A World Record Attempt

The Electric Auto Association of Silicon Valley in conjunction with SAP are going for the World Record for the largest number of Electric Vehicles in a Parade.  The announcement was made only very recently, but there have been murmurings about it for about a month.  I have to admit, I am pretty excited to see hundreds of EVs in once place (not just on the parking lot of a dealership).

Are SAP and the EAASV the first to set a World Record?  No, as recently as the end of May 2014, a group of nearly 500 Europeans banded together in Stuttgart, Germany to celebrate the setting of the current record of 481 electric vehicles.  And not but a month before that the record was set at 430 in Montreal, Canada.  So how many vehicles will there be attending in Silicon Valley?

The hope for the World Record in Silicon Valley will not just break the current, but shatter it with 100% more vehicles. Silicon Valley is the home of the Electric Car.  It would seem to stand to reason that Silicon Valley should hold the record.  And it might even be reasonable to see the record be set and broken multiple times there.  Silicon Valley is the birthplace of Tesla, the National Electric Auto Association, and the first EV Rally.  If there is any place in the world that is more deserving to hold such a record it's the people of Silicon Valley.

Where?

You'd probably like to know where this spectacular event will be taking place? At the Electric Auto Association of Silicon Valley and Plug-In America, it was determined that these events needed to be spread over a full week.   And so it is that the events can be held over the week, and in over 100 locations throughout the US, Canada, and Mexico.

But in particular, that is if you are interested in one the most quiet parades ever, you may want to come out to the event.  If you don't have an electric car, that is still ok, but only electric cars can go in the parade due to the requirements.

This year's event will be held at De Anza College in parking lots A, and B.  
On Saturday, September 20th 2014, from 10 AM to 4 PM

21250 Stevens Creek Blvd, 
Cupertino, CA 95014

Requirements

This is where it gets tricky, or else it is very simple.  Only vehicles that are powered by electricity may enter.  But you're probably saying.  "A Chevy Volt" doesn't "need" its' internet combustion engine, what gives?  That would be the rules.  No bikes, scooters, or 3-wheel. They must be full white, sticker-worthy electric cars. Battery Electric is the official word.  Just pure battery electric vehicles.

The Event

I encourage anyone and everyone to come out to this event.  There's a great deal to learn about and besides the awesome factor that is the World Record, there are usually dozens of electric cars to test drive.  And everyone that tests and electric car gets a free lunch.  Also, the event is free.

Conclusion

If you're either an electric car enthusiast or just interested, the EV Rally is a great and fun event.  But if you're an EV owner then why not come out for the World Record and show the world that Silicon Valley isn't just a great place to live and work, but a clean and quiet one too.

Smart Car TARDIS

It's difficult to express what I want in a Smart Car without referencing the time machine from the British television series, Dr. Who.  The time machine in the show is bigger on the inside.  While the Smart ForTwo certainly seems bigger on the inside sometimes, what I want is impossible.

I want a Smart Car TARDIS.

I want my Smart ForTwo ED to be a 4-door vehicle that still fits in the same 106 inches (2.70 m).  I want my Smart car to have the range and power of a Tesla S.  I think I might sound like Veruca Salt, but I still want it.

The Smart ForTwo is aptly named as it fits 2 people.  That's the best way to put it, because to say it fits two people comfortably is inaccurate.   As long as those two people are of average width or less, it will fit two people.  The car is only 64 inches (1.63 m) wide and when two people of more than average width get in, they had better be fine with a loss of personal space.  Putting a safety belt on is a tandem feat as knuckles or heads may be knocked if the action is done simultaneously.

Head room and leg room do no suffer as much as body room, but I'd still like more space.

I'm happy with the tiny car that I have.  I love the speed of the electric powertrain, and I appreciate the silent running.  But I wouldn't mind if it were more like the luxury of the Aston Martin rebadged Toyota IQ.   I acknowledge that I am one of the outliers, one of those who takes a shine to the odd-looking.

A Very Dirty, Clean Car

I've owned more than one truck in my lifetime and I currently own one of the least efficient trucks that a consumer can, in the US.  I like utility.  Trucks are definitely not considered to be very efficient, unless they are used for moving are objects or numbers of people.

The measure of a vehicle's "greenness" is factor of how efficient it is.  It would be very inefficient to drive a large truck with no cargo and only one occupant (the driver). The phrase "being green" is to state about how little oxidized carbon is put into the air by the operation of the vehicle.  Greenness is Cleanness.

By contrast to the truck, the Smart ED is VERY green.  It was, in fact, determined to be most green car on the road by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) in 2014.   The Smart ForTwo ED has an exceptionally high MPGe (Miles Per Gallon equivalent) rating of 107 average (92 hwy, 122 city).  If you were to convert it's range to an equivalent gas tank, it would be roughly 0.66 gallons.

So why is this such a dirty car, if it has been verified to be very green and thereby clean?

One of the things that drivers (most people in the US) do on a regular basis, is to visit a fueling station. Of course electric car drivers do this as well, but there is one major difference between fueling stations for electric and gasoline.   An industry has grown up around the "Gas Station".  It's not just a place to pump gas into the gas tank any more.

Gas stations are often mini-markets in additional fueling stations, and some are also car washes. It is possible to use a squeegee to clean the windows of your vehicle.  Some stations have LCD monitors embedded atop the pump to run news and advertisements.  The fueling station is nearly a destination.

Nearly 100% of the time I refuel my Smart ED at home.  And although I could quite easily vacuum and wash the vehicle, I had not yet trained myself to do that on a regular basis.   Sadly, I have only done it once in the nine months that I have owned my Smart ED.   And my wife and some friends have made note of the fact that the floor and seats are in need of cleaning.

I have once visited a gas station to use the squeegee and refill the tires, but I do feel a tad unwelcome.  Even if I wanted to get gasoline, I would need a sealed container or a proper gas tank to legally purchase it.

So it seems that at least until electrical fueling stations become popular, I must change my ways and actually clean my car at home.  Or at least hope that the purveyor of the fueling station doesn't care that I use the facilities without paying for the fuel.

The Long Trip

I recently took a long trip down the California coastline from the San Francisco Bay area where I live to Los Angeles.  There are three ways to make this trip in a car, Interstate 5, Highway 101, or Highway 1.  The interstate is always the fastest even when dealing with traffic in the major cities, but I usually take 101 because it's more scenic (and less crowded).   But the shortest route of the three is still much further than my Smart ED can go on one charge.

My truck is the distance vehicle.   Although it sucks down the fuel like almost no other vehicle, it does have a very high capacity for fuel.  But it has a few other features that the Smart does not, including cruise control and powered seats. I've heard that many people who own the ICE Smart love to take it on long trips.  But I'd rather just put the Smart ED in the bed of my truck and unpack it when I arrive.

A long while ago I came to the conclusion that travelling should and can be fun, rather than a horrific endurance test to get there as quickly as possible.  I love to drive both my truck and the Smart ED, but they each have their purposes.

The truck is great for long trips.  It's very comfortable, like driving a couch.  It can go 500 miles before needing to be refueled.  It has lots of storage space for people and things.  But it's terrible for small city streets and parking.  The Smart ED however, is not too comfortable on trips greater than 50 miles. It only has a range of 70 miles, and refueling takes a few hours.  It has almost no storage space and just enough room for two people.  But it's awesome for small city streets and parking.

