EV Digest 2830
Topics covered in this issue include:
1) EVLN(Mine EV soon to be made by two Korean firms)
by Bruce EVangel Parmenter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
2) EVLN(French embrace Segway, Brits are put off)-long
by Bruce EVangel Parmenter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
3) EVLN(Code Name Ginger: The Segway Story)-long
by Bruce EVangel Parmenter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
4) EVLN(Electric vehicle maker plans to open in PA)
by Bruce EVangel Parmenter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
5) EVLN(Mt. Blue has the Electrathon EVs to beat)
by Bruce EVangel Parmenter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
6) EVLN(The Race Must Go On for Kennedy Drivers)
by Bruce EVangel Parmenter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
7) EVLN(Streisand sues Santa Cruz EV driver & Solar user)
by Bruce EVangel Parmenter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
8) EVLN(Sparrow EV : a classic Silicon Valley start-up)-long
by Bruce EVangel Parmenter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
9) EVLN(Touchstone Energy & 2003 Kansas ElectroRally)
by Bruce EVangel Parmenter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
10) EVLN(Waialua team wins America Cup 2003 Electrathon Event)
by Bruce EVangel Parmenter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
11) EVLN(Valence Ships K-Charge Power System to EVI)
by Bruce EVangel Parmenter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
12) Re: Efficiency numbers
by "David Roden (Akron OH USA)" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
13) Re: DC-DC's in parallel?
by Bruce EVangel Parmenter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
14) Re: Fwd from Bob Rice: Electrak
by "David Roden (Akron OH USA)" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
15) Re: Efficiency numbers
by Peter VanDerWal <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
16) Re: No Limo for this Wedding, the Tango Takes Two
by Lee Hart <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
17) Sparrows are worth *that* much?!
by "KARLA JACKSONLEVINE" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
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EVLN(Mine EV soon to be made by two Korean firms)
[The Internet Electric Vehicle List News. For Public EV
informational purposes. Contact publication for reprint rights.]
--- {EVangel}
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200305/200305220004.html
Electric Car to be "Mine," Maybe Yours
by Kim Jong-ho ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
Two Korean firms say they will soon begin to mass-produce
battery-powered passenger cars. IMS Motors and Dong-a
Precision Machinery said they have developed a general-use
electric car, called the "Mine," and are about to begin
commercial production of the model starting August.
The emission-free passenger car is modeled for two
passengers and has two front wheels and one rear wheel. Its
width is 1.5 meters, its length 2.9 meters and height 1.5
meters, and it can run 120 to 150 kilometers on a
three-to-four-hour battery. The maximum speed of the car is
90 kilometers, the two companies said.
The consumer price for the car is about W7.5 million
(US$6,000), the firms said.
[Dong-A Precision Machinery CO., Ltd. Profile
Dong-A Precision Machinery CO., Ltd. - http://www.dongapm.co.kr/
862-8 Puk-Ri Namsa-Myon
Yongin-Shi, Kyonggi-Do 449-880
KOREA (SOUTH) +82 333 655 8710 +82 339 734605
Dong-A Precision Machinery Company Limited. Manufactures rear axle
housings
and agro-machinery-use gear pumps for commercial vehicles.
http://dongaprecision.koreasme.com/ ]
===
[Dated Material]
http://www.bayareamonitor.org/july99/electric.html
Bay Area Monitor ~ July/August 1999
lightbulb
Make Mine Electric ...
...at the Airport
Ever wanted to take an extended "test drive" in an electric
car? Passengers flying into Los Angeles International
Airport can now rent one of 20 different electric vehicles,
from compacts to sport utility vehicles, thanks to a
collaboration between Budget Rent A Car and EV Rental Cars.
Drivers receive a brief training on operating the vehicle
and a map for the more than 300 local charging stations in
the Los Angeles area. Many of the stations offer free
charging. socket and plug
...at the Ferry
The Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District
now offers two charging stations for electric vehicles at
the Larkspur ferry terminal. The stations, available free to
ferry customers, provide a second Marin location for
charging these vehicles. Drivers who use the stations will
not only find it easier to park in the crowded parking lot,
but will return from their commute to find their cars fully
charged for the evening's activities. While the stations are
the first ones at a ferry terminal, the list of charging
locations in the Bay Area is growing steadily, as the number
of electric vehicles in the region approaches 150.
