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The EVcast is a podcast dedicated to bringing consumers the latest information on electric vehicles in a non-technical, non-political, and entertaining way.
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December 2008 Posts
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Oil prices are way down pushing the great new ideas in the EV industry to the edge of extinction. It doesn't appear the oil companies are conspiring to drive down oil prices worldwide. Evaporating demand for oil has done that already. Consumer demand for EVs vanishes when gas is less than $4/gal in the US.
There was another episode that quoted an enthusiast that converted his car to EV. At $1.50/gal he was crazy, but with gas at $4/gal he was the smartest guy in town.
Let's face it. Gas prices are in a temporary lull. Place your bets on the price of oil five years from now. Will it be closer to $40 or $400/ barrel? My bet is on the higher end of the range.
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Well here is evidence of people making long-term decisions (a car purchase) based on short term conditions (low gas prices).
"Prius sales plunged 48.3% to 8,660 in November compared with the same month a year earlier, worse than the 36.7% drop in overall U.S. light vehicle sales. The year-to-date picture is somewhat better, with Prius down 9.6% versus 16.3% for the industry overall."
With Prius sales suffering more than the rest of the auto industry, I would guess that EVs will be in an even worse condition. Let's hope investors carry EV projects thru until gas prices rise again.
At this moment, crude oil futures are US$34.39 per barrel.
The peak price was US$147 per barrel. This volitility is terrible for alternative energy projects. Strike that, it is bad for any energy projects.
I love the Mindset Idea - I had the exact same thought except I'd use the Cyclone engine which is an external combustion engine and is clean enough not to need an exhaust system and quiet enough not to need a muffler- or primary batteries like aluminum air batteries as my range extender.
>> There was another episode that quoted an enthusiast that converted his car to EV. At $1.50/gal he was crazy, but with gas at $4/gal he was the smartest guy in town.
Close! That was me. I didn't convert a car, I bought a production Toyota Rav4EV when gas was $1.60/gallon (you know - about what it is today!) And when gas passed $4 gallon, I went from being an idiot to being the smarteds guy on the block. Yup.
Hey no point to do mp3 feedback. You won't be on the electron for two weeks. Audio feedback will be dated by then.
Re: this show I met another local EV Nut other than Darrell (Here in the Sacramento, CA area). He was towing a generator with his RAV EV. Ryan it did not look gay...I think that is what you were implying...not that looking gay is bad..I like to fancy dress every so often myself. Nevertheless, he said the concept worked fine. I think he said it was a range extender, but not unlimitedly. Darrell's evnut.com page has pictures of them.
Listener feedback was interesting. It is always important for discussion participants to take the third view. In other words, one should try to understand the opposing views and one more imagined view point. The result is an open mindedness that improves discussions. The evcast represents an enjoyment of the paradigm. Those of us who have been activists know that we can take things too seriously...it is almost a life or die struggle to see EVs prevail. I have come to realize that saving the world can be fun too. Holding things too tight usually results in some kind of strangulation.
I have adopted a plan to try to change the world mainly from within myself. Check out a book called Diamond Cutter by Michael Roach. With this approach I can't blame anyone for suppressing the righteous...I have to have a better and deeper compassion for all three points of view. I have to be less of a prisoner of my own point view, then the limitlessness can find its way into reality.
Merry Far Out Christmas Man!!
Fred
Just leave the motor at home! An interesting idea from Mindset, but I just don't see it. People just will not want to mess with it- plus, if you already have the engine, why not keep it installed, just-in-case, and less hassle. And even a small engine/generator is not that light- the first time someone drops it on their foot, biiiiiig lawsuit;-)
Innovation is good, but not every new idea is innovative- but at least they are exploring alternate configurations, which is more than a lot of companies are doing.
Paul I think it would depend on what you are using as the range extender- what is the weight, does it need to be hooked up to an exhaust system or cooling system, is it loud does it need a muffler, does the ev have a noise reduction system, if it is an ICE will you have problems with stale fuel if it isn't run often- which is why if I was going to do this I'd go with a cyclone engine which is an external combustion engine and has very clean exhaust, is very quiet, needs no cooling system, needs no oil, is multifueled- anything from gas, alcohol, diesel, biodiesel, veggie oil, or with a slightly different setup propane or LNG- you could probably have a 10KWH engine/generator set for right around 100lbs- you'd need an air intake port, an exhaust port, a controller connection, an electric output connection and some way to secure the engine. A setup like this could allow your car to be a mobile generator. when not in the car it could be used as a stand alone generator.