I will admit that I miss the creature comforts of my truck when I'm in the Smart. And I miss the regenerative breaking, amazing torque, and impressive maneuverability, when driving the truck.  But as far as I know, there is no way to combine the two features for less than $50k and still have it be electric. For now I am resigned to having two vehicles that each have a specific purpose and look forward to the day when I can get an all electric truck that has the range of an ICE vehicle (that is affordable).

Accessories and Power Use

I grew up in a town where the average temperature in the summer was at least 100 F (38 C).  It was a town where it was assumed that you had an air conditioner or if not at least a swimming pool.  And not having either was cause for living uncomfortably.  I also took a strong interest in car audio in middle and upper school.

The use of air conditioning and audio in automobiles definitely puts a drain on fuel consumption, but it is not as noticeable because the energy density of petroleum is so high.  But how does it affect the driver of an electric vehicle?

Air Conditioning

I was at first wary of using the air conditioner on the Smart ED.  I thought that it, like the heater would cut my range drastically.  It turns out, that in certain driving conditions, my efficiency improves.  Obviously I do not own a perpetual motion machine, but I've noticed that I tend to drive more smoothly with using the A/C.  For whatever reason, my driving manner is different when the A/C is on, than when it is off, regardless of the outside temperature.

The A/C will draw extra power from the pack, but unlike the heater the vehicle does not automatically take a reserve to cover for the cooler.  However, you will notice when you come to a stoplight that an exhaust fan will start up.  This fan is very loud and will make your car sound like an A/C unit on wheels.  This same event occurs on ICE vehicles, but the engine noise usually overpowers it.

Car Audio

Car Audio on the other hand, at least the stock head-unit, is powered by the 12V auxiliary battery.  And in turn the main pack recharges the 12V, just like the alternator in an ICE vehicle.  The stock speakers and stereo are not very good in the Smart ED, but they are better than not having a system.

I tested the audio in the vehicle when I bought it, but I didn't use it for a while either because I was thinking that it would drain the main pack.   In reality, after having used the radio, even at high volume, I have yet to experience a significant difference in the main pack range.

Conclusion

I have no cross-referenced trials to present, but I do have my own experience.  I've driven many times with the A/C on and the radio blasting, and have not noticed a gross difference in the main pack battery.  More often than not it is how I drive that determines the battery performance and longevity.

A serious hypermiler might consider the use of these accessories as detrimental to the extreme mileage possible, but I am no such person.  I already know that by driving electric, I am being much more efficient than any ICE vehicle, but a factor of at worst 2 and at best 20.

I am sure that there are some people who believe that by using the A/C or radio that they are giving up some range.  But if that range is 1 mile, I think I am willing to sacrifice it for the same of comfort and entertainment.

Electric Gas Hybrid Powerhouse

On Saturday,  July 12th 2014, I attended the Silicon Valley STEAM Festival at Reid Hillview Airport in San Jose. This year's event includes all the vehicles from Mike Hennessy's Hot San Jose Nights.  And although most of the event's vehicles were powered by petroleum fuel (cars,  trucks, aircraft),  there were a few electricity fueled and my Smart ED was one of them.

This event was definitely a display of the love vehicular engineering,  primarily that of the power of petrol.   But there was something  uncharacteristic in a television show from the British Isles recently,  that praised a combination of electricity and petroleum power.  The show is called Top Gear and the particular episode showcased a McLaren P1 that uses both a gas and electric motors to do something unprecedented.

As mentioned  in my previous post about electric drag racing,  electric cars have immense torque from a stand still. But they also tend not to require a transmission.   For these reasons not  only do they accelerate quickly and do not make shifts that lose power.

When electric cars race against internal combustion cars,  the electrics often win.  But if internal combustion could use electric motors,  they might be able to smooth out the rough parts of shifting and acceleration. That is exactly what McLaren has done with the P1.  

The P1 uses the electric motor for the high torque in acceleration from 0 and when the transmission is shifting to boost the power yet again.  Of course this means that  the vehicle is more heavy than an electric or petrol alone,  but with all that power, it may not matter.

Although I doubt that there will be a Smart Car hybrid,  I would not be surprised to see more companies utilizing electric motors to boost power,  not just efficiency. Where the Prius introduced the world to greater efficiency,  the McLaren P1 has brought hybrid tech up to speed.

And this would seem to all well and good until the Lithium Air becomes available.  Then petroleum powered vehicles will finally become a relic of a bygone era.

Under foot

For those who are aware, the Smart Fortwo is the smallest production vehicle in the US market.   Outside of the Twizzy in the UK and the Tata Nano in India, it might be the smallest in the world.  It is a tiny car and with it comes both good and bad aspects.  In this episode we explore the color of the Smart ForTwo and how it affects the car.

It's been said that certain colors are more noticeable than others.  Some colors are easy to be seen, others are not.  A study in Australia at Monash University pointed out that of all the colors (or lack there of) black is the worst, followed closely by grey, and then silver for likelihood of crashes versus white colored vehicles. The report used "white" as the standard by which all vehicle colors were compared as if to say that white is the easiest to see. Of course the study included comparisons in daylight, dusk, and nighttime.  Dusk it seems holds a particular spite for black.

Personally, I've experienced more than one presumptuous maneuver when driving my Smart, where the other driver doesn't seem to grasp that my car is either real or relative.  Fortunately, with its size, the Smart Fortwo has an excellent capacity move or stop quickly if needed and I've yet to trade paint with anyone.

I am keenly aware of how much I tend to miss vehicles that are much larger and not black, and so I decided on white for my car.  I realize that it's not always possible to get the color of car that you would most like, when purchasing used (sometimes also new).  But I cannot understand why anyone would deliberately purchase or alter the color of their car to black, outside of the precise desire to go unnoticed.

Although I do not have the statistics on the most preferred color in a Smart Fortwo.  I did notice that most of the cars on the lot where I bought mine were black.  Either that was because they were not preferred or because many people seek the color.  I've also noticed, back a few years when searching for a truck, that most of those on the market were also black.  These two observations have lead me to the idea that either black vehicles are unwanted or they are in high demand.  In either case they are still the most likely to be in a collision.

In the United States of America, as far as I know, there is no mandate on what color or size a production car must be or not be.  However, I so chose to make my small car as noticeable as I can, barring painting a sparkling, fluorescent share of pink. I realize that I have no control over the actions of others but I can at least drive Smart-ly and safely.

Not looking for trouble, finding it anyway

The people that know me, know that I've never been a speed freak. If anything quite the opposite, low and slow when it comes to cars.  But I too have fallen prey to the thrill of speed and power when I know that I have it.  Anyone who buys a vehicle that has speed does not buy it for the practicality, there are plenty of cars that are perfectly capable of getting a person from point a to point b.  However, getting from point a to point b is just that much more fun with some added power.

The stigma regarding electric vehicles and their lack of power is slowly ebbing away.  People are beginning to see that electric cars are not just fast, they can be much faster than traditional gasoline-powered because of instant torque.

