Who Killed The Electric Car? I Saw The Documentary....But Now I Want to Know if There's a Chance They'll....

Question

be brought back.

I was pretty unhappy at the end of the documentary. A great invention, no? But are there any still out there? Is there a chance that there will be some soon....?

Answer 1

The EV1 was a good car FOR ITS TIME, but we can do better today. Let's stop worrying about the past and look forward to the future. There are several electric car manufacturers in various stages of completion, including Tesla Motors and Phoenix Motorcars. Or you can build your own from parts. It's getting easier every year!

Answer 2

The one EV car I currently have (have 2 vehicles that run on hydrogen also) I converted from a vw bug and is free to charge. As I live completely off the grid all my electricity comes from solar panels and 2 wind generators, which I also built.

However I did charge up at Costco in Carlsbad California (I actually only drove up there to fill up) if I remember right it was around $2.00

Not sure if you’re interesting in doing it yourself, but I’d be willing to walk you step by step threw the conversion. I've converted 3 of my own cars (a datsun truck, ford ban, and a vw bug) and a few for neighbors. I've also converted cars to run on hydrogen, ethanol and biodiesel, by far EV is the easiest.

If you’re interested here’s what it would entitle…

- The engine compartment is first cleaned out of any gasoline components.

- Electric components are then installed in exchange.

- A battery bank is built and incorporated.

- Existing starter and driving systems are connected.

- Turn the key, step on the gas pedal sending more energy to the electric motor, & thus more power to the drive system, which in return creates more speed, more acceleration.

- The system has normal automotive top speeds and acceleration, typical to the vehicle your modifying. If your top speed was 85 mph and your acceleration was 1 mile per min, then this will be what your left with after the conversion.

The methods are extremely simple, making the process possible for anyone, everyone, ANYWHERE.

Typical tools, hardware & supplies are used, making access to parts available for all.

Electric Conversions can be easily accomplished in ANY model vehicle, even tractors, Generators, types of machinery, etc.

Project lengths range from 1 day to 1 month.

If you’re interested I wrote a guide on it which is available at www agua-luna com

My last EV conversion ran me about $1400. Everything is available online. I have a how to do it yourself guide available at www agua-luna com that will walk you step by step through the process. If you have ANY questions feel free to contact me through the site. Here’s a list of what you'd need...

Advanced DC Motor

The motor is an 8" Advanced DC series-wound motor. It weighs 107 pounds and is rated at 68 peak horsepower. These motors are available in several sizes.



Adaptor plate

The adaptor plate mates the motor to the transmission. It is constructed of 1/2 inch aluminum and is pre-drilled with bolt hole patterns for both the motor and transmission. An aluminum spacer is also used for proper spacing between the shafts of the transmission and motor. Adaptor plates are available for many cars.

DC Motor Controller

The controller regulates current going to the motor. It is a solid-state device that uses a pulse width modulator (PWM) that sends short bursts of current to the motor at a rate of 15 kHz. Controllers are available from both Curtis and DCP.

Potbox (Potentiometer)

The potbox is a 5K ohm throttle between the controller and the accelerator, similar to the way a sewing machine pedal works. The potbox's lever arm is attached to the existing accelerator cable.

Main Contactor

An electric relay that serves the same purpose as the ignition switch in a gas car. When the key is turned to the start position, the contactor closes the circuit to allow current to flow to the controller.

Circuit Breaker

A safety device that shuts down power for servicing or during an emergency. The circuit breaker is installed under the hood and can be switched both off and on from the drivers seat with an extension or cable.



Main Fuse

The main fuse protect the system from high voltage spikes. A fuse should be installed at each battery box or group of batteries.



Shunt

A shunt is placed in series within the wiring as a means to connect meters. Shunts are available in different sizes for both high and low power configurations.

  

Charger interlock

A relay that keeps the circuit open so nobody will inadvertantly drive off with the charge cord plugged into the car.



DC/DC Converter

The DC/DC converter is similar in function to a gas car's alternator. It charges the 12 volt accessory battery by chopping voltage from the main battery pack down to 13.5 volts.

If you interested I offer several DIY alternative guides to walk you step by step threw EV conversion process at agua-luna com or

www agua-luna com

Hope this helped, feel free to contact me personally if you have any questions if you’d like assistance in making your first self sufficient steps, I’m willing to walk you step by step threw the process. I’ve written several how-to DIY guides available at  www agua-luna com on the subject. I also offer online and on-site workshops, seminars and internships to help others help the environment.

Dan Martin

Alterative Energy / Sustainable Consultant, Living 100% on Alternative & Author of How One Simple Yet Incredibly Powerful Resource Is Transforming The Lives of Regular People From All Over The World... Instantly Elevating Their Income & Lowering Their Debt, While Saving The Environment by Using FREE ENERGY... All With Just One Click of A Mouse...For more info Visit:  

www AGUA-LUNA com

Stop Global Warming!!!

Answer 3

I see that Agua-Luna.com -I LIVE OFF GRID- is back again with his spam, sigh.

