EV Digest 6187
Topics covered in this issue include:
1) EVLN(nEVs on Waupun, WI city streets)
by bruce parmenter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
2) EVLN(Speed-modified golf carts: a matter of personal choice)-long
by bruce parmenter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
3) EVLN(BBARWA's 2001 Ford EV Ranger EV)
by bruce parmenter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
4) EVLN(American EV Co's 35mph Kurrent Coupe EV, 600/mo June 2007)
by bruce parmenter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
5) EVLN(EEStor battery: Think of it as a grilled-cheese sandwich)-long
by bruce parmenter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
6) EVLN(REVA's Australian Government woes)-long
by bruce parmenter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
7) Re: Suppressors for EV radios
by "David Roden" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
8) Re: powerbeam fly-cylinder at Calstart meeting
by "David Roden" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
9) Re: Grease and even more LRR tire testing
by "David Roden" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
10) Re: Clutchless gearbox CVT Warning
by "David Roden" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
11) Re: Grease and even more LRR tire testing
by "Mike Phillips" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
12) Re: EVLN(REVA's Australian Government woes)-long
by nikki <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
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EVLN(nEVs on Waupun, WI city streets)
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informational purposes. Contact publication for reprint rights.]
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http://www.fdlreporter.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061101/FON0101/61101063/1985
Posted November 1, 2006
Waupun to take closer look at low-speed vehicles
By Colleen Kottke The Reporter [EMAIL PROTECTED]
WAUPUN Waupun officials are eager to get rolling on an
ordinance that would allow citizens to operate electric vehicles
on city streets.
Waupun Common Council members on Tuesday night directed City
Attorney Daniel Vande Zande to draft a model ordinance governing
the operation of Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEV) in the city
limits.
I think were all in agreement that this is something we really
want to do, said Mayor Jodi Steger.
With the passage of Wisconsin Act 329, many residents seeking
cheaper and cleaner transportation sources are bringing the issue
to the table with local government officials. Ordinances allowing
the use of NEVs have already been passed in Mount Horeb, Green
Bay and Reedsburg, with more communities expected to follow
suit.
While the state has given the green light on the issue, the
responsibility of regulating the usage and licensing of NEVs has
fallen on the shoulders of local officials.
The law is designed so we can enforce all the same traffic codes
as we do on regular motorized vehicles, said Vande Zande. We
do, however, have the unique problems such as what roads they can
be on as far as speed limits and joint jurisdiction with
surrounding townships where we would have to work out a
provisional arrangement.
The state law permits NEVs to operate on street with speed limits
lower than 35 mph.
Police Chief Dale Heeringa questioned the Police Departments
role in inspecting the vehicles for safety compliance.
We want to make sure the vehicles are safe. Otherwise, we have no
problems with it in allowing them on the streets, Heeringa
said.
Just months after GEM LLC, a Daimler-Chrysler company,
manufactured its first electric vehicle in 1998, the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) designated a new
class of motor vehicle the low speed vehicle.
To qualify for this designation and travel on city streets, the
vehicle must meet certain safety criteria set forth by the NHTSA.
The vehicles are required to be equipped with turn signals,
mirrors, windshield wipers, seat belts, brake lights, headlights
and taillights.
Vande Zande will draft two versions of the model ordinance for
the Nov. 14 council meeting one requiring licensing and the
other without that requirement.
I would like to start out having less government involvement and
see how it goes, said Alderman Art Ehlert. If we have problems,
we can always look at licensing them later. I say lets get this
thing going.
-
Bruce {EVangel} Parmenter
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EVLN(Speed-modified golf carts: a matter of personal choice)-long
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http://www.lincolnnewsmessenger.com/articles/2006/11/02/news/business/01asltu.txt
Looking for the Alternative
Lincoln businesses specialize in electric carts
By: D.E. Kern, The News Messenger
Thursday, November 2, 2006 11:21 AM PST
http://www.lincolnnewsmessenger.com/content/articles/2006/11/02/news/business/01asltu.jpg
http://www.lincolnnewsmessenger.com/content/articles/2006/11/02/news/business/01asltu-2.jpg
photos by karina williams/the news messenger Roy Ellenburg, owner
of Sacramento Golf Carts in Lincoln, moves one of his 2006
President Club Cars at his lot.At least one potential supplier of
small, electric vehicles sees more work to be done if Lincoln is
to meet its stated goal of encouraging greater use of
alternatives to conventional automobiles.
Mark Weigand, owner of Golf Carts of Lincoln, said efforts to
bring alternative transportation to city streets are hampered by
a lack of funding and a mish-mash of definitions that make it
difficult to advise his customers as to what vehicles belong on
city streets.
"It's a great idea," Weigand said. "(But) there's too much gray
area. I want it to be very succinct, very well defined and (have)
no room for error.
"There's no money, or virtually no money to put the striping in
for these," he added. "There is a funding (need) with a lot of
this stuff."
