What electric cars are out there?

Question

i'm seriously thinking about investing in a new car and electric or even water cars seem like a great idea, but are they out yet? who makes them? where can i buy one?

what are some other car options, besides hybrids?

Answer 1

I looked up the Tesla awhile back. $100,000 and available mostly in California.

Answer 2

In the very early 1930s there was a battery driven car called the Baker Electric. It was almost silent except for a quiet clicking of the chain drive. It was mostly driven by women and, of all things had cut glass flower vases inside just behind the front doors. They looked the same from the front and the back. I know nothing of their specs.

In Jersey City, New Jersey there was a laundry that ran a fleet of chain driven trucks powered by batteries. Again I know nothing about their specs.

Really practical battery drive has had to wait for the development of long life deep cycle batteries with, to date, supplementary fossil fuel engines

Answer 3

Aptera

Phoenix Motor Cars

Tesla

Zap

Fisker

Plug in Hybrids may be a better idea for now.  I think more Americans would buy a car that didn't have a range limitation.  They would still average 100mpg and could recharge at night, during low energy demand, for $1, at current electric rates.

For that $1, you would get about 40 miles of commuting, running on battery power. And you could still drive across the country, fueling up as usual.

"Charging the battery each night would cost less than $1.00 at current rates. PHEVs outfitted with a battery pack providing a 40-mile electric range could power, using the all-electric mode, more than 60% of the total annual miles traveled by the average American driver."

"PHEVs would result in significant fuel savings for most motorists. The initial cost of the plug-in vehicle, however, would be more than a conventional car or one of the existing mass-produced hybrids. However, a 2004 study by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) found that plug-in hybrids can achieve life cycle costs parity with conventional gasoline vehicles – meaning that over the life of the car the cost will be equal or less despite the initial higher cost. The study calculated gasoline price as $1.75/gallon."

So at $4.00 a gallon?  You would save money.

"Research investment and mass manufacturing would lead to a lower retail cost of PHEVs, as has been the case in numerous industries throughout history— such as computers."

Plug in Partners -  advocacy group for PHEVs

http://www.pluginpartners.org/

Here's a site on clean car tech

http://www.greencarcongress.com/

The electric grid is already cleaner, overall, than burning gasoline and diesel.  And power industry experts have said the grid can handle the charging, since it would be mostly done at night.

http://www.setamericafree.org/blueprint....

A Blueprint For U.S. Energy Security

Here's how we can become energy independent and clean with current technology.

Answer 4

At this time, there is only the very expensive and rather exclusive Tesla.

There are electric cars available that are affordable; however, they are NEVs.  Neighborhood Electric Vehicles - they can only be driven on roads with a maximum speed limit of 35 mph... and they are limited to a top speed of 25 mph.

There are often used electric cars available on eBay that were manufactured by Chevrolet and Ford; specifically they are little pick-up trucks but at least they have decent performance and can even go on the freeway for a short stint.

Toyota also made an electric RAV4 with similar performance.

However, any of these can easily run you over $20,000 even used because the huge demand and small supply.

Solectra built some cars out of standard cars such as Geo Metro and others.  These are also for sale on eBay from time to time.

At this time, there is no electric car that will fully replace a gas-fueled car when it comes to range.  Depending upon design, condition, and driving style, an electric car usually has a range of thirty to eighty miles; which is fine and dandy for daily use.  Just no long trips are available yet.

There are no water-powered cars.

Hybrids are at this time a joke.  All of their power comes from gasoline; it hardly matters that at some point it is converted on-board to electricity.  A hybrid that can be plugged in would be more proper; still not ideal though.

Look at http://www.motors.ebay.com and put in the search box "Electric" or "EV".  There's always something there.

Answer 5

The best EV currently available is the ZAP Xebra.

http://www.zapworld.com/electric-vehicle...

However, in a year or two there will be many much improved EVs becoming available.

Available in California in October 2008, the Aptera typ-1e will cost about $27,000 with a top speed of 95 mph and range of 120 miles per charge.

http://www.aptera.com/details.php

Soon thereafter Aptera will introduce the typ-1h, a plug-in hybrid version of the typ-1e with a 40-60 mile range on purely electrical energy, and a range of over 600 miles total when in electric/gas hybrid mode, for around $30,000.  On a 120 mile trip, the typ-1h will get 300 miles per gallon.  The shorter the trip, the higher the efficiency.

http://www.aptera.com/details.php

Available in late 2009, the ZAP Alias will cost $30,000, have a top speed of 100 mph, and a range of 100 miles per charge.

http://zapworld.com/electric-vehicles/el...

Soon thereafter the ZAP-X will be available at a cost of $60,000 with a top speed of 155 mph and a range of 350 miles per charge.

http://zapworld.com/electric-vehicles/el...

Available in 2009, the Miles Javlon will cost $30-35,000 with a top speed of 80 mph and a range of 120 miles per charge.

http://www.milesev.com/index.asp#hsv.swf

Phoenix Motorcars will start selling their SUT to individuals in late 2008 or early 2009.  It will cost $45,000 and have a top speed of 100 mph with a range of 100+ miles per charge.

http://phoenixmotorcars.com/

Available in Fall 2009, the cityZenn will have a top speed of 80 mph and range of 250 miles per charge.  No price has yet been established.

http://www.zenncars.com/  

http://www.zenncars.com/media/documents/...

Answer 6

Hello Uncut,

There are "pure"electrics out there,  There are also kits and parts of kits, and groups and clubs that play with such things.  That is the up side.        The down side is that all electrics are expensive.  There are factories in California that convert cars to electric for about $20,000.oo.  The new hybrids are cool, but still need gasoline, and are expensive.  

There is a club in Seattle WA (near where I live) that converts VW rabbits and the old VW Beatles.  They use parts ordered from suppliers and bolt 'em on.  It helps to have wrenches.  The cost is about $6,000.oo and your VW.

I hope this helps.

Answer 7

go to www.evcanada.org

there is quite a list of vehicles

Answer 8

There are no mainstream electric cars out right now.  Your best bet would probably be a hybrid like the Prius.  I myself (not have a large budget) will be buying a compact regular car.  Contrary to popular opinion, many small cars (e.g. the Honda Fit, Toyota Yaris, Nissa Versa) actually get better gas mileage than some hybrids.  Just because a car is a hybrid does not mean it gets great gas mileage.  The hybrid drivetrain may be used for extra power instead, or the car may just be poorly designed (hybrids are a new technology, after all).  

Again, to answer your question, you'll have to wait a bit before viable electric cars come on the market, but there are plenty of high-mileage, inexpensive options out there.