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EVLN(French embrace Segway, Brits are put off)-long
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3046523.stm
Paris says bonjour to the Segway
By Ryan Dilley BBC News Online
Relations may be frosty between the US and France, but
French commuters are joining Americans in getting
US-designed Segway scooters, well ahead of their British
counterparts. Why is the UK being left out of this coalition
of the wheeling?
A Segway demonstration
[image] Bonjour
They may be viewed with suspicion by many Americans as the
epitome of anti-war Old Europe. They may have suffered the
indignity of seeing the prefix "French" deleted from toast
and fries on American menus. But the people of France are
still getting Uncle Sam's Segway scooters before the
British.
The two-wheeled stand-on scooters - often likened in
appearance to old-fashioned lawnmowers - are being supplied
to the French transportation company Keolis.
Keolis - which operates bus services, light railways and
underground trains - wants to hire out the electric vehicles
to the French public at �5 an hour. Users will pick up and
drop off Segways at so-called "oxygen stations" beside
Paris's Metro stops.
This transatlantic deal seems to confound predictions that
American firms would give France the cold shoulder because
of Gallic opposition to the US-led war on Iraq.
And there are few inventions as proudly American as the
Segway - if you overlook, of course, the British gyroscopes
which keep the precarious-looking Segway safely upright.
Into battle
Vice President Dick Cheney rode around his Washington office
on one when his Achilles tendon was playing up and the
machine's creator, Dean Kamen, wants to see US Special
Forces troops ride Segways into battle - not exactly a
selling point in France at the present.
So in spite of all this, how did the French steal a march on
the British in using the Segway to improve the transport
infrastructure?
Nick Stephenson - whose company Planet Moto imported the
first of the scooters into the UK in February - says the
British are still too timid to give the Segway a fair go.
A skateboarder in Paris
[image] Soon to be a Segway?
"Kids accept it and jump on straight away. Adults say it's
fantastic, but when you offer to let them ride one, they're
not so sure. We're having to explain to them exactly how it
works."
While zipping around on mopeds and scooters is second nature
to even very young teenagers across Europe, the British have
often been more suspicious of two-wheeled contraptions.
Mr Stephenson thinks that even if the �4,600 price tag is
reduced - as he hopes - the Segway will take time to catch
on in risk-averse Britain.
"People would need to see it around a lot more before they
begin to accept it. Maybe it would take someone like Richard
Branson to jump on the bandwagon by getting his staff to
ride around on them."
Kept off the streets
The slow-moving legal wheels of the UK might also prove
problematic for the Segway - which is designed for use on
pavements and would be taken on the roads only by the
foolhardy.
Riding a Segway amid pedestrians is illegal, the Department
of Transport told BBC News Online. "Very few vehicles are
allowed on the pavement, only mobility carriages really,"
said a spokesperson.
While the Segway is indeed partly aimed at those - like Dick
Cheney - who have difficulty walking long distances, a
change in the law involving Parliament would be required.
Vice President Dick Cheney is a Segway fan
[image] Dick Cheney gave the Segway a thumbs-up
Whether the political will is present to push through Segway
legislation is unclear. But it is doubtful Parliament would
show the enthusiasm exhibited by lawmakers across the
Atlantic.
The majority of states have already rubber stamped the use
of "Electric Personal Assistive Mobility Devices" (legalese
for Segways) on public sidewalks. And the US Senate passed a
federal bill approving the use of Segways a full year ago -
with only Hillary Clinton and one other senator voting
against the scooters.
Despite the fears of some pedestrians, US insurance
companies seem fairly confident that the only killing
associated with the Segway will be the one they make
collecting the premiums.
Charging a 40-year-old married male Segway owner up to $294
a year, insurance firm Allstate says big payouts are
unlikely since the 12mph Segway is hardly a "crotch rocket
type of vehicle".
British riders might just get away with mounting a Segway
before the laws change, given its supposed docility.
"I've been riding around London since February," says Nick
Stephenson. "Police officers tend to just give me a cheery
wave and ask if they can have a go."
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EVLN(Code Name Ginger: The Segway Story)-long
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--- {EVangel}
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/147/science/An_inside_look_at_an_inventor_s_wild_ride+.shtml
BOOK REVIEW | NEW IN PRINT
An inside look at an inventor's wild ride
By Tim Haynes, Globe Correspondent, 5/27/2003
When it was unveiled December 3, 2001, on ''Good Morning
America,'' the Segway Human Transporter was the most hyped
invention in recent history, and Dean Kamen the nation's
highest-profile inventor. Kamen had said his project,
code-named ''Ginger,'' would change the world, and, amid
extraordinary Internet buzz, millions tuned in to find out
what lay beneath the hype.
