Electric cars Blog

October 27th, 2008 by admin

Soaring gas prices and environmental concerns, electric cars are becoming popular as an answer to some of the problems of the auto industry. However, do electric cars have a spotless reputation?

The following are their disadvantages of EVs voiced for some time now:

1. Charging Woes: Electric powered vehicles require charging stations, and for people to travel long distances there needs to be a network of such stations located strategically. Also recharging of batteries often takes about 3 hours, which nowhere matches efficiency of a gas refuel. And of course there’s the charging equipment you need to carry along.

2. Travelling distance (Range): The electric cars might be electric Mitsubishi car, electric Pontiac car, electric Saturn car, electric Saab car, electric Volvo car etc, can travel only about a 100 miles on an average, and on a single charge. The technology of Chrysler’s proposed EVs is supposed to have the cars run longer, though.

3. Lack of power: In general electric cars are still behind gas powered vehicles in their ability to to accelerate and climb quickly.

4. Overloaded batteries: At the heart of electric automobiles are the car’s batteries. At the same time, as all other car accessories viz. radios, car air conditioners, etc. use up electric power from batteries, they’d drain quickly. And recharging them takes time!

5. They are expensive: Batteries that power these cars are a costly affair. Consider this: The promising and long-lasting lithium-ion batteries cost about US$10,000 each, which for the most part make these cars expensive. And if the batteries last only about 4 years, they could add to the maintenance costs.

6. The cause pollution: Yes, the ‘clean & green’ electric cars cause pollution too, albeit indirectly. While themselves being clean, there are toxic elements within batteries and which could spew toxic fumes. Further, the car’s engines are powered by electricity, and all of which isn’t generated from renewable energy sources. Which means electric power production per se entails pollution.

7. They’re Heavy: Batteries are what makes these vehicles heavy. A battery pack of an average electric car can weigh up to a 1,000 pounds or 450 kg (approx.) This a disadvantage because weight puts pressure on batteries and they drain out faster.

While the prospect of electric vehicles seems promising, electric vehicles don’t appear to be a panacea and have their own share of shortcomings. Consequently, a purchase decision in favor of EVs or hybrids might not be all that simple.

October 25th, 2008 by admin

With gas prices being so high, alternative fuel vehicles have become a popular topic. Two of the types of vehicles that tend to get a lot of press are the hydrogen fuel cell powered vehicles and electric powered vehicles. Both are lauded as the way of the future. But which of these two options are really has the better chance of being the car your children drive.

Let’s look at hydrogen fuel cells first. When burned in an engine, the only emissions giving off is water, so a hydrogen powered vehicle is a zero emission vehicle. Hydrogen is also a better fuel than gasoline, it actually has the highest energy content per unit of weight of any known fuel.

Hydrogen is also a very abundant element. While current methods for making hydrogen are done by using fossil fuels, such as natural gas, coal, and oil, American wouldn’t be dependent on foreign oil anymore. Also, hydrogen can be extracted from water, and we all know there’s a lot of water on this planet.

However, hydrogen is not without its share of drawbacks. Probably the biggest problem right now is that it would require an entire new infrastructure. While gas stations could be outfitted with hydrogen fueling stations that would take years. Also, the technology to store hydrogen efficiently is still not ready for prime time.

Then there’s the electric car. Electric cars for sale can also be considered zero emission vehicles since they give off no emission when running. However, electric cars like electric Porsche car, electric Saturn car, electric Saab car, electric Toyota car, electric Volvo car etc, do require power from the electric grid, which does give off emissions. As the electric grid gets cleaner, though, so do electric cars, and electric powered cars are substantially less polluting than gasoline powered cars due to the fact that power plants are far cleaner and more efficient than an internal combustion engine in a vehicle.

