Backbone > Life in the Balance
Cruisin' for a Change
(An Ecologically Eclectic Guide to EC Cars)

This month, Life in the Balance takes a look at fuel cell technology and electric and hybrid electric cars—all of which are already out on the market. Also on offer is a low-cost alternative to investing in an EC (Environmentally Correct) car—the MaxImizer Magnetizer, an easy-to-install magnetic gasoline-conserving and emissions-reducing device.
Next month: In October, I’ll examine fuel cell vehicles and explore the development of the solar-powered car and the increasingly popular alternative fuel known as biodiesel—as exemplified by the radical Veggie Van, which runs on biodiesel made from vegetable oil. I’ll also cover other affordable, time-tested, emission-reducing alternative products for those who can’t afford to switch gears literally yet—the PSP Super Fuel Stik and the MaxImizer Magnetizer.

As always, readers’ comments, ideas, and suggestions in response to this column are most welcome. Know of another type of alternative auto technology that I haven’t covered in these pages? E-mail me at sustainability@chronogram.com.

The EV (Electric Vehicle) Prototype
Ever taken a walk through the parking lot of an environmental organization? I have, having worked at a few of them, and interviewed officials at several more. So, unfortunately, I can attest to the fact that the folks working as environmentalists seldom drive cars that are any more environmentally friendly than those owned by the rest of us—in fact, more than a few of them are gas-guzzling SUVs. Why? Steven Lough, proprietor of Eco-Motion Electric Cars and a partner in the co-op EV (electric vehicle) business Electric Vehicles Northwest, Inc., both in Seattle, has the answer. He has been building electric cars and completing electric conversions since the early 1980s, and says that there are not many electric cars on the road yet because, thanks to the oil industry, everyone, “even…environmentalists…[is] pretty much in a state of denial.”

Why, again? According to Lough, the reluctance to go electric is all in people’s minds.

“From a psychological standpoint, the largest deterrent to widespread electric car popularity is this ever-present question of range on a charge,” he claims on his Web site. And he should know—it’s a deterrent he himself overcame. Having inherited his family’s Lough Motors GMC truck dealership in the ‘60s, Lough began keeping a file on electric cars, but reports that “not until the oil embargoes did much happen.” In the early 1980s, following America’s third gas crisis, he took on the presidency of the Seattle Electric Vehicle Association, created alliances with the Washington Environmental Council and other environmental protection organizations, and began selling the Lectric Leopard (Renault Le-Car), made by US Electricar of Massachusetts, mainly to members of the media. In 1996, GM began selling its GM EV-1 in California and Arizona. Three years later, Lough sold his hand-built electric Ion-1, to local media acclaim.

“Today’s electric cars—the affordable ones, not the dream machines from Detroit—can easily guarantee their owners a good solid 40 miles of range. These same cars can do 80 to 100 miles under the most ideal conditions of level road, warm day, steady 30 to 40 mph,” according to Lough. He explains: “Now, 40 miles may not sound like a lot, but in Seattle and King County [Washington], the average daily miles traveled…is probably less than 28 miles. Even in Los Angeles, it has been computed to be 38 miles a day. So if, literally, half the planet Earth is never driving over 40 miles a day, why can’t half the planet be driving efficient, quiet, pollution-reducing electric cars? Go figure.”

To prove his point, Lough has hunted for electric cars in the parking lots of several chapters of Greenpeace, the Sierra Club, and the Environmental Protection Agency where, according to his Web site (www.halcyon.com/slough/ecomotion), he has found “NEXT TO NONE!!” of them.

I can’t deny that there’s a certain amount of irony to be found in watching the director of an environmental organization climb into his Chevy Blazer after a long hard day of fighting the good fight. And I admit that, in a certain mood, I can even find such a thing darkly amusing. However, I’m willing to give those folks who work for The Cause and spend their days talking the talk, but perhaps not walking the walk with every step they take—myself included—a break. Not everyone has the funds readily available to buy a new electric car, or to put their own car through an electric conversion.

But Lough is less forgiving—and far more impatient—than I am. “Far and away, the private automobile, and its infrastructure, is the single largest pollution and environmental problem source on planet Earth,” he writes. “There are alternatives, if we have the courage to face up to our own selfishness.” According to Lough, electric cars are available and affordable “for anyone with the vision or desire to own one”—no excuses. His Web site lists turn-of-the-millennium prices starting at $2,900 for a “good used one,” with conversions starting at $8,900, plus the cost of a donor car. Buying an electric car—including Lough’s flagship Ion-1 model, a 48-kilowatt, red Ferrari two-seater sports coupe—can cost anywhere from $10,000 to upwards of $20,000. Lough’s conversion kit is priced at over $10,000 and doesn’t include tires, wheels, a frame, or motor. Nonetheless, he insists that owning an electric car is worth the large amounts of capital and physical labor it takes to get one. “Remember,” Lough writes, “to convert a gas car to electric is the highest form of recycling. Even if all our power came from coal and oil, and it does not, EVs are three times more efficient per dollar, and we would have a net gain in air quality.”

