evilZO6

iTrader: (4)

I came across this company today. Some of the products are awesome. I'm an EV nut, i dont see why we don't all already have one. This company is a step in the right direction. Prices are still a little high, but for about the price of a Prius, you can get their WISE and its fully electric. For a little more you can get the DASH. Anyway, anyone interested in this stuff check them out. I'm waiting for the wave i think, its cool looking and the most affordable

http://www.hybridtechnologies.com/products/cars

WECIV

Don't get the hood scoop on the LiV Rush...that just adds drag for no benefit.

W

wabmorgan

I think this the main problem:

Charge Time:8 hours (110-120V or 220-240V)
Cycle Life:2500+ full charges


Until charge time is improved...... a lot.... EV's simply aren't going to appeal to the general public.

Also with a life cyccle of 2500 CHARGES.... that going to probably mean an expensive battery swap out in about 7 years.

2002_Z28_Six_Speed

iTrader: (19)

I was just about to knock the OEM's spec of 2500 hours but then I did a search on the Prius to see if there were any frequent failures in the batteries. It came up clean!

But the problem I saw was that the Prius has that gas engine that it can use to help regulate the battery from being under/overcharged. Keeping it between 40 and 60 percent.

If this kind of super battery conditioning is needed for 2500 hours of life and you have to keep it between those numbers to get the same battery life expectancy as the Prius (which babies the battery like no ones biz) then I could forsee a very limited range compared so what they stated.

evilZO6

iTrader: (4)

Fixed it for you. Not hours, charge cycles. So 2500 days you need new batteries. basically. thats roughly 8 years



8 Hours is good for 200 miles. Average driver drives 50 miles a day. So youre telling me within 4 days you cant find an 8 hour period where your sleeping? Im telling you right now, i am one of the busiest people on the earth and i can easily find 8 hours every night i could charge my car. I can plug it in late before i sleep. I can unplug it on my way to school. You people must all be tweakers if you cant find an 8 hour period during the day where your car can just sit. I mean thats assuming its completely dead. If you charge it fully, and only drive 50 miles that day, it will only need 2 hours to charge back to full capacity. Worst case scenario is you unplug it in the morning. Drive 200 miles that day which is a **** load, when you get home you have to fine 8 hours to let it charge. 99% of people can do that. Who gets home and leaves within 6 hours total for the next day? I dont think anything anyojne says about charge time is valid. BUy one and let me know how often you just cannot simply find enough time to charge it becuase last time i checked, at some point during the day, most of us do sleep. Even if you sleep for only 6 hours, generally when you wake up you take an hour to get ready. So theres 7 hours. I cant imagine not having an hour before bed. I dont see the problem

lt1camaro95

Too bad they dont put a price on the website.

Jon5212

iTrader: (2)

This is all true... however wait until you have to replace that battery pack. I heard the Prius battery pack alone is over 10 grand.

Blackened2k

iTrader: (4)

Price: $34,900 - $55,000

http://www.hybridtechnologies.com/Order


assuming you're talking about any one of those cars. They have most of em priced.

Z Fury

iTrader: (1)

What kind of hike is this going to cause your electric bill?

I don't think a lot of people consider this when discussing electric cars. We are talking about increasing a draw on our power grids - grids that had to have rolling brown-outs in some areas, due to high energy demands. I'd like to see some studies done showing if we can even handle a nation of electric car drivers.

wabmorgan

I went back and edited my typo error. Thanks for pointing it out.


Kind of my point.... I remember telling a friend of mine when the Prius came out, "I can just imagine pulling up in one of those into the dealership service center and saying, "Well.... I don't know what happen... but my gas mileage has went to hell." Service Center calls back later to say, "Your battery back is going out. Replacement cost will be $5K."

Good grief... I never thought that battery pack was $10K!!!!!!

wabmorgan

^^^^ Looks like replacement cost would run about $3500.

http://www.hybridcars.com/components...y-failure.html

2002_Z28_Six_Speed

iTrader: (19)

It would be less than your gasoline bill and the electrical grid is more efficient and cleaner than getting the energy from the pump. Plus it is largely American.

There have been studies with the effect on the electrical grid and basically the general consensus is that since there won't be a overnight conversion to plug ins that it wouldn't cripple the electrical grid.

Only problem is the batteries. You just can't store electricity efficiently. Think about it. Power companies would be doing that if they could. (exclude pumped storage as that doesn't count) And do they? No.

If this is going to work the cars would need to get their power continuously from something integrated under or along the road side.

If we would of designed a system with an integrated roadway and power system there would be no overhead wires and a power source that embraces our ever growing dependency on electrical power. Of course, America doesn't believe in underground power transmission as does Europe. It costs alot of $$$$ despite increased reliability.

Jon5212

iTrader: (2)

Well thats still a large chunk of change, not to mention the highly toxic nickel metal hydride batteries... Not just ordinary lead-acid battery which is easily recyclable.

DiscerningZ32

Hmm, they still don't have anything that isn't ugly and/or large enough to not feel like you're crammed in a cozy coupe? I also wouldn't mind rwd...

evilZO6

iTrader: (4)

To fully charge a car is about $3 i think. Comapre to a half tank of gas. But you know what? All the public places around my house dont charge for it they like you to use theirs outlets. So if you plan it right, just charge during your work day lol and dont even use your own. I can park at the mall and walk two blocks to work lol.And think of all the money you'll save with Zero maintenance. No fluids belts or anything other than brak pads and tires.


If you ever half to replace the batteries, its no worse than replacing an engine. BUT there are aftermarket parts just like any other car. You can bu upgraded batteries and all kinds of things. PLus, batteries now are serviceable so you dont have to actually replace them. Plus in 7 years who knows how far battery technology will have come.


I cant belive you played the rolling blackout card. I havnt even heard that term since like 2001 and on top of that, i've never once actually been in one. And if i was, its not like it would be off for 3-4 straight days EVERYWHERE. lol im prettyy sure i could find an outlet somewhere.

Spoolin

iTrader: (8)

You won't have rolling blackouts because most people won't be charging their cars during peak hours which is middle of the day. Most people will be charging their cars at night when power consumption is at the lowest and the power grid has the most capacity.

Also people aren't taking into account that their is practically NO maintenance costs on EV's. There are only a few moving parts on an EV which means less wear and tear. So maybe you have to replace a battery pack for $3500 after 8 years but you will have almost no maintenance bills up to that point.
There was a good report about the maintenance costs of BEV's over the lifetime of the car but I can't find it. I'd say pick up a Motor trend, C&D, R&T magazine and look at the maintenance costs of some of their long term vehicles which they only keep for 1 year and some of their costs rack up, add to that the maintenance costs of a vehicle for 8 years and $3500 sounds like a drop in the bucket.

evilZO6

iTrader: (4)

Exactly. Hell you spend about that on fuel annualy anyway. Plus every oil change. If your running the good stuff even if you do it yourself its like $20 each time. I mean things add up. Over time it'll pay for itself probably. How long do you think a full EV will last? I mean with such little moving parts and all that stuff, do you think the life expectancy will be a lot longer?

2002_Z28_Six_Speed

iTrader: (19)

The controller shouldn't go out. The electric motor should last for almost ever if it is overbuilt. If not they can be rebuilt by a rewinding service. Shouldn't need much of a transmission. RWD should be very affordable to build in any car since packing isn't an issue anymore.

Whoever solves that battery issue will be the richest man in the world.