The technology for mainstream electric cars is also not quite ready for all the major manufacturers to stop making gasoline powered cars, but it’s much closer than hydrogen currently is. The challenge with electric cars right now is the batteries. The batteries are both expensive and current models, like the Tesla Roadster, have a range of only 250 miles – great for commuting, but not so good for road trips. The other problem is the length of time these vehicles take to charge. It’s not simply a matter stopping at your local power station and plugging in for five minutes and leaving. A typical charging cycle for current prototypes is 4-5 hours – again, fine if you’re commuting, but impossible for a road trip. While technology is being developed to make charging your vehicle as quick as quick as filling up with gas, it has a ways to go before it’s ready, just like hydrogen fuel cells.

Fleets of electric cars will certainly be hitting the roads sooner hydrogen fuel cell cars, but which one ultimately ends up being the vehicle of choice for American drivers remains to be seen as both have plenty of challenges to overcome before people will readily give up their cheap gas powered cars in favor of these alternatives.

October 23rd, 2008 by admin

You can actually buy an electric car today. There are various car under this category like electric Volvo cars, electric Mitsubishi cars, electric Pontiac cars, Toyota etc.

There are good reasons for their growing popularity. For starters, if you’re on a green electricity tariff, you can run an electric car theoretically emitting no carbon at all — aside from the initial carbon splurge required to manufacture the car. They’re also green for the local environment as well as the planet. Because electric cars have no combustion engine and therefore no exhaust pipes, they don’t spit out any nitrogen oxides and particulates like diesels notoriously do.

If the eco benefits aren’t enough to make you friends with electric, try the cash savings. Electric car-owners are Congestion Charge exempt, enjoy free parking in central London, don’t pay road tax and fall in cheap insurance bands.

Sadly, all this goodness doesn’t come without sacrifice. The range of these cars for sale is still limited to city driving, with the G-Wiz managing 50 miles before it needs recharging and the NICE Mega City travelling a mere 40 miles before needing the plug. The ’smart ed’ fares better with a 72 mile range. Fortunately, topping them up to full takes five to eight hours and the process is as simple as plugging into any normal three-pin mains socket. Realistically, you’ll need a driveway at home to run the cable to the car.

Electric car drivers in London are better catered for than elsewhere in the country. The capital has several on-street and car park charging points for when you’re away for home.

The driving experience of today’s generation of electric car is also miles away from a petrol car. Don’t expect boy racer thrills — these things accelerate relatively slowly and cap out at maximum speeds of 60mph, meaning motorway driving isn’t massively practical.

Lastly, there’s the quality of the fittings and the size of the interior. Due to the issues of range and speed, the current crop of electrics falls into the supermini category and have very little boot space. The standard of the internal fittings (dash, seats and so on) varies enormously, from the rather good ed to the reasonable Mega City and ultra rudimentary G-Wiz. Despite their shortcomings, electric cars are a lot of fun, cheap to run and green to boot.

October 21st, 2008 by admin

Toyota, which owns a significant share in Fuji Heavy Industries, Subaru’s owner, has for the first time confirmed plans for its own battery-powered-only car to be released in the early 2010s. Meanwhile, Subaru is slightly ahead having announced fleet sales of a four-seat electric car starting next year.

The reason behind the push? Both companies are getting worried that Nissan electric cars and Mitsubishi electric cars will become the leaders in the next generation of electric-cars, which many view as the only sustainable future of automobiles.

Speaking of Nissan, the company has previously made clear plans to launch an electric vehicle in the US by 2010. Mitsubishi is not far behind with plans of a 2010 launch ofits electric iMiEV in Japan, followed by Europe and the US.

Nonetheless, Toyota is still concerned about the performance of electric-only cars. The company has previously stated that an electric car is limited by battery performance and the company’s R&D chief Masatami Takimoto said the electric vehicle’s range would be limited by the performance of today’s batteries.

Subaru will be basing next year’s electric car on the ‘Stella’, a tiny 660cc minicar currently only sold in Japan. The design will not change much on the outside, still seating four, but the car will now run on lithium-ion batteries.

