Wow,
I had a 30 year old gas tractor that I worked hard every week. It did not require much more maintenance than my E12M. There are good machines and bad machines. I love my tractor and wish there were more choices for mass produced electric cars. If the technology was more economically attractive, the market would provide products. People don't need all the power that IC cars provide but it is what they want.
Interesting thoughts from everyone.
Rob Brockway
Darryl McMahon <darryl econogics com> wrote:
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."