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:

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

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

Breaking Ground on "Green Highway": Fast Charging Stations Being Installed Along I-5

 Fast Charging Stations Being Installed Along I-5

This is great news for all of you current and future electric car fans. The day is coming soon when we will all be motoring along with out the nasty smell of exhaust following us along!

"On June 1, the Oregon Department of Transportation selected AeroVironment Inc. to develop the first phase of a 'Green Highway' on the West Coast. High-power (Level 3) electric vehicle fast-charging stations will be set up at eight locations, along the 150-mile stretch of the I-5 Corridor–from the California state line to the Willamette Valley. According to experts, these new stations can fully charge an electric vehicle in as little as 30 minutes." more

While some might be saying ''30 minutes is a long time", I would argue that it allows the driver the chance to stretch their legs, get some foot, use the loo, and generally take a short break. After all, anyone who has driven I-5 from top to bottom, as I have, will tell you how much you sometimes look forward to running out of gas so you can take that quick 20-30 minute break.