When I did my review of the Smart ED in May 2013, I knew that the car had some torque. I did not know what they meant by "the kickdown".  That little extra push at the bottom of the accelerator makes all the difference.  When depressing the accelerator on the Smart ED to the floor you get about 75% of the power or roughly 50 hp.  But the motor is capable of 75 hp.  Granted you don't want to push the motor at full power all the time and Mercedes-Benz is aware of this.  They give you about three minutes of full power per fifteen, so that you do not burn out the motor or fry the batteries.

It is that extra 25 hp that is what makes all the difference.

I am aware that there are modified vehicles that can boost the performance of their internal combustion engine vehicle with an additive (Nitrous oxide).  But not many people get that as an option when the buy or lease a new vehicle ( I doubt that is an option anywhere).

On the streets of Silicon Valley, where I drive daily, I get many strange looks and stares.  I've grown accustomed to the comments from people in other vehicles who seem to think that I can't hear them (or else they don't care).  But every now and then, particularly on Friday and Saturday nights, I get street racing propositions. Mind you I have never once agreed to a street race, nevertheless they still happen.

There has got to be some psychology behind it.  I've read that certain predatory animals give chase when something runs.  And so it seems is the case with the mentality of a person who owns a fast car.  It's not always a conscious decision to race.  You have the capacity and you act on it.

A couple of nights ago I was being chatted up by another driver about my tiny car and the light turned green.  As I often do at the front of the line, I sped off.  It wasn't however obvious that I had inadvertently begun racing until I realized that the Mercedes Benz SL500 in the turn lane next to me was flooring it.  The driver apparently needed to gain access to the far right lane, that I was already using, to turn right at the next light.  He did get over in front of me, with less than half a car length to spare. And at that point I let him as I did not actually want to race.

I'm quite sure that I surprised the driver of SL-class in that he knew he needed to get into my lane, but never expected a vehicle so small to have such power.  It is like driving a "sleeper", that is a car that doesn't look like it has power.

Tiny Car Comradere

As of right now about half of the electric cars on the road are small cars. They include the Smart Fortwo Electric drive, Fiat 500e, Mitsubishi Miev, Chevy Spark EV, and the newly released VW Golf EV.  With the exception of the Smart and Fiat all these small cars fit more than just two people. But as small cars go, they have one significant difference, they're EVs which makes them fun to drive.

I encountered only the second time ever a Mitsubishi Miev on Sunday rounding the corner near the bank.  The driver seemed to be in a hurry, but when I got a bit closer, I realized why. All electric cars, whether small or large have far more torque for their size than the internal combustion engine counterpart.  You can assume that whatever is the horsepower, the torque will be double.

Before I owned an electric car (or I should say before I owned one with any significant power), I didn't know what real acceleration was like outside of amusement park rides.  Electric cars have two things going for them as far as performance is concerned.  And I don't mean merely the impressive efficiency, but the torque and maneuverability.  You might think that the latter is silly, but with all the battery weight in the floor, the center of gravity is usually very low.

Of course there are probably three times as many sporting small, 2 to 4-seat internal combustion vehicles for every electric, but you just can't get that kind of torque for the money.

So when I see a Miev or a Fiat 500e, I think that the drivers of those vehicles are having just as much fun as I am in the Smart ED.  The only these small EVs lack is the "kickdown", that is to say, the extra boost that all Smart EDs have as an added bonus. But that is for another post.

For more information on each of these cars, check out www.PlugInCars.com

Fiat 500e
Mitsubishi Miev
Chevy Spark EV
VW Golf EV

Regen Addiction

I have an addiction.  It's not a physical addiction, it's a mental desire to recoup the energy wasted from braking.  I am addicted to regenerative braking in electric vehicles.

Over the years I've had a few vehicles.  From a tiny Subaru GL, to a Volvo 240, to a Scion XB.  I then changed from the small car to the monster truck and traded the xB for a Chevy Tahoe and began my truck phase.  But unlike all those internal combustion engine vehicles, none of them changed my thoughts about the power source, because electric cars were just the hobby of eccentric people.

It might be reasonable to think that electric vehicle owners are on the fringe and that driving under the power of electricity doesn't actually change a person.  For an efficiency-conscious person, like myself, merely driving electric isn't the only beneficial feature.  It's the regenerative braking that I want.

I still own an internal combustion engined vehicle, and every now and again I need to drive it.  That vehicle is a Chevy Avalanche and when I bought it, I loved it for its utility.  I still love the utility of it, but now the lack of regenerative braking causes me a twinge of mental anguish.  For now there are no consumer pickup trucks that are pure electric vehicles, but there are some hybrids.

A company called Via Motors takes Chevy trucks and converts them to series-hybrid vehicles.  They buy the trucks with a V6 engine, which they bolt directly to an electric generator.  They add batteries and another motor to drive the wheels. All these additions does add about 1500 lbs of weight to the truck, but despite that, the new drive train improves the efficiency by a factor of 5. Typically these trucks get 15 MPG, with the change it improves to roughly 100 MPG.

I would gladly purchase a Via Motors VTrux in a heartbeat if I had a spare $75k.  As of this posting, the public cannot access these vehicles, but Via Motors has announced that some time in 2014 they will be making them available to non-commercial customers.

The only other alternative to my dilemma is to consider either the Chevy Volt or BMW i3.  The i3 offers an optional electric generator that will produce an additional 100 miles of range when the battery has run out of juice.  Whereas the Volt has a permanent engine that acts as a generator 95% of the time, and only on rare occasion will power the wheels in parallel with the electric motor.

The idea of regenerative braking, super energy-efficiency, and alternative power sources, isn't actually all that new, but thank goodness we're moving toward it finally.  I look forward to the day when regenerative braking is the norm.

A Micro Machine

There's an adage that goes "It's not the size of a thing that's important, but how you use it". Often that adage is in reference to things that are small and somewhat personal.  The Smart ForTwo is the smallest production car on American roads and personally, I love it.

I've been asked many times since I bought my Smart Fortwo ED, if I would have purchased the Tesla S, had I the money?  And I've always replied in the negative, even in the face of scoffing, pseudo-offended parties. I'd take the drive-train and batteries of a Tesla any day, but it's the size of the Fortwo that is important to me.

A good example of why I love this tiny car, this micro machine was today at the Sunnyvale Art and Wine Festival, near my home.  My wife had requested a tamale from one of the food vendors at the festival.  As anyone who as visited a street fair is probably aware, parking nearby is somewhat limited.  I know that my Smart car is small, but it's not always apparent just how small it is, until I need parking where there is none.

I drove around on the streets that were open near the festival.  There was plenty of "bad" parking, such that fire-hydrants were blocked and bumpers overhanging driveways.  Many vehicles where not parked too close to the next, but squeezing the car in, is a hassle.   It is possible to park perpendicular to the curb in a Smart, but it's not legal.  If the vehicle were only 8-foot long rather than 8-foot, 10-inches, it might be more realistic.  But the rule is that one front-wheel and one rear-wheel need to be near the curb,

I managed to find a 9-foot space between the apron of a driveway and an old Cadillac. I will admit that I did box the Cadillac in, but I was only going to be there for five minutes.