The Segway turned out to be a self-balancing, two-wheeled
personal electric vehicle intended primarily for use in
urban settings. Kamen noted the growth of urban populations,
congestion, and pollution as proof that the world needs
cheap, safe, environmentally friendly transportation. He
envisions reengineered cities where his devices dominate
short-distance individual transportation, replacing driving,
biking, and walking with Segway-ing.
Steve Kemper's ''Code Name Ginger'' is the first book to
chronicle Kamen's life, the Segway phenomenon, and the
sudden emergence of both as icons of pop culture.
Unfortunately, Kemper doesn't deal well with his personal
entanglement in the project, producing a story stymied by
obsessive detail and shifting themes.
Kemper writes from the position of an insider,
confidentially brought aboard the Ginger project early on by
Kamen. For eighteen months, Kemper had unfettered access to
Kamen and the Ginger development team. He sat in on
meetings, lunches, parties, and stayed up until dawn with
the design team. He flew in Kamen's jet, had a key-card to
Kamen's research facilities and a key to Kamen's private
mansion. He was there as an invited journalist, expressly to
document Ginger's bumpy evolution.
In the process, Kemper found fodder for both the believers
and the doubters in Kamen's audacious vision. The initial
reaction of people such as Apple Computer's Steve Jobs and
Amazon.com chief Jeff Bezos suggest that the project is so
cool, so different, so magical that it can't fail. Kamen's
manufacturing naivete, legal limits on use of the vehicles,
and the Segway's $4,950 price tag, however, could doom his
lofty vision.
The book recounts Kamen's high school start as an inventor
of audiovisual equipment, then sketches the evolution of a
basement business into the multimillion-dollar research
company that spawned the Segway. Kemper paints a complex --
often congested -- portrait of Kamen as an innovator and a
manipulator, an inspirational leader and a control freak, a
visionary eccentric with a weakness for ice cream.
While the Segway is acclaimed for its ability to
self-balance, the same can't be said for Kemper; his
tendency to intrude unnecessarily in his story is a small
example of the bigger trouble with the book: Kemper never
decides quite which story he wants to tell or how he wants
to tell it. Is this a story about the tumultuous process of
invention, the erratic nature of genius, or the
rollercoaster of celebrity-studded big business? Granted,
none of these stories could be told in isolation, but none
of them is dominant enough to give the book a clear focus.
Late in the story, Kemper reveals that a leaked copy of his
book proposal sparked the rumors that started the Ginger
media frenzy. After the leak, Kamen cut off Kemper's access,
and they had a messy parting of ways. This forces Kemper to
tell the really exciting parts of the Ginger story as an
outsider, relying like everyone else on Internet rumors and
media coverage. As readers, we feel cheated. We were
promised the inside story.
What Kemper does best is portray invention as a group effort
rather than the product of solitary genius. ''Code Name
Ginger'' reveals the dozens of other faces and personalities
behind the creation of the Segway, and how the final product
is as much theirs as it is Kamen's. It shows us how even the
greatest minds need the insight and support of other
people.
Code Name Ginger: The Story Behind Segway and Dean Kamen's
Quest to Invent a New World
By Steve Kemper; Harvard Business School Press; 336 pages; $27.95
This story ran on page E2 of the Boston Globe on 5/27/2003.
� Copyright 2003 Globe Newspaper Company.
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EVLN(Electric vehicle maker plans to open in PA)
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http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/103-05272003-96917.html
Home / Pennsylvania News
Electric vehicle maker plans to open in Pa.
The Associated Press
SCRANTON, Pa. - An Italian company that makes electric
bikes, mopeds and scooters has decided to open a U.S.
headquarters in northeastern Pennsylvania, thanks partly to
more than a half-million dollars in state grants, loans and
tax breaks, Gov. Ed Rendell said Tuesday.
Oxygen World Inc. has leased 6,500 square feet in the
Keystone Business Center in Throop to establish a plant that
will bring at least 75 jobs to the area.
"These are exactly the types of jobs we must be attracting
if we are going to turn around our stagnant economy and
create a new Pennsylvania for our citizens," the governor
said.
The state money comprises $150,000 in customized
job-training funds; $156,000 in job-creation tax credits
over two years; a $100,000 Opportunity Grant; a $100,000
Small Business First loan; and an $80,000 loan from the
Machinery and Equipment Loan Fund.
