How Will We Motor When Oil Is No More?

[Latrade]

I remember people saying this sort of thing when mobile phones were run of batteries the size of suitcases and could only be used for short periods of time between recharging. Apply a similar rate of development to electric cars and within 20 years you'd be able to drive for 1,000s miles at speeds faster than a formula 1 car on one recharge of a battery the size and weight of a pound of butter.

True enough, same with computers. The rapid rate of development was driven by the demand and success of the product. As there's little demand/supply of electric cars, there's been little incentive for R&D. Once there's a market, competition will drive through the R&D as manufacturers try to outdo each other on longevity, weight and disposal of batteries and power.