Electric Cars – Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is that a “hybrid”?

A: No, it’s a fully-electric battery-powered car. Here are some differences:

· We plug our electric car into the wall to recharge it. It has no gasoline engine, fuel tank, exhaust, etc. A hybrid has both a gasoline engine and small batteries. Hybrid manufacturers like to say “you never have to plug it in,” but that’s just spin. The truth is, you can’t plug a hybrid into the wall!

· Ultimately, hybrids must drive every mile powered by gasoline – they just use electricity to temporarily store energy recaptured by braking and idling, for greater overall efficiency. Hybrids are about twice as efficient as normal gasoline-only cars, but they’re only about one fifth as efficient as electric cars.

· The electricity used to drive our car 10,000 miles (about one year’s driving) costs about $70 here in Seattle. That’s less than one tenth what you’d pay for gas for the same amount of driving. Costwise, our electric car gets the equivalent of 287 miles per gallon!

· Hybrids still have to visit a gas station regularly to fill their gas tank. Electric cars plug into the wall in your garage every night, and never need gas.

· Both hybrids and electric cars use “regenerative braking”: when you let off the accelerator, the motor slows the car down, and in the process generates electricity which is added back into the batteries for greater range.

Q: Is that a hydrogen fuel-cell car?

A: Fuel-cells are being hyped right now, but won’t be practical for at least a decade. The hydrogen to power these cars must be manufactured using energy, most likely natural gas or oil. The auto and oil industries are making sure you will still have to buy your hydrogen from gas stations, ensuring that huge US oil companies maintain their lucrative role as middlemen exploiting a captive market.

Q: What is the range of this electric car?

A: We can drive 40-50 miles on a charge, about double the average distance driven daily by drivers in Washington state (24.5 miles.) The batteries are improving year by year, so someday an affordable production car will have the same range as a normal gasoline-powered car. But for now, we still need our second vehicle (a normal gasoline-powered vehicle) for longer trips.

Q: How fast does it go?

A: It accelerates like a typical economy car, quick enough to never delay traffic. Top speed is 70 mph so freeway driving is no problem. The AC motor never shifts gears, so acceleration is completely smooth thoughout the entire speed range.

Q: Who makes it?

A: A company in Massachusetts called Solectria (http://www.solectria.com) started with a Chevy/Geo Metro sedan, and converted it to an electric car. All of the electrical drive components are made by a Brusa in Switzerland. The car cost about $33,000 new. Used ones are rare. There are a few for sale in California right now – see http://zapworld.com/rapcars.htm Ours is a 1999 model. We bought it used for $14,500, with 2,000 miles on it.

Pro:

· Noise: Electric cars don’t idle, are silent while stopped, and very quiet while driving.

· Convenience: Electric cars plug in to a wall socket in your garage, so you never need to visit a gas station except maybe to put air in your tires. They also never need oil changes, nor tuneups, nor emissions tests.

· Operating & Maintenance Costs: Electric cars get the equivalent of 287 miles per gallon. 10,000 miles per year costs just $70, versus over $800 on a typical gasoline-powered car. Depending on how they’re treated, electric cars need a new set of batteries every three to eight years. Total cost and frequency of maintenance should be dramatically lower than a gasoline-powered car.

· Environment: Oil extraction and spills are tremendously harmful to ecosystems all over the world. Even in locales where electricity is generated from coal, natural gas or nuclear, the share of pollution attributable to each electric car is radically lower than that of each gasoline-powered car.

· Salmon: most of Seattle’s electricity (used to power our car) comes from hydroelectric dams, which have harmed salmon populations. Electric cars do contribute to this problem, however by recharging at night we increase the off-peak demand, requiring the dams to let more water flow at night, thus saving some salmon that would otherwise die in the nighttime low water flow below the dams. Overall however we as a society do need to move towards new methods of generating electricity such as wind power and solar.

· Foreign Policy & Human Rights: Our dependency on foreign oil has caused immense harm to other people. Search http://www.forbes.com for “Dangerous Liaisons” for a recent rundown of big US oil companies propping up horrible dictators. It feels really good to minimize our complicity by buying less gasoline!

· US Politics: The largest companies in the US are oil and auto companies. They spend millions on campaign contributions and lobbyists, corrupting our democracy. In the 1930’s they bought up our electric streetcars and buried them, and along with AAA continue to oppose electric mass transit across the US. They put lead into gasoline, and like the tobacco industry dishonestly fought the medical community about its obvious public health impacts for decades. Even today, spinoff US companies quietly continue to push lead in gasoline in foreign countries. It’s past time to steer our dollars elsewhere.

· Support an innovative industry: Detroit has had to be dragged kicking and screaming into such “innovations” as seatbelts, airbags, and emissions controls. Buying an electric car supports small companies that are truly innovating.

Con:

· Repairs: There are no dealers or repair shops in town. The local Chevrolet dealer handles some rare maintenance such as brake work and accessories. If an electrical part fails, I have to remove it myself and ship it to Massachusetts for repair. The good news is that electrical parts rarely fail. If more people drove these cars, local repair shops would become possible.

· Price: $30k is a lot for a new economy car. If more people demanded electric cars, normal economies of scale would drive the price down drastically.

· Range: Range is no problem for running errands around town, but it’s suitable for longer trips say to Issaquah or Monroe. I’m not confident I could even get to SeaTac airport and back on a single charge.