The History of EVs
An EV is simply a vehicle powered by an electric motor rather than an internal combustion engine. EVs run on power stored in batteries that frequently require recharging by plugging into the mains’ supply, which can be 120- or 240-volt.

Like many other types of alternatively-fueled cars, the EV has a longer history than most people realize. The first ones actually were invented during an early 19th century EV zeitgeist of sorts. Following Joseph Henry’s introduction of the first DC-powered motor in 1830, the first EVs were built by American inventor Thomas Davenport in 1835, and by Professor Stratingh in Groningen, Holland (isn’t dat veird?). Moses Farmer built the first two-passenger EV in 1847. However, no rechargeable battery cells existed at the time, so an EV really wasn’t a possibility until French inventors Gaston Plante invented and Camille Faure improved the storage battery in 1865 and 1881, respectively. Since the early 1900s, EVs have been in use in various applications—especially as golf carts.

Why choose an EV? Besides their emitting no exhaust whatsoever, EVs are also absolutely silent—which is something that can’t be said for other alternative-designed cars, including the hydrogen-powered vehicle. EVs have fewer moving parts, and therefore require far less maintenance than gas-fueled or even other alternative cars. Since there is no engine, there are no oil changes, no tune-ups, and no potential timing problems to watch out for.

What’s available in EV technology?
The Ion-1, currently being followed by the development of the Ion-II, was built in 1981 but sold just three years ago. It features a McClaren M-6 replication body (worth more than $25,000), made by Manta Cars of California, along with a 1970 Volkswagen chassis; a Prestolite 4001, series Wound DC, 20 HP/50 HP peak motor; a Curtis PMC 120-volt, 400-AMP, 48-KW transistorized 2KHz controller; 20 6-volt deep cycle lead acid batteries by Trojan; HD 30-mm rear torsion bars and air shocks; and a New Concepts Phazor DV, fully-automatic 240-volt AC input charger. The DC to DC converter was designed by Sevcon Engineering, and converts all necessary 12-volt DC from the 120-volt pack. The Ion-1 weighs 2,720 pounds and performs at a top speed of 70 mph, with a range of 45 miles at freeway speed and 80 miles at city street speed. It costs approximately $225 per year to charge the car in the Seattle area. Lough offered a five-year, 50,000-mile warranty on the car’s motor and controller.

Other innovative purely electric cars include the Zenn—aka the Zero Emissions, No Noise vehicle—a fully-automotive car that its maker, Feel Good Cars (a division of Dauphine Electric), claims is “unlike a golf cart,” which is unfortunately the type of EV many companies are putting on the market. The Zenn’s body structure and construction were designed in line with extensive 30-mph front-crash tests. The car is being marketed for personal as well as urban police department use, particularly for parking enforcement. It is recharged by plugging it into a normal 110-volt outlet, is fully automatic, and includes many common contemporary features: CD player, power windows, remote control keyless entry, air conditioning, rear brakes, a sun roof, head restraints, and rear window wipers and washer.

How to Complete an Electric Conversion
Any small car can be recycled and converted to electric at a total cost of approximately $8,000 (total subject to variable labor costs and price changes) by replacing the motor along with the exhaust, cooling, and fuel-delivery systems with the following parts and systems:

• Advanced DC electric motor ($1,450) connected to existing standard transmission via an adapter plate ($500);
• Electronic transistorized controller (like giant light dimmer) to control power and speed. Curtis-PMC model ($800) recommended;
• Fully automatic battery charger, which is plugged in and left for several days with no harm to the batteries ($400);
• Ten 12-volt or 20 6-volt deep cycle lead acid batteries totaling 120 volts and offering maximum acceleration or range ($950);
• On/Off power relays, h.d. fuses and connectors, battery cables, volt meter to measure pressure, and ampmeter to measure electricity flow ($900);
• Assembly labor, approximately 200 hours (approximately $3,000).

EV Technology Resources
For electric conversions: Dave Cloud, 16820 199th Street, Woodinville, WA 98072; e-mail cloudvolt@hotmail.com; or log onto http://member.aol.com/cloudelec/index.html.

For more information on electric cars, as well as servicing and purchasing electric cars and bicycles, contact:

• Electric Vehicles Northwest, Inc. at evsnw@seamac.wa.com; www.halcyon.com/evsnw/; (206) 762-4404.
• Feel Good Cars at http://www.feelgoodcars.com.
• Eco Motion Electric Cars, 6021 32nd Avenue, NE, Seattle, WA 98115; slough@halcyon.com; (206) 524-1351.

For the bible of the EV world: So You Want to Build an Electric Car, by Mike Chancey, e-mail: evtinker@ionet.com or evtinker@juno.com.

The Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) Revolution
Of all the alternative EC cars being developed and marketed, HEVs, or hybrids, have garnered the most press. Why? Because they’re here, and they’re competitively priced, compared to standard gas-fueled cars. There are even tax incentives, like the federal Clean Fuel Vehicle Tax Deduction and Electric Vehicle Tax Credit, to buying HEVs. Right now, both Honda and Toyota have the technology down, and have already begun selling their version of the hybrid within the US. It’s hardly surprising that most other car manufacturers, desperate not to be left out in the cold, have recently announced plans to begin marketing their own hybrid versions. That includes virtually everyone in the business: DaimlerChrysler, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Fiat, Renault, Ford, GM, and Subaru, all of which are simultaneously working on developing fuel cell technology.

