At last week’s Los Angeles Auto Show, I saw a glimpse of the future. Many of the up to 50 plug-in electric vehicle models scheduled to hit America’s streets over the next several years were on display and attracting particularly large crowds of auto-enthusiasts. Here are a few cell-phone photos of the Cadillac ELR, Honda Fit, BMW i8 and i3, Coda, Ford Focus, and Audi e-tron, just some of the plug-in vehicles at the show:
Sadly, the all-ectrectic Delorean, which is scheduled for release in 2013, was not feautured. Even without “Doc” Brown in the house, the future was boldy exhibited on rotating platforms, and it’s full of choices, from sedate to sexy, big to smaill, simple to opulent.
While the shift to electric drive is the most significant revolution in automotive technology since the internal combustion engine made steam power obsolete, the draw of the auto show remains the same â the chance to revel in teenage enthusiasm for cars. It brought me back to my high school days, when my friends would quote “Car and Driver” as if it were scripture. But as I walked through the colossal convention center, it became clear that America’s teenage love affair with the automobile is entering a new phase, beyond oil. This shift to electric drive is a key element of our nation’s efforts to secure energy independence, which, as explained in this short video, cannot be achieved with any amount of drilling.