Electric Cars
Electric Vehicles Directory Wikipedia
Who Killed the Electric Car? (movie)
News
about Electric Vehicles
1912 Electric
Cars
Table
of Contents
Inexpensive Vehicles
(<$15,000)
ZAP Xebra (Zero Air Pollution)
Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEV)
GEM (Global Electric Motor) (An NEV)
ZENN (Zero Emission No Noise) (An NEV)
Moderately
Expensive Vehicles (>$15,000 & <$30,000)
Myers Motors NMG (No more Gas)
Expensive Vehicles (>$30,000 & <$50,000)
Very
Expensive Vehicles (>$50,000)
Books about
Cars, Especially Electric
Less
Global-Warming Gases Emissions
Less
Pocket-Book Dollars Emissions
Converting
gasoline to electric
Inexpensive Vehicles (<$15,000)
ZAP Xebra (Zero Air Pollution)
Review of ZAP Xebra PK (pickup)
http://www.roperld.com/science/ZAPElectricCars.htm
News articles about ZAP Xebra vehicles
40 mph top speed.
EC5 or Keystone Flyer
l
Top speed 52 mph.
Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEV)
http://www.evfinder.com/NEVs.htm
http://www.electric-bikes.com/nev.htm
25 mph top speed.
Includes the Zenn and GEM listed above.
GEM (Global Electric Motor) (An NEV)
25 mph top speed.
ZENN (Zero Emission No Noise) (An NEV)
25 mph top speed.
G-Wiz
http://www.g-wiz.org.uk, a G-Wiz owners group
45 mph top speed
40 miles range
About $14,000
Tiger Star Truck
http://www.tigertruck.com/electric/star/index.html
48 volts, 5kW motor, 5-speed transmission, $13,999.
Moderately Expensive Vehicles (>$15,000 & <$30,000)
Tango T100
·
Being
designed
·
$18,700
·
0-60
in 7 seconds
·
Ό
mile in 16 seconds
· 5-star NHNTSA static rollover resistance rating
· Fiberglass body
· Front- or rear-wheel drive via two 50 kW electric hub motors
· AC controller with 100 kW power
· Regenerative braking with ABS
· Dimensions: 39 wide, 8 5 long, 60 high, 2200 lbs
Myers Motors NMG (No more Gas)
·
$24,900
·
156
Volts DC motor
·
30
mile range
·
70-75
mph
·
0-60
mph in 12.5 seconds
·
Seat:
1 person
Expensive Vehicles (>$30,000
& <$50,000
Obvio 828E
http://www.ZAPworld.com/ZAPWorld.aspx?id=386
·
$49,000
· Electric Propulsion
o Drive System: 120 kW, 220 Nm, 13,000 rpm Regenerative braking
o Battery: Li Ion, 39 kWh, 580 lb
o Charger: Onboard, plug in anywhere, up to 20 kW; 2 hrs fast charge, 5 hrs slow charge
o
Vehicle to grid (V2G): Bi-directional grid interface
·
Composite
materials body
·
Seating: One seat for three passengers
· Air conditioning
· Power brakes
· Leather seats
· Multi-function display
· Satellite radio, digital media player, internet access, GPS
· Dimensions: 65 wide, 104.3 length, 68.9 wheelbase, 59 high, 1238 lb weight
· 124 mph top speed
· 200-240 miles range
· 0-60 mph in <4.5 seconds
Phoenix Sport Utility Truck:
http://www.phoenixmotorcars.com
Tango
T200
·
Being
designed
·
$39,900
·
0-60
in 5 seconds
·
Ό
mile in 14 seconds
· 5-star NHNTSA static rollover resistance rating
· Fiberglass body
· Four 50 kW electric hub motors
· AC controller with 200 kW power
· Regenerative braking with ABS
· Dimensions: 39 wide, 8 5 long, 60 high, 2200 lbs
Th!nk City
· Hatch back presently only available in Norway
· Zebra molten-salt battery (28 kWh upgrade)
· $35,000
· 110 miles range
· 60 mph top speed
· Regenerative braking
· Dual air bags
· ABS brakes