As Weigand makes his point, he holds up a copy of the NEV
Transportation Plan released by the city in August. The 55-page
document, prepared by MHM Engineers and Surveyors, attempts to
summarize the progress already made on the plan and to provide a
blueprint for moving forward. It addresses the use of low-speed
vehicles, neighborhood electric vehicles, conventional golf carts
and speed-modified golf carts.
Rich Ledbetter of Fehr & Peers Transportation Consultants helped
the city in the preparation of the NEV plan and a separate,
earlier golf cart plan.
"The range that (golf carts) and (true NEVs) are able to go are
different under this plan," he said. "(Golf carts) would not be
allowed to go to Downtown by City Hall. NEVs will because they're
a little faster and the federal laws (allow for it).
"It's really kind of a matter of personal choice and use," he
added. "If you want to use it for getting around Sun City and
traveling to select shopping areas, a golf cart is fine. Somebody
that buys a NEV, it encompasses everything."
According to the plan, available on the city's Web site, a
conventional golf cart is a vehicle "...designed to be operated
at no more than 15 miles per hour, is designed to carry golf
equipment and not more than two persons, including the driver."
However, the document broadly defines a speed-modified golf cart
as any cart modified to meet federal safety standards.
It all leaves Weigand a bit skittish about the idea of
recommending golf carts for the street.
"Most of (our) customers don't need or want license plates," he
said. "If they want to do that, we let them do it themselves.
"I always tell them you can take it on the streets in Sun City.
(But) if you're going to have it in the rest of the city, we
recommend something safer, like the Invita."
The Invita is a true low-speed vehicle Weigand intends to stock
and sell at Golf Carts of Lincoln. It's a crash-tested,
safety-equipped vehicle designed to compete with Chryler's GEM,
he said.
Eventually, Weigand hopes the politicians clear the waters.
"I do really, really want to see this take off," he said. "But,
unless you want to fund it and make it happen, it's never going
to happen."
Where Weigand sees gray, Roy Ellenburg of Sacramento Valley Golf
Cars sees a clear opportunity.
Ellenburg specializes in modifying golf carts for the road. He
doesn't hesitate when asked if his product is legal for the
road.
"Every one of them (is street legal) because that's what everyone
wants," he said. "We put the light package on, which is your
headlights, tail lights, stop light and blinkers. (We also add)
the five-panel mirror, the windshield and the roof, which you
have to have."
Ellenburg credits the Del Webb Active Adult communities, such as
Sun City Lincoln, with popularizing and proliferating
electric-vehicle usage. In some cases, as with the five-panel
mirror, Del Webb's safety standards exceed those of the state, he
said.
A few years ago, Sacramento Valley Golf Cars specialized in
upgrades on vehicles that had already been used on golf courses
and contained neighborhoods such as Sun City. But most of
Ellenburg's current customers want to start off with a
street-legal vehicle.
To meet that demand, he buys golf carts directly from the
manufacturer, strips them to their aluminum frame and customizes
them in any number of fashions. Ellenburg's lot features two-seat
carts, four-seat carts, a Baja-styled cart with blue-flame
detailing on a white body and a glistening metallic cart with a
lift kit and beefy high-tread tires.
The key to the process, Ellenburg said, is reprogramming the
carts electronics, giving it the horsepower and torque needed to
reach and maintain 19-22 mph on Lincoln's varied terrain.
"The one's that (are) on the golf course are programmed, but not
this way," he said. "They're set up on a different system.
They're set up on a golf course for about 12 mph and you can bump
that to 20 with the equipment that's on (the factory cart).
"But this high-torque package we install is something entirely
different," Ellenburg said.
And, as he sees it, speed-modified carts are the perfect way to
adapt to a transportation scene that will be "entirely different"
in 20 to 25 years.
Ledbetter agrees change is on the way.
"(Lincoln) adopted the transportation plan already," he said.
"Now, what is going on is the actual implementation of it.
"It's going to be a phased thing," he added. "I don't think
you're going to see it come up one week where it's all done and
we have a big ribbon cutting."
-
Bruce {EVangel} Parmenter
' ____
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. EV List Editor, RE & AFV newswires
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===== Undo Petroleum Everywhere
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Everyone is raving about the all-new Yahoo! Mail beta.
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EVLN(BBARWA's 2001 Ford EV Ranger EV)
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informational purposes. Contact publication for reprint rights.]
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http://www.bearvalleynews.com/bvn%202110306.htm
BBARWA uses electric truck By Danielle Seckler
BIG BEAR LAKE- the Big Bear Area Regional Wastewater Agency
(BBARWA) started a lease contract for a 2001 Ford EV Ranger
truck, pictured below.
The lease contract for three years was for the cost of the truck
at $12,467.84. After the lease was done in 2004, the cost to buy
the truck was $1. It seems that Ford would have compacted the
truck, after removing the batteries.
