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Seems plausable. LR.............
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From: "ohnojoe" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "'Lawrence Rhodes'" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Sunday, June 19, 2005 10:52 AM
Subject: RE: GE Electric Car :: Road Test mag :: Feb 68 :: Full Text!
I didn't want to post this on the list cause I'm not sure about this guy.
Anyway, I just bought two EVs. I'm trying to get them on the road. One is a
tracker that I need to install a dc-dc converter (just delivered) in and the
other is an S-10 that need some wiring re-done or something.
Any way since I don't know anything about the electronics I have been trying
to
get some help so I have been running an ad in the alternative paper here in
Springfield Illinois.
I got a call from this older guy who told me that he was the GE tractor
distributor in the Midwest and was also a paid consultant for GEs ElectroCar
from back in the 60s.
I listen to his numerous stories about the EV drag racer that went over 200
miles an hour in the 1/4 mile, an electric boat he built and about the 4
electric cars he worked on for GE.
The cars were last seen at the AMC Kenosha Wi. plant before big Lee tore the
plant and the town down,
His story was basically the same as the email below. The Big three didn't
want GE in the car business and the pencil pushers didn't want to risk the
accounts.
I'm going to try to have lunch with him in a week or two to hear some more
stories.
Let me know if you want me to talk with him about anything.
Have Fun
Joe
-----Original Message-----
From: Lawrence Rhodes [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Thursday, June 16, 2005 12:24 AM
To: Electric Vehicle Discussion List; SFEVA;
[EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: GE Electric Car :: Road Test mag :: Feb 68 :: Full Text!
Message: 1
Date: Mon, 13 Jun 2005 19:34:39 -0400
From: RemyC <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: GE Electric Car :: Road Test mag :: Feb 68 :: Full Text!
Full text from Road Test Magazine, February 1968
The Truth About The G.E. Electric Car
by Byron Bloch
Perhaps the most intriguing rumor in the automobile industry is that General
Electric Company is well along in its development of a "Mustang-type"
electric car.
Does General Electric have an electric car? Yes, indeed, though there's
still a bit of mystery about what G.E.'s released publicly versus what the
substantial rumors claim they've really got under wraps. If the General
Electric developments are as far along as now appears feasible, they could
well serve as the necessary catalyst that might revolutionize, rather than
evolutionize, the entire automobile industry. The avante-garde electric car
would not only bring an end to the near-catastrophic problem of air
pollution, but would also offer major benefits in economy of operation, ease
of maintenance, high reliability, silent running, versatility of vehicle
design, and could lead to a decentralization of automobile manufacturing
away from the present-day 'Big Three and a Half'.
To fully understand and appreciate the General Electric electric car saga,
it is enlightening to trace certain developments over, especially, the past
two or three years ... including technical reports, Senate hearings, Ralph
Nader, and other sources.
Comes The Revolution
How did GE get so involved with electric cars in the first place? As the
pieces of the GE puzzle now seem to fit together, the story began over four
years ago, though intensifying in early 1964. GE management was logically
prompted to 'keep in touch' with electric car developments ... just in case
a potential market might develop for GE's electric traction motors,
electronic control systems, fuel cells, and metal-air batteries. Thus, they
decided to assign their researchers to probe what might lie ahead.
Some of these creative scientists, especially a few at GE's 'think factory'
in Santa Barbara, California, began to realize that the advanced
technological capabilities at GE (and elsewhere) could quickly lead to a
truly modern electric automobile with a total performance that would rival
that of a typical internal combustion engine automobile ...
(Coincidentally, General Motors Corporation also has research laboratories
in Santa Barbara, where creative scientists have been working on a 'secret'
GM electric car that unites a small internal combustion engine (ICE) with a
generator, rechargeable batteries, and electric traction motors. The engine
speed is regulated at a low, fairly constant rate which, in conjunction with
the small engine size, minimizes the emission of pollutants. Thus, GM has a
'hybrid' ICE-battery electric car under development ... versus the
equally-secretive GE 'hybrid' fuel cell-battery car.)