But if you think that HEVs are just transition vehicles between conventional gas-fueled cars and pure EVs, think again. Experts in the HEV camp believe that their car will be the car of the future. They feel certain that, because the energy density of electric batteries will never equal that of liquid or gaseous fuels, these fuels will continue to be part of future vehicles, and that fuel cells will most likely be placed into the HEV configuration along with an energy-storage device.

But that’s all to come, that is if the hydrogen fuel proponents don’t get their way. For now, consider the hybrid car a fairly complicated but sensible machine. Not only does it reduce emissions, it improves mileage—goals that are actually intertwined. It’s simple: The amount of pollution allowed to be emitted doesn’t depend on car mileage, but a car that burns twice as much gas to drive a mile generates twice as much pollution, which has to be removed by the car’s emissions control equipment. Therefore, decreasing the fuel consumption of the car is the easiest, most reliable way to decrease emissions.

Ironically, marketing hybrid cars, sad to say, actually serves auto manufacturers well by allowing them to continue getting up to no good, as far as high emissions levels go. Here’s why: In this country, auto manufacturers are required to meet the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, which currently require the average mileage of all new cars sold to be at least 27.5 mpg. So if an auto manufacturer sells a single hybrid car that gets 60 mpg, it can then sell four large, luxury cars that get a mere 20 mpg.

So, how does the hybrid work? The hybrid car’s dual fuel sources can be combined in two basic ways. Most popular is the method known as a parallel hybrid, which includes both a gasoline fuel tank and a set of batteries supplying power to an electric motor. Both the gas-powered engine and the electric motor can turn the transmission simultaneously, and the transmission, of course, turns the wheels. The fuel tank and gas engine and the batteries and electric motor connect independently to the transmission—as a result, in a parallel hybrid, both the electric motor and the gas engine can provide power.

A series hybrid, however, utilizes the gasoline engine to turn a generator, which can either charge the batteries or power an electric motor that drives the transmission. In this model, the gasoline engine never directly powers the vehicle. In fact, all of the components—starting with the fuel tank—are in a line that eventually connects with the transmission. The components function as follows—many of them the same way that they do in normal cars:

• The gasoline engine is similar to that used in most cars, but it’s smaller and uses more advanced technology to increase efficiency and lower emissions.
• The fuel tank is used for storing gasoline. It takes approximately 1,000 lbs. of batteries to store the same amount of energy as one gallon (7 lbs.) of gasoline.
• A hybrid’s electric motor acts as a motor as well as a generator. When necessary, the motor can draw energy from the batteries to accelerate the car, but when acting as a generator, it can slow the car down and return energy to the batteries.
• A hybrid’s batteries are its electric motor’s energy storage device. But unlike the gas in the fuel tank, which can only power the gasoline engine, the hybrid’s electric motor can put energy into the batteries as well as draw energy from them.
• The transmission on a hybrid performs the same function as on a conventional car. The Honda Insight has a conventional transmission, but the Toyota Prius has a radically different one.

Ultimately, it’s the smaller engine size that really makes a hybrid work at reducing emissions and increasing efficiency. Most cars need large engines to allow fast acceleration—the main attribute American drivers demand of their cars. But large engines are heavy and use extra energy during each acceleration or uphill drive, and the pistons and other internal parts are heavy and require more energy every time they move up and down in the cylinders—of which there are many more than in small engines. In contrast, smaller engines use smaller, lighter parts, reduce the number of cylinders, and allow for greater efficiency because the engine operates closer to its maximum load.

Available Hybrids
The Honda Insight sells for approximately $18,000, while the Toyota Prius is priced at about $20,000. Both cars have a gasoline engine, electric motor, and batteries—beyond that, they are entirely different models. The Insight was introduced in early 2000 and marketed as having been designed to get the best possible mileage. It’s a small, lightweight two-seater with a tiny high-efficiency gas engine. Its 2002 version won “Best Integration/Use of New Technology” in the Sub-compact/Compact category at the Michelin Challenge Bibendum—a competition of environmentally innovative cars. The new model features a continuously variable transmission, boasts a 57/56 mpg city/highway EPA fuel-economy rating, and is certified as a super ultra low emissions vehicle (SULEV). Base list price, without options, is $19,080 for a 5-speed, front-drive, ABS-brakes, 1.0L 3-cylinder 67 hp gas/electric engine with dual airbags. The Insight’s cousin, the Honda Civic, cuts hydrocarbon emissions by 80 percent compared to conventional cars.
The Toyota Prius has sold well in Japan since late 1998, and has been available for purchase in the US since late 1997. It was designed to reduce emissions in urban areas. This four-seater sedan seats five and meets California’s SULEV standards. It’s also capable of accelerating to speeds up to 15 mph on electric power alone.

Resources
For more general information on how hybrid cars are made and work, log onto http://www.hybridcars.com.
To check out this year’s International Battery, Hybrid, and Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle Symposium (EVS19), log onto http://www.evs19.com.