EV Digest 3252
Topics covered in this issue include:
1) EVLN(ol' EVs selling well on ebay)
by Bruce EVangel Parmenter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
2) EVLN(Modesto Jetsons)
by Bruce EVangel Parmenter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
3) EVLN(GEM: Not exactly a muscle car)
by Bruce EVangel Parmenter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
4) EVLN(Car Czar fails GEM nEVs)
by Bruce EVangel Parmenter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
5) EVLN(The nEV putters and dies in the street)
by Bruce EVangel Parmenter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
6) EVLN(Methacton HS 3-wheeled British Lomax EV)
by Bruce EVangel Parmenter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
7) EVLN(Panoz's eMotion not ready to start)
by Bruce EVangel Parmenter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
8) EVLN(EVT ION Electric Scooter)
by Bruce EVangel Parmenter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
9) EVLN(DaimlerChrysler's plug-in hybrid van)-long
by Bruce EVangel Parmenter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
10) EVLN(DaimlerChrysler hybrid-electric truck a IEEE "winner")
by Bruce EVangel Parmenter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
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EVLN(ol' EVs selling well on ebay)
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informational purposes. Contact publication for reprint rights.]
--- {EVangel}
http://www.gwinnettdailyonline.com/GDP/archive/articleB81A07A8EB054F459516F7C60BA1CB9C.asp
Marietta auctioning surplus city property on Internet
MARIETTA � Nancy Cheshire guesses a decade-old electric car that
no longer runs would have sold for less than $500 at a typical
auction for surplus government equipment.
Instead, it sold for $5,500 on eBay.
[...]
� From wire reports
�2001-2003 RealNet CMP L.L.C. All rights reserved
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http://www.modbee.com/local/story/7749308p-8652844c.html
Parking ticketers sparking interest
By MICHAEL MELLO BEE STAFF WRITER
Last Updated: November 16, 2003, 08:34:17 AM PST
The Modesto Police Department's new street-legal electric
vehicles will let officers patrol downtown more effectively,
officials say.
The Global Electric Motor cars -- which sport a modern bubble
design Sgt. Ed Steele described as "looking like George Jetson's
car" -- cost about $5,000 each. The city bought three, and Steele
would like to have one more.
"They're more efficient" than the current cars, Steele said.
"They'll probably last longer."
The cars have a top speed of 25 mph "with a tailwind," joked
Randy Raduchel, a technician who maintains the department's
vehicles.
"We won't be using them for any chases," Steele admitted.
Each electric car has six 12-volt batteries -- two up front and
another four under the seat.
"These will probably be able to drive for three days without a
charge," Raduchel said. That's up to 20 miles.
"They're going to fit our needs really good," Steele said. "No
gasoline, no fumes, no exhaust."
The cars are used only in the one-square-mile downtown area, and
mostly by the department's parking enforcement division.
"We'll be able to get around easier. This can get through some
tight spaces," Steele said. As an example, he cited the media
camp in front of the Stanislaus County Courthouse to cover the
Scott Peterson murder case. Streets have been closed to regular
vehicles, but the electrics can maneuver around the signs and
trucks with ease. The cars also will come in handy for street
festivals, Steele said.
Maintenance also will be easier with the electric cars, Raduchel
said, and not just because they're new.
"These are vehicles designed to be on the street," Raduchel said.
"These are actually street tires," he said, pointing to the
wheels. They don't have to be special-ordered, unlike the
department's old parking enforcement cars, which were little more
than golf carts.
Those vehicles, too, were electric, but they were much slower and
would not last nearly as long on a single charge.
Bee staff writer Michael Mello can be reached at 578-2235 or
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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http://www.iberkshires.com/story.php?story_id=12752
CET donates 15 electric vehicles
- November, 25 2003
The GEM: Not exactly a muscle car but friendly to the environment
The Center for Ecological Technology has donated 15 Global
Electric Motors zero-emission vehicles to western Massachusetts
cultural organizations, educational institutions and
municipalities.
CET "regifted" vehicles that it received as a donation from
Daimler Chrysler's GEM electric car division. CET's application
to GEM was supported by Cahillane Motors of Northampton.
Recipients of the electric vehicles are: Jacob's Pillow Dance
Festival, Hancock Shaker Village, Mass MOCA, Berkshire Theatre
Festival, Simon's Rock College of Bard, Shakespeare and Co.,
Gould Farm, Norman Rockwell Museum, Williams College and Tufts
University as well as the cities of Northampton and Springfield.
These organizations will showcase and use these pollution-free
GEM cars on their property.
Currently, 37 states have passed legislation accepting the
National Highway Safety Transportation Administration (NHSTA)
ruling to allow GEM cars on public roadways. It is anticipated
that in spring 2004, the GEMS can be registered for use on
Massachusetts' roads with posted speed limits of 35 miles per
hour or less. According to GEM, more than 28,000 GEM vehicles
will be in use by the end of this year.
