ELECTRIC CARS

Updated on Thursday, April 22, 2010 in ELECTRIC VEHICLES

WOW Electric Cars !

Tesla Roadster

The Tesla Roadster, a 100% electric vehicle, has a 200 to 250
mile range, weighs about 2500 lbs, and goes 0 to 60 in 3.9 seconds.




"The torque (acceleration) is unbelievable! And eerie. The power just comes on right now and does not abate. It's absolutely batty; unlike anything we've experienced. We think our kidneys may still be embedded in the seatback. And it sticks."
"The Tesla electric car's really been the only plug-in sled we've so far been able to love."

I'm breaking every speed limit in the county ** it explodes off the line ** like a small jet plane ** all of the power is available instantly ** such instantaneous potential to tear a hole in traffic ** this is the world's fastest car. It's like driving a Lamborghini with a big V-12 revved over 6000 rpm at all times, waiting to pounce - without the noise, vibration, or misdemeanor arrest for disturbing the peace ** Every other car on the road suddenly seems so old tech

learn more

History:
The tzero was built by Al Cocconi, one of the original engineers of the prototype for GM's EV-1. His tzero only got 60 mi on a charge and 0-60 in 4.1 sec's. till Martin Eberhard (before creating Tesla Motors) offered a $150,000 investment to switch the lead-acid batteries out for lithium ion. The lighter batteries worked. The souped-up tzero accelerated from 0 to 60 in 3.6 seconds and had a range of more than 300 miles. Eberhard had found his supercar. He persuaded AC Propulsion to build him one and tried to convince Cocconi that he should put the tzero into production. But Cocconi had no interest in building a car company. - So, Eberhard continued on his path that led to Tesla Motors.




July 2008: Global Peak Oil Production; 87.9 million barrels a day.

August 2, 2008: Exxon Mobil Profits Soar to Highest Levels Ever, but "Production Falters". [ Exxon cannot meet the demand - despite the rising demand Exxon could not even maintain their level of production. It started falling - another sign of "peak oil" hitting and starting the planet on its downward slope-spiral. ]

August 22, 2008: "businesses cutting jobs due to higher energy costs" ( gasoline around $4 / gal! ) "Companies likely will increase layoffs in the next several months as profits continue to suffer from higher food and higher gasoline prices"

September 13, 2008: No gas at Nashville, Tenn. gas stations. Because of Hurricane Ike, if you could get it in Arkansas, "it jumped from $3.70 to $5.20 and more overnight,"

September 30th, 2008: "No Gas in North Carolina; Gas Stations Closed"

October 25, 2008: OPEC announced a huge production cut
in an attempt to halt the decline in oil prices [ now, 6-09, reduced by 3 million barrels / day ]

June 24, 2009: Oil Prices: Stifling an Economic Recovery
"Last week the British Prime Minister ordered his cabinet to start working on
emergency plans to prevent rising oil prices from destroying an economic recovery."




How The Oil Co's First Took Over
A.K.A. The Oil Age That Never Should Have Been


The Model T Ford ran ... "on moonshine, gasoline, kerosene, diesel fuel -- about anything you can put a match to. And, whatever it runs on, it would pass today's very strict emission standards, because it burns the complete charge in the combustion." In 1925, Henry Ford told the New York Times that "The fuel of the future is going to come from fruit like that sumac out by the road, or from apples, weeds, sawdust - almost anything. There is fuel in every bit of vegetable matter that can be fermented. There's enough alcohol in one year's yield of an acre of potatoes to drive the machinery necessary to cultivate the fields for a hundred years."

Henry Ford's first Model-T was built to run on hemp gasoline and the CAR ITSELF WAS CONSTRUCTED FROM HEMP! On his large estate, Ford was photographed among his hemp fields. The car, 'grown from the soil,' had resin stiffened hemp panels whose impact strength was 10 times stronger than steel; Popular Mechanics, 1941.

Rudolf Diesel, the inventor of the diesel engine, designed it to run on vegetable and seed oils; he actually ran the thing on peanut oil for the 1900 World's Fair.