The Ranger is a fully electric vehicle and not a hybrid, which
works with two sources of energy, such as electricity and
gasoline. The truck can only be used locally, as a full charge
allows the vehicle to drive between 40 and 50 miles.
The BBARWA plant uses the vehicle around town and the plant. We
drove in the truck and the pick up was perfectly within range for
getting on and off the freeway; and maintaining speed once on the
freeway. The truck was quite and the shifting of gears was much
smoother than with regular gasoline automatic engines. When
looking into the engine, most everything is standard, even the
coolant container for regular gas engines.
Though no formal press release was given, sources tell us that
BBARWA is working with the Bear Valley Electric Company for the
possible joint venture in building a solar power plant on BBARWA
property in the future.
-
Bruce {EVangel} Parmenter
' ____
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. EV List Editor, RE & AFV newswires
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===== Undo Petroleum Everywhere
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Need a quick answer? Get one in minutes from people who know.
Ask your question on www.Answers.yahoo.com
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EVLN(American EV Co's 35mph Kurrent Coupe EV, 600/mo June 2007)
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http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061104/NEWS03/611040316/1004/news03
Published November 4, 2006
Firm in Ferndale rolls out electric vehicle that costs pennies to
run By Derek Wallbank Lansing State Journal
A Ferndale-made car hopes to make inroads in a gas-guzzling world
with an inexpensive, eco-friendly vehicle.
American Electric Vehicle Co. has rolled out its entry into the
automotive world: the Kurrent Coupe. It was on campus Friday at
Michigan State University.
The car can run about 50 miles on a single charge and plug into
any standard 3-hole outlet. It costs a penny or two per mile to
run. But don't expect to break any speed records. The vehicle
tops out at 35 mph.
"It's not a primary vehicle," conceded American Electric
spokesman Scott Thornton, "But it's a good car for people with
shorter commutes."
People such as Michigan State University professors and graduate
students, many of whom took turns test driving a green-and-white
Kurrent at MSU's Communication Arts and Sciences building
Thursday during it's official launch party.
"It's cool," said environmental journalism professor Dave
Poulson. "Where do I sign up?"
Rick Cole, chair of the Advertising, Public Relations and
Retailing school at MSU, got on board with the project early on.
In fact, he liked it so much that he's ordered one.
On order
"I want to buy the first one. I'm driving that big beast, that
Lincoln," Cole said, pointing to his car, "and it doesn't make
any sense."
Cole described the two-seat car as a mix between a "really nice
golf cart and a Volkswagen." And the description fits.
American Electric has solved some very basic problems with
electric cars with its first offering. To get the car up to speed
quickly, there's a booster switch.
The car doesn't have air conditioning or a radio yet - AE said
its working on it - and it's a little bumpy on bad roads. You
also can't take it on high-speed roads.
But the vehicle has heat, and a 90-plus degree front windshield
provides great visibility.
With a base price of $9,600, with a $3,000 federal tax rebate, AE
is hoping the Kurrent will be a nice option as a short-commute
car.
Jeff Crippen, president of Crippen Auto Mall in Delta Township,
said he's not too concerned about the car denting sales of
vehicles on his lot. "At this point, the public seems to still
have a demand for a larger vehicle," he said, though it would
"probably be helpful for some of those smaller commutes."
20 cars in December
The plan calls for producing 20 cars in December and increase
steadily to between 400 and 600 a month by June 2007.
Perhaps the hardest thing to figure out is how to change some
simple terminology. "We're still thinking about what to call the
gas pedal." Thornton said. "You can't give it some gas because
it's electric."
Contact Derek Wallbank at 267-1301 or [EMAIL PROTECTED] .
Copyright ©2006 LSJ.com All rights reserved
-
Bruce {EVangel} Parmenter
' ____
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. http://geocities.com/brucedp/
. EV List Editor, RE & AFV newswires
. (originator of the above ASCII art)
===== Undo Petroleum Everywhere
____________________________________________________________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Everyone is raving about the all-new Yahoo! Mail beta.
http://new.mail.yahoo.com
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EVLN(EEStor battery: Think of it as a grilled-cheese sandwich)-long
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informational purposes. Contact publication for reprint rights.]
--- {EVangel}
http://www.statesman.com/business/content/business/stories/technology/11/05/5eestor.html
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY Charging into the future
Cedar Park startup bets it can produce a mass-market power
storage device for electric cars.
By Dan Zehr AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Sunday, November 05, 2006
Tucked away in a Cedar Park business center, a small startup
called EEStor Inc. is building an energy storage device that
could finally usher in the era of the electric car. Or the
company's technology could fizzle out like all the other ideas
that were destined to banish the internal-combustion engine to a
quaint corner of the Smithsonian.
FEEL GOOD CARS CORP.
