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As of 2005 February 7, the website of the Electric Automobile Alliance is now hosted within the Renewable Electricity Solutions website!
http://www.ecomall.com/greenshoppi ng/rgcar.htm lists some advantages of electric vehicles.
Toyota warranty's their battery packs in their Prius and RAV EV (which uses NiMH batteries) at 160,900 kilometers (100,000 miles). At EVWorld there is an article that sates that battery electric cars can now have "battery life times -- up to 150,000 miles (241,350 kilometers)" and pay for themselves by the end of the decade.
The article says "The higher initial cost of electric-drive vehicles is due to the battery, but in the long-term, fuel and maintenance savings cover this. According to the EPRI research, plug-in hybrids could reach life cycle cost parity with conventional internal combustion vehicles, after relatively small production runs of 50,000 vehicles per year." The article further says that "that the plug-in hybrid EV with a 60-mile (96.5 kilometer) all electric range has the potential to be the first advanced vehicle to attain the equivalent of 80 miles per gallon (34 kilometers per liter - the U.S. Department of Energy goal for midsize sedans) without lightweight materials or extreme aerodynamics."
The EPA (or Department of Energy?) at the www.fueleconomy.gov website states that the 2003 Toyota RAV4 EV has the EPA rated gasoline equivalent fuel economy of 53.1 km/l (125 mpg) in the city and 47.6 km/l (112 mpg) on the highway! They further say "For electric vehicles, MPG represents the number of miles that can be traveled using an amount of electricity equivalent to the energy in a gallon of gasoline (note that 0.42514 times their MPG figure equals kilometers per liter)." It further says that the range for the RAV4 EV is 219 kilometers (136 miles). Compare that with the gasoline versions which only get about 10.6 city/13.2 highway in km/liter (25 city/31 highway mpg). Also notice that the annual fuel costs are about 1/3 of the gasoline version and that assumes Electricity at $ 0.08 per kilowatt hour (which is more than Portland General Electric rates) and Regular gasoline at $0.409/liter ($1.55/gallon)!
At http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/byfuel/EV2000.shtml , the EPA rates the 2000 Nissan Altra EV at gasoline equivalent 49.7 km/l (117 mpg) city and 55.3 km/l (130 mpg) highway . At http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/byfuel/EV2001.shtml , the EPA rates the 2001 Nissan Hyper-Mini at gasoline equivalent 51.0 km/l (120 mpg) city and 40.0 km/l (94 mpg) highway.
At http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/atv.shtml the government says that only 12.6% of the energy in a liter (gallon) of gasoline makes it to the wheels, 62% being lost due to engine friction. It further states that "In stop and go city driving it is not surprising that acceleration is the biggest need, rolling is next, followed by aerodynamic drag. On the highway the order is reversed: aerodynamic drag, which increases at an increasing rate with speed requires the most energy (about 10.9%)."
At http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/current.shtml the government says that even when the pollution caused by the electric utilities are included, EVs "are still far cleaner than gasoline-powered vehicles." At http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/evtech.shtml the government says "Electric drive systems are virtually non-polluting and extremely energy efficient. Whereas only about 20% of the chemical energy in gasoline gets converted into useful work at the wheels of an internal combustion vehicle, 75% or more of the energy from a battery reaches its wheels.
Another advantage of electric motors is their ability to provide power at almost any engine speed. While internal combustion engines must be revved up to high rpm to achieve maximum power, electric motors provide nearly peak power even at low speeds. This gives electric vehicles strong acceleration performance from a stop."
Diesel engines can last to 804,650 kilometers (500,000 miles), at least according to Brian Jamison (an owner of a 1970's diesel automobile running biodiesel and one of the founders of GoBiodiesel Cooperative). Thus a plug-in electric-biodiesel car would last longer than a plug-in electric-gasolinel car.
The range issue of an electric car is fully addressed by buying a plug-in hybrid car with a diesel or gasoline engine instead of a pure electric car. However the plug-in versions are not yet for sale, hence the reason for creating the http://www.electric-automobile.com website and handing out flyers about plug-in electric cars.
Many people prefer to charge an electric car (it only takes a few seconds to plug in a cord and the charger automatically stops charging when the batteries are full) while they sleep each night (when electric rates are lower, if you choose a time of usage plan) than drive to a gasoline station, pump my gas and get their hands dirty (if they live in a state with no full service gasoline/diesel stations), and wait in line to pay for the fuel, and hope to have enough cash on hand.
Many people hate for their engine to idle (and thus waist fuel) while at a red light. Having a plug-in electric or pure electric car would solve this problem.
For many the range of an electric car is not an issue since, we analyzed our driving pattern and notice that we rarely drive more than 96.6 kilometers/day (60 miles/day). On most days, many of them even drive less than 20 miles. Further, the national average is less than 32.2 kilometers (20 miles) per day. For those rare long trips, we can rent a hybrid electric car (if we own a pure electric car instead of a plug-in electric-biofuel hybrid car). There are even companies that have developed charging systems that charge in under an hour, but they require an electric outlet that puts out more than 220 volts or an outlet that is rated for far more AMPS than most homes and businesses are wired for.
Many of us have spent several thousand dollars on repairs and tuneups on our gasoline car for things that don't even exist in battery powered cars. We thus see the advantage of electric cars and wish our next car to be electric. A battery pack replacement in a pure electric car is more than compensated by savings that result from the following:
If the vehicle is a Grid Rechargeable (plug-in) capable hybrid electric-biodiesel (or diesel or gasoline) automobile, the car has all of electric automobile advantages for short trips plus the range & fast refueling advantages of internal combustion engine automobiles!
It is time that pure electric automobiles and Grid Rechargeable (plug-in) capable hybrid electric-biodiesel automobiles be made available for purchase by the public. While the Toyota Prius, Honda Insight, and Honda Civic Hybrid are excellent gasoline-electric hybrid cars, they can not be plugged into an electrical outlet to be recharged. As a result, these Toyota and Honda cars get all of their energy (including their electrical energy) from the gasoline that goes into the tank.
The automobile manufacturers claim that very few people (apparently less than 1000 people in the USA) are willing to buy electric automobiles. However, I know many of us would like to "refuel" our cars by plugging them into an electric outlet at home. If we work together by educating the public, the news media, and the automobile manufacturers, we can make production volume electric automobiles and Grid Rechargeable (plug-in) electric-biodiesel hybrid automobiles a reality. Lets prove the automakers wrong by signing a "pledge/petition" stating we want to buy electric automobiles and plug-in electric-biodiesel hybrids. Rather than relying on political means, we can effect positive change via education and the influence of our buying power.
Copyright © 2002 - 2005 by Gavin Gregor Young and Renewable Electricity Solutions. Renewable Electricity Solutions, "Providing 21st Century Energy Alternatives", and "Electric Automobile Alliance" are trademarks of Renewable Electricity Solutions.