There is a certain air of satisfaction that one feels when driving a tiny car around in a area where parking is tight.  I can take spots in side-by-side parking, where the car to each side is sitting on the painted line.  I can take spots between parallel parked vehicles, that have left what they believe no car could fit into.  And when leaving a space that only a Smart Car could fit into, I need not worry about someone else stalking me.

I realize that the Smart Car is not for everyone, after all it only fits two people.  But for getting me and my stuff about, it works quite well and fits into more spaces that I would have considered in any other car. So, although I like the creature comforts of a Tesla S, I'd be just as happy to have the drive train, rather than the car.

Dependency

Oil Dependency

It occurred to me recently that I managed to remove one major dependency from my life.  I removed the necessity for gasoline.  It's never so noticeable while I was in the belly of the beast, but I've been out for six months and I'm becoming aware of the after effects.

The most direct item that caught my eye was a Win Free Gas for a Year contest offered by a popular snack food company. At first I thought, well, that might be nice, but the second thought reminded me that I don't use gasoline any more.  And then it hit me, this idea that I have removed myself from not just a monstrous fuel bill each month, but the necessity for all that goes along with the use of gasoline.

Like anything new in life, college, marriage, children, you never really know what it's like until you do it. The same goes for giving up gasoline.  It's a major change and although I was very excited about it, I did not actually understand how it would change my life.

A friend commented the other day to me that she almost missed visiting gas stations because she would forget to clean the windshield and put air in the tires.  Most people visit a gas station on a frequent basis, whether weekly, or biweekly.  These features are taken for granted because we've all grown accustomed to the necessity of visiting the station.  In fact when a station does not have these amenities, it may upset us.

You might hear from the electric car evangelist that you know, that driving electric is amazing.  You might hear of how that person laughs as he or she drives passed each gas station.  Or how they feel liberated from the need to perform oil changes every X thousand miles.  But what you don't hear, unless you're privy to their club chatter, is the more subtle changes in their lifestyles.

Efficient Thinking

For now, electric cars have a limited range by comparison to gasoline-powered vehicles. That means EV drivers spend more time considering where to get the next charge.  But the accidental benefit to this is that EV owners are much more conscious of efficiency.  They don't tend to joy ride.  They plan their routes very precisely. They become familiar with all the best charging places, whether those places are likely to be busy and at what time of day.  In short, electric vehicle owners aren't just driving more efficient vehicle, they are changing themselves to be more efficient people (at least when it comes to motorized transport).

The other change is the concern for the costs of maintaining a vehicle.  The naive person looks only at the price when considering a motor vehicle. But like most things that endure, there are upkeep costs.  The upkeep costs for gasoline-powered vehicles tends to run about 70-80%  of the price of the vehicle over the first 5 years.  Whereas the upkeep for an EV is about 16-20% of the price.  This change is perspective on cost is only realized when the EV driver sees, as I did, after six months the immense cost savings.  It was truly shocking to me (no pun intended). I was paying myself to drive an electric car.

I did not think that driving electric would be such a stark life changer.  It's not like I became a parent, or lost a limb.  But my whole paradigm regarding modern living has shifted slightly, and definitely for the better. I just see things differently, in a manner that I believe people saw when the first motorized vehicles became available over 100 years ago.

Commuter Cars Tango Vs Smart ForTwo ED

If you caught the first episode of the HBO show called "Silicon Valley", then you've seen the Tango.  It's the very narrow electric car that eccentric billionaire Peter Gregory drives in the show. And yes, George Clooney has one.  But how does it compare to the Smart ED?

On similarities, the Tango and the Smart ED are both electric.  They're both exceptionally small vehicles that seat two people and they get about 80 miles of range on the standard battery pack.  One of the comments that both cars get regularly is that they look like they'd fall over in a tight turn. But with all the battery weight in the floor, they both corner quite well.

The differences between the cars are distinct. The Tango uses two DC motors to the Smart's one AC motor.  The reason for the Tango to use these is the raw power, DC can push a vehicle quite a bit faster than AC  Although the Smart has been clocked at around 7 seconds for 0-60 MPH, the Tango is more like a motorbike with its 3.2 second time.

There's no denying the size differences, since the Tango weighs about 50% more than the smart despite being about 2/3rd of its width.  Also, the Tango is 4-inches shorter in length. At 3200 lbs, where does all the weight come from?  The battery pack is about 1200 lbs alone, and much of the frame of the Tango is reinforced with steel bars to guarantee that you will survive in a crash.

The most notable difference between the two vehicles are not the dimensions, but rather the price.  The Tango is quite a bit smaller and does not accommodate two people in the traditional side-by-side seating style.  Oddly enough, the Tango costs nearly seven times more ($160k) than a Smart ED.  But hey, it's still cheaper than a half-million dollar Porsche Carrera GT.

Frankly, the Tango was not built to be direct competition for the Smart.  Mercedes Benz created the Smart ForTwo over 15 years ago as an inexpensive city car for Europe.  It was not sold in the United States until 2008 and then only as an internal combustion model.  The Smart started out at a mere $12,000 and could be leased for $99 per month.  It's remains the smallest and least expensive car in the U.S. market.

The Tango is a limited production model that will never be powered by internal combustion. It is slim so that two Tangos can be driven in the same lane.  It's basically a motorbike with four wheels... a very expensive motorbike.  Okay, okay,... it's more of an electric toy for wealthy people.  But it is at least comparable in size and drive train to the Smart ForTwo ED.   As it is the Smart ForTwo ED gets a lot of attention, I don't think that I'd get that much more from owning a Tango.

If you're interested in either of these cars, check out the websites

National Smart ForTwo ED
San Jose Smart Center
Commuter Cars

Dual Carbon Batteries, what next?

The announcement of the Dual Carbon battery got me thinking about power storage in electric cars.  There are two lines of thinking in this area, (1) faster charging (2) greater range.  At the moment most people are concerned about the range, but charging or refueling is also a concern.

The dual carbon battery promises much and, at least supposedly, can deliver.  It should be noted here that the dual carbon battery is not all new.  Many battery chemistry types have been, in theory, possible for decades, but there was not much time spend on research.  A company called Power Japan Plus is the one to announce a functional dual carbon battery last week, that is making headlines.

Current battery technologies like Nickel-Metal Hydride (NiMH) and Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePHO4) have provided a solid example of what is possible with battery technology.  But there is always room for improvement.

Gasoline has ruled the automobile industry for 100 years because of it's energy capacity.  Although gasoline requires that it be burned to harness the energy, that has not slowed its use. We could have been using nuclear power to the same end, creating massive quantities of radioactive waste rather than pouring carbon monoxide into the atmosphere, but gasoline was available first.

We don't use nuclear energy as much because of its toxic waste products.  Even batteries have some toxic materials in them, until now.  However, the dual carbon battery is made of 90% recyclable materials and offers many other features that are not found in Lithium Ion batteries.   By comparison the LiFe battery does the following better than any of its predecessors...

• It doesn't get hot or explode when in operation (lithium is volatile)
• It's made of carbon, which is quite plentiful (compared to lithium which is not)
• It charges much faster than lithium, about 20x faster
• It can be recharged more times that any other battery chemistry

So Dual Carbon solves problem number one, and by chance resolves a few other issues.  It might just be the solution that arrives sooner than lithium air and in the long-run is cleaner. 