Power storage units created by EEStor Inc. of Cedar Park will be
used in the ZENN (which stands for zero emission no noise), an
electric car made by Feel Good Cars Corp. of Toronto.
Given the all-or-nothing buzz building around EEStor (pronounced
E-Store), it comes as no surprise the company has said almost
nothing publicly. It declined to comment for this story as well.
But a patent the company earned in April, along with a $3 million
investment from the world's top venture capital firm, hints that
EEStor might be closer to "all" than it is to "nothing."
The company has come up with a new method for making
ultracapacitors, battery-like devices that can store large
amounts of electricity. EEStor's energy storage unit can hold
enough charge to power a car 300 miles, according to its patent,
and it can be recharged in the time it takes to pump a tank of
gas. And it can do that at only a small, if any, premium to the
cost of a gas-powered engine.
"That's why the technology that EEStor is developing really
breaks the mold," said Ian Clifford, CEO of Feel Good Cars Corp.,
a Canadian electric-vehicle company that has signed a deal to put
EEStor units in its cars. "It's low weight, low cost and it has
the rapid recharge technology that suddenly makes electric
vehicles viable."
Those barriers have kept electric vehicles off the road in any
significant numbers, Clifford said, and the situation will remain
that way until manufacturers can produce a vehicle that acts much
more like a gasoline-powered car.
In the 1990s, the major automakers sold several thousand electric
cars under California's zero-emissions mandate. The cars built a
small but devoted following, but their range was too limited to
catch on more broadly. Under pressure by the automakers, the
state overturned the mandate in 2003.
By then, a pair of longtime computer industry veterans already
were tinkering around with the idea of building a better power
storage device. Richard Weir and Carl Nelson started working
together in the 1990s, developing new surfaces for hard-disk
drives.
Weir was a former Marine pilot and IBM Corp. researcher. After
studying and working at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, Nelson spent decades developing new disk
technologies.
In their EEStor patent, the duo describes a technology that
overcomes electric vehicles' range, cost and power deficiencies.
Their capacitors can pack a bigger punch in a package that's
smaller and lighter than batteries, the patent said.
"For transportation applications, you need to store a lot of
energy in a small space you need a lot of energy density," said
Robert Hebner, director of the University of Texas Center for
Electromechanics. "We can store all the energy we want, but if
you have to haul a trailer along behind every car to store the
energy, it's not a viable solution in the marketplace."
And since capacitors don't require chemical processes to store
power, EEStor said in its patent, the materials the company uses
are safer and environmentally friendly.
But the tough part is taking it from paper to practice, said
Hebner, who said he has talked with Weir and Nelson about their
ideas.
"I like to be real careful about what I say works, unless I have
some independent way of knowing," he said. "But it could (work).
I didn't see any voodoo in what they were trying to do."
In fact, he said, the science behind capacitors has been well
understood for more than a century. The devices put opposite
electrical charges on a pair of conductive plates. The two plates
are kept close enough to maintain the electrical field but far
enough to keep the charges from cancelling out.
Think of it as a grilled-cheese sandwich: The bread holds
opposite charges. The cheese helps maintain the opposing charges,
even as it separates the bread and keeps those charges from
canceling each other out. Then you stack one layer atop another.
"It's real simple," Hebner said. "It's just two pieces of metal
with some material in between them. You put a voltage across them
and they store a certain amount of charge."
The hard part is making them efficient enough to store more and
more power. Most research has focused on ways to increase the
surface area of the plates so they can hold a greater charge. To
use the grilled-cheese example, the nooks and crannies of a rough
piece of bread can hold more butter than a smoother slice of the
same size.
Earlier this year, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology said
its researchers were developing plates made of super-small
nanotubes that would vastly increase surface area on the same
size plate.
Weir and Nelson have gone the other direction: They're focusing
on the cheese instead of the bread. Different types of cheese
and thinner slices of it help store more powerful charges.
EEStor's patent describes a method that takes a really good
cheese and creates an extremely thin layer of it.
"Everybody in the business knows all this stuff," Hebner said.
"You know what materials you have to use, but can you make them
well enough, and put the right coatings in place, and control the
process well enough?
"The answer to that has always been no in the past."
Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers has bet $3 million that EEStor
has the answer. It's one of a handful of Texas companies to
attract the support of the venture capital firm that produced
such hits as Amazon.com and Google. (Among the firm's Texas
investments were two Austin companies Tivoli Systems Inc.,
which IBM Corp. bought for $743 million in 1996, and Broadwing
Corp. in Austin, which last month agreed to a $1.4 billion
acquisition offer from Level 3 Communications Inc.)
Kleiner Perkins declined to confirm its EEStor investment.
However, the funding has been noted in at least one regulatory
filing, and a brief BusinessWeek.com report last fall said the
firm made the investment in July 2005.
John Doerr, one of its top partners, told an investment
conference in January that an energy storage company was the
firm's "highest-risk, highest-reward" investment. While he didn't
name the startup, many observers have said he was referring to
EEStor.
