Autotopia, Wired (September 15, 2009)
"Mission Motors has always said its electric superbike would do 150 mph and it appears to have fulfilled that promise with a record-setting run at the Bonneville salt flats.
"Company product manager and test rider Jeremy Cleland set an unofficial record for electric motorcycles when he averaged 150.059 mph during back-to-back runs of one mile each at Bonneville Speedway west of Salt Lake City. The runs, which followed an earlier dash at a claimed 161 mph, came during the BUB Motorcycle Speed Trials sponsored by the American Motorcyclist Association. The AMA hasn't ratified Cleland's speed yet, but Mission says it's legit...."
Electric cars - and motorcycles - have been talked about for decades. And, we've had production models for over a hundred years. I remember the sixties, when they were touted as enviro-friendly, Earth-safe, socially conscious, relevant vehicles that everybody should use.
Just one problem.
Until recently, most were - to be polite about it - wimpy. Acceleration zero-to-sixty couldn't be measured, since they couldn't go that fast. By and large. In 1899, the "La Jamais Contente" set a world record for land speed - 68 mph - but that's another story. And, a highly specialized vehicle.
Stock electric cars were more along the lines of the 1902 Wood's Phaeton. It could hit a top speed of 14 miles an hour, and go 18 miles without a recharge. And, it cost only $2,000 - in 1902. That's upwards of $50,000 in 2008 dollars. Woods came out with a hybrid electric/internal combustion engine car in 1916.
Actually, electric cars had advantages over gasoline-powered ones. In 1900.
But then, around 1920, America built better roads between cities, and people wanted cars that could go more than, say, 18 miles before needing a recharge. And, oil was discovered in Texas, Henry Ford built his factory, and time rolled on. (More in "The History of Electric Vehicles / The Early Years - Electric Cars (1890 - 1930) ")
(from Autotopia, Wired, used w/o permission)
That was then. I've been following the development of electric vehicles - Elton Baum's 'green golf cart' isn't entirely fictional. I think it's just a matter of time before energy-storage technologies and a breathless demand for clean(er) air in cities will lead to mass-produced electric cars that a good athlete can't outrun.
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