"At Gould Farm we are forever driving between the barns, gardens,
offices, maintenance buildings and residences. The GEM car offers
an environmentally appealing alternative to our trucks and cars,
especially when we're transporting light loads or one or two
people. They're easy to spot and comfortable to drive. And
because they're open, they don't smell like the barn," noted Rita
Kasky, Gould Farm's Director of Development.
Jacob's Pillow Executive Director Ella Baff said, "It's fitting
and fun that a National Historic Landmark is also known for
innovation, both on stage and off. We're forward-thinking in what
we present, and how we operate and are proud to showcase a car
that heralds the transportation of the future."
Electric vehicles are an alternative to a full sized automobile
or small truck for short trips or for use on campus-type
settings. CET received 2 and 4 passenger as well as long and
short back models for carrying small loads. They have lower
maintenance costs, greater efficiency, no emissions and can
operate on tight roads, narrow paths or inside buildings.
They have a range of about 30 miles before needing to be
recharged and can be plugged into a standard 110 volt outlet for
recharging. They are powered by a 72-volt GE motor and a battery
pack comprised of six deep cycle 12-volt batteries. Their maximum
speed is approximately 25 miles per hour. They meet the low speed
safety requirements set by the NHTSA including three point seat
belts, safety glass, windshield, wipers, headlights, turn
signals, driver and passenger side mirrors.
CET's mission is to promote and demonstrate technologies that
have less environmental impact. Over the years, CET has worked
with non-profit organizations, cities and towns, schools,
businesses and communities on practical and affordable solutions
to environmental problems. Providing zero emission vehicles to
local organizations and municipalities is an ideal way to educate
the public, reduce pollution and save money on gasoline.
CET plans to retain several zero-emission vehicles which it will
use for local deliveries of recycled copy paper to businesses, to
move building materials at the ReStore Home Improvement Center,
and for routine local travel. In the future, CET hopes to provide
cars to employees for their commute to work.
"Everyone benefits from alternatives to standard gasoline
engines. Our communities get cleaner air, commuters have clean,
quiet and convenient transportation and people are exposed to the
design and capabilities of these all electric vehicles," said
Alan Silverstein, CET Director.
CET is a non-profit community organization serving western
Massachusetts. Founded in 1976, CET works in the areas of energy
and resource conservation, renewable energy and environmental
education. CET is funded in part by the Massachusetts Cultural
Council, a state agency.
Boxcar Media, LLC � 106 Main Street � P.O. Box 1787 � North
Adams, MA 01247 � tel: 413.663.3384 � fax: 413.663.3615 �
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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http://www.sacbee.com/content/business/auto/story/7863669p-8803838c.html
The Car Czar: Electric GEMs fail to shine on safety
By Doug Brauner -- Bee Columnist
Published 2:15 a.m. PST Friday, November 28, 2003
Q: What is your impression of the Global Electric Motorcars
vehicles? Are they worthwhile? If so, what accessories are musts?
Where can they be purchased at a reasonable price these days?
Several of my co-workers have purchased them earlier in the year,
and their costs were significantly less than what I am finding on
the Web. - Judi Okamoto (via e-mail)
A: Global Electric Motorcars is a division of DaimlerChrysler AG.
Starting at about $7,000, these front-drive cars are really
modified golf carts. Their top speed is 25 mph, and they have a
range of about 30 miles before needing a recharge that takes
about eight hours. The target market for this vehicle is pretty
limited -- gated communities, college campuses and other
self-contained environments. I find it hard to believe that it
has any practical use beyond that.
Although equipped with some basic safety devices such as
directional signals, seat belts and a horn, the vehicles, in my
opinion, are woeful in their lack of basic safety features --
most notably, a door! Even though a recent ruling by the National
Highway Transportation Safety Administration does allow this kind
of electric car to be operated on local streets, I just don't
think it's a good idea.
Some of these GEM vehicles are available with four-passenger
seating, and this also concerns me. Loading your friends or
children into this thing is just silly. The GEM vehicles I have
driven seem to corner rather poorly, and given the lack of basic
body parts, carrying multiple passengers is a potential recipe
for disaster in a collision.
Now, in an effort to be proactive and address the inevitable hate
mail I expect to receive from all my Sierra Club friends, I say
settle down! I'm all about clean air, but electric cars are just
not the answer. It has been demonstrated repeatedly that we do
not yet possess the technology to create a battery system that is
capable of delivering long life between charges without adding
ridiculous amounts of weight to the vehicle. When that hurdle is
cleared, I am more than willing to put The Car Czar stamp of
approval on something electric.
I applaud your willingness to purchase a car that won't
contribute to our ever-increasing pollution problem. I just don't
want to sacrifice your safety or your seven grand for a car that
probably is best suited for what these cars have always done well
-- hauling around your golf bag Saturday on your favorite links.
[...]