No doubt Kleiner Perkins relied on the track records Weir and
Nelson brought to their current venture. The pair have a long
history of collaboration and joint research, including almost 20
patents that names one or both of them. Most of their patents
came throughout the 1990s, as they worked to develop a new
surface for the disks used in computer hard drives.
Weir and Nelson were developing a disk that used a very thin,
precise and consistent surface of titanium alloys. The
titanium-based materials could store more data than the aluminum
used at the time. But the idea never took off, said Gary
Hultquist, a venture capitalist who was CEO of Titanium X Corp.,
a company Weir and Nelson founded in California.
The technology was never the problem, Hultquist said. The company
simply couldn't narrow the gap between the cost of their disks
and the benefit of their increased storage capacity.
"I wouldn't put anything past them," he said.
Hultquist said Kleiner Perkins asked him about Weir and Nelson
before making its investment in EEStor.
But it was Ed Beardsworth who first introduced the venture
capital firm to Weir and Nelson. Beardsworth used to publish a
report called Utility Federal Technology Opportunities.
"I just kept my eyes and ears open everywhere," Beardsworth said.
"Somebody put me on to (Weir) and put me in touch with him. He
took a liking to me and showed me what he was doing, and I
introduced him to some interested parties."
Beardsworth declined to name any of the venture capitalists to
which he introduced Weir, but he got a first-hand description of
what EEStor was developing. In his May 2004 report, he said the
company expected to eventually produce its energy storage devices
for as little as $2,100 roughly half the cost of a standard gas
engine and power train.
"It would be significant if it did happen, anything close to what
he's talking about," Beardsworth said last week.
Whether it portends a dramatic shift from gasoline-powered cars
is an entirely separate question, though. Larger EEStor units
could be used at a network of recharging stations, much like gas
stations now. But few people expect such a broad network with
enough electric vehicles to support it to be created anytime
soon.
"To try to match the internal-combustion performance and range
with an electric is a bit of a stretch," said Tom Asmus, who for
30 years designed engines at Chrysler.
"People have been waiting for a breakthrough in battery
technology for, oh, about 100 years," said Asmus, who retired in
Michigan three years ago. "Scientists have been swarming about it
for so many years, the change is going to come in small
packages."
But even if its technology doesn't hit the mainstream, EEStor
has other strategies in mind. Its patent hints at military or
electricity-provider uses. Wind- or solar-energy farms could use
the technology to store power, letting it provide power on
demand instead of depending on the weather.
But there's little doubt the company's biggest target is
automotive. EEStor is building a production line in Cedar Park.
Feel Good Cars had expected to receive some of the energy
storage units by now.
"There have been slight delays, completely acceptable delays
from our perspective," said Clifford, the electric car
company's CEO. "For this, we're happy to wait."
-
Bruce {EVangel} Parmenter
' ____
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. http://geocities.com/brucedp/
. EV List Editor, RE & AFV newswires
. (originator of the above ASCII art)
===== Undo Petroleum Everywhere
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EVLN(REVA's Australian Government woes)-long
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http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,20701969-2682,00.html
Lifeline for electric car November 05, 2006 12:15am
THE West Australian Government has thrown the Reva electric car a
lifeline to prevent it from being crushed this week.
The WA Department for Planning and Infrastructure has formally
offered to register the Reva for an unspecified period to allow
further trials and evaluation to take place. It comes a year
after the SA Government refused to register the car.
In a letter to the importers, SA's Solar Shop, the WA Government
said that subject to approval from the Federal Government for the
vehicle to remain in Australia, it would issue a conditional
licence.
The Transport and Regional Services Department issued an import
approval certificate in November last year that stated if the
Reva was not compliant with Australian Design Rules within a
year, it must be exported or destroyed.
Solar Shop managing director Adrian Ferraretto said he was
exhilarated by the WA offer. "We've had such incredible support
from the public," he said.
The sticking point between the owners and government officials
has been which category to fit the all-electric car into.
"Its a low-speed vehicle for city use and should have its own
category," Mr Ferraretto said.
===
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200611/s1781726.htm
WA intervenes to save electric car
The South Australian-based owners of an electric car that had
been destined to be crushed have been given a reprieve by the
Western Australian Government.
The Solar Shop imported the Reva Electric car a year ago, but has
been unable to comply with Australian Design Rules and feared
they would have to destroy it to avoid a fine.
The Western Australian Government had written to the Federal
Government to ask for an extension on their import approval
certificate.
Solar Shop manager Adrian Ferraretto says, while he is happy the
car will not be crushed, they were hoping for a different outcome
from the Federal Government.
"They've been asking us to treat it as a conventional car as
opposed to the category to which it was designed to, which is a
heavy quadricycle," he said.