May 27, 2003 1:53 PM
�2003 Copyright Calkins Media, Inc. All rights reserved.
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EVLN(Mt. Blue has the Electrathon EVs to beat)
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http://www.centralmaine.com/news/stories/030527electrot.shtml
Tuesday, May 27, 2003
Mt. Blue has the cars to beat
By BETTY JESPERSEN, Staff Writer
Copyright � 2003 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
FARMINGTON � An 82-pound, three-wheeled electric car �
powered by the same amount of electricity as a hair dryer on
low speed � left its competitors in the dust at the New
England Electrathon race in Lime Rock, Conn., last week.
Healthy Maine Partnerships
Staff photo / DAVID LEAMING
Foster Regional Applied Technology Center electrical design
students Dillon Nutting, left, and Robert Blake push a
battery operated car they helped to design at the center in
Farmington. Inside the car is student Forest Woodbury.
[image]
And at their next appearance on June 1 at Beech Ridge
Speedway in Scarborough, the Foster Applied Technology
Center/Mt. Blue High School team will roll out a faster,
sleeker sister car for its debut run. Students are counting
on that aerodynamic bullet to knock the socks off of their
challengers in the open competition.
These little cars from Farmington are the ones to beat in
the world of electric car racing. The school has broken its
own national distance record twice and since 1996 has won
championship races in Arizona, Michigan and Epcot Center in
Florida.
Electrathon races are judged by how far a car can travel in
one hour on the one-quarter mile track. Farmington's No. 9
car completed 115 laps at Lime Rock. The second place car
completed 99.
This week, senior Dan Sawyer of Farmington Falls was at the
shop in John MacDonald's pre-engineering class at the school
trying to install the windshield of the new car. The plan is
to make it lay flush with the shell to improve its
aerodynamics. Another modification students designed was the
single-piece body, rather than a snap-off cockpit, with
internal wheels so nothing sticks out.
Sawyer is in his second year with MacDonald. "I love this
stuff, learning about composites and different types of
resins. I like the hands-on engineering part, and I like
taking a problem, sitting down and thinking of a way to draw
it up."
Since one car takes about two years to finish from paper and
computer design to model to finished product � there is
always a car being improved while another is being
manufactured. The project is funded by grants and
donations.
The class relies on Robert Olsen's metal trades program at
the school, where students fabricate a thousand parts from
designs drawn by MacDonald's students. And a familiar face
is volunteer Gil Riley, a retired mechanical engineer, who
been been involved with the program since the mid-1990s.
Angela Ferrari, 16, of Farmington split the driving at Lime
Rock with Wes Hines, and both put into practice a strategy
that conserved battery strength and allowed them to pass
competitors and finish the race.
She said she drove about 30 mph because of the twisting
design of the track and the crowded field but the car can do
50 mph at full throttle.
"People crowded around us after the race and were amazed.
They didn't know how we did it," she said.
MacDonald has introduced students to cutting-edge products
and composite construction technology. His students learn
about carbon-fiber fabric and nomex foam, a honeycombed
structural rib material. Together they made a surface that
is lightweight and so strong that the suspension, axle and
motor can be attached directly to the body.
Students make their own hydraulic disc-brake system, install
their own electronics and design and build their own
wheels.
In a world where electric cars are built from kits, Foster
Tech's construction-from-scratch philosophy sets them
apart.
And the real secret is that each year, students are
challenged to design and build the fastest, lightest car
possible. After the Lime Rock race, MacDonald said he was
swamped with questions from teachers and parents from other
schools.
"They wanted to know, was it the motor? The wheels? What was
it?" he said. "It was all those things � and a thousand
little things more."
Betty Jespersen - 778-6991 [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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EVLN(The Race Must Go On for Kennedy Drivers)
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http://www.kcrg.com/article.aspx?art_id=59875&cat_id=123
The Race Must Go On for Kennedy Drivers
Saturday, May 31, 2003, 11:32:33 PM
[Video]
By KCRG-TV9 News Reporter Craig Brown
It's been a difficult week and-a-half, to say the least, for
Cedar Rapids Kennedy High School's electric car team. A week
ago last Thursday one of their cars crashed at McKinley
Middle School during a demonstration. The wreck killed 14
year-old Meagan Hollingshead, who was driving the car at the
time.
Saturday, it was back to racing at Hawkeye Downs, as high
schoolers competed with the memory of a 14 year-old in the
hearts.