About the Writer
Automotive Service Excellence-certified technician Doug Brauner,
owner of Automasters at 2301 El Camino Ave., Sacramento, cranks
out his automotive expertise on TV Monday-Friday 5:30 to 10 a.m.
on UPN Channel 31's "Good Day Sacramento" and on radio every
Sunday 7 to 10 a.m. on KHTK (1140 AM). Questions can be sent to
Brauner from his Web site, www.thecarczar.com. Inquiries also can
be mailed to Czar Questions, c/o Mark Glover, P.O. Box 15779,
Sacramento, CA 95852. All questions should include full name,
hometown and a phone number.
Copyright � The Sacramento Bee
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http://www.news-press.com/news/lifestyle/031130murdock.html
Hostel offers new experiences
By SEAN MURDOCK, Special to news-press.com
Published by news-press.com on November 30, 2003
[...]
Three of my new mates (here starts my newly formed accent from
drinking with the English too much) and I rented an electric car.
Twenty five miles per hour doesn�t sound like much, at least
until you jump it off the highest peak in San Francisco. One
wrong turn and we�re on the freeway, through a tunnel, all while
honking the horn and waving like idiots. Grant the South African
and Jonny from New Castle are screaming in the back seat. Did I
mention Steve the crazy Yorkshireman driving is wearing a giant
afro wig? Then the car putters and dies in the street. As we
waited for a tow truck, we each took pictures with the car as if
it were our first kill on safari. [...]
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http://www.timesherald.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=10521467&BRD=1672&PAG=461&dept_id=33380&rfi=6
Students explore car of tomorrow
By: DANTE DELVECCHIO , Times Herald Staff 11/15/2003
WORCESTER - Methacton High School senior Kyle Williams has sat in
the driver's seat of the future.
Williams is part of a student club, which is led by three science
teachers, that working on an electric-powered car. Stored in a
garage near the school's track, the green, three-wheeled British
Lomax model can reach speeds of nearly 75 miles per hour with the
motor running almost silently, technical education teacher Mark
Krick said. The students named the car "Lorax" from the famous
Dr. Suess book highlighting environmental concerns.
Williams, one of the club's returning members, said he has
learned electric power will be a pivotal part of the future,
helping to eliminate pollution caused from car fumes.
"This technology will make the next generation of cars better,"
Williams said. "Eventually, these efficient machines will become
cheap and affordable for everyone."
Environment teacher Steve Savitz has encouraged students with
driver's licenses to get behind the wheel to experience the car.
"We try to get everyone acclimated to the car," Savitz said. "We
really want the kids to have ownership of it."
Aside from simply driving the car, the group is working on
renovations in preparation for the annual Tour de Sol, a "race"
held in May for cars using sustainable fuel. Sponsored by the
Northeast Sustainable Energy Association, the route takes teams
from New Jersey to Washington, D.C., in parts, with several
different competitions scattered throughout the jaunt.
Savitz said the team entered last spring, but encountered some
technical difficulties during the tour. Their determination in
working through the problems, however, did earn them a Blue Sky
Award for completing the tour regardless, Savitz said.
Among ideas to improve the car, Savitz said they would like to
replace each of the 16 batteries used to power the car, as well
as add another. But before that can happen, the club is putting
together brochures to advertise their work and hopefully elicit
donations to help with costs. Aside from the mechanical fees, the
cost for the tour ran the club nearly $3,500 last year, Savitz
said.
Working alongside the group is John Murphy, a retired businessman
who built the car in 2001. Deeply interested in ideas of
sustainable energy, Murphy said he began building vehicles using
the technology nearly 12 years ago, to spite his brother's claims
of impossibility.
After several two-wheeled vehicles, he completed the electric car
and subsequently entered it into the 2001 Tour de Sol. He said he
hopes to increase public awareness and show electric vehicles are
a viable option.
"I really don't see how we can continue to follow the status quo,
relying on oil and gas as primary power sources," Murphy said.
Murphy said he realized allowing students to use the car would be
the best way to foster its growth and visibility. While attending
a seminar in October 2001 to showcase his vehicle, Murphy said he
met Savitz, who was excited to get the car into his classroom.
Not long after, Murphy donated the car to the high school and the
electric car club was born, with Murphy assisting as a mentor
with their renovations.
"It's a great first-hand experience for the kids, to not only
hear and speculate, but actually see how the car works," he
said.
Dante DelVecchio can be reached at [EMAIL PROTECTED] or
at 610-272-2500, ext. 213.
�The Times Herald 2003
Copyright � 1995 - 2003 PowerOne Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=10585046&BRD=1389&PAG=461&dept_id=161952&rfi=6
eMotion not ready to start plant here
By:Patrick Donahue , Executive editor 11/28/2003
It isn't an ultimatum, but the Liberty County Development
Authority does want eMotion to take over the building that's been
waiting on them. The electric car manufacturer sent a letter to
the LCDA asking to amend their current lease.
