- Find Solar.
- Toyota might start building hybrids in Indiana.
- Interesting to read how some businesses support clear air alternatives with their employees.
- UK readers looking for EV parts, check out AVT.
- If you are in Ohio this weekend check out the Risk exhibit. They’ll be showing the Ohio-made Buckey Bullet, which holds the speed record for electric cars at 320mph.
- Coming up at the Tokyo Auto Show: Mazda Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid concept vehicle.
- Gimme some of that good ol’ in-wheel-direct-drive goodness! They are good enough to add, Once the production cost of the e-Traction® System is reduced through mass production, it will become a serious alternative for newly designed vehicles.
- Speaking of in-wheel motors, PML Flightlink has a few.
Tailpipe Tally · 5 October 05
The Environmental Defense Fund has a tool called tailpipe tally to help evaluate your vehicle’s fuel costs and emissions against other cars, including the latest hybrids. This was made back when gas was almost free at $1.92/gallon, so multiply the gas price by 1.5.
- Thinking of an in-dash battery system monitor or heads up display for your EV? Check out the Linux Car PC at $300.
- Mobilicity automated electric public transportation.
- Marine supplies, not a bad idea for sourcing EV parts: battery boxes & insulators, meters, switches, and fuse blocks.
Peter's Solar Electric Van · 4 October 05
Here’s a conversion project for all of you folks who have been asking about putting solar panels on an EV.
Peter took it one step further and put a wind generator on the EV as well.
Now, before your mind gets whirling too fast we need to clarify that he only uses the wind generator when parked. No perpetual energy in the UK either.
- Danny’s G-Whiz electric car blog, Following the experience of an electric car owner in London. Well, actually a video blog. If you click a video and it doesn’t work try removing ”.nyud.net:8090” from the url. Here’s a video on range.
- Ryan Bohm’s 1984 Nissan electric car, good job!
- Gizmag article on the MIEV.
- High gas prices knocking down sales of SUVs, Pickups. Meanwhile the government creates a new mascot to promote conserving energy: Energy Hog.
Site Stuff · 3 October 05
A few web site notes.
First off thanks for the great comments! I’ve also been getting a lot of email, much of it from folks on the verge of starting their own conversion. Perhaps I should make a roster of people and what they are thinking of converting. Then, as they progress we can post progress marks, kind of like scratching the height of your kid on a wall over the years.
If you are in the start/middle/end of an EV conversion but don’t have a website to share your pics and knowledge drop me an email. I have a category on this website for other people’s conversions and would be happy to host the pictures and help to write up your project so you can share your hard work.
Speaking of write-ups, I finally put together the TheHowZone article on fixing our fridge. Hopefully something you won’t ever need to know.
Contrary to how it may appear (or by lack of posts, not appear) I am still working on Eve. There’s a couple of things rattling around my cranium at the moment: where can I get the engine compartment and tranny steam cleaned, and the bigger issue of batteries. Until the batteries are decided on I can’t really start doing battery layout, welding, or any of that fun stuff.
- Electric Vehicle Battery Information.
- JB’s graphical battery monitor. You might remember an earlier post to his EV pusher design.
- Ford stops production of Excursion. 9,200lbs? As the locals would say, jeezum. As icing on this cake TH informs us that more bikes were sold than cars in the US this year.
- Long comment thread over at AutoBlog on whether hybrids save money. An equally lengthy and lively thread over at Slashdot. Ken Rockwell has a name for photographers who spend inordinate time with this sort of analysis paralysis: Equipment Measurbator.
You can't tuna fish... · 2 October 05
By now you’ve probably read Consumer Reports article about published vs. real-world fuel efficiencies. Up to 90% of the cars they tested had much worse fuel economy than that shown on the window sticker, some up to 50% less!
What is interesting about the article is that they mention automaker’s have been tuning cars for better performance rather than fuel efficiency, primarily because that’s what they’ve felt the market has wanted over the past few years. Let’s not go into the “what we want” aspect of it, but what about this tuning business?
- Overpotential – The world of fuel cells
- Factory Auto Manuals.
- Best idea this year, kid’s merry-go-round that powers a water pump. Next up, the micro-generators on Nintendo buttons!