The GE staff recommended the building of a prototype modern electric car as
the next logical step. The optimum design appeared to be a blend, or
'hybrid' of refuellable fuel cells--for normal motive power, and to maintain
a continuous full-charge on the batteries--plus powerful, quick-recharge
metal-air batteries--for abundant reserve power in peakload conditions, as
in climbing hills and passing situations.
In the meantime, GE had also funded a small-scale electric car project at
the Illinois Institute of Technology, under the guidance of IIT's Professor
Jay Doblin. GE next parlayed all of its electric car energies back east to a
combination of its motor-generator and transportation research facilities in
Erie, Pennsylvania; to its electrochemical research and development
facilities in Schenectady, New York, and to its aircraft accessory turbine
department in Lynne, Massachusetts. At least two basic electric vehicle
designs were to be developed: a rather conventional battery-powered vehicle
to approximate the non-GE state-of-the-art; and a much bolder look ahead ...
the "hybrid" fuel cell/quick-recharge metal-air battery version that would
compete with, and even transcend, tomorrow's Mustang. (For the sake of
convenience, the latter GE vehicle will hereafter be referred to as their
"ElectroCar".)
True to GE;s corporate slogan that "Progress is our most important
product", the exciting progress embodied in their evolving ElectroCar
project exceeded the expectations ... or probably even the wildest dreams
... of GE's top management. The ElectroCar was shaping up as an
excitingly-styled, ultra-modern four-passenger hardtop sedan ... with
cruising speeds in the 60 mph category, and a range exceeding 200 miles ...
easily refuelled-and recharged in a matter of minutes. Performance, size,
durability, economy, style ... it was all there!
What do you do with a revolutionary electric automobile that could cause
havoc to the existing auto and petroleum industries ... two of GE's best
customers. The answer could not be arrived at too hastily, for even our
national economists and politicians ... not to mention the highly vocal
auto-oil industry spokesman ... frequently proclaim loudly that cars and
petroleum are, after all, the very "foundation" of the American economy.
While management hesitated, the creative GE researchers were innocently
expounding their capabilities and acheivements. And just in case GE might
decide to become the fifth major automaker in the U.S., and thereby perhaps
need a partner, GE management reportedly held some preliminary on-again,
off-again chats with such fellow industrial giants as Alcoa and Chrysler.
The words began to leak out here and there, and the pieces started to fall
into place. There was little doubt as to what a highly motivated GE could
really do. General Electric Corporation has the innovatice brains, the
progressive (though inhibited) management abilities, the necessary
technological base (fuel cells, metal-air batteries, electronic control
systems, electric motors) ... and the abundant capital. (GE is the fourth
largest U.S. industrial corporation ... conspicuously right behind GM, Ford,
and Standard Oil, and right in front of Chrysler, Mobil Oil, and Texaco.)
The dilemma and intrigue focused upon what GE might actually do with the
remarkable ElectroCar project. Go for a touchdown? Punt? Quit the game? and
while GE management debated their next course of action, a wealth of
evidence bubbled up from out of the past.
A Prelude of Progress
In September, 1965, a prominent GE electrochemist wrote in a technical
article that a special three-electrode cell had been developed at the GE
labs in Schenectady, New York. Among its features to greatly increase the
rate of recombining the oxygen at the negative electrode, and thereby
facilitate a faster rate of recharging, was a third (auxiliary) "catalyst"
electrode to encourage the combination of hydrogen with the evolved oxygen.
The result: "Cells can be charged safely in less than an hour."
In June, 1966, another technical article appeared, discussing the
"revolution" being caused by newly designed primary batteries that used
easily-replaceable plates of zinc or magnesium for the metal electrode, and
plain air for the positive electrodes. These metal-air batteries are
actually half battery (the metal anode) and half fuel cell (the air cathode)
... and can pack more energy per pound than any standard dry cell battery.
Among the principal examples was the new GE magnesium-air battery, which
employed a salt water electrolyte, magnesium plate anodes, and air cathodes.
Only the magnesium anode is consumed, and is readily deposited in a nylon
mesh bag at the bottom of the battery case ... as a magnesium hydroxide
flock (milk of magnesia). As the article states:
"The mesh bag is easily lifted out, emptied, and returned for re-use with a
fresh plate of magnesium and a fresh charge of salt water. A whole battery
can be 'recharged' this way in ten minutes."