The company, headed by Dr. Don Panoz, a renowned car owner and
maker, has continued to make its payments on the building.
"The employment figures haven't changed," LCDA Attorney Kelly
Davis said. "It's just the time to meet those figures."
Davis said the company initially planned to start operation in
late 2003, but is now aiming at a first quarter 2005 start.
Development Authority Executive Director Ron Tolley said the
company expects to have some activity there next year before
gearing up for full production in early 2005.
The company had planned to open last spring, but pushed the start
date back to September. It later delayed opening until next
spring, before asking for another year.
But the prospect of having the building unoccupied for another
year unsettled some development authority members.
"At some point, we've got a building we've got to market," Brian
Smith said. "It's a first-class building to be collecting dust
and spiders. We want to be accommodating, but we have a
responsibility to the community."
Authority member and County Commission Chairman John McIver asked
that some wording be included in the new lease agreement to
reflect the Authority's desire the company start operations.
"They need to let us know something," he said. "I'm not trying to
ruffle the feathers with our investors. I know they fell on hard
times. But how long can we wait?"
Hinesville Mayor Tom Ratcliffe suggested having a meeting with
the eMotion executives, perhaps including Panoz, and finding out
what direction the company will take if it is not successful in
attracting the capital it's seeking.
Panoz made his fortune in pharmaceuticals with time-release
medicines and later the nicotine patch.He also developed the
Chateau Elan Winery and Resort near Braselton and is very
involved in several racing series, most notably the Le Mans
circuit.
The eMotion cars are electrically-powered and are designed for
use in urban markets where there is heavy traffic congestion and
automobile emissions
"They've got a great deal more invested in this than us or the
state," Ratcliffe said. "If they are still trying to ride the
bike, I don't want to kick the tires out from under them. If we
want a drop dead date, that's fine. But it is in how we say it."
�Hinesville Coastal Courier 2003
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http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/031117/cgm004_1.html
Press Release Source: Electric Vehicle Technologies, Inc.
Electric Vehicle Technologies Introduces New Electric Scooter:
the ION
Monday November 17, 10:00 am ET
Environmentally Friendly Scooter Travels 45 Miles on a Single
Charge
SKOKIE, Ill., Nov. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Electric Vehicle
Technologies, Inc. (EVT), a pioneering manufacturer of
next-generation electric-powered personal transportation, is
debuting a new electric-powered scooter: the ION. The ION couples
innovative design engineering with the public demand for clean,
responsible transportation alternatives. EVT is the first to
design an all- electric, zero-emission, U.S. Department of
Transportation-compliant motor scooter designed for public roads.
With the ION, riders can avoid the messy gas, oil, plugs, grease,
and noisy mufflers of gas engines, and benefit from ultra-clean,
smooth power. The ION is simple and smart. Riders just need to
plug the charger into any common 110-volt outlet, and in a few
hours the ION is fully charged and ready to go for only pennies a
charge.
The ION's silent operation makes it a pleasure to ride in urban
areas. "A lot of gas scooters use loud and noxious, two-stroke
engines," said Ryan Adelman, marketing manager at Electric
Vehicle Technologies. "People are accustomed to hearing that
whining, weed-whacker noise. There's a magical feel to the ION
scooter. It's incredibly powerful, in a package that's amazingly
quiet."
The ION offers outstanding range and practicality. The 48-volt
system delivers up to 45 miles on a single charge and a maximum
speed of 30 mph. The ION is ideal for commuters in moderately
dense urban areas, college and high school students who are at
least 16 years old and have a valid driver's license, or even
your everyday business commuter looking to avoid parking hassles
and save money on rising fuel costs. EVT's electric scooters
comply with all Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and all
U.S. Department of Transportation regulations.
Riders can take the ION charger with them and plug it in anywhere
to increase their range. The charger is only the size of a small
loaf of bread and light enough to throw in a backpack. ION riders
can travel to work and plug in the unit at the parking garage to
get an extra charge out of their batteries.
The ION is the brother vehicle to EVT's Equinox scooter. Like the
Equinox, the ION sells for a retail price of $2,799 and has the
same drive train, motor, and controller. They both use a 48-volt
system and a direct-drive hub motor. There are no moving parts
except bearings. Both scooters can be fully recharged in 5 to 6
hours, and riders can get an 80% charge in only four hours. The
main difference between the two is aesthetics. While the ION has
a more modern, sportier look, the Equinox has a retro, Fifties
look.
The ION comes in a variety of colors, including Silver, Metallic
Red, and Metallic Periwinkle Blue, and Yellow. An optional
accessory trunk enables riders to carry a small bag of groceries,
books, a briefcase, backpack, luggage, or the charger.
The riding experience and handling on the ION are similar to a
gas scooter, but without the noise and mess of grease, oil, and
plugs. "There's no hot metal or exhaust pipe to burn your leg,"
noted Adelman. "There's no heat associated with the motor and no
spark plugs, seals, gaskets, belts, oil, or gas to buy.
