I love Sci-Fi. LOVE it. Can't get enough of the stuff. If I didn't write about cars I'd probably write about rockets and aliens. But I'd be crap at it because while I love the fiction, I'm useless at the science. But you don't need to be a scientist to save the world, however, don't take my word for it, just look at Bruce Willis. Let me explain.
In Armageddon, a fun Sci-Fi romp featuring the equally rompy Liv Tyler (with cheesy rock ballade anthem by her dad) the premise is simple. A massive meteor is about to hit the earth. Nothing shy of an extinction level event, hence the title Armageddon.
So, what did the big brains at Nasa do? They found a driller, a grubby man on an oil rig in the middle of the ocean. For what? To land on the incoming interplanetary shrapnel and drill it in half. Yeah, science! Critically, and this how you know you have an important job, the news arrived via a man surrounded by suits in a helicopter.
Let me assure you that it's a common theme. In Godzilla, a giant dinosaur-dragon-hybrid is about to attack Manhattan - this time, the Brainiac’s summon Mathew Broderick. His area of expertise? Worms. At least in Jurassic Park the helicopter descended on palaeontologists with a penchant for prehistoric lizard bones. Me, I don't get a black helicopter, I'm just a motoring journalist and the impending crisis is global warming, exhausting fossil fuels and every other reason to move to electricity as a means of propulsion (and saving the planet).
You find me now...
Between Gariep Dam and Graaff-Reinet, having relegated 600km to my rear-view mirror. That's how much distance we've covered so far on our EV road trip from Pretoria to Cape Town. Our contingent is rolling seven deep, a pair of new Nissan Leafs, a duo of Jaguar i-Paces and a trio of BMW I3s. And look, we won't be saving the world on this trip, but the initiative between these manufacturers, the organizers, government and sponsors has been a start.
On this mission we've gambled, driving range versus the ability to find power on route. Naturally the deck was stacked in our favour as the trip doubled as an opportunity to unveil recently installed EV Battery Chargers on the way, including Kroonstad, Vereeniging and Gariep. Next stop is Graaff-Reinet for another overnight opportunity for both cars and drivers to recharge.
While long distance driving is not meant to be the domain of an electric vehicle – their regenerative braking and tech thrives in stop/start city traffic – there's still something comforting, especially in the South African context, about knowing you can use one to traverse the spine of Mzansi. And I'll tell you all about it when I make to Cape Town. Not if.