Hate to tell you that the public killed the electric car.

The Ev1 “cost” according to GM was about $80,000 each the least price was based on a retail price of 33,995 to $43,995 (US) for that price you could buy a 2008 Cadillac CTS, or you could buy a Toyota Corolla for between 15,250 and 20,000 leaving you with between $13,000 and $28,000 for gas so even at $5 per gallon of gas that’s about 2,600 gallons of fuel or about 78,000 miles to break even assuming you pay nothing for the electricity. Now add the range problem, your range is between 75 and a 150 miles gen 2 (55 to 75 mile gen 1), and it better not get too cold the batteries become less efficient as it get colder, so your range will suffer.

A little history when cars really came into their own, electric and steam were on top, gas power cars were messy and unreliable. Steam and electric had their problems, but electric almost never broke down and steam took a long time to get moving, but both were much more reliable then gasoline power cars. Steam also had the problem of being under pressure and you need some skill to work on it. Then the metals used to build the internal combustion engine got better and they became more reliable.

The internal combustion engine lends itself nicely to the modern assembly line. When the model T came out the internal combustion engine was taking over the automobile market, and the model T really set the internal combustion engine (IMHO) as king as far as automobile go. The market was flooded with engines. With that huge number of engines on the market and the manufactures gear up to supply all the parts you would need at a reasonable price. Add the infrastructure for the oil, fuel, tires, etc. it became much cheaper to maintain an internal combustion engine car then a non-internal combustion car. Add the electrical start to the engine and now anyone could easily start and drive an internal combustion car.

With the cheaper price and ease of maintenance the public voted for the internal combustion engine, and steam and electric power cars companies died out.

Fast forward about 80 to 90 years and you have a car with about a 100 mile range, about the same as 80 or 90 years ago, that cost as much to lease as a much nicer gas powered car. So I have a choice a car that cost more with limited range, or a nicer cheaper car with basically unlimited range. The public already decided.

In the end it was really the general public, despite the small number of people who really loved the car, who killed the electric car. There wasn’t enough economy of scale to make the car worth building. Many a car has failed just because of that, Chevrolet El Camino, Ford Ranchero were both discontinued after their sales fell. Many more cars never get past the concept faze, the market research comes back and it say they can sell X units, if that number isn’t high enough the car never get put into production.

Yes there is a chance it’ll come back. If the car can seat 4 is well built and the range can be increased to say 300 miles at -30 C, with a heater thank you, at almost the same cost as a gas powered car then yes, until that happens no. Sorry.

Answer 4

That movie is totally biased and was created by someone who didn't even understand EV's.

Look for them to show up around 2010 from GM (Chevy Volt) and maybe a Toyota.  This depends on someone creating a good battery that is also affordable.  We went through similar problems with hybrids when they came out but those batteries are still not good enough for a EV.

Back to the ones in the 90's.  GM, Toyota, Honda, and Ford all made EV's.  GM was actually the 1st to start and last to stop.  The problem then and now is battery technology.  They are extremely expensive, heavy, and have poor range.  People didn't want to pay $80-100k for something of the same size and quality as a compact car that has a range of only 50 or so miles before you need to spend the next 8 hours charging it.  For that price you could buy a $50k sports car or full size SUV and a lifetime supply of gas for it for less money than an EV.  They were hugely expensive and the companies still lost thousands on every car they built.  Only Ford didnt crush all of their EV's.

Answer 5

GM did it once they will do it again, they are already heming and hawing with the volt, their excuse for not putting the volt into product now is the battery is not ready, they aren't sure there is a market for it now the battery mileage has dropped from 40 to 30 miles... the same old song and dance.

When an electric does arrive it will not be from any of the Big (bankrupt three).

Answer 6

i bet an oil co. had something to do with it .

Answer 7

Electric cars are making a serious comeback.  Right now the best available is the ZAP Xebra:

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

But there are many really nice EVs set to come out soon.

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 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 $30,000 with a top speed of 80 mph and a range of 120 miles per charge.

http://www.milesev.com/

Phoenix Motorcars will start selling their SUT to individuals in 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 2009, the cityZENN will have a 250 mile range and 80 mph top speed.  The price has not yet been set.

http://greenhome.huddler.com/products/ze...

Answer 8

I'd recommend the link to the Yahoo Group below.  The key to the EV-1 was the NiMH battery.  It was no better than junkers like the Volt until they switched from the Delco battery they started with.  The Delco battery had already been branded "defective" by its makers.  Chevron and GM bought the patents, and the factory and shut down production.  If the NiMH is ever "liberated" even the turkeys the American car makers have been offering will be somewhat viable.  Until then, the Japanese hybrids are the only ones worth considering, and a few of the European EV's.

Here's a recent post in the Group

4-22-2008

"  We know GM fails to tell truth about the EV1, how it sabotaged it,

and public demand. To this day, GM *lies* about the EV1's range,

batteries, drivers, performance, and so on, even as it shucks people

about its newfound "green" wash with the supposed VOLT, the

dumb "hybrid" Tahoe and other products.

