Subaru R1

Subaru has shown an all-electric vehicle to the public: the Subaru R1.

It's reported that the Japanese creator of the Eliica met with Subaru executives years ago in his pursuit to develop and produce EVs in large scale. So maybe this car is a result of their partnership?

This car as shown is obviously underpowered though, and not a heavy contender against any conventional vehicle that runs on gasoline.

It is hard to beat the energy density contained in gasoline. I believe that if humans apply their mind to developing EV technology, that eventually we will have available batteries that are cheaper and have higher energy density than gasoline. As Professor Shimizu, the creator of the Eliica, once stated, "EVs have to be superior to ICEVs in regards to performance and cost in order for people to switch to EVs." (paraphrasing)

So Tesla Motors is showing up from the top with a sports car that costs amost 100 grand while other companies are showing up from the bottom with smaller and economic cars that can take advantage of current EV technology. I trust that EVs will catch on and become mainstream, and that maybe the general population will follow a trend of switching to small cars from the big cars we now drive. It may not seem like people would want to do this, but I believe Peak Oil will not leave us much choice. When it costs more for some people to commute to work than the money they earn in one day at work, I think people will stop driving their cars because they simply can't afford gasoline at ever increasing prices. This scenario is not far-fetched.


Trivia: R1 is the name of a popular Yamaha sportbike - I wonder why Subaru didn't apply more creativity when coming up with a name for this electric car.
The 2008 Yamaha R1 engine technically has more than 3 times the power output of the motor used on the Subaru R1 (horsepower number comparison). Yes, the astounding power of gasoline with technology that has been developed in over 100 years. Dedicate 100 years to developing battery technology for EVs and we'll have cars that not only charge while driving, but never need to make a stop for fueling!