Electric cars and hybrids are eco-friendly (green). People who have owned them say they are a blast to drive.
Electric Vehicles (EV's), Electric Cars
The EV1 sounded like the Batmobile (outside) due to its electric motor (coolness factor), and inside it was very quiet (owners say it was a joy to drive). the EV1 is no longer available, though it was a great car. my guess is that all ev's (electric vehicles) sound like the Batmobile because they have electric motors. check out evworld and pluginamerica. electricity is generally 1/3 the cost of gas: let figure $0.02/mi equivelant in gas given 24mpg is ($3.10/g)/24mpg=$0.12/mi which is 155% less efficient some ev's get $0.01/mi which makes common cars 310% less efficient. Hydrogen is not a viable solution. ev's take some effort to find.
Your major trouble will be trying to take one of these on a long road trip - for that try a hybrid(30mpg) until we get ev charge stations around the US. California has some, but they are the big flat blade type of plug. I do not know if all ev's use that type of plug - I hope they all use the same standard. They seem to be going towards the small round plug. The car comes with a 120VAC adapter.
In general they charge in 1 hour. to give you an idea of the cost in electricity, 350mi*($0.02/mi)=$7 per full charge (from total discharge, which is unlikely).
Check out wikipedia's entry on plugin hybrids.
with electric card your thinking must be more critical than with cell phones. with cell phones you can just forget them. but with car you have to make sure you don't run out of gas/electricity. with a hybrid, can you just "walk to the gas station and drop in a gallon"? will the systems leave you that much charge in the batteries to start the car? (some engineer has probably has already thought of this). but with an electric car, you cannot just walk up to somebody's house and pay them $7 to "fill up". nor can you walk to the gas station and bring a gallon of electricity with you. however, none of the EV1 owners have complained - they loved the car. there is no tailpipe unless it is a leftover from a conversion. People who drive an electric car usually are all smiles when they get done.
Your major trouble will be trying to take one of these on a long road trip - for that try a hybrid(30mpg) until we get ev charge stations around the US. California has some, but they are the big flat blade type of plug. I do not know if all ev's use that type of plug - I hope they all use the same standard. They seem to be going towards the small round plug. The car comes with a 120VAC adapter.
In general they charge in 1 hour. to give you an idea of the cost in electricity, 350mi*($0.02/mi)=$7 per full charge (from total discharge, which is unlikely).
Check out wikipedia's entry on plugin hybrids.
with electric card your thinking must be more critical than with cell phones. with cell phones you can just forget them. but with car you have to make sure you don't run out of gas/electricity. with a hybrid, can you just "walk to the gas station and drop in a gallon"? will the systems leave you that much charge in the batteries to start the car? (some engineer has probably has already thought of this). but with an electric car, you cannot just walk up to somebody's house and pay them $7 to "fill up". nor can you walk to the gas station and bring a gallon of electricity with you. however, none of the EV1 owners have complained - they loved the car. there is no tailpipe unless it is a leftover from a conversion. People who drive an electric car usually are all smiles when they get done.
prototype. 0-100km/hr in 5.9 seconds.another 5.1 seconds to get from 100 km/hr to 120 km/hr. 313hp (first version). 45 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion pack mounted in front of the rear axle. 155 mi range. 11 hours to recharge it at 220 volts. Will be on the road in 2012. nice car, passes the Venturi Fetish and the Fisker Karma.
ZAP-X Crossover, available from zapworld, $25,000 reservation (?) should be available 2008 $60,000
155mph, 350mi range, 0-60 in 4.8 seconds. $0.01/mi. keyless biometric entry and ignition. energy-collecting windows (collects power from as many sources as possible), onboard carputer with wi-fi, mini-USB 2.0 ports, bluetooth, Windows XP. 644hp. iPod ready. rapid 10-minute recharge. very advanced car. 5+2 seater (+2?). all ZAP ev's are by reservation - I am not sure why or what's going on here behind the scenes (maybe it's to keep the customer costs down) - I hope it's not another EV1 story where they leased the vehicles and then took them away. explosion-proof bio-degradeable lithium batteries. I thought the other vehicles they made were odd looking but this ones a beaut and the best ev made of all! drawback of biometric doorlocks - my fingerprints get mangled from working on circuitboards or sandpaper. see article in c|net
Wrightspeed X1 Electric Sports Car prototype $120,000
0-60 in 3.07 seconds, 0-100 in 6.87 seconds, using street tires. the production car will be much much better. not the kind of sports car you would run on the road from the looks of it - on the track maybe. see article in c|net
Venturi Fetish, available from venturifetish $400,000
sports car. looks like a concept-car sports car. violet & dark-gray-colored. recharges in 1 hour, 0-150km in 5s, Nice looking car, but I don't care for the name.. see yahoo article
Tesla Roadster, available at teslamotors $100,000
looks like a corvette, $0.02/mi, 200mi/charge, 0-60 in 3.9 seconds. will smoke a ferrari. see yahoo article and news.com article
TZero Concept Car, by AC Propulsion
2-seater sports car, 300mi range, Li-Ion batteries, 220hp.
