EVcast.com is the home of the EVcast. The EVcast is a podcast dedicated to bringing consumers the latest information on electric vehicles in a non-technical, non-political, and entertaining way. Don't forget, you can also subscribe to this podcast via iTunes or your favorite podcatcher.
NEW! Stream the latest episode of the EVcast from your website by including this one simple line of javascript:
<script src="http://www.igroops.com/evcast.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
Watch this Blog Notify me by e-mail any time a new post is made to this blog.
The EVcast is a podcast dedicated to bringing consumers the latest information on electric vehicles in a non-technical, non-political, and entertaining way.
Become Our Platinum SponsorProduct ID: 00000003Currently In Stock: 0
For the main sponsor, you get the big prize! A 622px wide x 100px tall banner that will appear on just about every page within EVcast.com, including blog posts. On the homepage, in place of the banner you will have a custom ... More »
Price: $2500.00
October 2009 Posts
Archives
Join Bo and Ryan for the EV stories of the week. Joined by Russ Datz, spokesperson for Fisker Automotive, Bo and Ryan get to the bottom of the "governmental conspiracy" of giving "our money" to "foreign" companies. Wow, that is "a lot" of quotes. Plus listener feedback and a surprise song.
Don't just listen to the EVcast -- experience and be a part of it! Join us at 1:00pm Eastern, M-F, in our live video broadcast and chat along with us!
Good going on recognizing that "big" range isn't really necessary.
Though it is, for the moment, solidly stuck in the public's mind.
It reminds me of the early days of microwave ovens. The public wanted something similar to the kitchen stove. Big enough to cook a turkey, for Thanksgiving. The early manufacturers "had" to make large units.
And then, over time, the public discovered, hey, you don't need huge. And, heck, "right-sized" smaller units are also cheaper!
So, IMHO, the solution is to have expandable / up-gradable / down-gradable space available and prepared for additional battery modules. In the best case, modules that could even be rented and temporarily installed for long trips - the proverbial trip to GrandMa's house for Thanksgiving or Christmas.
Such a strategy minimizes the initial cost of a vehicle by allowing the buyer to "configure" the number of expensive kWh of storage. At 5 miles / kWh, a 10 kWh battery will handle the average US 33 mile round trip commute, and leave the charge at 1/3 of a "tank" - enough for another 15 miles or so - until the nightly recharge. Boosting that by, maybe, 5 kWh to 15 kWh or doubling to 20kWh, of course, would increase the initial vehicle price by the price of a 50% or 100% bigger battery. This strategy will increase sales of BEVs and also maximize the usage of available battery production capacity, until more capacity comes online.
50 kWh and 250 to 300 mile range may initially be absolutely necessary to get BEV sales going, but the cost concious public will quickly realize that is an expensive and un-necessary over kill, for the most part.
quote comment
I found the mysterious 1997 Nissan Li-Ion "Production" electric car was:
Drum-roll please - - - - - - - - - -
The 1997 Nissan Altera EV.
Total production was 200 units sold in Japan and USA only.
http://www.modernracer.com/news/the-history-of-nissan-ev-development/1633/
More intersting was the earlier Li-Ion equipped 1995 Nissan Prairie EV of which a big 30 were made for flleet lease in Japan only, however one was used for 6 years at the Japanese Polar research station in Norway before it broke.
Bo, So what is a comparable ICE Maxi-Scooter to compare to Vectrix? I ran accord a Honda SilverWing which is $8,700 so almost the same as Vectrix? Not exactly a $2500 scooter.
http://www.motorcycle.com/specs/honda/touring-scooter/2009/silver-wing-reg/abs.html
Alternatively there is the Honda Elite that starts at $3000.
http://powersports.honda.com/2010/elite.aspx
Later
John C. Briggs
I listened to that song a second time to rock out with all the vocal fills. E-E-E-Electricity.
Hey thanks Bo & Ryan for enlightening us with EV news! And also thanks for "plugging" my song "Electricity" - glad to hear Graham McNally enjoyed it. Co-writer and singer Tom Fair extraordinaire did a smashing job~ you can hear it again on each of our myspace music web pages...All the best, Trudee Lunden
Trudee,
Great song. And much better singing than what we have to put up with from Bo and Ryan! ;)
Nikki.
Bo, So your point about the scooter is that a person looking for cheap transportation can get a Honda scooter for as little as $3000 whereas the Vectrix is $9000. Even if the Vectrix is a lot nicer and perhaps more comparable to the $9000 Silver Wing.
So what about the cost of ownership. Let's assume 30,000 miles per year, $3.00/gallon, $0.19/KWH on the scooter and see how the numbers work out.
Honda Elite ICE100 mpg30,000 miles/year300 gallons/year$900/year
Vectrix EV0.1 KWH/mile30,000 miles/year3000 KWH/year$570/year
So based on this, you can save $320 per year with the Vectrix. OK so I didn't factor in oil changes on the ICE, but we see the problem here. The Honda Elite ICE is Very Very Efficient as a means of transportation. So the gasoline costs are low.
For the same reason, you are always going to be disappointed when you compare the cost of ownership of an EV (car) to a Toyota Prius. At 60MPG and $25,000 price tag, the Toyota Prius is a tough competitor to an EV (car). EV advocates typically compare the numbers for a gas-guzzling SUV to and EV to try to make the numbers look good.
I have seen this type of "rationalization" for solar panels as well. Being a solar panel owner, I know the arguments well. But let's just be honest here. We like EVs for reasons other than cost and recognize that cost is a significant obsticle.
LaterJohn C. Briggs