Professionals can ride the ION without messing up their suits.
Students can ride around in their flip-flops in the summertime
without burning their legs. It's a zero-emission, silent vehicle
that doesn't generate heat or noise pollution."
EVT's scooters have proven very popular among recreational
vehicle rental businesses near island resorts and hotels because
they're low-maintenance and easy to keep in a rental fleet. EVT
expects to sell many of the ION scooters to this market.
For more information about EVT's electric motor scooters,
electric bicycles, and upcoming ATEV(TM), visit the company's
website at www.evtworld.com .
About Electric Vehicle Technologies:
Electric Vehicle Technologies, Inc. (EVT) brings aerospace
technology, vision, and quality to the fast-maturing
electric-powered vehicle industry. A pioneer in emerging electric
technology, EVT is the outgrowth of research done by sister
company MPC Products Corporation, a major aeronautics industry
manufacturer. EVT is at the forefront of electric motor, electric
control, and battery development including hydrogen fuel cell
research. The company currently manufactures and markets its own
lines of electric-powered bicycles and electric motor scooters
using its patented technologies, with a proprietary All Terrain
Electric Vehicle (ATEV(TM)) in the final stages of development.
EVT, a privately held company, is located in Skokie, Illinois,
and is owned by Techni-Core(TM) Corporation. To learn more about
Electric Vehicle Technologies, visit www.evtworld.com .
Source: Electric Vehicle Technologies, Inc.
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http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/WEBONLY/publicfeature/jan04/0104epow1.html
The Smart Hybrid
Flip a switch, and DaimlerChrysler's plug-in hybrid electric van
will become an electric vehicle
By Glenn Zorpette
When it comes to our cars and the environment, we are all
slightly sociopathic�even those movie stars in their Toyota
Priuses. It's just a matter of degree.
If you commute 25 km each way to work in a mid-sized car, you
make an annual contribution to the Earth's atmosphere of about
5500 kg of carbon dioxide and 1300 grams of the pollutant brew
known as smog, according to a study by the Electric Power
Research Institute in Palo Alto, Calif. A comparable conventional
hybrid vehicle, such as the justly venerated Prius, will cut
those emissions by roughly 25 percent and 15 percent,
respectively, EPRI says.
Now add an electrical outlet plug to that hybrid, a bigger
battery, and a few other modest changes, and a remarkable thing
happens. "What you get is this very efficient vehicle on gasoline
that can also be an electric vehicle, which is even more
efficient," says Mark Duvall, an expert on hybrid vehicles at
EPRI.
In round numbers, the total amount of energy you use to travel in
your car, week in and week out, is cut by as much as 50 percent,
depending on the efficiency of your local utility's generating
plants. And you don't have to give up the slightest bit of
performance, comfort, or range. Need to take a 1000-km trip that
crosses mountainous terrain? No problem. You can travel in
air-conditioned comfort, smug as a Prius-driving film star in the
knowledge that over the long haul, you are cutting emissions of
carbon dioxide and smog by at least 50 percent, according to
EPRI's figures. Best of all, dependence on petroleum comes down
by a whopping 75 percent, on average, in the United States.
That, in a nutshell, is the promise of the plug-in hybrid
electric vehicle, and it is about to be demonstrated in a US $1.5
million pilot program based at a facility of DaimlerChrysler AG
in Mannheim, Germany. Several U.S. organizations are helping fund
the project; they include EPRI, California's South Coast Air
Quality Management District, the utility colossus Southern
California Edison Co., and the Metropolitan Energy Center of
Kansas City, Mo.
Under the project, DaimlerChrysler is putting together three
commercial vehicles�two light-duty utility trucks slated for
California and a public transit van for Kansas City�all based on
the company's rugged Sprinter truck. But instead of the
Sprinter's standard 156-horsepower (115-KW) diesel engine, the
utility vans are going to be outfitted with a hybrid
gasoline-electric propulsion system and a beefy battery pack that
can be recharged by plugging it in.
-
WINNER: PLUG-IN SPRINTER VAN GOAL Build three hybrid
gasoline-electric service trucks whose batteries can also be
charged overnight
WHY IT'S A WINNER Hybrid cars are poised for steady growth, and
plug-ins improve upon ordinary hybrids because they can cruise in
a pure-electric mode
ORGANIZATIONS DaimlerChrysler, EPRI, Southern California Edison
Co., South Coast Air Quality Management District, Metropolitan
Energy Center
CENTER OF ACTIVITY DaimlerChrysler facility in Mannheim, Germany
NUMBER OF PEOPLE ON THE PROJECT Approximately 15
BUDGET US $1 525 000 (total project cost)
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The resulting trucks will be able to travel at least 32 km
between rechargings in a pure-electric mode. For longer trips,
the vehicle will respond to the dwindling charge on the batteries
by automatically firing up the truck's combustion engine, which
will begin recharging the batteries and spinning the wheels,
extending the range indefinitely.
