Make Your Own Electric Car: How Hard Can It Be?

As a huge fan of Top Gear, (The UK version, which is the only version worth watching) I of course saw the episode where the hosts attempted to create a homemade electric car. Quite frankly it was one of the best Top Gear episodes ever! Seeing as I have a blog dedicated to green driving I thought it would be fitting to post this episode on the site for all to see. Who knows maybe some of you will become inspired and build one for yourselves!
This is taken from Season 14 Episode 2 of Top Gear

Enjoy the videos!

Short version:

How Car Companies Cheat the New Fuel Economy Rules

This article is a horror show of corporate greed and lies all in an attempt to circumvent government policies which are designed, rightly or wrongly to make our lives better.

Here is a small excerpt:  "Also, I discovered that the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) fuel-mileage numbers found on car window stickers and quoted in new-car reviews may or may not be what’s used to calculate CAFE. A long phone conversation with a representative from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the group that sets CAFE standards, only muddied my understanding: If the government wants to keep something secret, it should try to explain it.
I found that manufacturers get credits for equipping their cars with air conditioners, making them capable of using multiple fuels and, likely, being built in the states of senators with the most seniority. If car factories or parts suppliers suddenly locate to West Virginia, Massachusetts, Vermont, Hawaii or Montana, be suspicious. And if they move from West Virginia, Massachusetts or Hawaii, it means Senators Robert Byrd, Ted Kennedy and Dan Inouye have left the Senate."

read more here

Hybrid Engine Myths

A common unfounded fear about hybrids is that they will endanger accident victims and rescue workers. The Associated Press even ran a poorly researched, inaccurate article describing danger that doesn't exist. While the original erroneous article can still be found on the Internet, AP's later retraction requires more digging. The truth is that there are no reports of an accident victim, first-responder or service technician being injured by a hybrid's high-voltage battery. Hybrids are no more—and no less—hazardous than are conventional cars. Proper training and the discipline to correctly follow safety procedures are required for both.

"Hybrid car fires present no more of a risk than conventional cars," says Todd Hoffman, founder of Scene of the Accident emergency personnel training group. "There is no potential for electric shock if the (hybrid) vehicle is partially or fully submersed in water."

Here's something about hybrids that should be of concern: There's a huge difference between something that is recyclable and stuff that actually gets recycled. Currently it's not profitable to recycle the nickel-metal-hydride (Ni-MH) batteries employed in almost all hybrids and many personal electronic devices. Proceeds from reclaimed metals roughly equal the cost of recycling Ni-MH batteries. If the market price of nickel, chromium and iron is depressed and shipping costs are high, it's a money loser. read more

Advice for Buying a Used Hybrid

Buying an used car can be tricky, but with the new hybrid technology that has come out the difficulties are even greater. The article and subsequent link I have provided below will hopefully ease the burdens of buying a used hybrid and show you some of the common pitfalls people find themselves facing. FYI this is an older article but much of the information still holds true.

Toyota Prius (2001-03): Along with Honda's Insight, the compact Prius sedan was one of the first hybrids in America. Sales were scant, but it got people used to the possibility of hybrids as regular transportation. Initially priced around $20,000, used first-generation Priuses can command as much as half that figure.
 
In June 2008, Norm Olson, national sales operations manager for Toyota Certified vehicles, saw previously owned Priuses going for $4,000 to $6,000 more than their new-car price. "Now they've gone to a realistic price," he said at the National Remarketing Conference, in October.

Toyota Prius (2004-09): Redesigned for 2004 in larger, midsize four-door liftback form, the second-generation Prius was the least-expensive hybrid. It also had the highest fuel-economy estimate: 60-mpg city and 51-mpg highway (reduced to 48/45 mpg during 2007). A 1.5-liter Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder gasoline engine works with an electric motor and continuously variable transmission (CVT). Though prices eased late in 2008, a year-old Prius can still command figures that approach its original new-car cost–above $20,000. Even a five-year-old has lost only about one-third of its initial value. For that purely economic reason, Priuses aren't the most sensible secondhand choice. A redesigned 2010 Prius will be unveiled at Detroit's auto show in January 2009.  read more

 

Building an Electric Car: How Hard Can it Be?

As a huge fan of Top Gear (the UK version, which is the version worth watching), I have of course seen the episode where the hosts tried to build their own electric cars for less than $8,000. Quite frankly it was one of the best Top Gear episodes ever! Seeing as I have a blog dedicated to green driving I thought it would be fitting to post this episode on the site for all to see. Who knows maybe some of you will become inspired and build one for yourselves!

I have included two versions, a long and short version.

Enjoy the Videos!

Short Version:

Long Version:

Top Gear Long Version

Super Hybrids: They Really Exist

Interestingly enough, tinkerers have become the primary inspiration for a new type of vehicle, the plug-in hybrid (PHEV). Like the hot rodders' obsession with high performance, these new-age tinkerers are pushing the limits of fuel efficiency. A California company, Energy CS, produced two Toyota Prius hybrids with lithium ion batteries, achieving an astounding 230mpg. As far back as 1972, Andy Frank, a University of California, Davis engineering professor, built a 250mpg plug-in hybrid from scratch and has since added seven more to his stable, including a converted, non-hybrid Ford Taurus and a Chevy Suburban.

