Cars like electric engines

The Wankel engine for cars was a rotary engine. This was an effort to move away from the reciprocating piston engine to pure rotation. It never really succeeded and we don't see many wankel engine cars on roads.

Electric motors are the first successful rotary engine in cars.

This is great news.

The problem is that a pistons in a reciprocating engine move in straight lines. To convert this to rotation we have to have a piston rod and a crankshaft. This has always been the weakest part of the engine.

The minimum to maximum speed range of reciprocating engines also is not enough. So we have to insert a gear box which expands the speed range by having different gear arrangements. And to change gears a clutch which disconnects the drive from the engine to the wheels to facilitate gear change.

An electric motor on the other hand has a high speed range. So most electric cars have just one gear ratio!

This is why cars like electric motors as engines.

Electric motors are just right for driving a car and make it much more simpler to design and have much fewer parts.

If only we were able to charge a car as fast as we fill up its gasoline tank.

This is the challenge which is delaying the shift from reciprocating engines to electric motor engines.

(Also see my blog posts My take on the future of EVs, Move towards electric vehicles and

Incentives and infrastructure for Electric Vehicles)