Welcome to the Electric Car Weblog. In addition to links, news, and tips about electric cars and other forms of alternative transportation we are publishing an on-line diary of our current EV project. Started in August 2005 the chronicle follows the conversion of a gas powered Ford Probe into an Electric Car.
You will find articles organized by categories, along with recent comments, along the right hand column of the website. If you are just getting started with the idea of converting a gas car to electric be sure to check out Your First Electric Car .
Welcome and enjoy!
-Jerry
You will find articles organized by categories, along with recent comments, along the right hand column of the website. If you are just getting started with the idea of converting a gas car to electric be sure to check out Your First Electric Car .
Welcome and enjoy!
-Jerry
- Reva – India’s first electric car.
- Oil prices keep climbing and automakers are spending more time focusing on Electric Cars. “I’ve actually made a prediction that, within 30 years, a majority of new cars made in the United States will be electric. And I don’t mean hybrid; I mean fully electric.”
- Honda has rolled out their new hydrogen car in limited availability and areas (mostly Los Angeles).
- Meanwhile Toyota has been having a hard time meeting demand for the Prius due to battery shortages.
- I got an email the other day from one of the TV networks wondering if I’d like to come on to talk about Senator McCain’s EV Battery “prize.” Being on vacation it was the first I’d heard of it and looking around the net it doesn’t sound like everyone is buying it. One person pointed out that anyone developing such a battery would rake in billions of dollars in sales, far more than any incentive prize. Still, it’s great to see the discussions and increased focus on alternatives, along with the new battery research.
Comment [3]
- Greg Zanis’ Dream Electric Car. “We’re very set on the shape,” he said. “It’s also a very safe car – it[s built with 12-inch I-beams all around in order to take on any kid of a crash. So we like the spaceship kind of feel to it.” Color me dubious.
- While we are on crazy EV designs, how about some Inflatable Electric Cars that can drive off cliffs? Seriously, that’s the headline, not usually something one looks for when shopping for a new car. “… the miracle behind the 2,500-mile range is a “hot-swap XPack Multi-Core Battery/Fuel Cell power plant” invented by the founders of XP Vehicles. Or, without the hot-swap technology, the car can travel up to 300 miles on a single charge, thanks to its light weight.”
- Eight reasons you’ll rejoice when gas hits 8 dollars a gallon. I’m not sure if “rejoice” is the right word, no matter what the beneficial side effects might be.
- Superlattice cathode extends EV range by 65%. “Our objective is to create the next generation of Lithium Ion Polymer battery that is environmentally non-toxic, safe, less expensive and more powerful.”
Comment [5]
- AMP converts Saturn Sky into a 300-hp, 125mpg electric car. The company’s website is here. They use lithium iron phosphate batteries for the conversion and, unfortunately, are only accepting orders from folks in the Greater Cincinnati, Ohio area.
- Tired of high gas prices but are stuck driving a gas car for a while? Join the ranks of the hypermiling drivers, “A method of increasing your car’s gas mileage by making skillful changes in the way you drive.”
- Toyota and Matsushita are teaming up to build more plants for hybrid vehicle batteries, mostly lithium ion.
- Thanks to a reader for the link to this announcement from Firefly that the Oasis battery is going to be released this Summer. You might remember them as the microcell foam AGM battery guys, getting higher density out of lead acid. I asked about the price, considering the battery is relatively similar in specs to the Odyssey Hawker’s, and they guessed around $400 per battery.
- Billionaire oilman backs wind power. Put a turbine on your land, earn $20,000 a year income.
Comment [3]
- Honda plans to sell 500,000 hybrids a year by the early 2010s, including a gas-electric version of the Fit subcompact.
- Tip of the hat to Greg for links to news on new EVs from Steven’s Vehicles.
- Mack Darnell’s electric truck, “this would be the most practical for a commuter, not someone that drives 100 miles to work. The average commute distance is about 30-35 miles away and I think it would be just wonderful for them.”
- San Fran’s Mayor wants his city to be the first in the US to adopt electric cars wholesale, and claims that with the will, “you can be off oil in 10-15 years, 100 per cent.”
- Meanwhile Nissan is stirring the water, saying that they are cranking up investment in lithium battery production in the hope of offering electric cars by 2010.
- With Motorcycles, Eco-Friendly and Badass Can Mix: Electric and alternative-fuel bikes are the future of individual transportation not because of their fuel efficiency but because they are extremely cool.
- Running on empty, cars that never need gas. “Five years ago, I spent about $45,000 and got a brand new car (the RAv4EV) and the solar system,” he says. “We’re still driving the car every day, and the solar system will continue to make fuel for whatever EV we drive in the future. For $45,000 we bought a new car and fuel for the rest or our lives.”
- Power to the People, what happens when creative consumers decide to generate their own energy?
- Lon’s electric car in North Dakota, “He thought I should have some clowns jumping out of it,” Lon said. “I said I could run my car for a year for what it costs him to fill up his tank once,”
Comment [1]
- Ten contenders for the automotive X-prize to create the first mass-produced 100mpg car.
- Audi may have electric cars, oh, in 5 or 10 years and Nissan has signed a 10-year electric car agreement with Israel…or not, but they all seem to be working on something.
- Four ways to re-invent your wheels.
- Home tinkerer develops an engine to run on used tranny fluid.
- And Tesla opened their first electric car dealership in California. Swing on by if you got an extra $100k burning a hole in your pocket. Some nice pictures, love the battery pack: 6,800 lithium cells!
- 30 Electric car companies ready to take over. Or rather, I suspect based on the levels of email I get these days, at least generate a lot more interest, sell a few, and lead others to their own conversions.
- It looks like the Think City electric car is getting more funding and moving closer to coming to the states, priced under $25k. Any of our European readers seen or tried these?
- It’s not fully an electric, but mighty close and it’s also a product out of A123 systems: the Hymotion L5 plug-in kit for Toyota Prius. They claim 100 mpg for 30-40 miles of range, details on their website. If you want more information on PHEV’s check out the EAA wiki.
- Where might you get electricity to power all of these? How about a 33MW Solar Power plant?
- Speaking of which, check out Brent’s Solar 8 seat Bike.
Comment [2]
- Popular Mechanics takes the Aptera futuristic electric car for a test drive. They also take you into the factory for an inside look at the vehicle components.
- Got some spare reading time this weekend? Check out Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act of 2008. A somewhat interesting section for us can be found in Section 201 where they propose some rather nice tax credits for electric cars, uh, as long as they also have a gas engine inside (i.e. plug-in hybrid). For those with a regular EV? You don’t qualify. Here’s a list of Senators on the committee.
- Did that simply wet your appetite for government documents? Here’s another analyzing the feasibility of PHEVs and the power grid.
- After all of that is said and done Congress doesn’t totally ignore EVs. No, they think they are too quiet and want to create a noise standard.
Comment [5]