· Power steering and windos
· 4 kW electric heater
· Roof rack and sunroof extra
· Length: 10.2, width: 5.3, height: 5.2
· Turning radius: 14.8
· Payload: 365 lbs
· 0-50 mph in 16 seconds
· Maximum gradient: 30% from standstill; 5% gradient @ 55 mph
· Charging: 10 hrs @ 220 volts & 14 amperes (80% in 8 hrs)
Very Expensive Vehicles (>$50,000)
Obvio 012E
http://www.ZAPworld.com/ZAPWorld.aspx?id=386
·
$59,000
· Electric Propulsion
o Drive System: 120 kW, 220 Nm, 13,000 rpm Regenerative braking
o Battery: Li Ion, 39 kWh, 580 lb
o Charger: Onboard, plug in anywhere, up to 20 kW; 2 hrs fast charge, 5 hrs slow charge
o
Vehicle to grid (V2G): Bi-directional grid interface
·
Composite
materials body
·
Seating: One seat for three passengers
· Air conditioning
· Power brakes
· Leather seats
· Multi-function display
· Satellite radio, digital media player, internet access, GPS
· Dimensions: 71 wide, 104.3 length, 126 wheelbase, 89 high, 1648 lb weight
· 124 mph top speed
· 0-60 mph in <4.5 seconds
Tesla
· $109,000.
· 250 miles per charge.
· 0-60 mph in 4 seconds.
· Top speed 135 mph.
· Full charge takes 3.5 hours.
· 135 mpg equivalent.
· about $0.01 per mile.
·
Colors: 
Tango T600
· Mostly assembled kit >day to complete
· $108,000
· 0-60 in 4 secondsΌ mile in 12 seconds
· Top speed 120 mph
· Range between charges 40-80 miles
· 5-star NHNTSA static rollover resistance rating
· Carbon-fiber body
· Two DC electric motors with 1000 ft-lbs torque
· 2000 Amperes Zilla controller with 600 kW peak power
· Dimensions: 39 wide, 8 5 long, 60 high, 2500 lbs
Batteries
· Conditioning batteries properly is required to get the most out of your vehicle, typically 15 or more charging cycles. Optimal range will happen after this break in period.
· With normal use, the no maintenance, deep-cycle batteries should last up to three years.
· Battery break-in and maintenance: http://www.xebraworld.com/Battery%20Maintenance.htm .
· In a cold climate the car needs to be kept as warm as possible in a garage. At 32 degrees F the battery energy capacity is reduced to about 80%, at 0 degrees F it is reduced to about 60%.
· Battery Essentials: http://www.ev-america.com (link for e-mail to request the paper in the middle of the web page)
· Electric Vehicles Safety: http://www.austinev.org/evinfo/build/eva-safetyfirst.html
· PowerCheq battery voltage equalizer
· Brain Drain: A useful system monitoring device
Books about Cars, Especially Electric
· The Electric Car: Development and Future of Battery, Hybrid and Fuel-Cell Cars by Michael H. Westbrook, 2005.
· The Electric Vehicle and the Burden of History by David A. Kirsch, 2000.
· Taking Charge: The Electric Automobile in America by Michael Brian Schiffer, 1999.
· Electric and Hybrid Vehicles: Design Fundamentals by Iqbal Husain, 2003.
· The Essential Hybrid Car Handbook: A Buyers Guide, Nick Yost, 2006.
· Plug-in Hybrids by Sherry Boschert, 2006.
· The Zero-Carbon Car: Building the Car the Auto Industry Cant Get Right by William H. Kemp, 2007.
· Forward Drive: The Race to Build Clean Cars for the Future by Jim Motavalli, 2001.
· The Hype about Hydrogen by Joseph J. Romm, 2005.
· Lives Per Gallon: The True Cost of Our Oil Addiction by Terry Tamminen, 2006.