The car’s battery can be recharged in eight hours through a regular household socket. Not feeling very inspired? Think of it this way, if you used your car to get to and from work on a daily basis, would you really cover more than 80km? We would like to know how many Ks you drive on a daily basis and whether an 80km-a-day limit would suffice if it meant no trips to the pump.

October 19th, 2008 by admin

Call it an electric vehicle (EV) or call it a battery electric vehicle (BEV), but a rose by any other name would still smell sweet if it utilized green technology. Electric cars for sale flourished in the late 1800s and early 1900s, but limitations like low top speeds helped seal their fate. Advances in manufacturing processes of internal combustion engines, the starter motor, increased mileage ranges, and cheaper gasoline production methods all helped to nudge electric cars off the road. Of course there are those who say that big oil was behind the defeat of electric cars. There has been some credence given to these sorts of claims by the fact that GM had developed an electric cars in the 1980’s only to have it shelved after pressure from oil companies. With emissions from 600 million vehicles contributing to global warming, hybrid electric cars for sale are the probably the next best alternative we have. Yet companies like Tesla have put pure electric cars back on the map. Not only are they beautiful to look at, they are a pleasure to ride. As time goes on more and more car companies will move first to hybrids, but then ultimately to fully electric cars.

Where are all those electric cars?

A completely electric car doesn’t yet exist for mainstream commercial use. There is a neighborhood class of electric cars, or personal electric vehicles (PEVs). While the battery can recharge overnight while you sleep, a 30 to 40 mile range isn’t likely to sit well even with the little ole’ lady from Pasadena.

What about Hybrid Electric Cars?

The practical solution for now is electric hybrids that utilize two fuel sources. Gasoline-electric cars are a cross between a gasoline-powered car and an electric car, and a mild electric hybrid has enhanced performance as a first priority and fuel economy second.

The Chevrolet Volt, scheduled for production in 2010, is an extended-range electric hybrid car that will use gas or E85 ethanol. Its battery can be recharged while driving, and its estimated driving range is 640 miles. A full electric hybrid pursues optimal fuel economy, and cars like the Toyota Prius Hybrid and the Honda Civic Hybrid fall within this latter category. Since all electric hybrids use some gasoline, it is a compromise, but reduced emissions and minimized shortcomings of the electric car are a start, yet far from the ideal vision of a complete clean fuel car.

Hybrid electric cars also allow for the transition in terms of infrastructure to fully electric propulsion system. Hybrids just might be around until enough electric and /or battery stations are around in order to keep charging the fleet of electric cars. Ultimately as new sources for primary energy (like wind and solar) come on board a greater incentive for manufacturers and consumers to develop and buy pure electric cars may in fact occur. One can only hope as the world faces dire predictions of peak oil and global warming that these vehicles and infrastructure can be developed and built quickly and inexpensively.

October 16th, 2008 by admin

The question is will it last? Have we finally reached a crisis point in a time when the world’s automobile manufacturers realize we need an alternative to gas powered vehicles? That the only way to avoid the fate of the dinosaur is to drive better gas mileage into their cars and trucks while continuing research on other alternatives? Consumers are buying electric car for sale, spending money on electric car conversions, and trying to find out exactly what electric cars are and how they work.

Most people say no. Most people realize we have gone down this road before and they are not willing to get caught behind the eight ball again. Problem is no one tells the car makers. All of the majors are working on alternative fuel sources for the next few model years banking on the fact that the world’s drivers have had enough. Problem is if gas is cheap again, consumers will pick up right where they left off and drive up demand for SUV’s and other gas guzzlers which will force automobile manufactures to retool to release pent up demand and sideline their “green” programs yet again.

The electric car is seen as the next best technology and will hit the market in full force over the next few model years. Toyota is considering a Prius with solar panels to power the air conditioning unit. BMW and Porsche is working on a hydrogen powered engine they say will be ready in less than ten years. There are rumors that Mercedes-Benz plans on eliminating gas powered engines. That is a pretty bold effort, but one that is surely needed.