"The reason why we have issues with this is because pretty much
every other country in the world has a light vehicle category and
pretty much every electrical vehicle in the world falls within
this category, so if we don't have a light vehicle category, we
don't have electric vehicles in Australia."
The Federal Government says the calls for a new category are
unrealistic.
===
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200611/s1783289.htm
Govt rejects plan to test electric car
The Federal Government has declined to approve the Western
Australian Government's plan to test an electric car.
The Reva vehicle was imported to South Australia a year ago.
It is due to be destroyed because its import permit expires this
week and it has not passed a crash test that is required under
Australian law.
The Western Australian Government then agreed to trial the car
there.
But federal Roads Minister Jim Lloyd says more information about
the proposed trial is needed before he will approve it.
"Those issues include insurance, the purpose and period of any
trial, any conditions or restrictions that would be put on the
vehicles," he said.
"[Also] who are the people that would be involved in the trial,
would there be any children involved in the trial, how many
vehicles, who would own the vehicles?"
===
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,20723496-5001028,00.html
Electric car must have crash tests
November 08, 2006 12:00
THE Federal Government has agreed to allow a controversial Reva
electric car to stay in Australia for three more months, but it
must face testing which will destroy it.
Roads Minister Jim Lloyd said the decision was conditional on the
imported car undergoing testing to see if it complies with
Australian design rules.
The sole Reva in Australia is owned by Adelaide firm The Solar
Shop, which was granted approval to import the Indian-made
vehicle 12 months ago.
Mr Lloyd said the car had been used as a political tool instead
of being properly tested.
"Instead of testing the vehicle and attempting to gain
accreditation for use on Australian roads, the Reva has instead
been used for lobbying purposes and has not yet been through the
testing process it was brought out here to do in the first
place," Mr Lloyd said.
Mr Lloyd said he was willing to use Government funds to put the
Reva through crash tests, which will destroy the car.
"This is a very generous offer, and would not normally be made to
a vehicle importer," Mr Lloyd said.
Copyright 2006 News Limited.
===
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200611/s1784387.htm
Electric car importer agrees to crash test
The South Australian owners of an electric car have finally
agreed to have it crash tested, a year after importing it from
India.
The Reva has not been allowed on Australian roads because it has
not undergone standard tests.
Its importer, The Solar Shop, wanted the car tested under a new
light vehicle category, but the Federal Government refused
because of safety reasons.
The shop's manager, Adrian Ferraretto, says the Government is
blocking the introduction of other electric cars.
"Most electric cars, be it the Italian ones or French ones or
whatever, they all fall within this light vehicle category, which
we've pretty much given up on now with the Federal Government,"
he said.
"Now we gave it a good shot, but I suppose we've accepted their
judgment and we'll go ahead and get it tested as a conventional
car."
-
Bruce {EVangel} Parmenter
' ____
~/__|o\__
'@----- @'---(=
. http://geocities.com/brucedp/
. EV List Editor, RE & AFV newswires
. (originator of the above ASCII art)
===== Undo Petroleum Everywhere
____________________________________________________________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Everyone is raving about the all-new Yahoo! Mail beta.
http://new.mail.yahoo.com
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
On 30 Nov 2006 at 7:10, nikki wrote:
> do we have a WIKI set up for people
> to put topics like this in?
Though it wasn't a wiki, EVforge.net was developed about a year ago for this
very purpose. It seems to have expired from lack of interest.
Several such adjuncts and alternatives to the EVDL have been tried, and most
have faded away. AFAIK, the most successful thus far has been the Voltage
Forum, and even that hasn't anything like the traffic we see here.
I think that part of the problem is that most EVDL members are busy people,
and have limited time to spend behind the screen. They're used to this
list. It doesn't take them very long to read what looks interesting, maybe
reply to one or two, and delete the rest. But they may not have enough time
to take part in the extensions and alternatives.
David Roden - Akron, Ohio, USA
EV List Assistant Administrator
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--- Begin Message ---
A reminder : this list is focused on EVs. Other alternative transportation
technologies, interesting as they may be, should be discussed on other
lists, newsgroups, or forums.
Thanks for your cooperation.
David Roden - Akron, Ohio, USA
EV List Assistant Administrator
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Want to unsubscribe, stop the EV list mail while you're on vacation,
or switch to digest mode? See how: http://www.evdl.org/help/
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To send a private message, please obtain my email address from
the webpage http://www.evdl.org/help/ .
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--- Begin Message ---
On 2 Dec 2006 at 12:52, Roland Wiench wrote:
> I am running about 90 watts per mile less than my old 8 ply nylon tires
I hope you mean watt HOURS per mile less. Watts per mile is a nonsense
unit.
David Roden - Akron, Ohio, USA
EV List Assistant Administrator
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or switch to digest mode? See how: http://www.evdl.org/help/
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To send a private message, please obtain my email address from
the webpage http://www.evdl.org/help/ .