"Many bills proposing a National energy program that made use of Americas vast agricultural resources (for fuel production) were killed by smear campaigns launched by vested petroleum interests." Big oil killed big agriculture's bid for our gas tanks. Despite the fact that ...

"Gasoline had (and still has) many disadvantages as an automotive resource. The 'new' fuel had a lower octane rating than ethanol, was much more toxic (particularly when blended with tetra-ethyl lead and other compounds to enhance octane), generally more dangerous, and contained threatening air pollutants. Petroleum was more likely to explode and burn accidentally, gum would form on storage surfaces and carbon deposits would form in combustion chambers of engines." So this fuel is less efficient, dirtier, and more dangerous."



w. Phily H.S. Students




Visit our
news page

page to read about this 50 mpg TDI biodiesel built
by 5 kids at West Philly. H. S.

"0 to 60 in 4 seconds on soy bean oil"

It's a hybrid too!


Mitsubishi-i-MiEV

Mitsubishi i-MiEV Coming off the assembly line now, July 2009

The Nissan Leaf




approx. $26 - 29,000 depending on features - See more info

The Kia Ray

Kia Ray concept

50 miles on a charge and a fuel economy rating of more than 200 mpg

The Aptera hybrid electric car "Type 1"

approx. 50 mi/charge and 130 to 300 mpg after that.



approx. $25 - 45,000 - not yet determined - See more info and Video

Chevy Volt

progress reports


40 mi on a charge then 50 mpg after that.     $40,000 est.
[Chevy Volt hybrid] to be a running prototype in June 2008
It is a begrudging 1st step forward from Detroit which fought any
improvement in gasoline consumption ratings for as long as possible
The high sales numbers they are sure to get should teach them a lesson.
(there is already a waiting list of 20,000 potential buyers)
50 mpg looks like a guzzler compared to the Karma (below).


GM Announces Chevy Volt concept, Jan. 17th, 2007

Fisker Karma
"best looking hybrid?!"


0 - 60 in 6 sec., travel 50 mi on a charge +
100mpg for 600 mi after that

The ReCharge C30 from Volvo
1st 60 miles on electricity then, 43 mi/gal



with a small electric motor in each wheel.
Charging time: 3 hrs.

To be available in 2015

Mercedes S500 plugin hybrid

The BMW X6 Hybrid
0 to 60 in 5.5 sec.s



575 lb-ft of torque


BMW Vision


BMW hybrid-electric Vision to begin production in 2013

62 mpg; recharge in 44 minutes; travel 31 mi. on batteries alone; and, a top speed of 155 mph.


LIGHTNING

"best looking electric car"

0 - 60 in 4 sec., travel 300 km on a charge; re-charge in 10 minutes!


production to start late 2010


The Porsche 918 Spyder concept



78 mpg, hits 62 mph in 3.2 seconds, 198 mph top speed,
emit just 70 grams of CO2 per kilometer

World's Fastest Electric Car ?
Shelby Super Cars (SSC) Ultimate Aero EV



0-60 in 2.5 sec.; several years between charging!? ... Delivery: late 2009 !

German Electric Super Car by E-Wolf GmbH
the E-Wolf E2

Powering the theoretical electric supercar will be one 134-horsepower electric motor per wheel for a total of 536 horses and an impressive 738 lb-ft of torque (1,000 Nm). The run to 60 mph is expected to be well under four seconds, though the top speed may be capped at 155 mph.

Energy storage will be by way of a lithium ion battery pack composed of 84 flat cells from CERIO. E-Wolf suggests the range could be as high as 187 miles (300 kilometers) per charge. Production is currently planned for 2011. All of the technologies, components and assemblies it uses are "Made in Germany".

A Li-Tec battery with CERIO® flat cells is the key component. It features a higher temperature tolerance and improved safety relative to other technologies. This innovation was nominated for the 2007 German Future Prize, a great honour. Its special low-volume composite anodes can store significantly more energy than most other products now in the market. Another important aspect of the Li-Tec battery with CERIO® flat cells is its cycle stability and unrivalled service life (10 years) and range (over 300 km). That makes Li-Tec the spearhead of current flat cell development.