But if any of these fantastic technological breakthroughs are going to be successful people are going to have to buy them. No one is going to confuse you for a secret agent while tooling around town in your Prius, and you are certainly going to get stares in your SMART car from Mercedes, but for all the wrong reasons. But not to worry all of you fashonistas out there waiting for the right car to accessorize your dog-wallet-purse-girlfriend-job with, the Volt is a nice looking vehicle and if you happen to have a hundred grand laying around, you could always pony up for a Tesla and be green and sexy all at the same time!

October 15th, 2008 by admin

Porsche is one of the world’s biggest car manufacturers—hands down. But the debate enters when one says that a Porsche car is the best car in the world. Of course fans of other brands would argue, claiming that their cars are the best…but none compares to the milestones that Porsche embedded on the road.

Since its early beginning, the would-be famous father of cars Ferdinand Porsche created remarkable firsts in the car industry, and in the world. It was in the 1900’s when he created the electric car for sale at the World Fair in Paris. The wheel hub engines of the young engineer brought him international attention. Within the same year, he had created the world’s first-ever hybrid electric car, at the same time developing all-wheel drive race cars. At this rate, Porsche has made a remarkable advancement for its name. Soon after, Porsche began to create ingenious Grand Prix race cars and different variations of different, innovative sports cars.

The more than 100 years that Porsche dedicated to creating cars that take on a really smooth journey has developed to the creation of sublime car parts as well. One of the important processes that takes place in a car is the process of the cooling system. Chemical energy has to be turned into mechanical power, and Porsche understands that. Most of the energy in the gasoline is converted into heat, so therefore, it is the important task of the cooling system to take care of that heat. No worries about a Porsche overheating, when it careens down the freeway all the driver has to think about is the road-and how lucky he is to be in a Porsche. One major factor that contributes to this are the Porsche Radiators.

The Porsche Radiators is a heat exchanging device designed to transfer heat from the hot coolant that runs through it to the air and blown through it by the cooling fan. As the car moves, the radiator’s façade is also cooled by the outside air coming from the grille. Sometimes, a collapsed lower radiator hose or a defective radiator cap causes overheating. So it is very important that when doing a radiator maintenance, also check the two radiator components. A simple preventive maintenance does a lot for the Porsche Radiators to fulfill its task flawlessly. Having the Porsche Radiators flushed periodically as well as having the components of a car’s cooling system changed when one part needs replacing can help a lot in ensuring the car’s peak-level performance. The Porsche radiators are indeed made only by the best and finest material from the world’s finest car maker.

The world’s finest race cars hail from Porsche, with a lot of competitions and endurance race titles under its belt. For every decade that Porsche saw through, it made one cornerstone in the history of automobiles after another. Indeed, the milestones that the name Porsche has made is much of an accomplishment that other cars will never be able to surpass, even if they tried.

October 14th, 2008 by admin

The Ford Escape Hybrid is a fuel-saving, gas-electric hybrid-power version of small, four-door sport-utility vehicle, available with front-wheel drive (FWD) or four-wheel drive (4×4). Its power train has 2.3-liter, four-cylinder gas engine rated 133 horsepower at 6,000 rpm, 129 pounds-feet of torque at 4,500 rpm; synchronous AC electric motor rated 94 hp from 3,000 to 5,000 rpm; 330-volt battery pack under rear cargo floor; electronically controlled, continuously variable transmission. Maximum power output is 155 hp because gas and electric do not make their maximum power simultaneously.

It has a 2.3-liter, Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder gasoline engine with a 70-kilowatt permanent-magnet traction electric motor, regenerative braking and a 330-volt battery pack. The combination provides performance on par with a V-6. The hybrid never has to be plugged in because the engine recharges the batteries, by the electric motor and by heat recovered as energy during braking.

“The Escape hybrid really “wants” to be an electric hybrid car, but the gasoline engine adds power for acceleration, charges the batteries and powers the air conditioning,” said Mary Ann Wright, Ford’s director of Sustainable Mobility Programs.

