Not All Electric Cars Are Ugly

I'll admit it, not all EVs look stunning. Most of them look pretty ridiculous, like they came out of a sci-fi movie or something. The Prius was America's first electric car that was embraced by a lot of the public, but I still think it looks sub par and it's not even a genuine electric! Here are some EVs that I think look pretty cool.

The Ultimate Aero is originally a really fast gas car; like 0-60 in under 3 seconds fast. The electric version of this car does not disappoint. Shelby, the makers of the Aero, claims 0-60 in 2.5 seconds and a top speed of 208mph! If that doesn't impress you, this might. They also claim a charge time of 10 minutes and a range of 200 miles. Now that is pretty ridiculous, and if these claims are true, it would make this the ultimate EV!

From Britain, the Lightning GT is another monster EV. The UK based company claims 700hp and a 10 minute charge. This car reminds of an Aston Martin and so does the $300,000 price tag. Not a lot is known about this EV because production has been delayed and testing still needs to be done.

The Tesla Roadster is the pride and joy of the bay area. Tesla is headquartered in Palo Alto and provides the most affordable EV super car out of the bunch with a base price of $109,000. The roadster accelerates to 60mph in under 4 seconds and can go 240 miles on a full charge. Tesla is also set to debut its Model S in 2012. The Model S is a sedan that is set at a price half of the roadster! 

The Basics

So how do electric cars work anyway? They have batteries and a motor, right? Yes… well for the most part. In laymen’s terms EV’s have a battery pack, an electric motor, and a charger. After all that, things begin to become complicated. I’m going to try and explain the fundamentals of an electric car in the simplest way possible. Here it goes!

The Batteries – The battery pack is like the gas tank of an electric vehicle. Battery packs come in all shapes, sizes and types. The beginning of EV’s started with simple lead-acid batteries. These are the same ones that start your everyday gasoline powered vehicle. Lead-acid batteries are cheap, heavy and hold a considerably good charge. Nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries are a newer technology battery than lead-acid, but are less efficient in holding a charge. However, NiMH batteries last relatively longer than lead-acid if properly maintained and have a far higher energy density. Last for the traditionally used batteries are the lithium ion batteries. These are the same ones that power your laptops and other electronic devices. Lithium ion batteries are expensive, have the highest energy density out of the three and are the most common in production EV’s. The only drawback to lithium ion is their short cycle lives, meaning you can only charge them so many times before they are completely useless.

Part of a lithium-ion battery pack in a Mazda Miata converted by my Dad

The Motor – This is going to be short because even I don’t know very much about electric motors. For starters, there are two types of electric motors, AC and DC. DC motors are direct current motors and are the most popular among electric vehicles and conversions. AC motors are alternating current motors and are far more expensive than DC motors. However, AC motors are more efficient and even have a regenerating feature so you can charge your batteries when you brake.

Typical DC motor

The Components – So what else besides the battery pack and the motor? Well… a lot, but I’ll only mention some of the other basic components. Another very important component is the controller. The controller does exactly what it sounds like. It controls the amount of energy going to the motor at any certain time. The controller gets its signal from the potentiometer or the throttle. A potentiometer is an electric version of the throttle and gas peddle. Depending on what position the potentiometer is at is how much energy the controller gives the motor. And the last basic component is the charger. EV chargers are either built into the car or separate from the car. Most manufacturers put the charging plug the same place where you fill up for gas!

           Controller                                                                Onboard Charger

Still interested?? Here’s some more reading.

Electric Car Motors       A Defenitive Guide

The Beginning

I love cars. My dad being a mechanic made it hard for me to not gain some sort of interest in them. At first I just loved fast cars or cars that looked exotic. Now I have an appreciation for all cars because once you know the time and effort that go into cars, its hard not to. A few years ago, my pops started tinkering around with electric cars and to be quite honest, I was a little upset. What happened to that raw power and that snarling exhaust note? All that manliness was replaced by the subtle whine of an electric motor. Watch out! Some of those Priuses will creep up on you in a parking lot! Anyway, I reluctantly worked on a couple projects with him and electric cars have grown on me. I found EVs (electric vehicles) to be just as, if not more complex than a gasoline car.

With this blog I hope to shed some light on the EV industry and share with readers where things are headed. I also hope to learn more about EVs and how they are marketed to consumers. Majoring in marketing has sparked some curiosity on what marketing techniques companies are going to use to gain consumer interest in EVs. 

Here is my dad's website, feel free to look around at some of the projects he's completed.

Bob's EV conversions