The Catalyst

By Joel Mashburn, Special Reporter

In 1769 Nicolas- Joseph Cugnot of France invented the first self propelled steam powered automobile. In 225 years we have advanced so much, but what will be next? They say that racing makes the breed better and solar cars are no exception. Over the past few years more and more advancements have been made in solar power technology.
According to a study led by NASA living in a city with air pollution is worse than living in the radioactive zone of Chernobyl. The World Health Organization claims that 2 million people die prematurely ever year because of air pollution.

How practical are solar powered cars? We can only gather energy for part of the day from the sun. The sun is a renewable power source though, and it costs no money. So, it comes down to, is it efficient enough to buy?

In the future will solar cars or some other form of fuel efficient cars become the trend? There are cars coming out that can run on air, use almost 2/3 less the amount of gas that normal cars need, and even now Ford is coming out with a new car that uses no gas at all.
The question is when will solar cars become a reality to everyday life and will they be cost effective? To purchase a solar powered car it would cost as much as $300,000, which could buy a lot of gas, but how much does our future cost?

Solar cars use photovoltaic cells (PVC) to convert sunlight into energy. However some PVC panels can cost up to $400 alone. The faster the panel converts light to electricity, the more expensive it is. Some solar racing cars can go up to 60 mph but are covered in panels and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

In the 2006 Paris Auto Show a new prototype called the Venturi Electric was reveled that uses solar and wind to power it. The Venturi Electric can only travel up to 30 mph so it is not fit for public use but soon, with the amount of research going into solar power, we will be seeing solar cars cruising down the lane.
From steam to solar, the car has a pretty neat history but, will there still be a history for us if we continue in the same path that we now find our selves headed down?