· Internal Combustion: How Corporations and Governments Addicted the World to Oil and Derailed the Alternatives by Edwin Black, 2006.
· Traffic Safety and the Driver by Leonard Evans, 1991.
· High and Mighty: SUVs: The World's Most Dangerous Vehicles and How They Got That Way by Keith Bradsher, 2004.
· Electric Dreams: One Unlikely Team of Kids and the Race to Build the Car of the Future by Caroline Kettlewell, 2004.
· Carfree Cities by J. H. Crawford, 2002.
Links
Is
electric automobile perfect second car? - March 15,
2007, Erwin Gugolz - Xebra Owner, by Ken Goze, Saff Writer, Northbrook Star, Member of
the Sun-Times News Group
Less Global-Warming Gases Emissions
Two reasons that electric vehicles produce less Global-Warming-gases emissions than do gasoline cars:
1. Electric
motors use energy more efficiently (about 90%) than do
gasoline engines (about
25%) or diesel engines (about 40%).So, even
with coal electric power plants at about 40% efficiency,
electric vehicles times coal efficiency yields about 36% efficiency, which is better than gasoline vehicles and about
the same as diesel vehicles. However, energy efficiency is not the same as
carbon-dioxide emissions. A gallon of gasoline contains about 36.6 kWh of
energy and produces about 19.4 lbs of carbon dioxide; so, per kWh the relevant
number is about 0.53 lbs/kWh for burning gasoline at 100% efficiency. The
actual efficiency of about 25% for gasoline engines changes the number for
gasoline engines to 2.12 lbs/kWh. Compare this to the coal-fired-power number
of 2.25 lbs/kWh. However, the U.S. mix of electric power plants (see below)
yields about 1.78 lbs/kWh or lower, which is considerably lower than the 2.12
figure for gasoline engines.
Using natural gas for an electric power plant improves the efficiency to about 60%, yielding a
combined efficiency for electric vehicles of about 54%, considerably better than diesel vehicles.
Wind or photovoltaic electric power plants at 100% efficiency, in terms of not
requiring fuel, yields a combined efficiency of about 90% for electric vehicles, much better than gasoline or diesel
vehicles.
The sources of
electrical energy in the U.S. are 
Coal
50% Nuclear
20% Natural
Gas 18% Hydro
7% Other
5%. Assuming that nuclear electric power generation is as inefficient as coal
for producing electricity, when all
factors are considered, the average efficiency of U.S. electric power
generation is about 
. Then the average yield for electric vehicles in the U.S. is
about 46%.
In almost all circumstances electric vehicles are much better than gasoline
vehicles and usually better than diesel vehicles. As more and more renewable
sources of energy are used to produce electricity, electric vehicles will be
much better than fossil-fueled vehicles in not emitting Global-Warming gases.
2. It is easier to sequester the Global-Warming gases at a power plant than from the tail pipes of millions of vehicles. See http://electric-cars-are-for-girls.com/electric-powered-cars.html .
Less Pocket-Book Dollars Emissions
A gallon of gasoline contains about 36.6 kWh of energy and a gallon of diesel contains about 40.6 kWh of energy. (http://www.bpa.gov/Corporate/KR/ed/energyaudit/chapter1/chap1.htm)
If you pay $.08 per kWh for electricity:
· The equivalent price of the energy content of gasoline would be $2.93 per gallon.
· The equivalent price of the energy content of diesel would be $3.25 per gallon.
However, electric motors are about 90% efficient, gasoline engines are about 25% efficient and diesel engines are about 40% efficient. Allowing for those efficiencies:
· The equivalent price of gasoline would be $0.81 per gallon.
· The equivalent price of diesel would be $1.44 per gallon.
To calculate the approximate equivalent price per gallon for a gasoline vehicle and a diesel vehicle for a price P per kWh of electricity to charge the batteries of an electric vehicle:
Compiled by L. David Roper, http://arts.bev.net/roperldavid
This is web page http://www.roperld.com/science/ElectricCars.htm
12-Aug-2010