Before the electric engines began to hum and the wheels
started to roll, the crowd paused in silence to remember
Hollingshead. But the Kennedy team was anything but silent
about the loss of the eighth grader.
"We feel really bad for the family because it was a loss to
us too, said pit crew member and Kennedy sophomore Shane
Horning. �We're just trying to stay focused because just
with everything that's happened, it's hard to stay on the
right track."
Safety was on the minds of everyone working Kennedy's three
cars. Driver Molly Moore said she had no reservations about
climbing into the same type of a car that was involved in a
deadly accident.. Just nine days ago.
"These are safe cars, we have a lot of fun in them."
Moore's mom wasn't worried either. Michele Updegraff called
last week's crash a freak accident.
"There was nothing that the Kennedy kids could have done any
differently, she was harnessed in, she had on her helmet,
she was geared down to run slower, she was following a pace
car, there was nothing that anybody could have done any
differently other than Meagan not get in the car."
The electric car race is supposed to be a fun event and the
Kennedy students and the parents alike say maybe this is
just the type of thing they need.. to help them move on.
"I'm real proud of the way they've handled this. This has
been an awful situation for them and they've really come
together as a group, and have rallied around each other."
The Kennedy student's teamwork took home a number of awards,
including first place in class 3A.
The students' supervisor said Kennedy hasn't decided whether
or not it will put on an exhibition again at the middle
school.
Copyright CRTV Company �2003 KCRG / Cedar Rapids TV Co.
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EVLN(Streisand sues Santa Cruz EV driver & Solar user)
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http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/archive/2003/May/31/local/stories/03local.htm
LOCAL NEWS | MORE LOCAL NEWS May 31, 2003
Streisand sues Corralitos photographer
Sentinel STAFF and wire REPORT
LOS ANGELES � Barbra Streisand is suing a Corralitos aerial
photographer and his associates for $10 million, claiming
pictures they provide to others of her Malibu home and
property violates her right to privacy.
Photographer Kenneth Adelman, 39, his Web hosting service,
Layer42.net, and Pictopia, an agency that disseminates his
work, were named in the suit. It was filed May 20 in Los
Angeles Superior Court and alleges five counts of privacy
intrusion, including violation of the state�s anti-paparazzi
act.
"Totally frivolous," Adelman described the suit in a
telephone interview with the Sentinel on Friday.
He pledged to fight it, and said he wouldn�t settle if it
required removing the photo from his Web site.
Streisand�s suit asks that the defendants stop disseminating
the photographs, which use "enhanced technology" and deprive
Streisand "of the economic value of the use of the images of
her property and residence."
Adelman�s California Coastal Records Project Web site �
californiacoastline.org � provides an aerial photographic
survey of the California coastline for scientific and other
researchers. His nonprofit organization already has captured
12,000 images of most of the coast, save for a portion near
Vandenberg Air Force base near Lompoc.
The site has been operating since last November, Adelman
said Friday. He said the aim is to establish a permanent
record of the coast and document changes and development.
"My goal is to teach the public about what the coastline is,
to see what we are losing," he told the Sentinel.
Streisand�s suit alleges that detailed photographs of her
property and residence, which she said were taken by Adelman
and sold by Pictopia, identify routes to enter her property
and provide details on the residence�s features that can�t
be seen from a public vantage point.
The suit cites past experiences with "stalkers, threats to
her safety, and undesirable personalities" who Streisand
says are now provided a "road map into her residence."
Adelman, a retired Silicon Valley entrepreneur and
millionaire, said he was "stunned" by the suit.
"I think there�s a free speech issue here," he said. "The
photographs were taken in a public place where she doesn�t
have a reasonable expectation of privacy."
Streisand�s house is about 3 percent of the picture that is
the basis of the suit, Adelman said.
Adelman funds his project himself. He and his wife,
Gabrielle, use their helicopter and the latest computer and
photographic equipment, he said.
They say any money made from selling the photos are donated
to a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting the
coast.
Numerous state and local agencies have used the photos in
their reports and scientific research, Adelman said,
including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration and the U.S. Geological Service.
The Adelmans are no strangers to environmental causes, or to
controversy.
In 2001, the couple duked it out with PG&E over their home�s
30.5-kilowatt solar power system and whether he was
responsible for paying for system upgrades to redirect
excess power back onto the grid.
Last year, he donated four electric-car battery rechargers
for the Front Street garage in Santa Cruz.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
Contact Brian Seals at [EMAIL PROTECTED]
207 Church Street, Santa Cruz CA 95060 USA (831) 423-4242
Copyright � 1999-2003 Santa Cruz Sentinel.
