Why Buy An Electric Car?

The question always arises when talking about hybrids and electric vehicles: why buy one? What makes them better than a simple gas car? Well rather than focusing on the environmental aspects of it, like reducing your carbon footprint, lets talk about benefits to your everyday life. I’ve compiled some benefits of owning an electric vehicle (EV) over a gas vehicle, and with the help of an open mind, it could make you think twice about your gas-guzzler.

For starters, how would you like to wake up to a full tank every morning? Well granted you remembered to plug in your EV before you went to sleep, she’ll be all charged up in the morning. Almost all EVs can easily fully charge while you rest your head at night. Being able to fill up your car in the luxury of your own home makes an EV hard to compete with in the fueling category, not to mention charging is cheaper than fueling.

So that’s it? You can charge your car at home and electricity is cheaper than gas; that’s all there is to it right? Not quite. What else do car owners love to hear about? Reliability! Electric motors are more reliable than gas engines because there are less moving parts. This also means that there is less to maintain. No more monthly oil changes or checking fluid levels. Electric cars can dramatically cut back on your maintenance costs and, even though EV’s can cost more than a gas car up front, they turn out to be considerably cheaper in the long run.

Not only are EVs cost effective and reliable, they are also comparable in power. Electric motors produce instantaneous torque unlike gasoline engines. Torque is what gets a car off the line and moving. Torque is what makes those dragsters do wheelies at the track (with the help of really sticky tires and no weight in the front, but you get the idea). Most cars don’t produce a considerable amount of torque until 2000 RPM, but an electric vehicle produces all of its torque right from the start. With all this instantaneous power and the right setup, EVs can do wheelies too. EVs also produce a smoother and continuous power range. You won’t feel when an EV shifts and essentially you control the speed of the engine with the placement of the accelerator pedal. So you have comparable power, what about comfort?

Don’t you hate when the heater takes forever to blow out hot air because the car isn’t warm yet? In an EV once you back out of the driveway you’ll already be basking in the warm and cozy air of the heater. The heater in an EV warms up just like one of those portable space heaters you have in your room, fast! That’s not the only benefit of the heating and cooling system of an EV either. EVs air conditioning systems can run when the car is off, so no more waiting for your friend to run a quick errand with the car still running. An EVs heating and cooling system doesn’t need an engine to make it work, it works anytime you want it to, just like the system in your house.

There are numerous other benefits to owning an EV, but I believe these to be the most significant. I hope this not only makes you think twice about a gasoline vehicle, but also sheds some light on the everyday life of an EV owner. Plug it in!

Need A Charge For No Charge?

For the most part, EV owners do all of their charging at home and at night when it's least costly. So what happens if you are running low on juice and there aren't any charging stations nearby? You open PlugShare.

Forrest North, a former engineer of Tesla, created PlugShare for EV owners far away from public charging stations and their own homes. This iPhone app (coming soon to Android) lets EV owners find other EV enthusiasts willing to share their personal charging stations free of charge. The FREE app also shows what kind of outlets are at each charging station. The creators of the app are hoping that people using this app will put their own charging stations on the map as well. Businesses are also encouraged to join this new community.

Read the full article here.

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