Daimler has no firm plans now to produce a plug-in passenger car,
but that could change. "I am convinced we can commercialize this
technology," says Ferdinand Panik, an alternative-vehicle expert
and retired Daimler senior official who now consults for various
organizations, including EPRI. "First for the delivery van, and
then for passenger cars as well." The plug, he and other
proponents believe, has the potential to transform the burgeoning
hybrid-electric vehicle market, in which Japanese automakers, led
by Toyota and the surprisingly successful Prius, have established
an early and commanding lead over their U.S. and European
counterparts.
Cars that both plug in and fuel up? How about a switch on your
dashboard that turns your car into an electric vehicle? For
plug-in technology to succeed in passenger cars, one of the
tricks will be finding a way to avoid befuddling a general public
conditioned to do little more than turn a key, step on an
accelerator, and buy copious quantities of gasoline. As one U.S.
driver told EPRI pollsters: "I'm lazy. I wouldn't be organized
enough to remember to plug in."
For those who could remember to plug in, however, the benefits
would be considerable. Like most people, you probably travel a
set distance to and from work five days a week, and also make
intermittent excursions of varied lengths. If you had a plug-in
hybrid with a battery big enough to cover your daily commute, you
would have, in effect, a pure-electric vehicle five days a week,
but one that could burn gasoline whenever you wanted to go on a
ski trip, visit your cousin, or drop off the kids at summer camp.
You'd go to a gas station maybe six times a year instead of six
times a month.
There would be other benefits, too. For example, that dashboard
switch�the one that lets the driver put the vehicle into a
pure-electric mode�could let the car operate in a crowded,
downtown urban area where combustion-engine fumes and noise were
unwelcome. And utility executives become visibly excited about
the possibility of recharging millions of vehicle batteries at
night, when their generating plants would otherwise languish.
"Powering up generating plants in the day and then powering them
down at night is very inefficient," notes Ed Kjaer, director of
electric transportation at Rosemead-based Southern California
Edison.
The first glimmerings of that vision are to be seen at Daimler's
Kompetenz-center f�r Emissionfrei Nutzfahrzeuge, known as KEN,
where the plug-in hybrid project is based. KEN already does a
modest but steady business converting small trucks, mostly
Sprinter vans, to run on compressed or liquefied natural gas,
electricity, or hybrid electric drive trains. The group has 7700
square meters tucked away in a cavernous Daimler truck engine
factory in Mannheim.
On a rainy October afternoon, a couple of dozen Sprinter vans are
scattered around the facility in various stages of conversion,
many of them up on lifts. A pair in one corner, one orange and
one white, are being outfitted with pure-electric drive trains; a
tangled rainbow of harness wires spills out through their open
front hoods. One of these Sprinters is destined for the
University of Bremen in Germany and the other for Helgoland, a
North Sea fishing and resort island where internal combustion
engine vehicles are banned.
Across the street from the factory, in a small white conference
room, Heinz J�rgensen gives me a status report and reviews the
technical challenges. J�rgensen, an electrical engineer, has been
corresponding with EPRI's Duvall and leading a team of four other
engineers at KEN who are working out the electrical and
mechanical details of the van. Precise, wry, sleepy-eyed, the
35-year-old J�rgensen is a study in contrasts: an automotive
expert who walks to work and a son of lifelong Volkswagen
employees who works for Daimler.
The first of the plug-in hybrid Sprinter vans are due in late
2004, he tells me. Although the team hasn't built any hardware
yet, they have worked out the basic design of the drive
train�based on specific engines, motor, and batteries�and even
simulated the vehicle's performance. They plan to stick with
proven components, including an ac motor of about 70- or 75-kW
output power, which is being produced by ZF Sachs AG of
Schweinfurt, Germany.
The 14.4-kWh battery pack will use durable nickel-metal hydride
batteries from Varta Automotive GmbH, Hannover, Germany. (The
company is 80 percent owned by Johnson Controls Inc. of
Milwaukee, Wis.) The vans destined for California will use
Daimler's four-cylinder, 2.3-liter M111 gasoline engine; a Kansas
City bus will have a 2.1-liter diesel engine.
Of course, there's much more to a hybrid vehicle than motor
ratings and battery chemistry. The most fundamental choice in the
design of any kind of hybrid is whether the drive train will use
the series or parallel configuration. Series hybrids are
conceptually very simple: a combustion engine turns a generator
that charges a battery that powers an electric motor, which turns
the wheels. Only the electric motor can spin the wheels. Parallel
hybrids are more complicated; because both the electric motor and
the combustion engine are connected to the drive shaft, either
one or both can make the wheels turn.
At first glance, at least, the series option seems better suited
for a plug-in hybrid. A series hybrid must have an electric motor
that can supply, all by itself, enough rotational force, or
torque, to accelerate the car briskly. As it happens, you want
such a powerful motor for a plug-in hybrid, too, so that when
you're in pure-electric mode, the car's acceleration won't be
sluggish.
