Just about every single sign is pointing to the electric car revolution, which started a little while ago and is currently in full force, sweeping in and stealing sales from gasoline-powered cars and generating a lot of hype.
Despite the inevitability of electric cars, they're still not entirely embraced by everyone, and certainly not by quite a lot of car enthusiasts. Even though nothing beats the smell of gasoline and the rumble of a good engine, electric cars offer up quite a few benefits when compared to ICE-powered cars, and these alone make them worth getting excited about. Not to mention, some EVs are just drop-dead gorgeous. Luckily, it seems many automotive enthusiasts are also embracing the electric car and EV converted classics might be the hot rods of the future.
10 Saving The Environment
This is arguably the most important aspect of electric cars; they have absolutely no tailpipe emissions. In a lot of ways, global warming and pollution are absolutely wreaking havoc on our planet, and a big contributing factor to that are the emissions coming out of gasoline cars.
As electric cars don't use gasoline and don't have exhaust pipes, they don't emit anything, making them a lot kinder to the environment. If electric vehicles become as common on the roads in the coming years as the experts predict, our carbon footprint will be significantly decreased, especially with worldwide governments tightening regulations seemingly by the minute.
9 Minimalist Designs
One of the most important factors that have a say in the range an electric vehicle can achieve is aerodynamics. The airflow over the car must be optimized perfectly to maximize the number of miles the driver can travel on a single electric charge.
The need for stellar aerodynamics combined with the lack of grilles (in most cases) in the front results in very clean overall designs, which has led to quite a few very good-looking electric cars, like the Tesla Model 3 and the Lucid Air, among others.
8 Cool Niche Vehicles
The fact that the car is electric makes it appealing enough to a lot of consumers, which means that automakers are allowed some freedom to produce niche models. This is evident in cars like the newly revealed Alpha Ace, which teams an awesome retro exterior with futuristic tech and a BEV powertrain.
Alongside cars like the Ace, VW is using its all-new MEB dedicated EV platform to bring back the iconic Bus. The concept car named I.D. Buzz, is a very faithful tribute to the original Kombi, combined with some modern and futuristic elements.
7 Breakneck Acceleration
One of the most talked-about characteristics of electric cars is their intoxicating acceleration. As the electric motor produces all of its torque the moment the accelerator pedal is floored, it's extremely entertaining to do acceleration pulls in an electric car.
Some new electric cars have had truly mind-boggling acceleration, such as the Porsche Taycan Turbo S, which accelerates from 0-60 mph in 2.7 seconds, making it faster than some supercars. The Aspark Owl, though still in the prototype stages, has a claimed 0-60 time of 1.6 seconds. Even if the EV in question isn't a performance car, it can still accelerate faster than most other normal gas-powered cars.
6 A Tech Showcase
Electric vehicles and batteries on their own are pretty high-tech, so it's only right that automakers use their battery-powered models as a way to showcase all sorts of new and exciting pieces of tech. Tesla is certainly the most notable example of this, with features like Sentry Mode, Dog Mode, Tesla Arcade, and many others.
Other makers like NIO are taking the tech showcase approach a bit differently, with an artificially intelligent assistant named Nomi stuck on the dashboard, that can help you out with a variety of different things during your drive. As well as technology for the driver to interact with, every new EV seems to have a new and creative way of harnessing its power and the way it handles its electric juice.
5 Cheap Running Costs
This is an obvious one, and it's one of the main reasons why electric cars are currently thriving and will continue to thrive; the running costs are very, very cheap. Routine maintenance is very different from gas-powered cars, as electric motors only have one moving part.
Batteries are replaced under their own separate warranty, and although it depends on the charge port and the charge time, charging an electric car is also very cheap. What's more, there are plenty of services offering free charging through membership programs. While you might pay more to buy an EV in the first place, running it will be a lot cheaper.
4 Charging Tech
Obviously, one of the most important things about electric cars is charging. When EVs first started appearing, charge times were pretty long, and there were quite a few concerns about range anxiety and some cars' charge times being way too long.
But, nowadays, charging is a completely different story. Pretty much every new EV has fast charging capabilities, with brands like Tesla having their own proprietary "superchargers." There are also plenty of publicly accessible fast chargers, that can provide a full tank of juice in a very short time, sometimes even 20 minutes.
3 Converting Classics To EVs
When it comes to tailpipe emissions, classic cars have a pretty bad smoking habit, especially if they're diesel-powered. To combat this and to keep more classics on the road, a few companies have popped up that provide full EV conversions to some classic cars.
Chevrolet themselves made an electric K5 Blazer for example, with their own electric "crate" motor. More OEMs have also joined in on the fun, including VW, who made their own electric Type 2 Bus. If the Beetle is more your thing, there's also a full electric conversion for that as well.
2 Reviving Old Models
Even though a lot of enthusiasts are dismayed at automakers refusing to bring back some of their most iconic models, they need not despair. Due to EVs being so appealing to consumers, automakers can revive their old iconic models as battery-powered machines.
Audi, for example, has expressed interest in bringing back the TT as an EV at some point in the future, and even Volkswagen muttered about bringing back the iconic Scirocco as a sporty electric coupe, though the latter abandoned its plans shortly thereafter. There are tons of opportunities for automakers to bring back historic models as electric cars, but one can only hope.
1 Home Charging
If public charge stations aren't really your thing, then there's always the option to install a home charger. A lot of automakers offer them right out of the box when the car is purchased, but some of these can take several hours to charge your car.
Fortunately, more and more third-party companies seem to be popping up, which allows better solutions to this predicament. With the technology only going forward and not slowing down, it's only a matter of time before we can have full-on, proper fast chargers in the garage, ready and waiting.