But the revelation of Lithium Air and now Dual Carbon, leads me to wonder, what's next?  Is there some super material out there that we've yet to find that will be more energy dense than gasoline, clean, fast to recharge, and recyclable?  Based on these two recent technologies, it's my guess that there is something better.

How Far Does Your Car Go?

As it stands, the Smart ForTwo Electric Drive has an EPA estimated range of 68 miles. The average U.S. driver covers about 30 miles per day.  It would seem that the electric Smart more covers this by more than double.  But in the near future, your car could go a great deal further.

It's been said that "your mileage may vary".  The EPA estimates that the Smart ForTwo ED gets between 92 and 122 miles per gallon equivalent to gasoline (MPGe).  Unlike internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, for EVs the low number is on the freeway, and the high number is on the street.  But the average still comes out to about 108 MPGe.  The EPA also sets a range for ICE vehicles, which on average tends to hover around 25 MPG.

How far does your car go on a full tank or battery? Does it go 250, 300, 500, 1000 miles?  The average range on a tank of gasoline tends to be between 250 and 300 miles.  Whereas the average for an EV tends to be around 100 miles. For an ICE vehicle, the range depends how many gallons of full can be carried.  The same goes for electric vehicles, but for kWh of charge.   But what if the capacity of the battery could be drastically increased, in the same space?

Currently gasoline has a strong advantage over even the battery that can hold the most charge.  In terms of charge density (Wh / kg) gasoline holds 13,000 Wh / kg.  The technology in electric cars today has a charge density of 250 Wh / kg, a ratio difference of roughly 50 to 1.  Even with the 4 to 1 ratio of better performance over ICE, EVs still can't compete.

However, there's a new technology that's being worked on in chemical labs around the world.  IBM is one company that has taken a strong interest in the idea of greatly improved battery capacity.  The new technology is called Lithium Air and promises to increase the energy density of batteries to 11,700 Wh / kg.

As noted above the Smart ForTwo ED has a range of 68 miles.  With the new Lithium Air battery, and without changing the size of the battery, the range could be increased to as much as 3,182 miles.  I currently drive about 10,000 miles per year.  At this rate I might recharge every 4 months.  The battery in the Smart ED is now 17.6 kWh, with Li-Air it would 813.1 kWh (that's 0.8 Megawatt-hours).  At current electricity prices where I live that's only $80-worth of electricity.

Check out this video that IBM created to better explain the idea of Lithium Air

Six Months and 5000 Miles

I'm quite sure that there are some of you out there in the audience who are scoffing at my low mileage.  I've only driven 5000 miles in six months.  That's only about 833 miles per month or roughly 27 miles per day. I haven't taken too many long trips in the last six months, deliberately. And even so, I can't very easily take the Smart out of town too far.

Correction:  I can take the Smart ED anywhere I please, but since the recharge time is quite slow (5 hours from empty). So it's impractical to go further without a great deal of time to compensate.

The most impressive aspect (and I doubt that it will stop being so until there are many more EVs on the road) is that in these last 6 months and 5000 miles I've only spent $147 on fuel. I get on average 3.4 miles / kWh. That's enough money to fill the tank in my truck once by current gas prices ($4.5 / gallon).  The truck gets about 14 MPG and was costing me about $0.294 / mile.. The car cost me exactly 1/10th as much to fuel.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the cost to drive the Smart ForTwo ED 25 miles is $0.96.  Estimating that the average citizen of the United States drivers 15,000 miles annually, that equates to about $575.  I've driven 5000 miles which in six months which is a third of that total and spend only $147.  So if I drive the average number in a year, I will only have spent $440.

By contrast, had I been driving my truck (and I had for the prior 18 months), I would have spent ten times as much.  And by my own calculation while tracking costs and miles driven, I did tend to spend between $3300 and $3800 per year on fuel alone.  Over the course of several years that costs of driving the same distances back and forth, to and from the office, I could have purchased another vehicle and actually saved myself money.  Which brings be back to the Smart ForTwo ED.

I'm quite grateful to have the electric car with all its apparent shortcomings.  I get about the city to and from work, to and from church, to and from everywhere locally, quickly, quietly, and in all honesty quite happily.

So if you live in the South San Francisco Bay Area and want to find out more about electric cars, the Smart ForTwo ED, or any electric car, please contact me at wes@eaasv.org

National Electric Drag Racing Association

Drag racing is certainly not typically what people tend to think when they hear the words "electric car".  But the truth is that the National Electric Drag Racing Association (NEDRA) is nothing new.  The association has been around for nearly 20 years, but electric car racing has been around since the advent of the electric car.  There is however one unique thing about electric car drag racing that you might not know, they kickgas.

Truth be told, my electric Smart is not built for drag racing.  It does 0-60 MPH in about 13 seconds.  But the first 0-45 is definitely quick.  However, the 1972 Datsun in the picture above, can reach that speed in under 2 seconds.  Thanks to Mr. John Wayland of Portland, Oregon, we can glimpse the world of electric drag racing via his website http://www.plasmaboyracing.com

Drag Racing

Whether you've been to a drag racing event or if you've just seen it on TV, you're probably expecting some incredible noise.  For the last 100 years, drag racing has been associated with very large, powerful, and loud engines.  Many people directly associate the "loud" with "power".  But what if that were just a misunderstanding?

In general we know that internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles do not perform well and variable speed.  That's why the EPA gives cars a rating for city and highway driving.  Shifting gears in a transmission is necessary to get the engine into the power band (that's the point where the engine is working best).  Electric motors do no suffer from the troubles that internal combustion engines do and to boot, they have exceptional torque at all velocities.

In drag racing, torque is more important than the top speed of the vehicle.  If you have a great deal of torque, that is; turning force from a stationary position, you will do better in a drag racing.   At the start of a drag race involving two ICE vehicles, you will often hear the driver revving the motor up into the power band so that when the light turns green, he can get the best performance from the engine.

Electric cars do not have to shift gears and they have the best torque without revving the motor, so they pretty much win every time.

Under the Hood

John Wayland spoke with David Pogue on a multi-part series for PBS NOVA, called "Making Stuff".   The particular episode where the two men conversed was about "Making Stuff: Faster".  John pitted his electric car against, the muscle car that David was driving in an actual drag race.  The muscle car was a 1972 Buick Skylark with a 5.7L V8, versus White Zombie, John's vehicle of choice.  The times were 11.8 for John and 16.2 for David.

You might say that the Buick Skylark is nothing compared to a heavily modified modern drag race vehicle, but the White Zombie's electric motor drive train generates 538 hp and 1250 ft-lbs of torque.  Yeah, over 1000 ft-lbs of torque.  With the exception of the Bugatti Veyron, there's not much else out there with comparable torque.

Silent but Devastating

It's inevitable, once the new generation of gear heads gets wind of this, the move will be to the faster electric vehicle.  As of yet, and with over a century of work poured in, internal combustion it still reliant on shifting a transmission.  But that noise that is so familiar, is really just energy lost.  A truly efficient engine wouldn't make so much noise because it would be busy making power.