Note what this does to our conventional thinking about recharging a
battery: Normally, we assume that a battery must be connected to another
source of electrical energy--and then wait perhaps a few hours for a full
recharge to take place.
When the present auto industry spokesman from "The Big Three and a Half"
and oil companies discuss the possibilities of electric cars, they are
always quick to point out the time-consuming chores of recharging the
batteries. Yet, by the method of quickly and easily removing and
replacing--or replenishing--the magnesium anode and salt water electrolyte
at your nearest "ElectroCar Service Station," you'd be back on the road in
eight minutes maximum. Compared to the similar time that it now takes to
refuel a car's gasoline tank, the electric car suddenly looks a lot more
appealing. Straight electrical recharging--rather than the replenishment
method just cited--could also be used to fully recharge the system in less
than an hour or so.
Cells to Sell
General Electric Company has also published a lucid book entitled "Some
Plain Talk About Fuel Cells", in which they proclaim the many attributes of
modern fuel cells and, in particular, their own ion-exchange membrane fuel
cell. GE offers the following basic description:
"A fuel cell is a continuous-feed electrochemical device in which the
chemical energy of the reaction of a conventional fuel and air (oxygen) is
converted directly into useful electricity. it can operate continuously as
long as fuel and air are available."
Noting that their ion-exchange membrane fuel cells are suitable for a wide
variety of ground, space, and undersea applications, GE goes on to list
their many extraordinary advantages:
"No noxious exhaust."
"Silent operation."
"Nothing to wear out."
"Operates at room temperature and normal pressure."
"Self-regulating. Fuel is consumed only on demand."
"No caustic liquid electrolyte."
"High power-to-weight and power-to-volume ratios."
"High fuel efficiency."
"Regenerative operation."
A fuel cell will produce electricity continuously, as long as fuel is fed
to the system. Thus, the range of a fuel cell powered automobile would only
be limited by the amount of fuel stored in containers aboard the vehicle--in
precisely the same manner that the range of an internal combustion engine
vehicle depends on the amount of gasoline in the tank. Thus, a fuel cell
powered electric auto could travel 200 to 400 miles on a tankful of
hydrazine, hydrogen, ammonia, or some other fuel and you'd merely stop at a
local 'electromobile service station', take a few minutes to fill up, and be
back on your way again. (Oh, the attendant would probably have to drain some
excess water from an auxiliary storage tank ... since a fuel cell produces
water in addition to useful electricity.)
While a fuel cell produces continuous electrical energy ... most useful
when a vehicle is cruising ... it must also be coupled to an auxiliary
fast-discharge electrical battery system, for abundant power in peakload
situations, such as when a burst of acceleration is needed. The most likely
partner for the fuel cell? The prime candidates include GE's own special
three-electrode battery cell (rechargeable in less than an hour), and GE's
own ion-exchange membrane magnesium-air battery (which could be fully
replenished in a few quick minutes).
A Senate Probe
Seeking methods to alleviate the problems of air pollution in our cities,
Joint Hearings were held before the Committee on Commerce and the
Subcommittee on Air and Water Pollution of the Committee on Public Works, of
the U.S. Senate. These Hearings, held in March and April, 1967, were
officially entitled: 'Electric Vehicles and Other Alternatives to the
Internal Combustion Engine.' The published record encompasses 550 pages of
the most extensive technical discourse on electric cars ever published.
General Electric is mentioned in the published record, but, strangely, not
in their own words--for, although GE is listed on page 126 as being among
those companies believed to be conducting electric vehicle and component
research, GE is nonetheless conspicuous by its total absence from the
Hearings and the published record. GE is also listed on pages 129, 130, 131,
422, 423, and 425 as having a total of eleven contracts from various
governmental, military, and aerospace organizations ... all on behalf of
fuel cell and battery development. The point here, simply stated, is that
General Electric has been using governmental contracts--(taxpayers'
money)--to build a firm base of advanced technology in fuel cells,
batteries, and related components, all of which are highly relevant to the
solving of a pressing national problem called air pollution.
Apparently either some Senator 'forgot' to request GE's appearance at the
Hearings, or perhaps GE judiciously decided to stay safely at home.
