Have you ever heard of the phrase, “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes” by Mark Twain? Well, this is exactly what is happening with the history of electric and gas cars.
One-hundred twenty-two years ago, early-gen electric cars were outclassed by gas-powered cars due to cost and range. Now, in the 21st century, electric engines are speeding back into the automotive market with growing sales of electric vehicles and a trend of gas-powered cars slowly being driven away starting in the 2010s mainly due to Tesla cars and the innovation of modern electric engines.
Elisha Alonso (‘26) who drives a Ford Mustang, and Eva de la Paz Chavez (‘27) both car-enthusiasts and heavily involved with cars had concerns where “it takes a while to charge them and with gas you can just fill up your car really fast…” De La Paz Chavez said.
It is true, since with gas cars it takes maybe two or three minutes to fully fuel a regular gas-powered sedan. For example, a Tesla Model 3, according to Kelley Blue Book, it takes around 30 minutes to only charge it to 80%. Even worse, at-home chargers take seven to twelve hours to fully charge a Model 3 when it’s battery is depleted.
Concerned for the environment, Rylen Mercado (‘29) whose family owns a Tesla has interest in the Nissan GTR that was recently discontinued and to be replaced with an electric engine for new models. Mercado supports the move to electric because “…It’s better for the environment, [and] since gas is a lot of money right now.”
Do you think electric is better than gas? De La Paz Chavez said “Yes and no because [it] saves less pollution for the environment and that there’s less chargers, than…gas stations.”
Alonso was not interested in the recent news of popular car manufacturers such as Honda moving to electric engines. “I like being able to hear the sound of the car, …a lot of people do like gas-powered cars…What are they supposed to do with the car batteries when they are kind of– done?“ Alonso said.
