Electric Cars « California Lemon Law blog

Based on the Detroit Auto Show, the automobile industry may be undergoing a huge transformation. There are dozens of hybrid vehicles and countless pure battery-powered cars. The market for energy alternative cars remains weak, but if strict emissions standards are imposed, demands could soar.

Ford Motor Company had a very strong showing, winning North American Car of the Year and North American Truck of the Year Awards. The car award went to the Ford Fusion Hybrid and in the truck category, Ford’s Transit Connect van. This is the sixth win in the truck category for Ford, the most of any automaker.

The awards recognize the vehicles that are “benchmarks” in their category based on factors including innovation, design, safety, handling, driver satisfaction and value for the dollar. Vehicles must be new or “substantially changed” to be considered.

Some other memorable displays are: General Motors with their new Chevy Volt, Mercedes B Class pure hydrogen fuel cell car, Audis A8 which won the eyes on design and Chrysler’s Gem which has sold more than 40,000 since 1999 and reportedly owns about 70 percent of the electric vehicle market.

We have been hearing about electric cars lately and how auto companies are pushing to get them on the roads, but what ever happaned to the hydrogen car. Beyond the test market, hydrogen-powered cars seemed to be nothing more than research and development, but with new hydrogen technology it is no longer the dangerous fuel we were reluctant to put on the roads.

At last month’s Los Angeles auto show Honda introduced the Honda FCX Clarity, the world’s first production fuel-cell car. Befor this, BMW was leading the way in hydrogen development with their Hydrogen 7, a V12 internal combustion engine that can be powered by gasoline as well as liquid hydrogen. With a price tag of at least $250 000 only 100 celebrities and politicians have received a loaner car for evaluation and to provide feedback. The honda fuel cell car would also be quite expensive to buy, but once it goes into production for the public, the price would significantly go down.

Like the electic car, there is the problem of “fueling up”. According to H2stations.org, a website that tracks hydrogen refilling stations, there are only 10 certified filling stations in Canada (and those are used for industrial purposes), 38 in Europe and 49 in the U.S. (with more than half in California).

Honda tried to address the infrastructure problem with its experimental Home Energy Station, a self-contained unit that converts natural gas into hydrogen, but burning natural gas to produce hydrogen seems to just defeat the purpose.

If you haven’t traded in your car with the governments cash for clunkers program and you don’t foresee yourself buying an electric car in the near future, there are still some things you can do to make your car run as smoothly and efficiently as possible.

1. Use your cruise control whenever possible. In town this may not be feasible, but on the highway if you maintain a steady speed (less breaking and accelerations) your car will use less fuel. Avoid circling parking lots and rush hour traffic will also decrease your breaking and acceleration.

2. Don’t leave your car idling. Cars today don’t need to be warmed up before you drive. If you gently drive your vehicle until it has warmed up, your car will be running for a shorter period of time. If you’re sitting at a drive through, or just running in to the market to get something, always turn your engine off.

3. Use the highest gear possible for your speed. A higher gear means better fuel efficiency.

4. Use air conditioning as little as possible. Opening a window is often enough to cool down your car. On the highway however, the extra drag caused by having a window open will increase fuel consumption, so your probably better off using the a/c.

5. Don’t carry stuff you don’t need. The extra weight on the car and extra drag caused by roof racks will increase your gas mileage. Even snow on the car can increase your weight and drag.

6. Use your garage if you have one. (I could never understand why someone would have a garage and not use it.) The car will need less heating in the winter and less cooling in the summer. It’s more convenient for you and better for your car.

7. Keep your engine tuned and your tires inflated. A clean air filter and the right oil all contribute to better fuel economy. Take winter tires off when driving in good conditions they significantly increase fuel consumption.

8. Buy gasoline during coolest time of day – early morning or late evening is best. During these times gasoline is densest. Gas pumps measure volumes of gasoline, not densities.

I guess the best thing to do would be to cut down on your driving. Car pooling and planning your errands when your already out is a good way of reducing fuel emissions and saving yourself some money.

The electric car has been around for a long time. In the late 1930’s Robert Anderson (A Scottish inventor) built the first crude electric carriage. Over the years the car has been improved to a point where it could be a practical mode of transportation for many people. One of the main reasons we don’t see many on the roads is because charging a large number of electric cars will require huge upgrades to the nation’s infrastructure

SolarCity and Tesla Motors hope to change the amount of electric cars on the road by installing solar-powered car charging stations in Rabobank locations along California Route 101. These quick charging “gas stations” delivers up to 70 amps (240 volts) of electricity which would charge a Telsa Roadster in about 3.5 hours. SolarCity has also installed over 100 in home-charging stations throughout the state.

