- Gizmag has an article on the Tango Electric Car.
- Citizen journalists report on, Pinched at the pump.
- A Plug-in Hybrid Campaign has been launched in Austin, TX.
- BMW will be showing a hybrid concept car that uses ultra-capacitors, or what they are calling syncaps, instead of batteries.
- More on next year’s hybrid tax cut. Are there any incentives for EV buyers or converters?
- Mitsubishi is working with Tokyo Electric Power Co. on a next-generation electric car that can be recharged from a household electric socket.
- Muscle Hybrids and Hybrid tax breaks
- Alternative vehicles in China
Support Groups · 21 August 05
There’s a lot of information available on the web, but sometimes you just need to interact with people. Here’s a list of EV and Hybrid groups on the web.
- EVList
- EVList (Yahoo)
- EV 4sale
- Toyota Prius
- Honda Hybrid
Batteries · 20 August 05
Batteries can be the hardest item to decide on for a new EV. Do you buy huge, deep cycle batteries for the utmost in range or spry, lightweight “new tech” batteries which cost more but promise snappier performance?
Our first EV started off with twelve Trojan SCS225 deep cycle batteries. Even though I treated them rather badly (a charger failure and a missed watering) they lasted for three years. The next set ended up being a slightly cheaper set of generic deep cycle marine batteries and they barely lasted a year. After that it was back to the SCS225.
For longer battery life a 12v deep cycle isn’t the optimal choice. It is better to go with an 8volt, or better yet 6volt deep cycle battery, which are rated for 300-500 80% discharge cycles.
Here’s a list of FAQs, information, and suppliers.
- Battery Glossary
- Deep Cycle FAQ
- Ultimate Battery FAQ
- Battery User’s Guide
- Battery Info
- Simon’s Battery Info
- Uve’s Battery Page
- Trojan Batteres
- Optima
- Evercel
- NiZn Batteries
- Ultra Capacitors
- Thundersky
- Avestore
- Valence
Comment [4]
Renault 4CV to 4EV Conversion · 19 August 05
Terry Vessels is underway with a rather unique conversion, as you can see from the photo. It’s a 1959 Renault 4CV and looks to be quite the project.
I like his three step approach:
- Get it working.
- Get it working well.
- Customize.
He’s also working on other projects in his spare(?) time.
Good luck Terry!
Comment [1]
Solar Prius Project · 19 August 05
Lapp Renewables has embarked on a project to make a Toyota Prius more of an EV.
It will be interesting to follow Steve as he finishes the projects and starts collecting hard data. Of course we are approaching Winter here in the northern hemisphere so full-sun testing won’t be for another six months or more.