Moving Like Water

Electric cars seem to me to be one of the most important building blocks of a truly sustainable society. This country was built around the car and it’s not very realistic to expect we’d just junk that at this point.

I haven’t focused much on electric vehicles (EVs) so far, but since I finally got around to seeing Who Killed the Electric Car?, I thought it was time. (Been a little busy lately in case you haven’t noticed…)

The ultimate destination on my journey is to get to where I can live a lifestyle where I’m not dependent upon anyone for the basic needs of life. To me that’s a big part of what it means to be free. I think that’s the right approach from a personal level and from a societal level.

Which brings me back to EVs. The importance of electric cars chiefly comes from their lack of emissions. Sounds great, except that electricity must be generated somewhere. If you’re burning coal to generate juice for your electric car you haven’t done much. Fortunately generating clean electricity isn’t hard. It’s just expensive (right now) to install one’s own power generation system so it’ll take awhile to get there.

But let’s assume you have home-based power generation already, say one or two small wind windmills to power your house and car. That then just leaves one big hurdle for EVs: distance, or put another way: reliability. Probably the one big psychological fear to overcome is the fear of being stranded. Conquer that fear and EVs will be unstoppable. You need to feel absolutely confident that you can head out with your children in the car and know you’ll get where you’re going.

So what is the current state of development of electric cars? The movie gave me the creepy feeling that big corporate monsters are out to prevent the spread of this technology. But are they really?

I decided to find out by crawling around the Internet a bit to see what’s out there. There are many different types and approaches to looking at electric cars but for my purposes I’ll just separate full electric and hybrid vehicles. I see plug-in hybrids as a critical transitional component of the move toward sustainability because they offer the trust of being able to reliably cover some distance with the sustainability of electricity.

So let’s take a look at what’s out there. (All information is from the manufacturers.)

First the full electrics.
The first thing you notice is they tend to be smaller than the cars we’re used to. There are many types and styles to choose from. For the purposes of this list, I’m highlighting vehicles that are available today for sale (or are expected very soon) and could reasonably be considered a “car”. Golf carts need not apply. I’m ignoring whether the car is available in the US since this is just a learning exercise for me, but the car does need to actually exist. There are lots of dreamers out there claiming to have the next big thing and until you build and sell a car, you don’t count.

So here we go…

Tesla Motors

This is the EV everyone wants and hardly anyone will actually own. Why? It’s $100,000. Because of its incredible lightweight design, the Tesla Roadster can go from 0-60 in under 4 seconds.

Distance: 220 miles
Available: 2009

The Buddy

The Buddy electric car out of Norway is probably not the coolest design of the bunch, but the more I start at it, the more I like it. It carries three people and 56 mph.

Distance: about 62 miles
Available: Now, but in Norway

Think Electric Car

I don’t know if the Think has the cutest car out there or not, but they definitely have the cutest branding. Also out of Norway, the Think is well-positioned to dominate the European market. When will we see them in the U.S.? Unclear.

Distance: 124 miles
Available: Now, but in Europe
UPDATE: Think is now planning to be available in the U.S. in 2009!

Chevrolet Volt

I can’t say the Volt doesn’t exist because, hey, look at it, but it’s still officially in development and not for sale. The Web site describes a “range extending power source” which will either be gas or ethanol. I’m avoiding most vapor-ware cars, but since this is a major American manufacturer, I’m adding it back in.

Distance: 640 miles
Available: We’ll see.

Dynasty IT

The Canadian Dynasty IT is in a class called Low Speed Vehicle. That means it can drive up to 25 mph on roads posted up to 35 mph. That’s fine if you don’t mind people honking at you, but this is a car best reserved for quick jaunts at low speed. I love the look of this car, but let’s admit it: so far the Dynasty IT is not much more than a cute golf cart.

Distance: 30 miles
Available: Now

Smart Car Electric

Over the summer there were reports that everyone’s favorite little car, the Smart Car, would be coming out with an all electric version. Many who first see the Smart Car assume it’s electric, but, sadly, no. An electric one of these with some decent range would be a huge seller in the U.S., I’m sure.

Distance: ?
Available: ?

Miles Electric Vehicles

The Miles Electric Vehicles are also Low Speed Vehicles (so far). These are a nice little batch of cars, but I’m mostly interested in their sedan version, which is still in development. Until then, we’ll have to creep along at 25 mph while other cars pass us by.

Distance: 60 miles
Available: Now

Reva

The Reva from India has gone clear over the horizon of ugly until it’s come out the other side of the planet as cute again. It apparently fits four (how I have no idea!) and boasts a top speed of 50 mph.

Distance: 50 miles
Available: Now, in India

Zap Electric Car

Looking like it escaped an Eastern bloc country, the Zap Xebra is probably your best bet if you want an EV now. The sedan pictured above is just $11,200 and can achieve a reasonable 40 mph. (It’s classified as a three-wheel motorcycle.) I’m not sure if I’m ready for this due to its range limitations, but the Xebra is looking like a decent commuter car, which is probably 80% or more of the driving that Americans do today. There are some additional models on the Zap Web site as well as a tantalizing look at the Zap-X, slated for 2010.

Distance: 25 miles
Available: Now

Zenn Electric Car

An acronym for Zero Emissions No Noise, the Canadian Zenn is another Low Speed Vehicle with speeds capped at 25 mph. The Zenn, however, boasts a complete car-like experience, with the feel and features of today’s gas-fueled cars.

Distance: 50 miles with battery upgrade
Available: Now

Whew! I think that’s it. I’ll try to take a look at plug-in hybrids next since I think that’s where things are really heading in the near-term.

Tags: Electric cars, EVs

This entry was posted on Friday, April 18th, 2008 at 9:37 pm and is filed under Transportation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.