The future is now, and the sooner it's realized that electric motors are just that much more powerful than internal combustion, the sooner we can move on to faster and quieter.

As a consolation to the loss of the noise, you could consider that the cops won't pick up on your street race as easily.  They won't hear it.  But then it could be just as bad because anyone who's in the road wouldn't hear you coming and might be a casualty.  Not that I condone street racing.

Conclusion

Now that electric cars are coming out the shadows, we will probably see more participation in the National Electric Drag Racing Association (NEDRA).  And who knows, in the distant future, maybe our great grandchildren won't take a second look at tinkering with an old gasoline dinosaur, except in a museum.

Check out some videos of the White Zombie smoking some ICE

Lease or Buy

It never struck me as an issue that I would ever consider leasing a vehicle. On the stark advice from my father, I was never to lease a vehicle.  And so far I've not leased a vehicle.  But why should you lease or not?  There has to be at least one or two good reasons to lease, else no one would ever do it.  Or maybe people are just not well informed.  After all the odds of winning the state lottery are pretty steep and that hasn't stopped millions from playing.

Buy

I've purchased two cars new since I've been in able to purchase a car.  The first was a Scion xB 2004, the second was my Smart ED.  In between I've purchased several different used vehicles.  It never occurred to me to lease.

When buying a car, it's all yours (outside of the loan).  You can do with the vehicle as you will.  It's not a strong investment like a house, but all the money you put towards it, brings you closer to having a valuable item.  You have the option modify the vehicle, drive long distances, or not.  It's up to you (and your loan company) as to what you can do to the vehicle.

There are plenty of good reasons and arguments for buying a vehicle versus leasing.  But in at least one count, leasing might have an advantage.

Lease

I've read a great deal on leasing, but as I have never actually gone through with a vehicle lease I can't truly speak to the merits. I can however make the point that is continued from above.  You may want to consider leasing a vehicle in the case of an electric car.

The reason to lease an electric car is different from the reasons that you might lease another non-electric-only vehicle. Electric cars are "relatively" new to the market, and the technology in them is changing rapidly.  There's no absolute about whether the tech will improve definitively in the next 2 years or 10 years.  There's just not a whole lot of historical data publicly available to lean on.

When leasing a Smart ForTwo ED, you can expect to pay no more than $150 / month after $2k down.  That's roughly $7500 over 36 months for 30,000 miles.

So which do you choose if you're quite interested still, but not sure which is the better deal?

Why not have both?

Smart has made this decision easier for you.  So far Mercedes-Benz is the only company to offer a lease on the battery in an electric car.  They're also the only one's to offer a cabrio model.  But if you want to own the vehicle for the advantages of owning, but you're not sure about the battery tech and timing, you can lease the battery.

The technology in electric cars is changing quickly, and none so apparently as the cost and capacity of the batteries.  So to avoid the trouble associated with the potential for a poor decision, you can have both.  Additionally, since it's in both your interest and that of Smart for you to lease the battery, most dealers have been instructed to let you know that the battery lease on the Smart ED knocks $5000 off the purchase price.  That means that the base model is only $20k, and the cabrio is only $23k.  And if you finance externally, you can get up to $2k more off.

It stands to reason that in a few years when battery technology improves, with a Smart ED you could get a new more capacitous battery and pay nothing extra.

Conclusion

There's something that no car dealer will tell  you, even possibly those that sell electric cars.  The cost of an EV over the first 5 years is about 50% less to maintain than an gasoline car. But then you'd know that if you read last week's post.

For those who are skeptical yet still of the electric car, I'd recommend going with a lease.  But if you're like me and are quite sure that EVs will be around in 10 years.  I'd say get the leased battery only, and wait for the upgrades.

If you've fortunate like me, you also probably live in Silicon Valley and have access to the same dealership where I got my Smart ED.  I recommend Beshoff Motorcars and the Smart Center of San Jose.  They're quite laid-back and friendly.  Ask for Eric Johnson or Harry O'Leary

Nearly Zero Maintenance

It's definitely not always the first question that I get, but once the conversation gets more serious, the EV-curious will always ask about maintenance.  To which I will have to consistently repeat myself, that there is nearly zero maintenance. The most amicable manner of looking at the Smart ED, is that if you lease it for three years, there will be no maintenance.

Parts

Most people balk at this statement, and then they press me for more information. They say things like, what about the tires or the brakes?  If you were fortunate to get long-lasting tires, then you will likely see 50,000 miles before you need to replace them.  Brakes on an ICE are a bit different than an EV.  Unless you're the type to brake long before you need to stop, you're probably burning the brakes at a normal rate.  EVs use regenerative braking and so their brakes tend to last quite a bit longer.  I've managed to get to 1 mph crawl, without touching my brakes and without seriously annoying the vehicles behind me.

There is no oil to change, there is no transmission fluid, there is no radiator fluid, there are no belts, no alternator, no starter motor, no exhaust manifold, no filters, no fuel pump, oil pump, or water pump.  There is a motor, a controller, and batteries.  The simplicity is superb and ideal for a society keen on making things easier for themselves.

Costs

If you have experience with owning cars, you're probably well aware that it's far more then the sticker price, whether used or new. Edmunds.com has a system call the True Cost to Own that identifies the cost of a vehicle over the initial 5 years of its life.  Typically for an ICE vehicle the cost of ownership is roughly twice the price in that time. Electric vehicles are still pretty expensive to purchase, even after the rebates and tax incentives, and bring the initial cost up.  But if an EV were priced similar to an ICE vehicle of similar size, the True Cost to Own is much less.

Just imagine that when you buy your next vehicle, that the additional costs of maintenance and fuel is almost negligible, compared to the price of the vehicle.  Based on information gained directly from Edmunds.com here's the cost differences.

Price of Toyota Rav4 2014:      $26k,
TCO over 5 years:                    $44k
Percent of price in Maintenance: 70%  ~~ $18k

Price of Nissan Leaf 2014:         $31k,
TCO over 5 years:                     $36k
Percent of price in Maintenance: 20%  ~~ $6k
(info based on ave of 15k miles / year)

Edmunds doesn't have a comparison for the Smart ED, but based on the numbers above here's what it might be.

Price of Smart ForTwo ICE 2014: $14k
TCO over 5 years:                          $24k
Percent of price in Maintenance: 70% ~~ $10k

Price of Smart ForTwo ED 2014: $20k
TCO over 5 years:                          $24k
Percent of price in Maintenance: 20% ~~ $4k

Look at that, the price is the same.  Makes you wonder which car you might get, eh?  Granted after all the incentives available for the Smart ForTwo ED, the price comes down a great deal.  It could be as little as $11k and the the total would only be $15k.

Conclusion

The incentives for electric cars may not always be around, but the cost the own them will only get better.  It's not that hard to imagine that once the range and refueling times have changed for the better, that it will be a no-brainer to decide on an electric car.  Until then, I'll still be driving electric.

Every Day is a 'Spare the Air' day in an Electric Car

When you hang around a bunch of electric car enthusiasts, you get a great deal of feedback from like-minded people.  Yesterday, I joined my fellow enthusiasts for the first of many Earth Day events in the month of April.  The members of the Electric Auto Association of Silicon Valley have attended most of these Earth Day events for many years. It was a great day to show the public the advantages of driving electric.