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--- Begin Message ---
On 2 Dec 2006 at 11:42, Tehben Dean wrote:
> Pretty much all of the hybrid cars out there barring the Insight have
> CVT transmissions I believe.
Not the Toyota Prius. The transaxle itself is a fixed ratio device. It has
what amounts to an electric torque converter.
Perhaps I'm misusing the term, but my understanding is that the Toyota
system does indeed provide torque multiplication. When accelerating, the
drive train computer - which controls the throttle - allows engine speed to
increase appreciably above that needed to maintain road speed. The
difference in RPM drives a generator connected to the planetary gearset.
This high speed generator, operating through boost/buck electronics,
supplies current to a lower speed motor, producing additional torque.
Presto - torque multiplication.
It's this powertrain design which makes the Prius so suited to PHEV
conversion. It also probably makes it almost entirely unsuitable for pure
EV conversion, unless one were to entirely gut the powertrain and start
fresh.
David Roden - Akron, Ohio, USA
EV List Assistant Administrator
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or switch to digest mode? See how: http://www.evdl.org/help/
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Note: mail sent to "evpost" or "etpost" addresses will not reach me.
To send a private message, please obtain my email address from
the webpage http://www.evdl.org/help/ .
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--- Begin Message ---
Ah yes, the old nylon tires. I remember those days well.
These tires are modern radials Roland. I wish they had told us brands
as well. I am interested in the ones that had LRR in cold weather. Oh
well. At least the grease info is good.
Mike
--- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], "Roland Wiench" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> Hello Mike,
>
> I did not see any data on the type of tire compounds that was use.
A nylon
> tire with soft walls, that uses high air pressure to keep the side
walls
> stiffer has the worst deflection rate in cold weather.
>
> If these tires set in a low temperature, they tend to develop a flat
spot
> and you get that bump, bump of the tire for about 2 miles of running
until
> they get rounded out.
>
> This is why I or we in the north country stay away with a tire with any
> nylon in it and soft walls. My side walls are heaver and stiffer
then the
> normal tire. Its has a 8 ply rating of 80 psi at 2800 lbs load
rating.
> They are air up to 65 psi for a 2350 lb load rating which becomes a
very
> harsh ride, even with air suspension, when driving on are rough
streets.
> They do not use smooth roads here, they like to press in rocks into the
> surface.
>
> I am running about 90 watts per mile less than my old 8 ply nylon
tires that
> the thread did not wear out, but the flat spots would not round out
because
> the nylon became stiffer because of age.
>
> Roland
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Mike Phillips" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> To: "EVDL" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "US Electricar"
> <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Sent: Saturday, December 02, 2006 12:08 PM
> Subject: Grease and even more LRR tire testing
>
>
> > I finally found the Army report for testing different wheel bearing
> > greases and their effect on energy consumption on a Solectria Force.
> > They even talk about how LRR tires get worse in cold temps. My
truck is
> > getting worse efficiency right now in the cold weather.
> >
> > Here's where I got the link.
> >
> > www.crrel.usace.army.mil/ard/EV18.doc
> >
> > Mike
> >
> > > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
> > * ---REMAINDER OF MESSAGE TRUNCATED--- *
> > * This post contains a forbidden message format *
> > * (such as an attached file, a v-card, HTML formatting) *
> > * Lists at sjsu.edu only accept PLAIN TEXT *
> > * If your postings display this message your mail program *
> > * is not set to send PLAIN TEXT ONLY and needs adjusting *
> > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
> >
>
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
I hate to say it, but after driving a REVA in the UK I can think of
much worse things to happen. These little cars give EVs a bad name.
They're cheap, look like they'd fall apart when you touch them, and
uncomfortable.
The driving position sucks, the rear seat-belts are static for some
random reason (presumably cost?) and the pedal arrangement really
could use some development. I've driven far better (and cheaper) EVs
and these little things seem to be causing a lot of apathy in the UK
when it comes to EVs. The company in the UK who import them are, in
my opinion, arrogant and very unhelpful. They don't even advertise
the things, claiming that it'd cost too much on the cost of the car
to the purchaser. I'm sorry, but you don't start a revolution in
transport by hiding your light under the proverbial bushel.
I hate to sound like a moaner, but at the end of the day these cars
aren't going to tempt joe public to consider going electric. They
have great potential, but it's almost as if Reva stopped half way
through a really good idea and threw the rest together.
No - let's support the Australian Government in making it's own
category for EVs. Then let's get them some decent cars over there...
Nikki.
_______________________________
Old car? New tricks?
Visit aminorjourney.com to see the transformation from Hebe to EV.
E-minor isn't just a key any more...
_______________________________
On 3 Dec 2006, at 05:30, bruce parmenter wrote:
EVLN(REVA's Australian Government woes)-long
[The Internet Electric Vehicle List News. For Public EV
informational purposes. Contact publication for reprint rights.]