All rights reserved.
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http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/5984263.htm
Posted on Sat, May. 31, 2003 story:PUB_DESC
Flawed idea drives company into bankruptcy
HOPES FADE FOR 3-WHEEL ELECTRIC CAR
By Pat Lopes Harris
Mercury News
For four years, Corbin Motors represented Hollister's bid to
join Silicon Valley.
In a factory in the farm town's budding tech park, the
start-up was perfecting a cool new product, a three-wheeled
$15,000 electric car dubbed the Sparrow.
Shaped and painted like giant jelly beans, the cars were so
eye-catching that Hollywood star Mike Myers featured one in
the movie ``Austin Powers in Goldmember.''
But now Corbin Motors is staggering under financial and
legal crossfire. It has become a classic Silicon Valley
start-up in a different sense from what its backers had
hoped: The product proved to be flawed, and the company's
business plan never jelled.
The final chapters are playing out in federal bankruptcy
court, where Corbin filed a Chapter 7 petition March 31.
A federal trustee is sorting through everything the company
had -- from patents to furniture -- searching for valuables
to sell so debts can be paid.
Peering over his shoulder and poking around on their own are
numerous attorneys who represent those debtors, whom Corbin
collectively owes up to $10 million.
Among those who bought shares in what was marketed as a
company preparing to make an initial public offering were
Hollister residents, spurred on by a mix of civic pride and
excitement triggered by seeing Sparrows whizzing around
town.
Pride nonetheless
``Of course it was a feather in our cap,'' said Al Martinez,
executive director of San Benito County's economic
development agency.
He was not an investor but supported the company as the
county's top official for attracting and retaining
business.
``I wished them all the luck in the world,'' he said.
If there is a silver lining in the bankruptcy, it is that
Corbin sold around 300 Sparrows, many purchased by
enthusiasts who still chat on a Yahoo message board,
exchanging advice on how to repair, improve and insure their
Sparrows, officially classified as motorcycles.
Mainly a novelty
Despite this enthusiasm, the Sparrow turned out to be,
essentially, a novelty item. It was shaky on its three
wheels, and batteries made it impracticable for trips
greater than 60 miles. A 1,000-pound three-wheel motorcycle
surrounded by a shell is not safe on freeways where 6,000
pound sport utility vehicles travel at 75 mph.
Even many Sparrow fans criticize the men who made the
machine.
``When people ask me where my Sparrow was made, I can't
point them back to Corbin Motors, because even its Web site
is down,'' said Ed Thorpe, who uses his Sparrow to commute
between Alameda and San Jose.
``They didn't make a better version of the Sparrow. There
are people who paid for cars they never received. All this
isn't because of impaired products, but mismanagement of how
they assembled the vehicles.''
Michael and Thomas Hanagan, a father and son team, founded
Corbin Motors in March 1999. Mike, an electrician, came up
with the idea for the Sparrow.
Tom Hanagan declined to be interviewed for this report but
in court briefs, he said the trouble started in 1999, when
Corbin acquired MCM Engine Technologies of Costa Mesa.
Corbin assumed MCM's debt and hired many of its employees.
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--- Begin Message ---
EVLN(Touchstone Energy & 2003 Kansas ElectroRally)
[The Internet Electric Vehicle List News. For Public EV
informational purposes. Contact publication for reprint rights.]
--- {EVangel}
http://www.cjonline.com/stories/053103/lsp_briefs.shtml
Local sports briefs
The Capital-Journal
[...]
The Touchstone Energy ElectroRally, the second and final leg
of the 2003 Kansas ElectroRally, will run starting at 1 p.m.
today at Forbes Field. The Kansas event is the largest high
school electric car competition in the country with more
than 35 schools represented.
Races begin at 1 p.m. with the experimental/novice race. The
advanced state championship race begins at 2:30 p.m. An
awards ceremony will follow. Contact Jerry Lonergan, Kansas
ElectroRally president, at (785) 235-3008 for more
information.
�Copyright 2003 CJOnline / The Topeka Capital-Journal /
Morris Communications
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--- Begin Message ---
EVLN(Waialua team wins America Cup 2003 Electrathon Event)
[The Internet Electric Vehicle List News. For Public EV
informational purposes. Contact publication for reprint rights.]