Finally, on page 509 of the same document, there's an intriguing statement
by Robert Ayres, of the Hudson Institute, Inc., of New York:"In fact, GE is
building a prototype refuellable magnesium-air battery for an electric truck
under a contract from the U.S. Marine Corps."
Thus, even in the face of major Senate probings and formal hearings into
electric vehicles and related components, such as batteries, fuel cells,
controls, motor--areas in which GE excels--GE nonetheless stood strangely
silent. The Hearings were supposed to determine whether or not the Federal
Government should significantly aid the development of electric cars. (Refer
to Senate Bills 451 and 453 of the 90th Congress, 1st. Session, 1967.)
A Secret
On July 17, 1967, The Wall Street Journal published a front page article of
high impact ... "Detroit Rife With Talk That GE is Readying an Electric
Automobile" ... subtitled "Rumors of Mustang-like Car Abound, But So Do
Denials: Big Three Act Worried." The article went on to describe what was
known, and what was rumored--plus quite a few rebuttal statements from
members of the internal combustion engined automobile industry. The article
stated that GE actually had a prototype car built by the Modern Engineering
Service Company, of Detroit. (The car was later spotted on the roads around
Troy, Michigan, prior to its being shipped to the GE plant at Schenectady,
New York.) In trying to verify the rumors, Tim Metz, the Wall Street Journal
reporter, contacted top management and technical personnel. While the brass
denied that GE was working on an electric car, either by itself or with a
partner, Metz was able to glean some information from technical personnel.
What he uncovered was essentially a confirmation of earlier rumors: Yes, it
was a 'Mustang-type' car, it could travel at more than 80 miles per hour,
and it could cruise more than 200 miles before its power source had to be
replenished.
The next day, GE top management publicly discounted the Wall Street Journal
article. In his statement, Gerald Phillippe, chairman of the board, did
admit that GE was then building a small battery powered car, but that it was
"strictly a research vehicle." (The full statement appeared in Road Test,
November, 1967.) No mention was made of fuel cells which, because of GE's
extraordinary avante-garde efforts for aerospace programs, has become a
substantial technological base for GE. The Gemini space missions, for
example, successfully utilized compact, efficient, powerful fuel cells made
by GE.
Chairman Phillippe also neglected to mention that GE had already teamed
with Monsanto Chemical Company to convert a U.S. Army truck into a workable
fuel cell vehicle ... the M-37, earmarked for silent and efficient service
in Vietnam. The compact, quiet, and powerful under-the-hood Monstanto fuel
cells use hydrazine fuel and, of note, the efficient and smooth solid-state
electronic control system was built by ... General Electric! (Now you'd
think that GE's own advanced fuel cell technology and quick
recharge/replenish metal-air battery technology ... and, quite reasonably,
they'd have their "electric Mustang" or ElectroCar, even if GE management
would prefer to call it "strictly a research vehicle".)
Nader Electrifies
Ralph Nader was next to plunge into the GE electric car probe. Spurred on by
what he termed the auto industry's lethargic and arrogant attitude regarding
air pollution, and their feeble attempts to develop adequate controls for
their internal combustion engined vehicles, Nader took a deep look at the
feasibility of practical electric cars--and GE appeared much too wise to not
be working on electric cars. Finally, on September 14th, 1967, Nader
publicly spoke on his findings. He stated that it appeared that GE had
developed an electric car good for 80 miles an hour over ranges up to 200
miles, using a "hybrid fuel cell" system whose battery could be recharged in
eight minutes. Nader further claimed that the car was being kept "top
secret" because of GE's desires not to disturb the auto and petroleum
industries.
Nader's charges were responded to by a GE company research official, who
added that company policy precluded use of his name. The GE official alleged
that Nader's claim of "recharging batteries in less than eight minutes ...
is off by a factor of 20. You'd have to shoot 20,000 amperes into the car to
recharge batteries that fast--and you'd melt the whole system down trying to
do it."
