Can Electric Cars Help Automakers Reach 55 MPG?

Consumers still have "range anxiety", the fear that electric cars won't get them to and from their destinations on one charge. NPR looks at the attitudes that are still keeping people from investing in electric vehicles.

1 minute read

November 21, 2011, 12:00 PM PST

By Cathie Pagano


NPR's Glinton says, "under fuel-economy rules announced by the White House this summer, cars will have to get an average of 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025 - nearly double the current average. Reaching that goal will take not only feats of engineering but also changing how Americans think about their cars and how they drive them."

Glinton notes that electric cars will require change in consumer habits which so far has not proved to be what consumers want.

"Not that much has changed with electric cars in more than a hundred years. Casey says if they're to be widely adopted, it's drivers themselves - and their habits - that will need to change."

Thanks to Cathie Pagano

Monday, November 21, 2011 in NPR Morning Edition

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I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

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