Re: More Powerful Motors

From: Gary Shook (gary.shook@mci.com)
Date: Wed Nov 04 1998 - 22:54:03 EST


>
> First of all, let me admit right off the bat that I know next to nothing
> about electric cars.
>
> Second, I think electric cars suck. :-)
>
> The engines may be powerful, but the batteries required are so heavy
>that they more than overwhelm any extra power. I'm not familiar with the
>diesel generator concept you mentioned above; maybe they've solved this
>problem. I assume the above car has no batteries? On a related note,
>recharging the batteries seems like a huge hassle. Where I live, I'd be
>surprised if there was a gas station with electric charging capabilities
>within 300 miles. (Again, maybe that diesel generator solves the problem?)
>

Let me start by saying that I am not a huge proponent of electric cars.. but
I do know a little about them (and I do have a B.S. EET (Electronics
Engineering Technology) degree...)

what we're talking about here is technically not an electric car... it's a
hybrid.
an electric car is a ZEV (Zero Emissions Vehicle), while a hybrid is a LEV
(or VLEV)...

My whole problem with the environmentalist extremists (we're talking about
specific groups here) is that while a ZEV does not produce any emissions by
itself, the electricity it uses has to be created somewhere... In Colorado
Springs that's by burning coal.... doesn't sound like Zero Emissions in the
big picture...

{sound of anti tree-hugger soap box being put away...}

Hybrid vehicles do have some promise for very high efficiency, but they
would still require batteries. One of the advantages is regenerative
braking, which is using the drive motors to recharge the batteries while
braking... resulting in recovery of some of the kinetic energy of a moving
vehicle. Hybrid vehicles use an engine as a generator to recharge the
batteries rather than having to plug the vehicle in...

That having been said, I would miss the rumble of a V8... They'll have to
pry my Charger from my cold dead hands....

Gary Shook



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