Plug-In Hybrids = 100+ MPG
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A Plug-In Hybrid (PHEV) is essentially a regular hybrid with an extension cord. You can fill it up at the gas station, and you can plug it in to any 120-volt outlet. It’s like having a second fuel tank that you always use first — only you fill up at home, from a regular outlet, at an equivalent cost of under $1/gallon…
…PHEVs are meant to plug-in at night. In many areas of the country, overnight power is available at a lower cost. As PHEVs start to enter the marketplace, we’ll see increasing support from electric utilities, as they’ll offer reduced nighttime rates to incentivize off-peak charging. In some areas where wind and hydropower is wasted at night, the rate can be as low as 2-3 cents per kWh. That’s 20-25 cents a gallon…
…The nationwide electrical grid is only 3% petroleum-fueled, whereas transportation is almost completely powered by oil — 60% of which comes from foreign sources (and growing). Adoption of plug-in hybrids will transfer the overwhelming majority of our miles driven to nearly oil-free electricity. If all vehicles were plug-in hybrids we would cut our oil needs by 55%, nearly enough to eliminate foreign sources altogether.
The winning combination from an environmental and national-security perspective is the flexible-fuel PHEV — one that runs on biofuels, cellulosic ethanol, methanol, or alternative liquid fuel in place of gasoline. This will reduce the transportation sector’s use of oil to almost zero — and cut the United States’ annual oil needs by 2/3.
The Tesla Roadster Update
If you are not familiar with the Tesla Roadster, it’s the electric car your mother warned you about. Currently number one on my Christmas Wish List, this US-engineered and English-built super car (based on a Lotus chassis and sub-systems) is sure to change your mind about what an electric car is all about.Â
The guys at Popular Mechanics have all the fun…
Today I found a short-but-sweet video report at Yahoo! that will put a smile on the face of any fans of the Tesla Roadster. (It’s nice to see it in motion)Â
And The Car Connection puts it in context.
Giving Up Gasoline
Here’s an interesting article out of Alaska. It’s no Tesla Roadster, but it is an all electric vehicle that allows Mike Willmon to commute to work for $20 per month (average monthly cost of electrical charge).
Giving up gasoline
Mike Willmon put an electric motor in his pickup to save on fuel billsBy RICHARD RICHTMYER
Anchorage Daily NewsPublished: September 18, 2006
Last Modified: September 18, 2006 at 07:45 AMAt first glance, Mike Willmon’s 1988 Mitsubishi MightyMax looks like any other pickup cruising Anchorage’s streets.
But instead of the rattling and rumbling sounds that typically go with old pickups, Willmon’s rig emits a gentle whir that gradually fades as he eases it to a stop at a traffic light. And there’s no sight or smell of exhaust fumes as he waits for it to turn green.
That’s because Willmon, an electrical engineer, overhauled the truck, replacing its gasoline engine with an electric motor that runs on batteries…
Hey, he sounds like somebody I know!
Holy Electric Car, Batman! (Tesla Roadster)
Forget that frumpy Hybrid and go all-electric like a rock star. Tesla Motors is a California based company with a great idea, an aggressive business plan, and tons of style.
Redefining what and electric car looks like is one thing. Redefining the performance and endurance is another thing.
The Tesla Roadster sports an amazing figure, and amazing figures. It’s 100% electric, so you plug it into the wall at night to charge it. A full charge will take you 250 miles, for about 1 cent per mile (based on California electricity prices). Oh yeah, it goes 0 to 60 in around 4 seconds…
Tesla Motors is a forward thinking young car company. They are looking to change the way people think about all-electric cars. Next they will build a mid-priced family sedan, and after that they will be looking at the lower-priced variety of commuting vehicles. By starting at the top of the food chain (at $90K per Roadster) Tesla plans to use profits from higher-end early adopters, willing to pay a premium for one of the world’s quickest and greenest cars, to fund development into ways to reduce costs to make a more affordable second generation vehicle.
I’ll be keeping tabs on this technology, and will provide more details in the near future.
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