World's Fastest Electric Race Car ?
Wrightspeed X-1


Electric Race Car Faster Than a Ferrari Enzo ! - - 0-60 in 3.07 sec.

Persu Mobility - enclosed motor-cycle-car

hybrid E50 and Q100 and an all-electric (was Venture, now Persu Mobility) EV models
from Dutch-based Carver Engineering; from $18,000 to $23,000
a 2-seater. 100 mpg; 100 mph : 0 - 60 in 5 sec.


hybrid-electric boat

"catamaran"


"There are two electric motors connected to 2 propellers

 

Balqon Natilus E30 EV



Balqon Corporation (OTCBB:BLQN), a developer and manufacturer of heavy-duty electric vehicles and electric propulsion systems

All-electric shipping cargo port tractors, 60,000 lb payload, 30-60 mi range (full load vs empty), top speed 25mph (E20) / 40mph (E30), 336V flooded, deep cycle lead acid batteries, 140kWh (E20) / 160kWh (E30), 100 hp 230V AC motor, proprietary 240kW liquid cooled controller, recharge fast charge 60% SOC 1 hr (E30), 80% SOC 3.5 hr (E20) using Aerovironment Posicharge, development funded by grant from AQMD & Port of LA

TESLA: Man Out of Time


by Margaret Cheney

"there had been no truly successful AC motor until Tesla invented his - an induction motor that was the heart of a new system and a quantum jump ahead of the times" pg. 23

He did not just invent one simple AC motor. He "conceived of such practical alternating-current motors as polyphase induction, split-phase induction, and polyphase synchronous, as well as the whole polyphase and single-phase motor system ... indeed, "practically all electricity in the world, in time, would be generated, transmitted, distributed, and turned into mechanical power by means of the Tesla Polyphase System." pg. 24

"Because his motors required 60 cycle AC, that became the standard in the U.S. pg.41

He demonstrated "a motor that ran on only one wire,
the return circuit occurring wirelessly through space. ... he spoke of the possibility of running motors without any wires at all." pg. 54

He built "high powered switches and spark gap switches" of kinds that even today "the knowledge has been lost; we don't know how he did it." pg. 282

"Falmboyant, eccentric, almost supernaturally gifted ... perhaps the greatest inventor the world has ever known ...He was a trailblazer who created astonishing, world-transforming devices, often without theoretical precedent." -- outside back cover

a list of many of Tesla's Lost Inventions

A motor run solely by magnets was originally suggested by Nikola Tesla in 1905.

" Engineers of Hitachi Magnetics Corp. of California have stated that a motor run solely by magnets is feasible and logical but the politics of the matter make it impossible for them to pursue developing a magnet motor or any device that would compete with the energy cartels.


Radiant (Dark) Energy (1): Unraveling Tesla's Greatest Secret

Tesla's electric car

a 1931 Pierce Arrow

All Electric Kia Sidewinder


Designed at the Kia America Design Center by Marc Mainville.
The Kia Sidewinder was one of the entrants into the Jan. 6-15, 2006 Los Angeles Auto show's 'LA Adventure' design competition.




World's Quickest & Fastest 'Street Legal Electric Car'
John Wayland's White Zombie


0 to 60 in ~3.5 sec's.
1/4 mi in 11.466 sec's. @ 114.08 mph


World's Quickest Electric Dragster

7.956 seconds @ 159.85 mph


Photo with owner, Dennis Berube -- click on photo for details


The Quickest electric motorcycle:

the KillaCycle


the KillaCycle team

In Nov 2007, the KillaCycle made a quarter-mile
run in 7.824 seconds and hit 168 mph
Sept 28 2009, the KillaCycle made a quarter-mile
run in 7.864 sec. at 169 mph.


They learned to put the ele. motors in the wheels 100 years ago

Designed by founder Ferdinand Porsche. This is the predecessor of what Porsche Cars claims was the world's first hybrid car, which followed this one by just a few years.