Ron Cogan, reputedly an oilie-agent, runs a phony "green" site that

is quoted on GM ads praising this idiotic monster-mobile. Is that

the best they can do...just pretend that they make a good product?

When the EV1 first came out, not only did it have failure-prone

Delco batteries, but it also leased for the astonomical sum of $599

per month. GM was hoping for a fast death! But amazingly, a sturdy

cadre of EV fans paid the money, cheerfully put up with the

failures, and made it a cult vehicle. When GM was blindsided by the

incredible, unheard-of HondaEV and RAV4-EV, in the spring of 1997,

using NiMH batteries that GM had believed it had killed and

sequestered, and at a LOWER price ($499/month), the boneheads at GM

went apathetic. They were forced to lower the lease on the EV1 to

match, and forced, eventually, both to upgrade to non-sabotaged PSB

lead batteries and to finally, grudgingly, release a NiMH version of

the EV1.

Imagine, you had to pay more for the sabotaged EV1 in 1997 than you

would have had to pay to lease or buy a top-of-the-line Cadillac!

And people still wanted them!

But GM refused to admit demand, and just plain lied. As usual.

Now, GM is really in the soup. There is public perception that GM

makes a crappy product; and, according to this story, that

perception is veridical! So GM is faced with the dual problems of

having a bad product, and people knowing about it.

Imagine if GM didn't lie, didn't cheat, and didn't try to push

shlock on the public. Imagine, all those betrayed loyal buyers of

GM junk, if they didn't feel conned! A Cadillac "Surcease" costs

about twice the cost of a Prius; after 5 years, both are about the

same.

---------------------------------

'In an attempt to fix its brand issues, General Motors (GM)is re-

aligning its eight major brands into four distinct "channels"; the

idea is to address GM's brand woes by managing the brands within

each channel from a sales, marketing and advertising perspective.

'From the WSJ: ''[GM] moved to bring its eight vehicle brands into

closer alignment, organizing them into four groups...The formation

of a "premium channel" for GM's three upscale brands is likely to

spur the formation of more dealerships carrying all three brands

under one roof -- something the auto maker has already been doing

with its Buick, Pontiac and GMC brands...Cadillac, Hummer and

Saab ... "will evolve into something like" Buick, Pontiac and GMC,

said Mark LaNeve...''

'The problem with this strategy is that shifting the brands around

into four groups and then aligning the dealers around them doesn't

really address GM's brand issues. The problem with GM's brands isn't

a function of dealer alignment and how they're sold, it's how the

brands are perceived and the nature of the underlying product...'

----------------------

THAT MEANS, THE WAY PEOPLE PERCEIVE GM PRODUCT IS A PROBLEM, AND

THAT THEY ARE RIGHT ABOUT IT IS ANOTHER PROBLEM! The article

recommends changing people's perception of GM's product, as

secondary to fixing the product. "

4-21-2008

"  Chevron controls the NiMH patent rights: It's true, all right; but

patents can't stop a technology from being used, if they really want

to use it. The auto companies are just using the patents for cover.

In reality, the "settlement agreement" seems to have forbidden

Toyota from building or selling the large-format EV-95 NiMH

batteries in the USA until at least 2015, while allowing them to

build and sell the smaller Prius batteries, which require a payment

to Chevron's subsidiary. Naturally, Toyota would love to use

Lithium, and get away from paying this fee; also, if they could make

Lithium, they would be able to make and sell larger batteries which

would not be covered by the patents. By climbing down from Lithium,

Toyota is doomed to continue paying royalties to Chevron. So if

Toyota won't do it, with a working, money-making product, we have to

assume it can't be done. Conversely, if it can be done, Toyota will

do it first.

However, if a big company chose to make NiMH, Chevron could not

really stop them, IMO; it's a matter of them being forced to license

it. When I talked to Chevron's unit, they claimed that although

they would not sell to me, if a big OEM order came in, in the

millions of units, they would allow it. So the NiMH batteries,

really, are there, available to be used, so long as the auto company

is willing to battle Chevron.

Clearly, Toyota was happy to kill the RAV4-EV, in exchange for

membership in the Alliance of Auto Makers; they value being part of

the "club", and for GM, it's valuable because they won't be

blindsided any more, as they were in 1997 when Toyota released NiMH

while GM was suppressing it. At that time, Toyota, like all

Japanese auto makers, was sort of a pariah, hated and despised by

the big two-and-a-half. Which are now the big one-and-a-quarter.

Many currents in this sewer, clearly, a dirty business by some

dirty, filthy companies.  "

Answer 9

They are actually illegal as there is no tax paid to the feds.

Answer 10

chevy is working on the volt, which should be available for sale in a couple of years, tesla motors sells an all electric car, but it does run $90k+ per copy. there is a company that is going to be bringing an all electric car to the US next year i believe, i forget the company name though.

as for the EV1, there are a couple in museums, but the rest were crushed.

Answer 11

All about the money.The Electric Car is DEAD for now.