The GE official's statement is astonishingly remote from GE's own
previously proclaimed capability. As we cited earlier, GE personnel stated,
in September of 1965, that they had developed a three-electrode cell that
can be "charged safely in less than an hour." Furthermore, in June of 1966,
GE personnel stated that their new magnesium-air battery could be easily
"recharged this way in ten minutes." Finally, in August, 1967, scientists at
the Argonne National Laboratory stated that they had developed light-weight
battery packs that "can be recharged in 15 minutes with special equipment.
If used in a subcompact electric car, the battery could have power for a
range of 200 miles at a top speed of 60 miles an hour."
These statements about battery recharging performance cast substantial
doubt on that unnamed GE employee's claim that 160 minutes (8 minutes times
a factor of 20) are necessary for recharging!
The GE official had also remarked that "Nader's claim for 80 miles an hour
speed is off by almost 2 to 1. So is the claim for a 200-mile range." Yet,
even electric vehicles that are inferior to GE's own rumored vehicle serve
to contradict this statement. In testimony before the Senate Commerce
Committee, Mr. Robert A. Charpie, President of the Electronics Division of
Union Carbide, Described an existing fuel cell vehicle with a "70 mph top
speed and a range of about 150 miles." He also noted that "by doubling the
size of the fuel tank, the vehicle range could be increased up to 300
miles."
Others have testified in the same Hearings that existing technology can
permit speeds easily exceeding 60 miles per hour.
The General Electric official also mentioned that GE's family of fuel cells
"would cost $5,000-$10,000 even in production." However, Dr. Clare P.
Stanford of Allis-Chalmers Company stated, at those Senate Hearings in 1967,
that "there is nothing inherently expensive in the fuel cell. We don't need
research breakthrough. We need engineering, production, development." And
again, Mr. Charpie of Union Carbide simply noted that "the average cost of
(an internal combustion) power plant in a present vehicle is, give or take,
a dollar per pound; and the cost of materials which go into fuel cell and
battery systems is substantially lower than a dollar a pound. It is the
handcrafting assembly which is required at low production rates which makes
them expensive at present." And, of course, overall efficiency and operating
costs are significantly lower for electric vehicles than those obtainable
for internal combustion engined vehicles.
Thus, in summation, it appears that the rumored performance of General
Electric's 'Mustang-type' electric car is feasible and could well be
accurate ... despite initial denials in September, 1967 by an unnamed GE
spokesman.
On October 9th, 1967, Nader sent a detailed letter to Phillippe of GE,
urging him to utilize his company's vast technological resources to help
remedy the "worsening air pollution epidemic" and, specifically, to
reconsider his company's apparent policy of secrecy regarding its electric
car research and development. Nader made copies of his letter public at a
press conference in Los Angeles ... which was, at that very moment, in the
throes of many consecutive days of 'smog alerts', those dangerously-toxic
air pollution conditions of which 80 to 90 percent was and is caused by
automobiles.
A Box Of Batteries
On October 19th, 1967, GE finally broke the silence. At a stockholder
information meeting in Cincinnati, Arthur Gueche, GE vice president of
research and development, revealed that his company had built a "strictly
experimental" electric car that could reach speeds up to 55 miles per hour,
and has a range of around 100 miles between battery chargings. (Technical
data on the GE vehicle appears in the accompanying comparison chart.)
As each smog-infested day drifts by, it becomes disturbingly apparent that
revolutionary innovations will be needed to avoid a "doomsday" in Los
Angeles, New York City, Washington, D.C., or in the entire nation for that
matter. Air pollution can no longer be slowly and haphazardly battled by the
apathetic efforts of the monolithic automobile and petroleum industries,
whose multi-billion dollar investment in the status quo ... or in 'a slow
and controlled progress' ... precludes the rapid attainment of substantial
remedies. And one very feasible remedy is the modern electric automobile.
Is there truly a General Electric 'electric Mustang' ... the elusive
ElectroCar? While specific affirmative news from GE would indeed be welcome
this in-depth probe strongly indicates that such an ElectroCar is highly
feasible in light of today's emerging avant-garde technology. Thus, GE or no
GE, the ElectroCar might well be 'hidden' in the smog, and merely just
around the corner. Perchance it'll even be named the "Progress!"
Lawrence Rhodes
Bassoon/Contrabassoon
Reedmaker
Book 4/5 doubler
Electric Vehicle & Solar Power Advocate
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
415-821-3519
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