Unlike new or used electric cars, hybrids never need to be plugged into a recharger. Regenerative braking recharges the Ford Escape Hybrid, which converts electric motor into a generator to help refill the battery pack during stops; and by a recharging system powered by the gas engine.

Designed to last for the life of the vehicle and can be found under the Escape’s cargo floor, the battery pack, which contains 250 small batteries roughly the size of D cells mounted in series doesn’t infringe on cargo space.The software and computerized controllers that make everything work effectively is the key to a hybrid. Small badges identify the Ford Escape as a hybrid. The instrument panel is a little different because it contains a gauge that shows when the electric motor is the source of power and when the gasoline engine is running. An optional LCD display in the center stack gives instant and average fuel economy as well as a pictorial representation of how the power is flowing at any instant.

The Escape’s hybrid engine shuts down at rest to conserve fuel. When driving resumes, the SUV’s 70-kilowatt traction motor generator can launch the vehicle on electric power. When it’s needed, the generator starts the gas engine without the increased emissions produced when a conventional engine is started. The Escape Hybrid also produces as little as half the amount of carbon dioxide (greenhouse gas) as a conventional gas engine. It produces 97 percent less hydrocarbon and oxides of nitrogen emissions than vehicles meeting today’s required emission standards. That qualifies it for the Advanced Technology Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle (AT-PZEV) standards designation.

Being the leader in the development of low emission vehicles, Ford continually develops projects that will someday result in practical hydrogen-powered vehicles with no greenhouse gas emissions.As zealous as Ford in continually upgrading its products to suit every client needs, Partstrain is always looking for superior and quality workmanship for its product lines. Only the finest Ford auto body parts comprise its stock.

October 13th, 2008 by admin

Environment is getting more polluted day by day. We all know that something needs to be done about the state of our environment. After all, if we continue the trend that we have started of polluting and damaging the world around us, it may not be able to continue to provide us with the healthy elements we require for a healthy life. But solutions to the environmental issues are few and far between. Take our transportation situation, for example. We have become a society that is increasingly dependent on the use of cars to get around, as our world and neighborhoods have become bigger and more spread out. But cars are known polluters, and the cost of gas is beginning to limit the distances that we want to drive. We need a solution to this dilemma, and two of the possibilities that scientists are studying are electric and hybrid cars.

New or used electric cars for sale run on an electric motor that is powered by a battery or series of batteries. These batteries need to be recharged periodically, usually after 50-100 miles of use. While this type of vehicle is very environmentally friendly because it produces almost no pollution, the fact that is must be recharged so frequently makes it a very inconvenient choice for many car owners. The other problem is that the recharging process has traditionally been a long and inconvenient one for the average car user. This is why you haven’t seen too many electric cars, electric sports cars etc on the road at this point. However, by combining the electric and hybrid cars, you can create an automobile that is non-polluting and fuel efficient.

When it comes to electric and hybrid cars like Ford, Chevrolet, Toyota, Mercury cars etc, the latter may be the more desirable choice for the large majority of car owners. While both the electric and hybrid cars use less fuel and emit less pollution, the hybrid cars are designed to go longer distances with less maintenance in between. This means that you can reap the benefits of using less fuel, which is a huge savings today when you consider the high cost of gasoline, with a vehicle that is much more convenient to use. Hybrid cars combine the ease of a small gas engine with an electric motor that is capable of recharging itself. You end up with a cleaner vehicle that can go longer distances on less fuel. The electric motor aids in the acceleration process, and also enables the car to turn itself automatically off and back on at stops, saving plenty of fuel for maximum efficiency.

While both electric and hybrid cars fit the bill when it comes to environmental friendliness, the hybrid car may be the vehicle of choice when it comes to convenience and ease of use. Consider a hybrid car for your next family vehicle and count the many benefits that you will receive.

October 10th, 2008 by admin

Here’s an idea: Let’s put a battery in a car and skip all that business with gasoline. We plug it in, charge it at home at night and run it all day. Has anyone thought of this?