--- {EVangel}
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2003/May/29/ln/ln37a.html
Posted on: Thursday, May 29, 2003
Education briefs
Advertiser Staff
Waialua team wins Electrathon Event
Waialua High School beat out more than three dozen other
electric vehicles from around the nation to win first place
overall at the America Cup 2003 Electrathon Event at
Portland, Ore., International Raceway last weekend.
The school's five-student Electric Vehicle Team, which
designed and built the winning vehicle, included Ashley
Yoshizu, Joseph Gudoy, Jovi Lo, Brandon Sakata and Tyson
Sumile. Their advisers were Glenn Lee, science department
head and teacher, and Tim Pregana, an industrial education
teacher.
The objective of the Electrathon Event was to see which
vehicle could go the farthest in an hour on a 1.9-mile track
on three consecutive days.
Yoshizu, a senior, drove 17 laps per day for a total of 96.9
miles.
�COPYRIGHT 2003 The Honolulu Advertiser, a division of
Gannett Co. Inc.
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--- Begin Message ---
EVLN(Valence Ships K-Charge Power System to EVI)
[The Internet Electric Vehicle List News. For Public EV
informational purposes. Contact publication for reprint rights.]
--- {EVangel}
Valence Ships K-Charge Power System to EVI; K-Charge
Prototypes to be Tested in Electric Vehicles
AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 29, 2003--Valence
Technology, Inc. a leader in the development
and commercialization of Lithium-ion polymer rechargeable
batteries, today announced that it has commenced shipment of
prototypes of its K-Charge(TM) Power System to Electric
Vehicles International (EVI), a leading manufacturer of
electric delivery trucks and shuttle buses. The K-Charge
systems will be tested in electric delivery trucks
manufactured by EVI.
"EVI is driving innovation in the electric vehicle market,
and we are excited to be a part of it," said Stephan
Godevais, chairman and CEO of Valence. "Our Saphion
Lithium-ion technology offers significant advantages to this
market in terms of performance and safety. We are eager to
demonstrate its true power in our K-Charge systems."
"In evaluating Valence's Saphion technology, we have found
that it clearly possesses advantages over the current
technology utilized in the electric vehicle market," said B.
Samra, president of EVI. "The combination of safety,
performance and low maintenance costs make this technology
ideal for our industry, and we look forward to putting the
K-Charge systems on the road in our delivery trucks."
In December 2002, Valence received a purchase order for its
K-Charge systems to be field tested in EVI's electric
vehicles.
About Valence Technology, Inc.
Valence is a leader in the development and commercialization
of Saphion(TM) technology and Lithium-ion polymer
rechargeable batteries. Valence has more than 722 issued and
pending patents worldwide, including 254 issued in the U.S.
The company has facilities in Austin, Texas, Henderson,
Nevada and Mallusk, Northern Ireland. Valence is traded on
the NASDAQ SmallCap Market under the symbol VLNC and can be
found on the Internet at www.valence.com.
About Electric Vehicles International LLC
Electric Vehicles International, with headquarters in
Anderson, Indiana designs and manufactures electric trucks,
trams and buses for use in inner city applications. Since
1989, the company has developed and manufactured innovative
product solutions for inner city transportation worldwide.
Forward-looking Statement
The information contained herein includes "forward-looking
statements." [...]
CONTACT: Investor Contact: Valence Technology Kevin
Mischnick, 512/527-2900 or Media Contact: Blanc and Otus
Public Relations Sue Ellen M. Schaming, 415/856-5129
[EMAIL PROTECTED] SOURCE: Valence Technology
05/29/2003 09:30 EASTERN
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On 1 Jun 2003 at 12:44, Peter VanDerWal wrote:
> With the same kind of effort you could have bought $200 used ICEs and
> got several years out of each without spending much money on parts (I
> know people that do this.)
I don't know that this (or the engine cost issue) makes for a fair
comparison. Again we are comparing a mass-production product with hand-
built prototypes. If ever we see real serial production of EVs, then the
comparison will be fair.
I know the argument that John Q. Public doesn't care; all he's interested in
is, does it save him money and/or offer other tangible benefits. But dozens
or hundreds of new ICE vehicles have been introduced under subsidy from the
manufacturers, who wanted to build market share and knew they're recoup the
cost later. That ^could^ have been done with EVs, and it would have leveled
the playing field -- but it wasn't, and won't be any time soon.
In the end, I think it comes back to whether you ^want^ to drive electric.
