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

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.

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