"As soon as you want significant range and performance on
batteries alone, you're going to want a series [configuration],"
argues Alan Cocconi, a San Dimas, Calif., electrical drive
consultant whose company, AC Propulsion Inc., builds
high-performance electric and hybrid cars.
Cocconi built one of the handful of plug-in hybrids now on the
road; he did it by pulling the gas-powered guts out of a
Volkswagen Jetta and replacing them with a 120-kW electric motor
and 8.7 kWh's worth of lead-acid batteries, which are charged by
a four-cylinder, 1.4-liter internal combustion engine scavenged
from a Volkswagen Lupo. He and I hit the road on a brilliantly
sunny October afternoon, cruising among multimillion-dollar
mansions in the foothills of southern California's San Gabriel
mountains.
The Jetta is a joy to drive. The acceleration, particularly at
low speeds, is strong and silky smooth, and Cocconi is happy to
explain why. Series hybrids, like pure electrics, can fully
exploit the most endearing feature of an electric motor: its
relatively flat curve of torque versus revolutions per minute.
What a driver feels as acceleration is a function of torque. And
in a gasoline engine, not much torque is available at low RPM;
maximum torque is available only when the engine is spinning at
roughly three-fourths of its red-line RPM, or, say, 4000-5000
RPM. That's why a combustion engine vehicle needs a
transmission�to let the engine spin fast enough, even at low
vehicle speeds, so that it can generate enough torque to move the
car.
An electric motor, on the other hand, delivers maximum torque
pretty much the instant the rotor starts spinning. Thus, an
electric motor with no transmission whatsoever delivers torque in
a manner that is almost ideally suited to the demands of
accelerating a car from a standstill. It's the main reason why
electrically powered cars are so much fun to drive.
Still, series hybrids have their drawbacks. The long chain of
components from the engine to the drive shaft leaves lots of
places for power to leak out, lowering the overall efficiency.
But perhaps the biggest problem with series hybrids is the fact
that they are regarded as a leap for a global automotive industry
that has grown quite comfortable converting combustion directly
and mechanically into propulsion.
That comfort factor weighed heavily on the plug-in Sprinter
design team. "We don't want to change the normal drive train too
much," explains J�rgensen, the Daimler team's technical leader.
"If you make something totally new, there's more chance of
failure."
So the team has decided to go with the parallel option. That
leaves them two fundamental technical challenges, J�rgensen
notes. One is specifying the configuration and placement of the
major drive-train elements�engine, motor, starter motor (if any),
clutches, gearboxes, transmission, and so on. The other is
working out the details of the control strategy that will
determine when the vehicle is being powered by electricity, the
combustion engine, or some combination of the two.
There are several different basic configurations of a parallel
hybrid. The Daimler team has chosen one of the most common, in
which there is a clutch in between the engine and the electric
motor and also a separate, smaller starter motor to start the
engine. It's an apt choice for a plug-in hybrid because,
crucially, it can operate in a pure-electric mode: with the
clutch open, the engine is decoupled from the drive train and you
are running on electrons only. Of course, with the clutch open,
it's also possible to operate on the engine alone.
Yet another nice feature of this arrangement is the ability to
use the vehicle as a mobile generator of electricity. You start
the combustion engine, put the gear shift in neutral, and close
the clutch, and you can use the motor to generate up to 40
kW�enough to supply a small home.
The challenge with this configuration is figuring out a way to
start the combustion engine when you are cruising in the
pure-electric mode. Remember, both the engine and the motor
connect to the drive shaft. With the motor spinning the drive
shaft, starting and engaging the engine demands a bit of
choreography: start the engine with the starter motor; bring the
engine up to the same rotational speed as the spinning drive
shaft; and close the clutch to engage the engine. It could all be
done in a fraction of a second, J�rgensen says, and timed so that
the driver wouldn't notice the minute discontinuity in torque.
The other major challenge�the control strategy that determines
when the vehicle is electric, when it is a fossil-fuel burner,
and when it is both�is a bit trickier. The goal is to wring every
last pure-electric kilometer out of the battery packs. And to be
really effective, the strategy must change depending on the
length and even the topography of the journey.
To understand why, first consider a 30-km trip in a plug-in
hybrid with a 32-km range. That's easy: do the whole thing in
pure-electric mode. Run on your battery until it's almost dead.
But what about a 320-km trip? For that one, it would be better to
start off in pure-electric mode and then use up only, say,
two-thirds of the battery's charge. Then fire up the engine for
the remaining 300-odd km. That way, you would still have enough
battery energy to run like a conventional hybrid for the rest of
the trip, using the electric motor mainly to absorb load surges
to climb hills and accelerate and keeping the engine running
steadily and relatively cleanly at its most efficient rate.
