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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

Paradigm Shift

I recently had the opportunity to meet with a local freelance writer because of his interest in my electric car.  He wanted to get a feel for the vehicle as a contrast to the only other electric vehicle he'd driven, the Tesla S.  I loaned the vehicle to him for a while and when he returned it, his comments about the car were of interest to me and lead me to some new thoughts.

These experiences led me to realize just how different the electric vehicle is from the internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle.  It's not merely the vehicle, but the infrastructure and habits of people who were raised with these ideals. I did not think that I would have a shift in my thinking about how to drive, but that anyone who changes to over to driving electric will need to make this change.

So to explain what I mean, I have created some bullet points below.  These points will make note of the current way of thinking and the new way of thinking with an electric vehicle.

(1) Fueling
     Traditional: Drive until empty, then refuel
      Electric: Refuel at every opportunity

     If you like exclusivity and convenient parking, buy an electric vehicle.  Many businesses are installing charging stations in spaces that are as convenient if not more so than handicapped parking.  And expect to do so wherever you go.  You should expect to be topped off at the start of every leg of your trip.

(2) Range
    Traditional: Unless driving out of town, you never think about the range
     Electric: Every time you drive, you consider the distance and whether there is a charging station at your destination

     Electric vehicle owners are much more conscious of the refueling points and distances that they travel.  However, people who are renting an electric vehicle for the first time, although they are aware of the difference in the drive of the vehicle, are not always aware of the range until they're down to 2 miles remaining.

(3) Speed
    Traditional: You ride the line of the speed limit on every road traveled.
     Electric: You are acutely aware of your speed on freeways, rarely on surface streets.

     It's somewhat common knowledge that ICEs perform well at constant speed. And so, gasoline and diesel cars tend to get better mileage on freeways.  Electric motors have no performance degradation when required to change speeds constantly, but at very high speeds use a great deal more energy.  It's also true that ICEs use a lot of energy at high speeds. And the difference in fuel reserve between electric and petroleum is apparent when this comparison is made.

(4) Cost
    Traditional: You are acutely aware of the cost of fueling and maintaining your vehicle
     Electric: You are proudly aware of the lack of the cost of fueling and maintaining you vehicle.

    And here is the final point, people buy EVs for the cost savings..  The cost of fueling and maintaining an electric car is almost nil by comparison to a traditional vehicle. The monetary costs involved in traditional vehicles have shifted to things that you can control in electric vehicles.   With gasoline and diesel you must pay the market price.  With electricity, you can pay the market price or install solar and set your own rate.

     Traditional vehicles require maintenance, this is still true for electric, but with about 1/10th of the involvement.  EV owners really only think about brakes and tires, and less often than owners of traditional vehicles, because of typically lower speeds and less braking (due to braking regeneration).

Conclusion

    The change of perspective that an EV owner will have is distinct.  It is obvious, but not usually until after driving the EV for some time.  It's not bad, it's just different.  Not everyone is ready for the change and they must come on their own terms and their own time.

   Meanwhile I'll be silently cruising down the road, nearly topped off, looking for my next exclusive parking space, that will refuel my car. ;-)

Elite Car Club

The Smart Car is a scarce car in the United States and the Electric Smart, even more so.  Granted it's utility is best found where parking is slim and distances short.  But those who have never owned or driven a Smart, are unaware of what they are missing.

It takes a certain sort of person to appreciate the utility of the Smart Car.  Although smaller vehicles are quite popular in Europe and Asia, people from the United States aren't so keen on such vehicles.  One of the first questions that I get when I am approached by people, is regarding the capacity.  They want to know how I, a near-2m tall person, fit inside such a small car.  Then they want to know how much space there is for storage of things in the back.  Then the usual about electrics, range, charge time, etc.

What most people seem to miss is that the Smart ForTwo ED has more power than just about any other car comparative to its size. Although as an electric it's not ideal for long journeys, it's perfect for all the short commutes around town that so many people do on a daily basis. But even more so, in-town travel is horrible for internal combustion engine vehicles, whereas an electric thrives.

There is a distinct comradery among the elite few who own a Smart Car, let alone the even more elite fewer who own the Electric Drive.  We are enthusiasts, aficionados of small, efficient vehicles.  Of course anyone can get into this market, the price of the gas ForTwo starts around $12k and the electric around $20k.  But how many people are ready for the fun, the awe, and the passion of driving the smallest production car in the U.S.?

The Smart Elite Car Club may very well stay that way for a long time to come, and in my opinion, that's just fine.  It takes a certain kind of person to appreciate the finer aspects of this group of vehicles and only those who are ready, will find a home in one. Until then, I'll be zooming about, finding all the best compact parking, electric vehicle ONLY spots, and driving one of the most efficient cars on the road (at $0.019 / mile).

The Greenest Car

This week saw the American Counsel for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) announce their findings for the "most Green" vehicles.  And do you want to know who came out on top?  Yes, the Smart ForTwo Electric Drive.  With a Green Score of 59 it bested even the Toyota Prius C (57), Prius (55),  and the Prius Plug-in hybrid (55).

But what does the ACEEE mean by "Greenest" vehicle?  What do they measure and is it all empirical?

