(ET) Electric Cars and ETs (long)

["Darryl McMahon" <darryl econogics com>]

I feel somewhat qualified to offer some opinions and facts on this topic.

I have been driving an electric car since 1978, and have had several.  I 
maintain a 
significant web presence on the overall subject of zero-emissions electric 
vehicles 
(cars, trucks, cycles, boats, tractors, etc) at 
http://www.econogics.com/ev/evindex.htm.

EVs are economical to operate.  This is why they are used in industry.  It 
also 
applies to on-road EVs.  There are several studies on the subject, but the 
topic is 
considered settled and old.  Today's EVs have one limitation relative to 
gasoline 
cars - shorter range between refueling stops due to the characteristics of 
lead-
acid batteries.  They can go as fast, accelerate as well, carry the same 
payloads, 
and do it with no emissions, less maintenance, and less overall 
environmental 
impact.  (As someone else has posted, the one real "consumable" on our 
ETs, the 
batteries, are highly recyclable.)

The infrastructure is in place, as noted by another poster.  I have 
charged 
electric cars at home, at work, at homes of friends and relatives, at 
restaurants, 
stores, service stations and even at a barn.  All the servicing except for 
the 
motors and controllers can be done by any conventional automotive service 
operation 
- the parts are the same.  The service operations can go farther if they 
choose to -
 they are already familiar with batteries, load testing, charging systems 
(alternators and clip-on chargers), cabling and even electric motors 
(starters, 
windshield wipers, radiator fans, window winders).  The in-field 
diagnostics for 
motors and current electronic controllers are simple.  If they aren't 
working, they 
are replaced and returned for rebuild - the same method auto service 
operations use 
for fuel system computers, starter motors, radiators and other high-value 
components.

As for GM and the EV-1 (ditto GM ElectroVair, GM Electrovette, Ford Ranger 
EV, Ford 
Neighbor, Ford Th!nk City, Chrysler EPIC minivan, Toyota RAV-4 EV, Honda 
EV+ and 
other low volume productions and prototypes from major automakers).  These 
were PR 
pieces and political stall tactics - nothing more.  The major North 
American 
automakers have spent more on fighting CARB and related environmental 
proposals 
than they have on their EV programs.  What figures they present on EV 
spending are 
inflated to qualify for government grants and subsidies, and most of that 
research 
ends up in their gasoline fleet (aerodynamics, low loss tires, light 
weight parts, 
higher efficiency components, etc).  They are also used to twist the story 
presented to the media and the public.  For example, GM has stated in 
various 
forums that with the EV-1 they tried selling EVs to the public, but the 
public 
would not buy them.  In fact, EV-1s were *never* for sale to anyone.  They 
were 
leased from only 8 GM dealerships in the entire world, and only to those 
that met 
some very stringent criteria (including high household income, living 
within 25 
miles of one of the 8 dealerships, installing a high-amperage service at 
their 
homes at their own cost, etc) at a lease rate higher than that for 
Cadillacs.  
Despite those barriers, there was a waiting list for more EV-1s after the 
first 
1,000 were leased.  GM will not say how many were on the wait list, but I 
read an e-
mail from one person trying to get on the wait list who was told that 
there were 
over 1,000 names ahead of him by a GM employee.

The market exists.  In addition to the couple of thousand EVs that have 
been pried 
out of the automakers (and now largely reclaimed), there are at least 
another 2,000 
on the road in North America, mostly converted or built by individuals 
unwilling to 
wait for the automakers to make good on their PR promises dating back to 
the 1960s. 
 I'm surprised GM took this long to pull the plug on the EV-1 (pun 
intended), and 
that they did it when gas prices are high and an oil war is looming.  
Shows how 
confident they are in their absolute power in this area I guess.

If the automakers are worried about leaving their customers unsupported, 
why don't 
they have the same concerns for owners of their gasoline cars, who have no 
guarantees of availability of parts or service once the warranty expires?  
For 
example, I had a 1988 Chrysler New Yorker on which the EGR valve failed 
one year 
out of warranty.  A Chrysler dealer could not get the replacement part, 
period.  If 
GM is worried about liability, I'm sure they could work up some kind of 
bulletproof 
waiver that a purchaser could sign - they've got enough lawyers (though 
they are 
busy fighting environmental regulations and proposals).  The reality is, 
the 
automakers simply don't want *any* EVs on the road.

Note that all hybrids offered for sale or lease to date come from 
off-shore 
manufacturers.  And these aren't even real EVs, just electric assist gas 
cars.

The automakers have no intention of offering electric cars for sale.  EVs 
are a 
threat to their profits.  Carmakers make money in two major areas - 
gasoline 
engines and after-sales service (parts).  EVs threaten both profit zones.  

ETs are proof in microcosm.  See any electric tractor service shops 
around?  Bill 
Gunn, a part-time, one-guy operation serves the continent.  See any 
gasoline 
service shops around? You bet, because you have to keep feeding those 
small engines 
their diet of replacement parts and service.  

Another view point.  How many people do you see refurbishing 30 year old 
gasoline 
lawn tractors, and then using them on a regular basis to do real work?  
Because if 
you actually get one of those old timers pretty and running, you don't 
risk it by 
trying to get it to do something useful - it's a museum piece.  Most 
'Trakers 
expect their 30 year old machines to earn their keep, not take up space.  
Similar 
deal with electric cars.  It is amazing how many people are keeping 70's 
era 
CitiCars on the road ( a vehicle that should never have been on the road 
in my 
opinion, and I like electric cars).

The current hype around the hydrogen FreedomCar is just more automotive 
shellgame 
trickery, following in the tradition of the US Hybrid 2x4 program, the US 
Advanced 
Battery Consortium, the PNGV, etc.  The hydrogen economy just doesn't 
stack up 
against EVs with advanced batteries (e.g. NiMH) or biofuels or even 
hybrids for 
transportation applications, and anyone who says otherwise either hasn't 
done their 
homework or has another agenda in play.  If we are going to spend billions 
on a new 
or revised energy infrastructure, let's pick one that is economical, 
efficient and 
sustainable, even if it is not one-size-fits-all and easily controlled by 
a 
corporate oligopoly.

And later today I will use my antique Elec-Trak and snowblower to clear 
the 
driveway of our latest snowfall.  No automakers or oil or hydrogen or 
computer 
chips required.  There is an elegance in simplicity and robustness that 
transcends 
the alleged progress as expressed in our throwaway society, and implicit 
dependence 
on single-source consumable parts and perpetual upgrades.  I think that is 
the real 
beauty I see my Elec-Trak.


Darryl McMahon             http://www.econogics.com
1973 Elec-Trak E12 electric tractor
1974 Auranthetic Charger electric motorcycle
1975 EVA Metro (Renault 12 conversion) electric car
1986 Pontiac Fiero (conversion) electric car
1997 SpinCraft Explorer electric boat
current project - B&D Model 8080 electric reel mower
next project - 1973 Porsche 914 conversion
then, Elcar parts bin project & International Harvester EV
"The Internal Combustion Engine, it's so 20th century."