More recently, Ron Gremban added 18 batteries to a Toyota Prius hybrid and now regularly gets 80mpg. Gremban's effort was to prove that the job could be done at a reasonable cost—a position maintained by CalCars Initiative, a San Francisco Bay area volunteer group. While most of the major auto manufacturers are just beginning to put aside old arguments against the safety and viability of plug-in hybrids, DaimlerChrysler is building 40 PHEV vans for commercial use. Toyota, meanwhile, has admitted that it could learn from the current crop of conversions. read more

How to Make Your Own Bio Diesel

 

To produce diesel, you first have to collect some waste vegetable oil (usually available free) and filter it of any debris. Then its quality has to be evaluated by “titration,” a simple chemical test that determines the amount of lye and methanol required to convert the vegetable oil to biodiesel. (The quantity of chemicals varies depending on the quality of the feedstock oil. If you add more than the required amount of lye, your mixing tank could end up filled with gel-type soap. If you use too little lye, only part of the cooking oil will convert into biodiesel, with a large layer of glycerin settling to the bottom of the mixing tank.)

Once that’s been determined, these two chemicals are carefully mixed together in a sealed container. (The resulting mixture, called sodium methoxide, is caustic, and requires safety precautions such as protective goggles and gloves.) read more

Top Fuel Efficient Cars

The previous post had to do with the government's choice for the best fuel efficient vehicles. This is my list for the best fuel efficient cars. My list is divided into three parts; the first consists of cars that are hyper efficient but may sacrifice some of the modern conveniences and technology. The second category consists of vehicles I consider status hybrids. The "Look at me! I care about the environment" cars. The third category is a list of the efficient cars that manage to do their job and look cool doing it.

(city/highway)

Part 1

Buying a modern hybrid car and thinking it will save you money is just plain wrong. It would take you 10 years or more to recoup the premium you had to pay for the hybrid. If you really are in the market for a vehicle that will start saving you money today, go with one of these. 

1) 1st generation Honda Insight (2000-2006): Arguably the best performing hybrid car ever to go into production. Two Seater bare-bones hyper efficient car. (61/70)

2) Chevy/Geo Metro (33/39)

3) Any pre-2000 domestic or Japanese lightweight car. ex. Honda Civic (27/34), Dodge Neon (25/37), Chevy Prism (27/34), Ford Escort (24/34)

4) pre-2000 Volkswagen Passat (32/45), Volkswagen Jetta (33/44)


Part 2

I would categorize these as the Holier Than Thou cars. Vehicles that are purchased almost exclusively by people as status symbols in an effort to show how much they care about the environment. As demonstrated above you aren't going to save yourself much, if any money by purchasing these vehicles. However, they do get great mileage and credit should be given to the engineers for coming up with these impressive systems.

1) Toyota Prius
2) Nissan Leaf*

*I include the Nissan Leaf in this category solely for the reason that I do not see it as a practical car. The time it takes to recharge and lack of charging stations makes it impractical for anything but short commutes. However, as prices drop and more charging stations become available I foresee this vehicle leaving this section.

Volvo's Radical Ideas for Cleaning the Air: The Versatility Concept

The need for improvement has spawned some pretty interesting innovations. Volvo, for instance, is taking the concept of personal environmental responsibility several steps further than the norm with the PremAir radiators installed on many of its current models. These "smog eating" radiators, which are coated with a catalyst that transforms ground level ozone into oxygen, represent yet another incremental step toward lessening the automobile's impact on the environment.
This passive catalytic system is limited in its ability to convert ozone to oxygen by the amount of polluted air that passes through the radiator during driving. But what if a more active approach was possible, one that would not only clean up pollution created by the car being driven but the emissions of nearby cars as well?

It sounds like the stuff of an environmentalist's dream but it's closer to reality than you might imagine. Such a system is provided in the Volvo Versatility Concept Car, this automaker's latest concept vehicle. Here, the Volvo Ambient Air Cleaner (VAAC) determines when surrounding pollution levels are high enough and then filters hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides from the air, neutralizing the equivalent of up to three other cars' worth of emissions in polluted urban areas. read more

Top 10 Most Fuel Efficient Cars of the Last 28 Years (According to Independent Experts)

 Top 10 Most Fuel Efficient Cars

I'm sure many readers out there can probably guess a few of the cars that will appear on this list, but just for fun right down which 10 cars you think made the final cut. Ill give you a hint, not all of them run on batteries, gas motors, and tricky hybrid systems.

Some of you may also be wondering why all modern cars don't get insanely high gas mileage and why cars such as the Prius are considered so ground breaking. Well let this excerpt from the main article both answer your question and whet your appetite.

"Increasingly stringent safety requirements have led to heavier vehicles that provide much better occupant protection. A price for that protection has been reduced fuel economy, though powertrain and aerodynamic innovations are starting to turn that around as automakers stare down approaching fuel economy mandates."  Top 10 list