The new video circulating the internet of Jay Leno’s Tesla Roadster is exciting and intriguing for many reasons.  See for yourself:

He really breaks down the car from a car guy’s perspective.  And he notes many factors that may make electric automobiles the heir apparent to the gasoline combustion car.  Net environmental advantage and price aside, Leno shows why the electric car is the more efficient, superior machine when compared to any combustion engine vehicle.

1) Because it has an electric motor, the car has peak torque from 0rpm to 13,000rpm.  Therefore, you receive maximum performance with minimal energy waste.
2) No gears and no engine compression means that you don’t lose momentum when you let off the gas.  So there is no wasteful high rpm when your car is struggling to go forward against the engine compression.
3) Jay Leno describes the sound.  Which is almost none at all!  Like him, I’d prefer a robust growl that you’d expect from a typical high end sports car; and I know a lot of other people that feel the same way.  But when the motor got going it sounded a lot like an aggressive turbo spooling up, which is a fair consolation.
4)  When they open up the car you really see how minimalistic an electric motor is.  A small reservoir for battery coolant is all that is necessary other than the battery and the motor.  No complicated, heavy exhaust system, no extensive engine cooling setup, no transmission as we know it, and no money gulping gas tank. With the amount of weight lost and simplicity gained by losing the traditional engine, surely the electric vehicle is the future of personal transportation. While bio diesel and hydrogen are viable alternatives to gasoline, I think we need to reconsider prolonging the already overextended life of the combustion engine.