Generally, that has to be for non-financial reasons. Most EVers don't do it
to save money.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Want to unsubscribe, stop the EV list mail while you're on vacation, or
switch to digest mode? See http://www.evdl.org/help/
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
David Roden - Akron, Ohio, USA
1991 Solectria Force 144vac
1991 Ford Escort Green/EV 128vdc
1970 GE Elec-trak E15 36vdc
1974 Avco New Idea rider 36vdc
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Thou shalt not send me any thing which says unto thee, "send this to all
thou knowest." Neither shalt thou send me any spam, lest I smite thee.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
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The Escort Station Wagon I had bought from Green
Motorworks and resold to keep it in the bay area,
did not have a 12 VDC aux battery. It had two Todd
DC2DC units under the body, wired in parallel.
I had talk to Mike Slominski of Mike's Auto Care
(now retired) about it. He said that it can be
done as long as the units in parallel are set to
the same output voltage.
...
I could relate to that, as one of the hp main
frames I used to support was designed to have
multiple 5 VDC 150 amp power supplies in parallel
to handle the current load. It was my job to
make sure each power supply was adjusted
properly so that one power supply did not try
to supply all the power.
I would imagine that it would get tricky for
you if the DC2DC boards you are considering,
regularly drifted and would end up fighting
each other over the output voltage.
You might want to check out out first before
you go whole hog. If the board is stable (and
not temperature or load sensitive), it just
might work.
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On 1 Jun 2003 at 23:39, Seth Murray wrote:
> But the time is NOW for the return of Electrak.
Electric Tractor Corp. has been trying for years and, from what I've heard,
not scoring many sales. They have a web page but in Mozilla and K-Meleon
(standard browsers), also in older Netscape, it displays the source (I
guess because of an incorrect server header):
http://www.electrictractor.com/
Way to go, Bob, have fun with your new ET!
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Want to unsubscribe, stop the EV list mail while you're on vacation, or
switch to digest mode? See http://www.evdl.org/help/
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
David Roden - Akron, Ohio, USA
1991 Solectria Force 144vac
1991 Ford Escort Green/EV 128vdc
1970 GE Elec-trak E15 36vdc
1974 Avco New Idea rider 36vdc
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Thou shalt not send me any thing which says unto thee, "send this to all
thou knowest." Neither shalt thou send me any spam, lest I smite thee.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
On Sun, 2003-06-01 at 22:37, David Roden (Akron OH USA) wrote:
> On 1 Jun 2003 at 12:44, Peter VanDerWal wrote:
>
> > With the same kind of effort you could have bought $200 used ICEs and
> > got several years out of each without spending much money on parts (I
> > know people that do this.)
>
> I don't know that this (or the engine cost issue) makes for a fair
> comparison. Again we are comparing a mass-production product with hand-
> built prototypes. If ever we see real serial production of EVs, then the
> comparison will be fair.
>
I absolutely agree with you. IF they massed produced EVs they would
almost certainly be cheaper to own and operate than ICEs.
But they don't mass produce EVs. So what we have to discuss are a few
(very few) expensive OEM EVs and a bunch of mostly homemade EVs.
Sure there are a few Citicars and Jets out there, but your average
homemade EV is better than those anyway.
This is what we have to compare and (cost wise) they don't come out
ahead for the average person.
> In the end, I think it comes back to whether you ^want^ to drive electric.
> Generally, that has to be for non-financial reasons. Most EVers don't do it
> to save money.
Exactly.
I guess I should be clear on my point: don't go around telling people
they can save money by driving EVs. Because most people (today) won't
save money driving EVs. There are plenty of other, very good, reasons
for driving EVs, give them one or more of those.
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Lawrence Rhodes wrote:
> Do you think you could make a stretch Tango in a month and a half.
> It'd be one of a kind.... A 6 seater would be just right for the
> parents and Bride and Groom... 7 seater if you wanted a driver...
Aha!!!! You know that silly tax loophole that's been getting all the
attention? If you buy an SUV that weighs at least 6000 lbs, you can
deduct up to $100,000 the first year, in effect getting it for free.
So... Rick (or anyone): Design an EV that explicitly meets these
requirements! Then you can sell it for "free"!
--
Lee A. Hart Ring the bells that still can ring
814 8th Ave. N. Forget your perfect offering
Sartell, MN 56377 USA There is a crack in everything
leeahart_at_earthlink.net That's how the light gets in - Leonard Cohen
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Starting bid is enough to buy 2 or 3 "normal" used EVs:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2417710184
________________________________________________
PeoplePC: It's for people. And it's just smart.
http://www.peoplepc.com
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