Even Porsche's initial all-electric design was revolutionary, despite the fact that electric cars were fairly common (insofar as any automobile was common) at the turn of the last century. Porsche's electric car was named "most innovative invention" at the Paris World's fair in 1900, notoriety that resulted in the sale of over 300 of the cars.

Ferdinand Porsche's first great fascination as an engineer wasn't with automobiles but electricity. As a youngster, he experimented secretly at home with electricity, and his first engineering job was with an Austrian company that made electrical equipment.

It was there that he was asked to engineer an electric motor that had been requested by Austria's royal carriage manufacturer, Jacob Lohner & Co. The electric motors were to be housed within the carriage's wheels.

After he completed the motor design in 1898, Porsche was hired by Lohner to work on the carriage that would run on the motors.

With an electric motor in each front wheel, the car had a top speed of about 31 miles per hour. Versions of this car won several races, often with Porsche himself at the wheel.

One racing version, created in 1900 and capable of a top speed of 37 miles per hour, had electric motors in all four wheels, allowing Porsche Cars to claim that its founder created the first all-wheel-drive vehicle.

What made Porsche's electric car so revolutionary was the manufacturing simplicity and energy efficiency engendered by placing the motors directly at the wheel hubs.

With no transmission or cables of any sort needed to carry energy from the motors to the wheels, 83 percent of the energy used by the car actually went to move the car. That compares to less than 40 percent for modern internal combustion engines.

Despite that, Porsche's electric car design was severely limited by the available battery technology. Batteries couldn't hold enough electricity for long trips, and they wore out quickly. Adding more power and range meant adding lots more weight.

Battery power also made the cars quite expensive. Typical buyers were wealthy industrialists like Emil Jellenik, the Daimler Motor Co. investor who demanded that that company name its cars after his daughter, Mercedes.

Hybrid power
Porsche's answer was to generate electricity on-board as the vehicle drove. By 1901, he added a gasoline internal combustion engine to one of his all-wheel-drive electric race cars creating, essentially, the world's first hybrid car.

Unlike most hybrid cars today, the Lohner-Porsche Mixte's gas engine never powered the wheels directly. It was only used to generate power for the car's electric motors. In that way, it's more similar to something like General Motor's Chevrolet Volt concept vehicle. One big difference is that the Lehner-Porsche was, ultimately, powered by gasoline alone. It couldn't be plugged in for extra charging.

All five hybrid cars produced in 1901, equipped with Mercedes-Benz engines, were bought by Emil Jellinek. With further development, the Porsche-Lohner hybrids reached top speeds of 56 miles per hour.

As far as today's Porsche is concerned, the company is searching for ways to adapt to stricter fuel economy rules expected to come soon to the United States and Europe.

 

  1. tony jerram says:

    Want to convert a boat 135 hp motor to electric. with the new ion battery 's sounds like its viable. Simply remove existing fuel motor off and install electric. To power 18 foot boat with 4 passengers. Boat got sunk and thinking could change to suit electric. Do you have any 2nd hand motors that would do, or could use. Its great to see high horse power in electric being used. Would be interested in converting my ute over also as its a fuel guzzling heap of shit triton. Any costs on motors and running gear and batteries would be great, keep the good work up. Going from sluggish 4 cylinder to gutsy v8 is for me especially with no pollutants to kill.


    Yes, Now is the time to install an electric motor with only one moving part; no oil pans, oil filters, spark plugs, valve lifters ... almost no maintenance!

    Do a google search for "electric boat conversions" those places might have some used motors for sale and look at the blogs where people tell about their experiences. Even a co. doing electric car conversions might have some ideas - and parts.

    < -- ele. boat motor       also search "how to build an electric boat" for tips on electric motor installation.

  2. Ron says:

    Nice page, did not know direct drive is from early 1900's.

  3. Paul Renneisen says:

    Where are the boats?

    There is now an electric hybrid catamaran displayed (up above the orange GPR-S motorcycle) !

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