The ACEEE takes many factors into consideration when attempting to determine a proper score for any vehicle.  In the past, the average vehicle score for the vehicles that are conducive to cleaner driving, often receive a score around 37.  Where as the "meaner" vehicles, like trucks, SUVs, and vans tends to be closer to 17 on average.  The total score is ranked out of a possible 100 points,

Although most of the Toyota Prius line is in the top 10 Greenest, and the Prius C was the champion last year, a score of 59 has not yet been awarded to any vehicle, until now. This year the rating system has some added changes that may have accounted for the fact that the ED made the top of the list.  Here's the list

• Updates to in-use emissions factors for methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) 
• Changes to the methodology for estimating fuel economy for 2b trucks 
• Updates to evaporative emission estimates 
• Rating vehicles with LEV III tailpipe emission standards 
• Updates to upstream emission factors for gasoline, diesel, and CNG 

The primary concern seems to be tailpipe emissions, but materials used in manufacturing the vehicle are also considered.  If you read the comments on the blogs that have reported on this announcement, you may have noticed the dire skepticism and regular arguments that continue to pop-up.  The ACEEE address these issues directly in each vehicle.

Although no vehicle has crested 60 out of a possible 100 on the ACEEE index, it's clearly important to note that whatever Smart is doing in the construction and endgame for the ED, it is good.  I will definitely toot the horn of my Smart ED in saying that it's not just environmentally safe, but also the most affordable battery electric vehicle available in the US.

Public Plug-In Electric Vehicle Charge Etiquette

Until electric car charging gets to be as fast as pumping gas, there will have to be some decent sharing going on.  Like the classic “nobody is watching” scenario, people act very differently when there’s no other person around to tell them that they should probably wait their turn at the charging station.    A person may desperately need to use the charging station, because they know that if they don’t start getting some charge now, they may not be able to get to their next appointment on time.

The change from the old standard, that we've all lived with for our entire lives, is that getting fuel has its costs..  Fueling a gas vehicle takes a few minutes and may cost a lot, but fueling an electric will take a while and won’t cost much.  This is the trade off.  If you don’t have a lot of time, it’s too late to complain that your electric car takes an hour to charge.  

Pure Battery Electric

Consider that people who drive pure battery electric vehicles cannot merely visit a gas station to refuel, where those with plug-in hybrid vehicles can. Although plug-in hybrid vehicle drivers would like to charge as much as the next electric vehicle driver, they have an alternative. Thereby, it would only seem fair to allow the pure battery electric vehicle driver to get a full charge.

Plug-in Lock

Some electric vehicles have a locking ability to maintain control over the plug until charging is complete, but not all do. In line with the ideal of the Charging Etiquette it would be considered appropriate to leave any plug connected until charging is complete. Fortunately, if the vehicle does not have an indicator for the charge, the station does. Once charging is complete, the station will terminate and disconnect the lock (if there is one).

Owners of Electric Vehicles should not be offended if the charging has been completed and another person takes the plug. However, as charging stations are, as yet, not ubiquitous, it is prudent to track one's vehicle status and move the vehicle once charging has completed.

Do unto others...

It's reasonable to think that the best situation is not the most common and that there will be occasions when you or another is in some form of peril. The justifications are innumerable, but it is how we handle them that it is important.

• If you are in need of charge and the plug is taken, it is reasonable to leave a note on the windshield of the current user.  
• You may want to leave your mobile number and kind remark for a future response time.
• If your vehicle has finished charging, please considerate of others and move your vehicle to another space.
• If you need a charge and you can see clearly that the other has finished, remove the plug with the same care that you would for your own vehicle.  
• Please try not to lay the cable across the other vehicle or wrap it tightly around any wheels or bumper.  
• If the cable will not reach, do not force or attempt to stretch it.
• Make no assumptions about the state of the other vehicle.
• You do not know the situation of the other EV owner, as to whether they have a back up generator or that you feel that they have "enough" charge.
• You do not have the right to unplug a hybrid plug-in, regardless.

Getting ICE'd

Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles are still by far the most prevalent vehicle on the road.  Although you may be aware of the latest trend in fuel efficiency and electric vehicles, not everyone is aware yet.  More than likely a person that parks an ICE vehicle in an EV space is not aware of the mistake and leaving a hurtful note will not bring them to justice.  

It is appropriate to leave a note to help in informing the population of the distinction.  It is not appropriate to verbally punish a person for that mistake. As the saying goes "a little kindness can go a long way."


A more concise list of these ideals can be found via PlugInCars.com

I Bought an Electric Smart Car

It's a challenge for me to express the full ideal what the electric car means in just one sentence, one paragraph, or one article.  So I have chosen to write out the ideas as they come in this blog.  Although I already have another blog that chronicles the intrigues of all eclectic vehicles, this blog is dedicated to the my experiences with the Smart Electric Drive (ED).

On Wednesday, October 30th 2013 I purchased my first electric car.  I then proceeded to drive it all over the San Francisco South Bay Area.  I logged 85 miles the first day, hitting at least 5 separate charge stations and taking pictures (like the one above).

Why did I buy an electric car, especially one so small as the SMART ForTwo Electric Drive?  First off, it's tiny.  It's only 106-inches tip to tail and barely 65 x 67 inches in the other ways.  And yet it's like the TARDIS (bigger on the inside than the outside).  It's literally the smallest production car available in the U.S.

But why electric?  There are just so many reasons, it's tough to enumerate them all, but that is what this blog is about, to let you in on the good and not so good about about electric cars.