It was only in 2008 when I joined the Electric Auto Association, but the club had been official for 41 years at that time.  Back in 1967 the symposium of people who were meeting for the sake of electric vehicles decided to form what today is a club of over 2000 members through the United States.  And although it has held on this long, it was no easy ride.

At the turn of the last century (early 1900's) one-third of all horseless carriages were electric. But the advent of the internal combustion engine would soon curb the progress of the electric car. It was primarily a range problem and, in the nearly 100 years to following the range of electric vehicles did not improve.

Air Quality

Today however, the message of the electric car is finally making headway.  One of the slogans of the EAA is

"Every Day is a 'Spare the Air' day in an Electric Car

It was very apparent in the 1950's and 1960's that automobile pollution was causing problems.  My dad told me of the Smog Days that he experience growing up in Southern California at that time.  He lived in the Foothills North West of Los Angeles where there were days when the mountains were hidden by the pollution.  There were predictions that any child born between 1968 and 1980 would have life-long respiratory problems due to the smog.

Even today we are still concerned with the quality of the air, as rightly so.  It's not just a nice feeling to know that you're driving a vehicle that produces no emissions, it's a direct correlation. No emissions, breathe easier.

Notable Concerns

Of course there are still arguments about how the energy is produced that will run the electric car.  And there are concerns about usage and power balance in the grid.  It is important to know where your power comes from and what it is used for most often.

Where electric cars use electricity directly, in California at least, more than 50% of electrical power is produced from renewable sources and natural gas.  It takes electricity to extract, refine, ship, and pump gasoline.  And there is, at least for now, no way to convert sunlight into gasoline.

Granted, the manufacture of batteries is quite complex and still very expensive, but no less environmentally costly that all the fluids and needed to produce the current internal combustion engine and peripherals.

Conclusion

Assuming (broadly) that the production and recycling costs, be it environmental or monetary, of each type of car is effectively equivalent, the one trouble that we still face is at the tailpipe.  We're still making progress in education and the more people we can help to learn about electric cars, the better decisions can be made for the future.  It's up to you to decide how to get from point A to point B. Will it be clean and quiet or loud and dirty?

Five Months and 4000 Miles

Five Months and 4000 Miles

Okay, okay, so I didn't meet my original goal of 1000 miles per month.  Admittedly, I thought that I would be initially driving a demo car for Beshoff Motorcars, the local Mercedes-Benz / Smart Center.  As it turns out, I'm not as good at selling cars as I thought I was and the Manager of the Dealership read me like an open book.   But I have yet to stop writing about his little car and I expect to continue indefinitely.

What have I learned in five months?

For the first three months I definitely spent a great deal of time tracking at the ECO bar at the bottom of the status screen in the dash.  I've since come to realize that this is not for me.  My own natural style of driving is quite economical and that watching the bar actually caused my performance to decrease.

 During the seven years prior to owning a micro-car, I owned large trucks.  For the most part my personal driving habits have me slowing down early and accelerating slowly.  While constantly eyeing the ECO bar my performance stuck to about 3.4 mi / kWh (115 MPGe), but without my performance jumped to 3.75 mi / kWh (126 MPGe).  

I've also learned that I can go further than I had previously thought possible in a day.  Now that I have my EVSE installed, I don't worry so much about not having enough time to recharge if i burn the whole battery.  Recharging does still take a lot longer than most EVs, but I've come to accept that 12 miles I can get in an hour. The fact that I don't often travel more than 50 miles in a day, is quite practical and a peacemaker for my sanity. 

I still haven't gotten used to the incredible acceleration from stopped.  I find myself seeking the front of the line at a traffic signal, because I know that the 50 horses will be at the ready instantly.  I don't race people, but I have kept pace with some to see how much current I use and if I'm actually pushing it (usually not).   

I'm still not sure if people stare at the car in bewilderment or awe.  I get a great deal of strange looks, but usually once they see that it's electric, their eyes widen.  I've gotten a great deal of "that's a cool little car", and "wow, I love your car".  I think the size does still appear to many in the younger crowd.

Niche Market

I've come to accept that the Smart ED and Smart ForTwo Gas / Diesel is a niche.  It's not for everyone.  It's not even an elite club, either.  When a person buys a sports car, they have a purpose for it whether it be looks or speed (or both).  They have to acknowledge that it's low on seating and storage.  But with few exceptions, they probably don't think about how compact it is.  

The Smart ED is best suited for one person, with very little cargo, and a city range.   My wife and I don't have children or pets (that go in the car).  We are both working professionals who work in locations that are not convenient for carpooling.  The Smart ED can hold a full grocery cart-worth of items.  It can tote up to a 37" boxed LCD TV.  I've had multiple desktop computers and even a large enterprise-sized printer (in-box) in the car.  

I cannot however see a family of five purchasing this car for anything other than the oldest child. And even then, that child had better have only one good friend.  I doubt that two parents with a newborn would find this vehicle attractive.  But I can see retirees using it as a Towed or a daily golf-mobile. 

Conclusion

I sincerely appreciate the use I have garnered from the purchase of the Smart ED and still would not trade it for a Tesla S P85 (maybe the battery pack and on-board charger).  I like the form-factor of the Smart ED and the looks I get when people see a 2m-tall man climb from behind the steering-wheel.   I just hope that the battery pack does double before the end of the first 5 years of its lease.  

Upcoming Upgrades

One of the hardest things for people to grasp when it comes to considering an electric car is the range.  Most electric cars just don't have much range on a full charge. You can buy a Tesla S P85 and get 300+ miles before you need to recharge, but you'll need at least $60k to get started or $1k per month in spare change for the lease.  So if you don't have that kind of money to use for an EV that is comparable in range to a gas-powered, what can you get?

Many EVs in a more common price range of $25k-$35k average about 70-100 miles to the charge.  But unlike a most cars, which need to be refueled at a service station, electric cars can be refueled just about anywhere, and for next to nothing.  Alas, there is yet another advantage in electric cars, that gas cars do not have (at least not readily).  Electric cars can get battery upgrades.

The Smart ForTwo Electric Drive is currently the only vehicle available on the U.S. market with a battery lease plan.  That is to say that you can lease the car and battery, or just the battery.  But why would you want to do that?  Leasing the battery, like most leases, means that if anything goes awry, you don't own it. If for example the battery fails before its time, you can get a replacement for nothing extra.  However, the better option is the possibility that you get an upgrade to the battery within the span of the initial lease.

Let's say that within the first 5 years that you own a Smart ED, battery technology improves to the point where it is possible to get double the capacity for the same price.  The Smart ED currently has a range of 68 miles per full charge, that would mean it would have a range of 176 miles per full charge.  And what if the tech advanced to four times, I think you get the picture.

But for those who out-right own the car and battery, an upgrade might be a bit costly.  Of course, it's expected that if the capacity of a battery goes up, the price is likely to come down.  So maybe it won't be so bad.

The big difference between the electric car and the gas car in this case is that gasoline itself, is not getting more efficient.  If you want to do the same thing for a gas car, that you will be able to do for an electric, you'll have to change out the engine too.  And that is not likely to be comparable to the cost of a battery upgrade alone.

