The only drawback to electric vehicles is the limited range, which has been addressed by the hybreds. There is an alternative to the problem of recharging that seems to have been overlooked. Remember bumper cars? They were electric vehicles powered by conductors that made contact both under and over the car. That way nobody got a shock when they climbed out of the car.

Suppose you owned an electric car with batteries sufficient for 100 miles of travel. You could recharge the car at home if you never went more than 50 miles away. However, suppose you could recharge the car from a grid in the roadway while you drove. You could drive as long as you wished without having to shut down to recharge.

You could buy energy from the company supplying the power, perhaps receiving a card (like a gift card) with the energy credit on it. Insert the card into a slot on the dash (like so many gas pumps now), and it sets an electric meter (like the one at home) so that it will accept a charge from the grid. When the energy credits are used up the meter shuts down and you areleft with fully charged batteries. So you have about 100 miles to replenish the card and hence the meter.

These recharging grids needn't be everywhere, just the main arteries should suffice. Even the Interstates needn't require a continuous grid, each city could regulate its own power supply to the grid and charge whatever it wanted.

The revenue generated by the sale of the power would go to the companies supplying the power. The power grids would be similar to toll roads in the sense that the grid would be maintained by the power provider rather than the taxpayer.

What do you think of this idea or comment?
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