--- {EVangel}
http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,20701969-2682,00.html
Lifeline for electric car November 05, 2006 12:15am
THE West Australian Government has thrown the Reva electric car a
lifeline to prevent it from being crushed this week.
The WA Department for Planning and Infrastructure has formally
offered to register the Reva for an unspecified period to allow
further trials and evaluation to take place. It comes a year
after the SA Government refused to register the car.
In a letter to the importers, SA's Solar Shop, the WA Government
said that subject to approval from the Federal Government for the
vehicle to remain in Australia, it would issue a conditional
licence.
The Transport and Regional Services Department issued an import
approval certificate in November last year that stated if the
Reva was not compliant with Australian Design Rules within a
year, it must be exported or destroyed.
Solar Shop managing director Adrian Ferraretto said he was
exhilarated by the WA offer. "We've had such incredible support
from the public," he said.
The sticking point between the owners and government officials
has been which category to fit the all-electric car into.
"Its a low-speed vehicle for city use and should have its own
category," Mr Ferraretto said.
===
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200611/s1781726.htm
WA intervenes to save electric car
The South Australian-based owners of an electric car that had
been destined to be crushed have been given a reprieve by the
Western Australian Government.
The Solar Shop imported the Reva Electric car a year ago, but has
been unable to comply with Australian Design Rules and feared
they would have to destroy it to avoid a fine.
The Western Australian Government had written to the Federal
Government to ask for an extension on their import approval
certificate.
Solar Shop manager Adrian Ferraretto says, while he is happy the
car will not be crushed, they were hoping for a different outcome
from the Federal Government.
"They've been asking us to treat it as a conventional car as
opposed to the category to which it was designed to, which is a
heavy quadricycle," he said.
"The reason why we have issues with this is because pretty much
every other country in the world has a light vehicle category and
pretty much every electrical vehicle in the world falls within
this category, so if we don't have a light vehicle category, we
don't have electric vehicles in Australia."
The Federal Government says the calls for a new category are
unrealistic.
===
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200611/s1783289.htm
Govt rejects plan to test electric car
The Federal Government has declined to approve the Western
Australian Government's plan to test an electric car.
The Reva vehicle was imported to South Australia a year ago.
It is due to be destroyed because its import permit expires this
week and it has not passed a crash test that is required under
Australian law.
The Western Australian Government then agreed to trial the car
there.
But federal Roads Minister Jim Lloyd says more information about
the proposed trial is needed before he will approve it.
"Those issues include insurance, the purpose and period of any
trial, any conditions or restrictions that would be put on the
vehicles," he said.
"[Also] who are the people that would be involved in the trial,
would there be any children involved in the trial, how many
vehicles, who would own the vehicles?"
===
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/
0,22049,20723496-5001028,00.html
Electric car must have crash tests
November 08, 2006 12:00
THE Federal Government has agreed to allow a controversial Reva
electric car to stay in Australia for three more months, but it
must face testing which will destroy it.
Roads Minister Jim Lloyd said the decision was conditional on the
imported car undergoing testing to see if it complies with
Australian design rules.
The sole Reva in Australia is owned by Adelaide firm The Solar
Shop, which was granted approval to import the Indian-made
vehicle 12 months ago.
Mr Lloyd said the car had been used as a political tool instead
of being properly tested.
"Instead of testing the vehicle and attempting to gain
accreditation for use on Australian roads, the Reva has instead
been used for lobbying purposes and has not yet been through the
testing process it was brought out here to do in the first
place," Mr Lloyd said.
Mr Lloyd said he was willing to use Government funds to put the
Reva through crash tests, which will destroy the car.
"This is a very generous offer, and would not normally be made to
a vehicle importer," Mr Lloyd said.
Copyright 2006 News Limited.
===
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200611/s1784387.htm
Electric car importer agrees to crash test
The South Australian owners of an electric car have finally
agreed to have it crash tested, a year after importing it from
India.
The Reva has not been allowed on Australian roads because it has
not undergone standard tests.
Its importer, The Solar Shop, wanted the car tested under a new
light vehicle category, but the Federal Government refused
because of safety reasons.
The shop's manager, Adrian Ferraretto, says the Government is
blocking the introduction of other electric cars.
"Most electric cars, be it the Italian ones or French ones or
whatever, they all fall within this light vehicle category, which
we've pretty much given up on now with the Federal Government,"
he said.
"Now we gave it a good shot, but I suppose we've accepted their
judgment and we'll go ahead and get it tested as a conventional
car."
-
Bruce {EVangel} Parmenter
' ____
~/__|o\__
'@----- @'---(=
. http://geocities.com/brucedp/
. EV List Editor, RE & AFV newswires
. (originator of the above ASCII art)
===== Undo Petroleum Everywhere
______________________________________________________________________
______________
Do you Yahoo!?
Everyone is raving about the all-new Yahoo! Mail beta.
http://new.mail.yahoo.com
--- End Message ---