I expect that in next ten years when gas cars are required to have at least an efficiency of 50 mpg, that electrics have (with their already 100+ mpge) have at least 300 miles of range.

Smart Cargo

I'd love to have the cargo space inside my Smart ForTwo Electric Drive be equivalent to that of the TARDIS from the British television show Doctor Who.  But for now, transdimensional volumes are no part of vehicle storage spaces. Nevertheless, it is still possible to fit some large objects in the back of the Smart ED.

Car-parison

When I was first seeking a small commuter car, I tried the Scion iQ.  The storage space behind the rear seats is small (3.5 cubic feet), even by comparison to the Smart car (7.8 cubic feet). But the iQ can turn down those back seats and open up a great deal more room (16.7 cubic feet).  However, the iQ is a longer vehicle and, at least for the electric version, has a short range.

What Fits?

It's a bit tricky on occasion, attempting to fit certain items into the back of the Smart car, but with some manipulation I've managed and entire cart of groceries.  As you can see by the above image, a 32" LED television fit nicely, still in the box.  I hedge that I might have been able to fit a 37" LED television, if that had been the purchase.  The one option that came with the car was a pull-out cover for the back.  It can be used to hide whatever is in the back or as a shelf for more stuff.

A Four-wheeled motorbike

A colleague from work noted that the storage space of the Smart was akin to the storage available on a motorbike.  And that the vehicle itself is akin to a motorbike in that it is small and ideal for one person and few extra items. It's size is excellent for parking and maneuvering, and it's not too much trouble to carry along something extra. The key thing he noted however, as a contrast is that the car is much better for driver safety and as a protection against the elements.

Good things, Small Packages

No doubt, many people find the Smart car's small size and tiny storage, unreasonable when coming from a full size sedan or an SUV.  But if you own or have used either a sports car or a sub-compact, you're probably familiar with small storage spaces.

I appreciate the convenient storage of the Smart car, it feels like that familiar Jansport backpack that I used all through highschool and college. There's not a great deal of room, but it's just about all that I need.  It's amazing how much stuff you can cram into your school bag, and the same seems to go for the Smart.  The Smart, by my estimation is car designed for transporting one person.  Sure it can hold two, but it seems best for one.

What do you think about the cargo capacity of the Smart ForTwo ED?

Overcoming Stereotypes

It wasn't until seven years ago that I actually owned anything larger than a wagon. And then for those seven years, I drove only trucks. I used to think that all economy cars were just one step up from riding a bus, because that's exactly what they did for me.

My first car ever, I got in High School and it was a 1983 Subaru GL.  My brother and I said that the GL stood for "glorified lawnmower", because the vehicle was so under-powered. The car did not help quell the stereotypes that small cars can be slow to accelerate, have poor handling, and barely keep up on the freeway. But as with most stereotypes, they're borne out of some semblance of consistent observation.

When you see a small car or after having seen many small cars, and observed each one's performance, it's reasonable to form an opinion about them.  However, as the old adage goes, you should not judge a book by its cover.

Weight Issues

The Smart ED is exceptionally light for an electric vehicle.  It weighs in at a mere 2160 lbs, barely over a ton. Although it is sporting a motor with a maximum power rating of 74 hp, it's no slouch. The primary advantage that all electric vehicles have over every internal combustion engine (ICE) is instantaneous torque.

Get-up And Go

At a standstill, the Smart ED has 100% torque.  While it's certainly possible to spin-up an ICE and get it into gear in the power band at a standstill, several gear shifts will be necessary at increasingly higher speeds.  Most electric car motors do not have a forward gearbox and thus there is no shifting to do.

Agility

And what about maneuverability or speed?  Okay, so I cannot say that the Smart ED has great handling at speed or that you're going to win in the Grand Prix (much less compete), but that's not what it's to be used for. If you need torque to help you pass at speed, it's got plenty, but for the short-term, the Smart ED is a great City Car.

Size Issues

The Smart ED is best used for getting around town or commuting, that is what small cars do well. The best advantage that any Smart car has is to be found in its diminutive size. Outside the use of a motorbike, there's not much of anything that compares well to the ability to "park anywhere", like the Smart car.  The combination of good torque, great mileage in stop-and-go traffic, and pocket-sizing, the Smart the top choice.

In The Mirror

Despite all the good that the Smart ED has going for it in the city, it's still considered by many to be one of the least attractive vehicles.  Mercedes has made some concessions to attempt to bolster the appeal of the smallest production car in the U.S, but including vehicle-wrap options.  When you order, one of the fun things you can do before the end of the form is pick out your colors.  The vehicle wrap will only change the exterior panels, but can be as colorful as your minds-eye can behold.  There are certainly some amazing ideas just on www.SmartUSA.com  

Conclusion

If I haven't already said so in past posts, I bought the Smart ED for its small size and the fact that it is electric.  I still own a Chevrolet Avalanche, which is great for hauling and travelling long distances.  But I now do 90% of my driving in the Smart ED, and am quite happy with it.

Proper Climate

Oh, wouldn't be nice if we could all live in a place where the sun shone daily and it was temperate every day?  Unfortunately, most of the United States is not too close to the tropics where the weather is always nice, but at least a few cities and states have temperate weather.  Alas, why does this matter other than to make us comfortable?  Well, electric car batteries appreciate this climate too.

I live South of San Francisco in the heart of Silicon Valley and although it is quite possible for the temperature to get below freezing and above 100 F, it rarely happens.  We do not see snow or sleet, except once every 30 years and the summers rarely see temperatures above 90.  So it would seem that Silicon Valley would be an ideal place to own an electric car.

A Problem Arises

What is the actual effect that temperature has on batteries?  If you didn't catch the news back in the summer of 2012, shortly after the Nissan Leaf debuted, then allow me to enlighten you.  Many people in Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona who purchased the earlier models of the Nissan Leaf had a great deal of trouble with the Leaf.  In the extreme heat of the Arizona desert, the batteries were overheating and failing this reduce the range of the vehicles.

The Physics

The action of drawing electrons from a chemical battery, such as Lithium Ion, creates heat.  Although the amount of heat may not be excessive, if that heat is not dissipated, then it will tend to compound until something gets too hot and fails.  The battery casing is only designed to take a limited amount of heat, that is expected during normal operation,  If the casing fails, so does the structure and integrity of the battery.

A similar problem can be found in the reverse, or rather when the temperature is very cold.  Although some manufacturers have recognized that the cold is a serious problem and have gone out of their way to insulate the battery from the cold.  You may know how the battery feels, that when you are very cold, you have trouble getting work done.  Physically however, the more cold an object gets, the slower the electrons move within it, and thus the battery's performance decreases.

Current Technology

I won't argue with anyone that our current battery technology, although decent by comparison to prior technologies, needs some work.  It would be awesome if the efficiency of our current battery technology was priced and as functional as petroleum products.  Of course electric has it's disadvantages, but it also has advantages, and we will some day find the perfect material for transportation.

But for now, our current technology for power storage is keen to include devices that work best in temperate climates.  Yes, you can still drive in Northern Wisconsin and New York during a polar vortex.  Or in the Arizona desert during the blazing hot summer, just be that the electric vehicle you have, has protection for the battery.