The Beautiful Earth Group, a solar and wind farms company started last year, has paired up with BMW and the mini, to build solar charging stations in the Red Hook, Brooklyn area. These stations are truly “green”. Built out of recycled shipping containers the station can provide enough energy to charge the Mini E in three hours. Lex Heslin, chief executive of Beautiful Earth, claims two firsts: He got the keys to the first electric version of the Mini Cooper in New York and his company is operating the city’s first solar E.V. charging station.

Silicon Valley based company, Coulomb Technologies, have been building charging stations around the world since 2007. Their recent partnership with Envision Solar has allowed them to integrate their ChargePoint technology into a “solar grove” at Dell headquarters in Round Rock, Tex. This system provided 131,000 kilowatt hours of electricity annually, and doubles as shade for 56 parking spaces.

With the environmental issues we face today, solar charging could become big business. Ideally, solar charging stations will be connected to the grid so they can feed electricity back when the power is not needed for car-charging. When the sun isn’t shining, cars can be charged on grid power.

Automakers will be receiving $220 million in tax credits to help develop battery packs for hybrid and plug in hybrids vehicles. The credits, which include $100 million for battery manufacturers and $120 million for battery pack assembly, are designed to benefit Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp. and Dow Chemical Co.

Ford plans to move production of battery packs from Mexico to southeastern Michigan and to invest up to $500 million to assemble hybrids and lithium ion batteries there. “This is huge,” said James McBride, vice president of the Michigan Economic Development Corp. “This is the rebirth of the auto industry in this state.”

Despite the recent excitement over electric cars, the National Research Council thinks that it will be a few decades before we see hybrids in “meaningful numbers”.

green symbol President Obama’s goal of 1 million plug-in hybrids on U.S. roads by 2015 seems like a good idea for the environment, but is it really possible?

With new advances in battery technology, electric cars can go almost 100 miles on a charge. And for those who fear being stranded with a dead battery miles from a plug in, there is a gasoline engine as well. This range should be enough to suit up to 80% of U.S. drivers on the road. With federal government incentives for EV buyers, such as tax credits of up to $7,500 for buyers of the first 200,000 vehicles from each manufacturer, this could be true. According to Jason Wolf, an executive at Better Place, a Palo Alto firm aiming to provide charging services for plug-in drivers. “Over 70% of major manufacturers have some kind of mass plug-in coming in the next two years.”

This however, involves a huge change to the nation’s electric grid infrastructure. People charging cars in their garages may need to upgrade their home circuits, which often requires permits, building inspections and other headaches. Neighborhood upgrades like new transformers would also be needed. These upgrades would be expensive, and in the interest of encouraging electric cars, the utility companies would most likely pay for it through our electric bills. In the end we need to ask ourselves, “Would the emissions released by the utility companies making extra electricity really be less than the emissions from the car itself?”

Coda Automotive, a company based in Santa Monica, California plans to have a battery electric car on the market in the fall of 2010 in California only. It’s will be about the size of a Honda Civic and will cost about $45,000 minus a federal tax credit of $7,500. The lithium-ion battery will be manufactured in China, but Coda hopes to eventually build their batteries in Enfield, Connecticut. Coda plans to market their cars mostly on the internet.

General Motor’s has been building a new facility in Brownstone Township. This facility is where GM employees will weld together T-shaped packs for their batteries. The batteries are lithium ion batteries that will come from South Korea. Developing batteries is an important step for GM in its quest to become a leader in electric vehicles. This will be the first lithium ion battery manufacturing facility in the United States.

Think your vehicle may be a lemon? Call the California Lemon Law Firm, Delsack and Associates for a free consultation. Their toll free number is 888-Ex-Lemon (888-395-3666).

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Category Archives: Electric Cars

Ford Shines At The Detroit Auto Show

What About The Hydrogen Car?

Make Your Car Run Better

Cars That Run on Sunshine

Tax Credits For Batteries

Yes We Can!……Or Can We? One Million Plug-In Hybrids on U.S. Roads by 2015?

Coda Automotive

GM Volt Battery Packs to be Produced in Brownstone Township

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