Thursday, 28 March 2024

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Packaging Electric Cars

Packaging cars is more than just the shipping and making of the car process. Packaging can range from many different ideas, including how the car itself is built, how it is shaped, and how things are made. Cars come in different shapes and sizes and different style depending on the main purpose of the vehicle.

Electric cars, as seen in the picture above, are one of the cars that are very different in the making and design of the car. The first successful electric car in the United States was in 1890 according to the Department of Energy. An electric car is defined by what makes it run and operate, which is electricity. The electric car has two main parts in it that make it electric, which are an electric motor and a battery that is larger than a battery in a standard gasoline-powered car. The first car that ran off electricity usually ran at about 14 miles per hour (Department of Energy). Even though this was a very slow beginning for the electric car, people started to become more curious about it. This caused more and more people to start researching electricity and what could be done to power a moving vehicle.

Many companies are trying to make and manufacture more electric cars. In the 1990s, some started seeing issues with the environment due to the gasoline-powered cars. This encouraged even more development for the electric cars. Companies want electric cars that could run as well as the gasoline-powered cars. According to the Department of Energy, GM’s EV1, was one of the most well-known electric cars at the time and it was also in a 2006 documentary called Who Killed the Electric Car? It was not very successful because of the high production costs.

Modern-day electric car that is affordable.

In the 2000s, many more cars have been made and companies like Tesla and Toyota have been working to create a product better than the average gasoline-powered car. In the early 2000s, Nissan and Chevy came out with electric cars to match everyone else. These cars have been on the market for about 10-15 years and results are already appearing. A company by the name of Tesla began making electric sports cars. This company received a loan from the Department of Energy to fund the cars they are building. These Tesla cars can go more than 200 miles on a single charge. In 2010, the Chevy Volt and the Nissan Leaf were both released. The Nissan Leaf is an all-electric car and the Chevy Volt is a plug-in hybrid. Electric cars are starting to be used more and more today because the cost of this kind of powered car is becoming more affordable.

Many of the electric cars now can be broken down into different categories. The different categories of electric cars are hybrid, plug-in, and all-electric cars. These cars are cheaper than running and sustaining an all gasoline-powered vehicle (Hamilton). The hybrid uses a combination of both an engine and an electric motor. In these types of cars either one could be the main source of the engine. This is the same way with the plug-in hybrids. The all-electric cars are completely electric and run strictly off the electricity produced.

When packaging electric cars, their parts are cheaper to make. Not only has the electric vehicle now become cheaper, but it has also become more popular and beneficial than the gasoline-powered vehicle. The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga College of Engineering and Computer Science says many benefits come from electric cars. Some of these benefits are that they have no fuel odour, are less quiet, and are lighter. Electric cars do not have a fuel odour because they solely run off electricity. They are also lighter because they do not require as many parts to start and run like a gasoline-powered vehicle. An electric car’s brakes last longer because there is not as much wear on the brakes due to a kinetic energy process that it uses.

The electric car has only one moving part, which is the motor. The motor is the only thing moving so rapidly that is allowing the maintenance to be less frequent and cheaper to pay for. The electric car also does not need to worry about breaking parts under the hood because there are not as many parts. Due to not having as many parts makes the vehicle light thus making the vehicle easier to move when power is applied. This helps cut back on the power that is being used as the gas is being pressed. The brakes also regenerate themselves (UTC). This makes the vehicle more popular and easier to afford due to not having to worry about the car breaking as much.

The packaging is very different among cars. The internal layout of the hood of a car can vary due to what kind of manufacturer produced it. More and more are using the trunk for the engine and battery now. This is the case because the battery is very heavy. The battery is also very large and needs more space than the front of the car can provide. This, however, depends on how large of a battery it is. The other reason for this is that there is no more gas tank. Packaging varies depending on the car and what type of car it is. Electric cars are a kind of car that is very unique and different from regular cars.

References

"Benefits and Considerations of Electricity as a Vehicle Fuel." Alternative Fuels Data Center:

Benefits and Considerations of Electricity as a Vehicle Fuel. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Feb. 2017.

"All-Electric Vehicles." Fuel Economy. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Feb. 2017.

"The History of the Electric Car." Energy.gov. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Feb. 2017.

Hamilton, James. "Brief History of Electric Vehicles." U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S.

Bureau of Labor Statistics, n.d. Web. 7 Feb. 2017.

"Learn About Green Vehicles." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, 25 Mar. 2016. Web. 7 Feb. 2017.

"Gasoline vs. Electric Cars: Energy Usage and Cost." Master Resource. N.p., 09 Feb. 2015. Web. 12 Feb. 2017.

"Electric Vehicles." Union of Concerned Scientists. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2017.

"How Do Gasoline & Electric Vehicles Compare?" Avt.inl.gov. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2017

"Vehicle Technologies Office: Plug-In Electric Vehicles and Batteries." Vehicle Technologies

Office: Plug-In Electric Vehicles and Batteries | Department of Energy. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2017.

"Electric Vehicles." Electric Vehicles. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2017.

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