New or used electric cars for sale have been around in some form for about a century. They have a little problem, however. There is no special battery found which is powerful enough to push 3,000 pounds far enough to make the electric vehicle worth $30,000. Battery-operated motors work in golf carts, in factory forklifts and in some buses that have room for lots of batteries under the floor and that never stray very far from recharging plugs at their base stations. They do not work in all-purpose passenger vehicles.

Fans of electric cars argue that people drive on average only 20 to 40 miles a day and that we can build one that will run that far, enough to take you to work and back. But we don’t pay $30,000 just to go to work and back. We buy cars because they are versatile tools. They will take us to work and also from New York to California. They will carry 1,000 pounds of people inside and 500 pounds of stuff in the trunk or cargo area. They will run across the Mojave Desert, and, as I have said here before, when your kid turns blue at 2 a.m. on the coldest morning of the year, that car will start and get you to the hospital. That’s why it is worth $30,000.

When you begin subtracting what that car can do, it loses value. If a car’s only utility is “it will get you to work and back,” then it’s not worth much at all, because any junker can do that.

Ignoring where the plug-in electricity would come from, electric cars would be wonderful if they could get that oil monkey off our back and end tailpipe pollution forever. Despite some progress on the technology, they are not coming all that soon.

Auto companies are betting on lithium ion batteries. These will push a car 40 miles or 200 miles, depending on who is bragging. Renault/Nissan has committed to building an electric car in volume for Israel, with charging stations across the country. The company also says it will sell a few in the U.S. and Japan by 2010 and be in serious production two years later.

The trouble is that no one has yet demonstrated that lithium ion systems are viable in a real world, mass market automobile. These batteries still produce too much heat and are costly. Israel’s small size finesses the range limitation of electric vehicles. Nissan (nasdaq: NSANY - news - people ) hopes to fix the problem with how long it takes to recharge the batteries with a removable battery pack that an attendant could swap out at an electric fueling station. The car owner never owns the battery power pack but pays a monthly charge.

Still, Nissan, which has talked of an electric car range of 124 miles, now says it is thinking of “range extender auxiliary engines.” That sounds as if the company is backing off pure electrics and into the direction of plug-in hybrids. The Nissan idea of removable battery packs is interesting, but get serious. How long will it take the Israeli station jockey to put down his cellphone and get to the job? In this country, fuel stations are usually self-service.

General Motors also aims to have its plug-in hybrid electric car, the Chevy Volt, ready in 2010, or near that date. A lithium-ion battery pack runs the vehicle 40 miles or so, and when it runs out of stored electricity a small gasoline engine goes on and powers a generator that creates electricity that powers the wheels. Drivers can recharge the batteries at home at night.

Existing hybrid electric cars for sale, such as the Toyota Prius, have electric motors and small batteries but really run on their gasoline engines for the most part. Their aim is not powering the car off the electric grid but rather reclaiming the energy wasted in stoplight idling and braking. To help prolong battery life, these Toyota cars never fully discharge or recharge the battery. Toyota, however, promises a plug-in hybrid that will recharge at night too.

Problems: Lithium battery packs probably will cost $5,000 or more, and range numbers are all over the lot. Rumor has the Chevy Volt, not in production yet, costing $40,000. Remember, too, cars must run perfectly. Rebooting at 60 miles per hour could mean crashing into a highway post.

You probably have read of other electric cars from small companies. Most are like big golf carts, but there is a real car here and there. The best known is from Tesla Motors, which boasts that its $109,000 two-seat sports car will have a range of 220 miles. A car-magazine tester drove a Tesla for 90 miles. That is not bad, but battery people question the system’s reliability. I recall honest efforts by true believers from Preston Tucker to William Lear (the Lear (nyse: LEA - news - people ) Jet), who tried to build a steam car. There is so much that can go wrong.

Electric cars just are not here yet. Range, reliability and cost are still problems. Few readers of this column will ever own one. But maybe, someday, these cars will make sense.