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