Jake.
Jack, how are you?
What's going on, man?
Welcome back to the track.
Thank you so much.
So what kind of crazy fun thing do you
have in store for me today?
So the word of the day is electric.
All right.
We're going to be talking about electric cars.
And this is kind of an exciting time.
It's one of the biggest changes to the auto industry
we've seen in a really long time.
But you know what?
These cars may be not quite as newfangled as you might think.
Take a look.
Is that a time machine?
No.
That's actually a car that they had about 100 years ago,
fully electric.
Wow.
It's a beauty too.
Listen to how silent this thing is.
So this is Bill and Linda Lilly.
Nice to see you.
So, Bill, how old is this car?
Well, this is 100 years old.
This was originally built in 1919.
Modified, improved, and sold again in 1931.
Bill, I didn't hear an engine when you were coming over.
Does this car even have an engine?
Not really.
It has a motor, and it has batteries that power the motor.
Batteries?
Yes, right here.
Here and in the back.
It's old batteries, Jake.
Yeah.
Well, you know what?
The amazing thing is is that what we're seeing here
in this old electric car, it's basically the same principle
that you're seeing in these modern futuristic vehicles
that we have here too.
I mean, just like you say, you've
got batteries and an electric motor.
It's very, very simple.
And they've been doing it for over 100 years.
Jack, would you like to go for a ride with us?
I thought you'd never ask, Linda.
Thank you.
Now how fast can a car like this go?
Oh, it's pretty much limited to maybe the high 20s.
The important thing with this car was conversation.
That's why I'm sitting backwards.
A lot of people get a kick out of it.
As we're driving down the road, they're going,
she's sitting backwards.
It's almost like we're having tea here.
Exactly.
Wow.
This is fantastic.
So what did you think?
Jake, that was an incredible experience.
I feel like I went back in time.
Well, welcome back to the present.
And now we're going to go to the future.
As you might imagine, over the the last 100 years,
they've made a few improvements.
You want to go check on that?
Absolutely.
Let's do it.
So how does an electric car drive differently
than a regular car?
Well, if you're the driver, not really a whole lot different.
I mean, it's not going to be like a completely different
thing.
But actually, in terms of performance,
it's very different.
You have all this torque of this all electric motor,
which means a lot of power happens right away.
Think about this.
You've got the normal gas engine, right?
Mm-hmm.
If you want to go, a lot of things have to happen, right?
I mean, there's a transmission.
There might be a clutch.
There might be all these different things.
When you are in an electric car, you hit the gas--
Whoa.
--it goes right away.
Got it.
Everything is immediate.
And actually, it's a lot of fun to drive.
Now what about maintenance costs for a car like this?
It's better.
It's cheaper.
There's less to maintain.
And one of the things that has really
made electric cars really much better in the last few years
is they figured out where to put the batteries.
So remember the old car?
There was a front.
It was all filled with these big batteries.
Yeah.
Well, it's different now.
So what a lot of these new cars are doing
is the entire floor of the vehicle is a battery.
It's a giant battery.
Oh, OK.
So now, you have all of the interior space for people.
So spacious.
Exactly.
And there's a whole bunch of other advantages about having
that battery really low.
Cars actually handle better because all of that weight
is down low, so you go around a corner like that.
I asked Jake if electric cars have any other advantages
over a traditional gas vehicle.
And he told me about one feature many people are aware of.
If you're in a normal car and you want to slow it down,
what do you do?
You press the brake.
You press the brakes.
And what does that do?
It stops the car.
And the way it does it is actually
turning off the energy that's making you go
and turning it into heat.
Electric cars recapture energy normally lost in braking
and send that to the car's batteries.
This is called regenerative breaking
and uses the car's generator to help slow the car down.
Sadly, all fun test drives eventually come to an end.
So one of the things that people really
like about electric cars--
Yeah?
--you never have to go to a gas station anymore.
Cool.
Plug it in, and you can have a home charger
right in your garage.
You could plug in your car yourself
and charge up while you sleep.
But when you're driving, where can
you find these charging stations?
Generally, they're not at gas stations.
They're at different places.
So it might be like at a rest stop or something like that.
In fact, a lot of the cars, they'll have like a GPS system
and they'll, have maps and they'll
show you where they are.
And if you're taking a long trip,
it may actually suggest to you, well,
you need to stop here and charge up along the way.
Are there any downsides for consumers?
There are.
First of all, they still do cost a bit more than gasoline cars.
Second, what about longevity of these vehicles?
Right.
Truly, we don't know when these vehicles
are 10 years old or more what it means in terms of the battery.
Do you have to replace it?
What's the cost going to be?
And also, what's the resale value going to be?
Hey.
Jake, look.
It's Bill and Linda.
Hey, guys.
Hey.
Jack, which one of those two electric cars
you like the best?
Well, that's kind of hard to decide, Bill.
I really like both cars.
Hey, if you come with us, you can wear my hat.
Jake?
I got no hat for you, Jack.
Then that does it.
Thanks, Bill.
I could get used to this.
Hey, Jack.
So where are we headed off to?
Let's do lunch.
Oh, that sounds like a lot of fun.