars, gasoline, which is stored in fuel tanks, is used to power the engine. The engine eventually powers the transmission and this, in turn, rotates the wheels.
On the other hand, electric cars use a set of batteries to power an electronic motor, which, in turn, powers the transmission and rotates the wheels. Electric cars in production today are better than their predecessors.
The fact that electric cars are environment-friendly is perhaps the most important point that you need to take into consideration when you pit them against their gasoline counterparts.
Gasoline cars burn fossil fuels to generate power and thus, contribute to environmental pollution. The atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide―a by-product of internal combustion engine, has increased manifold over the last few years and the rising number of gas-powered cars has an important role to play in this.
Other than this environment friendliness, the fact that you can conveniently charge the set of batteries in the electric car at home itself is again an advantage. On the other hand, you will have to take the trouble of visiting a gas station to refuel your gas-powered vehicle.
Even though electric cars boast of several benefits, there do exist some drawbacks. Among the numerous limitations, their hefty price happens to be one of the most important factors. Owing to high production cost of these vehicles and the additional lithium-ion battery set, the few models that are available in the market are also priced high.
Similarly, the absence of public charging facilities also makes journeys a bit risky. Critics are of the opinion that calling them environment-friendly is not correct, as they are also dependent on electricity, which, in turn, is produced by burning coal. Similarly, the production of batteries that are used in these vehicles comes heavy on the environment.
The cars in production today are much more efficient as compared to those of the yesteryears and there is no questioning the fact that they will continue to become better with time. It wouldn't be surprising to see an electric car which is more efficient and sleeker than the ones in production today some time in the near future.
As for the difference in their cost, government is trying their best to promote the sales of such environment-friendly cars by offering tax rebates, which brings their price down by a significant extent.