Electric Water Pump

When I first heard the term electric water pump associated with a gas engine in a car I thought I had read it wrong. Why would you put an electric water pump in a car. In a dragster or other high powered engine where every horsepower is being sought after there I can see it but in an everyday car. The advent of cramped engine compartments have brought about many changes and the electric water pump is one of them and I think we will be seeing more of them in the future. They can be placed almost anywhere as long as they have access to the cooling system and they are also very efficient. Most models that now use an electric pump mount it directly to the radiator. This eliminates several space robbing hoses, belts and increases the efficiency. It also decreases the side torque on the crank shaft usually not a worry in a everyday driver but a large concern in high powered engines.When the water pump was placed in and run by the timing belt. I could see this being a problem. It saved space among other things but it just did not work. Here is where the electric pump will come into play in the future. I can see a future engine with no belts some of the hybrids have already went this route with a electric AC pump and an alternator run directly off the cam.