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When you see how fast the technology in appliances like computers and smartphones improves in leaps and bounds you are left wondering why the promised electric car is still around the corner. Why local authorities interfering with more and more regulation do not require power points in new car parks or provide tax breaks as an incentive for getting us to leave our gas guzzlers behind?

Is there a conspiracy to delay such a strategic technological move? In the days of horse and buggy there was obviously no oil lobby, the Suez canal was not a strategic landmark and there was free fertilizer on the road for whoever wanted (or was paid) to pick it up...

You would think this is a prime opportunity for companies to show case their technology, for financiers to raise capital for a worthwhile project, for investors to bankroll a life changing technology, for politicians to earn (much needed) kudos for improving our daily lives, for governments to restore our trade imbalances and cancel our dependence on oil...

Obviously someone benefits from the current status quo. In 2006 a film documentary "Who killed the electric car" exposed some of those issues and now 4 years later we are no closer to see those silent wheels grace our streets...

Electric cars are available to those yuppies prepared to pay for them. There does not seem to be any plans to make it a vehicle for the masses, a remake of the "Volkwagen", "the car of the people". There is a fast electric sports car the Tesla Roadster and Toyota has been leading the charge (pun intended) with the Prius. Unfortunately the quality control scandal has left that carmaker with egg on their face.

An interesting development though is a crowd called Better Place who aims to launch some large scale projects in Israel and elsewhere. Obviously oil dependency for the Jewish nation in the heart of the Middle East has something to do with it and it should be seen as a strategic (military?) move.

The two drawbacks of the electric car are of course the time to recharge the batteries and its lack of noise. Those working in a warehouse environment know how dangerously an electric forklift can sneak up on you. That really is an easy problem to fix. Just have a loudspeaker play something like a creative ringtone - let your imagination go wild... in a car park pedestrians need to know that a vehicle is creeping up behind them. An appropriate noise is the answer.

The time taken to recharge the battery is addressed for city commuters. The car charges overnight in the garage. As the technology gains acceptance, shopping centres, office and residential buildings should offer power points with credit card swiping facility (someone has to pay for the energy used). For the long haul travellers there is no easy fix unless a network of outlets offers battery swapping on the go.

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