Thread to talk about EVs

Yes, we have biodiesels and direct-burn fryer oil guys driving around here.

Nobody has to offer extended warranties on ANYTHING.

The video was just released this morning, yes.

Not when our last car was $42,000 and I just ordered a $38k Prius... but it is because of our savings in other areas that we can do this!

 

They don't do it for saving money or effort - the do it to save the environment. Same reason I drive BEVs.

I don't think it can be avoided.

I screwed up. Meant $28k. Yes, I'm doing #6. I already have GPS.

Yup. With Li-ion.

Sorry! Only way I can afford the Prius!

 

Not at this point, no. I spend thousands of $$ to save a few pennies in energy these days. Fuel for the BEVs is cheaper, but the cars themselves won't be cheaper until we make them in quantities at least like the Prius.

We can't keep burning gasoline forever.

Battery chemistry. NiMH is what the Prius and my Rav4EV have. Lead-acid is what my Ranger has. Li-Ion is what any modern BEV would have (like the X-1 featured in another thread). No major car maker is making BEVs. The independents are the only ones doing it.

 

How do you keep screwing up the quotes?? Makes it tough on this end...

Back to some older points for a second. As to the "inevitability of electric drive" - I'd hoped that the webcast that you watched would have shown some of the reasons WHY this is the case. And as for burning fryer oil, it is pretty neat - the exhaust smells just like standing in line at McDonald's. WAY better than dino diesel smell, that's for certain! And as for the Scion being ugly - you are aware that many (most?) people think the same way of the Prius, yes?

Yeah, pretty much, though maintenance on a vehicle that isn't mainstream can be expensive. There is NO scheduled maintenance on BEVs, typically. But with Ford products, you've got to wonder....

That's one of my worries, yes.

Uh, no. What I wrote was that the Prius and Rav have NiMH. The Scion and the X-1 have Li-ion. That's not the same chemistry. And the Scion will be 100% battery power which is also quite unlike the Prius.

Man. Tough to keep up with you! Whew.

 

See the New England Electric Auto Association http://neeaa.org/, the local chapter of the national EAA http://eaaev.org/. A very friendly and helpful bunch.

Also there are people like Jim at http://eeevee.com/ with experience and information to share and sell. I've bought things from Jim for my General Electric Elec-trak E-15 yard tractor (see http://cosmos.phy.tufts.edu/mhonarc/elec-trak/
for more info).

There's also Bob at EVA, Electric Vehicles of America in NH - he used to be in Maynard but moved north a few years back. http://www.ev-america.com/

I'm happy with my Prius but I'd be happier with an electric. Needs to be able to recharger faster and go a little farther for a little less money than current technology, though.

 

Hey, how come you got that and I didn't? I sent my email address in to them twice, a year ago. Bastiges.

'Course, I haven't got $140K plus a donor xB sitting around... but if I did, I'd go for it! That would be an awsome vehicle, what with the ACP two-way charger / UPS mode, and the $100K of ACP stock is definitely a risk I would take if it wasn't all the money I had...

Joel

 

Naw, you gotta read the doc at the link Darell posted.

ACP wants each investor to kick in $140,000 plus a Scion (xA or xB I think). In exchange, they get $100,000 of ACP stock (I think I read it right) plus the remaining $40,000 gets used in converting their Scion to Battery Electric, using the ACP system. Plus the investor gets the goodwill of all of us rooting for AC Propulsion, Inc.

I really am sorry I'm not able to come up with that money.

 

Thanks. I'm crazy enough!

No, that's strike two! The GM EV1 was lead-acid, and the NiMH. The Rav4 is NiMH. The Ranger is lead-acid, and they also made them NiMH. The X-1 is Li-ion... and (drum roll) so is the Scion!)

NO gas! All I've ever said (or at least meant!) is that non of the major auto makers are making 100% battery cars. The only battery cars are coming from the small independents like ACP.

One more time: No major car companies offer a BEV. The Scion is NOT from a major car company.

As for the money - that "confidential" document was an initial search for investors. The plan is to have a turn-key Li-Ion Scion conversion available to the masses "soon." But then, there are lots of things that are supposed to be here soon - just read any coastaletech thread. :sigh:

 

Err. I have a bit of an inside track. Being on that list (which I'm on too!) gets NOTHING! Not really sure why they even bothered setting that up.

If nothing else, ACP could sure use somebody doing PR. I've even volunteered to do that for them.... and, well, it ain't gonna happen.

 

Don't worry your pretty little head about battery chemistry. The end user doesn't need to know a thing. Just know that right now the best bet for future EVs is Li-Ion, and except for the price, they hold great promise. Using Li-Ion simply means low weight and great performance.

The doc that I pointed everybody to was aimed at investors. The plan is for them to offer completely converted Scions. They will NOT make hybrids. 100% battery-powered. They have done some serial hybrids, but that's a whole 'nuther can of worms.

 

Oops. Well, to confuse the hell out of you, the Prius is known as a serial/parallel hybrid, but it is mostly a parallel. The ICE and battery portions can work in parallel - using both to push the car at the same time. This is what normally happens. But since the Prius can also charge the battery with the ICE, and propel the car with battery power alone .. well, that makes it a serial hybrid in some situations. The Civic, for example, is pure parallel. It can never use just battery to move, it uses only the ICE or both the ICE and battery together.

Ooh, I can already tell this isn't going to go well. Let me try this.

A serial hybrid is one in which the ICE can never help push the car. The ICE is there ONLY to charge the batteries, and the batteries are what is used to push the car. If I tossed a generator in the back of my electric pickup and had that generator charge the batteries so I could driver until the gas ran out - that would be a serial hybrid.

How'd I do?