Book Review – Plug-In Electric Vehicles
I was traveling last week and had the opportunity to rent a Toyota Prius. I jumped at the chance since I was reading, “Plug-In Electric Vehicles: What Roll for Washington,” a book authored by dozens of experts and published by The Brookings Institute. This was my first Toyota hybrid experience. However, I had driven a Ford Escape Flex-Fuel Hybrid two years ago but it has yet to come to market. It took me a bit to figure out how to actually drive the Prius, but once I did, it was an enjoyable ride and the gas mileage was great!
So why don’t more people drive hybrids? And why aren’t there any hybrid options with a flex-fuel component (the back up for a hybrid is gas) that are actually mass produced? Or should we move to develop and adopt electric vehicles (EVs) or is the best option a plug-in electric vehicle (PEVs). Why isn’t there more government support? All of these questions are asked and answered in the this book.
While the many authors have varying ideas and opinions on the best way to bring EVs to market, there are a few points that most agree.
There needs to be more research done on the batteries (the most expensive component of hybrids and electric cars) and there needs to be an after market for these batteries. Several authors cited an idea that was first raised by David Sandalow in his book, “Freedom from Oil,” which is the creation the “Federal Battery Guarantee Corporation”. This federal organization would, “underwrite insurance on battery life for the duration of the vehicle warranty…and gaurantee a secondary market for used battery assemblies.”
In addition, the authors agree that the government should continue to pass legislation that would encourage car manufacturers to produce and mass market EVs (of all forms) now. One way to do this is continue to have and/or increase the tax credits for consumers who purchase these cars and have the government commit to purchasing a certain amount each year for its fleet.
This book is packed with useful information so if you’re interested in learning more about plug-in electric vehicles, then this is a must read. Click here to buy this book or any book I review.
9 Comments »
Fred
The only cons with an EV is their batteries: charge life and physical life and what to do with them when they eventually die.
Oil companies of course what us to keep using foreign oil so they can make their millions.
Dsuupr
Sometimes what seems like a great answer misses the overall need of society. I have yet to see the answer to my one key question regarding EV vehicles.
How is someone with low to middle/moderate income supposed to afford one?
Let’s put this in perspective. Most middle to lower income families rely on a 10+ year old vehicle with well over 100,000 miles. If it was an EV vehicle that means they would have to pay for a new battery pack, which at best would cost $2000 to $5000 (future dreams of low battery costs). The vehicles these people drive are not even worth that much. There is no way they can afford to replace those batteries. Some say we can “lease” the batteries to help with costs. When someone doesn’t have the credit or income to purchase a new(er) vehicle, they don’t have the credit or income to lease batteries.
Hugh E Webber
Dsuupr:
Half-a-dozen EV makers plan to sell highway-capable EVs for $25,000 or less within the next few years. Mechanically quite simple, EVs will eventually sell for less than equivalent gas-burners; EVs also need far less maintenance and cost much less to fuel.
Rocketmaker10000
I agree that poor people won’t be able to afford these but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t start selling them and getting the battery prices lower. Once you have an EV you want to drive it all the time. Economies of scale only happen when when a market exists. I convert existing cars to total electric and people that own them love them. They never buy gas again except for their gas cars which everyone keeps a gas car. EVs will just start to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and make our air cleaner…. Two worthy goals I think.
Larry Gales
10 years ago, Daimler was all set to produce a battery powered
Mercedes with a 120 mile range for the California market. The battery
used was far superior to the lead-acid and NiMH batteries used in the
EV-1 about the same time and would have changed the automotive world.
Unfortunately, the merger with Chrysler killed that project.
The somewhat improved version of that battery, the sodium nickel
chloride battery (better known as the ZEBRA battery) and its nearly
identical cousin, the sodium iron chloride battery, are roughly equal
to the best of the safe lithium batteries of today in terms of
durability and long life, safety, and energy density (120 WH/KG for
the nickel chloride version and 109 WH/KG for the iron chloride
version, although the theoretical energy densities are far higher, so
there is still room for improvement). By the way, this battery is
*not* experimental: for more than two years 2-9 ton delivery vans from
Smith Electric and Modec in England powered by ZEBRA batteries have
been rolling off the production lines.
But both batteries are far superior to all other batteries in terms of
all-weather operation and are virtually unaffected by the most extreme
climates anywhere on earth, and in mass production would be radically
less expensive: about $120/KWH and less than $100/KWH for the two
batteries, respectively. This compares with about $330/KWH for the
lowest projected cost I have seen for mass produced safe lithium
batteries.
And the sodium iron chloride battery is far superior to all of other
batteries in terms of resource availability and environmental and
political friendliness: it is mainly composed of a large amount of
salt and a moderate amount of iron, has no toxic material, and the
resources are abundant nearly everywhere, unlike lithium which is
concentrated in a few 3rd world countries and where there is not
enough economically available lithium for the world’s current
automotive fleet, let alone the future.
The disadvantages of these batteries, lower power density which
controls acceleration, the current lack of ultra-rapid charging, and
the desirability of plugging it in a least once/week to avoid
freezing, are either easily overcome or tolerable.
Why the world’s automotive industry continues to pour all its efforts
in batteries that are 3-4 time more expensive, and whose resource
supply is unsustainable, is a major mystery to me.
— Larry
Chip Daigle
First Generation Hybrids are a joke. They are simply lighter than other cars and thats why they get good mpg. FFV’s using Ethanol are truely a significant advance in becoming a greener country if you believe in man made Global Warming and all that crap. FFV’s also makes up stronger country by making us more flexible in dealing with spikes in Gasoline prices because of some contrive “crisis” in the Mid East. Plug-In Hybrids are unproven. It’s time for the Greenie Weenies to Put up or Shut up. I say let all the greenie weenies on the East and West Coast and in all the Big Polluted cities across the country buy $40K Plug-Ins and test out the new Green Economy for the rest of the Nation. I actually hope they work not because of “Global Warming” but because it will make our country stronger. As for me, I am going with the FFV’s the next time I buy a car.
John Spradley
Global warming is just a political distraction from the real problem:
Global Pollution. It’s killing our kids now! I cannot afford a liquid-fueled car. My 28 year old EV gets 50 miles on a day’s sunshine on my roof-top PV. If you want the truth about EVs ask those who drive them. http://www.evalbum.com/1749
Neil Dailey
I have been wondering why it seems that no one is stating the obvious. These cars do not even need many batteries if they simply generate their own power. I want to approach the car engineers and say, “How many wheels on that car roll? Let me help you it’s four. That’s four opportunities to generate power, since anything that turns can be harnessed for power generation.”
So what’s the deal? Do they think they can continue to treat us as idiots in this country? I hope not. It’s my hope that we all start to think and produce what we need on our own. It’s going to have to be grassroots because they simply don’t want anyone thinking any on their own any more!
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