-
The power of the 16.6 million cars and light trucks sold in the
United States in 2003 adds up to TWO AND A HALF TIMES THE TOTAL
U.S. ELECTRICAL GENERATING CAPACITY
-
And what about that switch, the one that would put the vehicle in
pure-electric mode? For fleet vehicles and delivery vans, "it's a
must," says DaimlerChrysler's J�rgensen, because it will let them
operate in restricted areas, such as some urban centers. But in
passenger vehicles, such a switch might merely baffle some
drivers.
That fact prompts Kjaer, of Southern California Edison, to wonder
aloud, "Do you allow the consumer to have control of the control
strategies, or do you let the car's computer have control of the
control strategies?" There's no clear answer at the moment.
Kjaer has other things on his mind, anyway. What he really wants
to talk about is a pipe dream called V-to-G, for "vehicle to
grid." Imagine countless plugged-in vehicles parked in lots and
trickling electric power back into the grid during the day. It
would greatly help utilities manage peak loads and would give the
vehicle owners a break on their utility bills.
Say you have a plug-in hybrid with a 40-km range, and your daily
commute starts with a trip to a train station only 6 km away from
your home. That train station, happily enough, has receptacles
where you can plug in your car.
Now imagine that electrical demand soars that day. With your
prior consent, the local utility could use some of the energy
from the battery in your car�and many thousands of other cars�but
leave enough charge for you to get home. (In fact, even if they
drained your battery, you still have a combustion engine to get
you wherever you wanted to go.) The electricity would flow
through that same plug, in the other direction, of course, and
you'd be credited for the transaction on your utility bill.
Kjaer wants to be clear about this. "You could be paid to park
your car in an urban center," he says, enunciating clearly and
with a defiant smile on his face.
A back-of-the-envelope calculation, at least, suggests that the
idea is not all that far-fetched. According to the research firm
J.D. Power and Associates in Westlake Village, Calif., 16.6
million new cars and light trucks were sold in the United States
in 2003. The power output of all those engines adds up to roughly
2500 GW�or two and a half times the entire electrical generating
capacity of the United States.
In the grand scenarios of transportation analysts, plug-in
hybrids occupy a box of indefinite length straddling those of
conventional hybrids in the very near future and, farther out,
fuel-cell cars, which experts predict will begin to dominate in
20, 30, or 40 years ("depending on which liar you believe," says
one West Coast transportation expert). Plug-ins will be "an
enabling pathway from where we'll be in a few years, with
hundreds of thousands of conventional hybrids on the road, to
nirvana, with zero- or near-zero-emission vehicles," Kjaer says.
What is the obstacle to getting plug-in hybrids in showrooms?
"The main thing is cost," says project leader J�rgensen. With its
relatively big battery pack and more powerful motor, a plug-in
would be more expensive up front than an ordinary hybrid,
although the total cost over the life of the vehicle would be
less.
In the meantime, DaimlerChrysler, EPRI, and their partners will
take the crucial first step, showing what plug-in hybrids can do
not only on the test track but also in real applications, with
ordinary drivers, and in actual working conditions. As EPRI
consultant Panik puts it, "If you make a vehicle, you will find
out the truth."
-
=====
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. http://geocities.com/brucedp/
. EV List Editor & RE newswires
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Find out what made the Top Yahoo! Searches of 2003
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--- Begin Message ---
EVLN(DaimlerChrysler hybrid-electric truck a IEEE "winner")
[The Internet Electric Vehicle List News. For Public EV
informational purposes. Contact publication for reprint rights.]
--- {EVangel}
http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20031226005014&newsLang=en
All Headlines December 26, 2003 10:00 AM US Eastern Timezone
IEEE Spectrum Predicts Winners, Losers and Holy Grails of
Technology for 2004
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 26, 2003--
American Superconductor, IBM and DaimlerChrysler amongst the
winners for 2004; Losers Include General Motors, Microsoft and
Nikon
A powerful ship motor with superconducting wires from American
Superconductor, ultra-sophisticated software from IBM that can
make sense of the crazy jumble of the World Wide Web, and a
DaimlerChrysler hybrid-electric truck that can become a
pure-electric vehicle at the flip of a dashboard switch - are
just three of the six projects identified by the editors of IEEE
Spectrum as "winners" in a new special issue highlighting the
best and worst of global technology.
[...]
IEEE Spectrum is published monthly by IEEE, [...]
Contacts KCSA Public Relations Worldwide Katie
Bestenlehner / Lisa Dean-Kluger / Henry Feintuch, (917) 327-8932
/ (917) 887-8504 / (914) 548-6924 [EMAIL PROTECTED]/
[EMAIL PROTECTED] / [EMAIL PROTECTED] � Business Wire 2003
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. EV List Editor & RE newswires
. (originator of the above ASCII art)
=====
__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Find out what made the Top Yahoo! Searches of 2003
http://search.yahoo.com/top2003
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