Scion ebox SUV(xB 5-speed) conversion $55,000 ($70,000 total), available from scion and acpropulsion
150mi range, orders take 6-8mo to complete, battery warranty is still being worked out. (as of aug2007)
Phoenix Motorcars Sport Utility Truck $45,000
1/2 ton payload. plugs into a 220V outlet for 6 hours. 130mi range. up to 95mph. sells only to fleet buyers now. will produce 6,000 units for consumer market in 2008. see yahoo article
Porshe 959-style electric car, available from electrictransport $45,000
"100mph top speed and a blast to drive at only 2750 lbs"
Rolls Royce, available at electrictransport $340,000
manages a lot of battery weight, yeilding long range.
Rolls Royce Silver Spur Electric Car Conversion, available from
electrictransport $110,000
range:90mi. power can be custom built for you - you may favor range or speed. more batteries mean more weight but also more range. coasts very easily when you let off the accelerator pedal.
1929 Mercedes Gazelle Electric Kit Car, available from electrictransport $24,500, 60mi lithium ion upg $29,000 extra
range: 15 miles at 74mph. base vehicle: 1985 pinto.
X-Treme™ Electric XA-750 ELECTRIC POWERED ATV, available from electrictransport $640
IZIP Trailz Enlightened Electric Bike, available from electrictransport $1499
doesn't look electric, but it is. 18mph
GoPed ESR 750EX Electric Scooter, available from electrictransport $849
this is the kiddie type of scooter. because it's electric, maybe it's more for teens.
EVT America Z-20 Electric Scooter, available at electrictransport $1,999
this is the adult-type-on-the-road scooter. top speed:45mph,
Myers Motors' NmG, available ay meyersmotors $36,000
30 mile range 3-wheeler for 1 person. 6-8hours to charge. see yahoo article
Commutercar Tango, available at commutercars $105,000
short, narrow car, fits in any parkingspace. see yahoo article
"eRoadsters Electric" 3/4 Scale '32 Ford HiBoy Roadster, available from eroadsters $10,286 (kit)
short. 24mph. 11.5hr charge time max. trucks, cars, sport (open top), sedans
electric car conversion, available from electrictransport $25,000-$80,000
100 or 200 mile range depending on options. I have only 1 question - what do you do for heat & cooling? you have to contact them. I am sure they have answers.
gas/electric hybrids
check whether your hybrid has been approved for the hybrid IRS tax credit.
Fisker Karma super-luxe $87,900 in production available Dec 2010 but order now or you will not see one until 2011
solar powered plugin hybrid. 67.2 mpg. Stealth Mode 0-60 in 7.5 seconds (0-100 km/h 7.5 seconds) Top speed 95 mph (153 km/h), Sport Mode 0-60 in 5.8 seconds (0-100 km/h 5.8 seconds) Top speed 125 mph (200 km/h). Regenerative brakes. Low center of gravity. 300 mi range. 50-mile electric range. drivers who charge their car overnight and commute less than 50 miles a day will get an average fuel economy of 100 mpg (2.4L/100km) per year.alternate picture
Not entirely electric, but it will save you money at the gas pump.
Toyota Prius Hybrid $23,919-29,941 (approx. for 98661)
no electric plug. has electric motors and uses them where possible to save gas. so in general you are going to have a quiet ride.
Saturn VUE Green Line hybrid (plugin hybrid in 2009)
comes in 7 shapes. the SUV has a plugin range of 10mi (not much compared to the electric-only vehicles, but every little bit helps I guess).
Toyota Camry, Highlander, Prius Hybrid
Ford Escape Hybrid, soon to be plugin hybrids in 2009 $29,305
34mpg city/31mpghwy, 500+mi/tank. first full-hybrid SUV. seats 5.
Honda Insight hybrid (concept car)
Honda 2009 Civic Hybrid Sedan $23,550
Civic style, fueled by natural gas. Advanced Technology Partial-Zero-Emission Vehicle (AT-PZEV)
GM 2007 Chevrolet Volt plugin hybrid (production in 2010)
takes overnight (6 hours) to charge, which is really really long compared to other chargers. I am not sure if GM is trying here. handles all fuel types. goes 40 mi. on a charge. better than some hybrids I guess. uses *only* the electric motor to move the car. 0-60 in 8.5 seconds. I don't think GM is trying here.
150km (93.75mi) range using NiCD batteries. (note: NiCD's have a discharge memory - if you don't discharge them completely before charging them again they will not charge past that level - car's charging system may accommodate this, or it may have a discharge button). 2.6 gallon tank.
GM 2008 Chevy Tahoe Hybrid SUV $50,490-53,295
22mpg city/21mpg hwy. seats 8 adults. towing capacity: 6000-6200lbs. 332hp. $2200 tax credit.
GM 2008 Chevy Malibu Hybrid car $24,545
24mpg city/32mpg hwy. seats 5 adults. towing capacity: no rating. 164hp. $1300 tax credit.
GM 2009 Chevy Silverado Hybrid pickup $19,550-41,270
some models come with a rear bench. towing capacity: no rating. ?hp. models: 1500 WT/LS/LT/LTZ half-ton, 2500HD WT/LT/LTZ, 3500HD WT/LT/LTZ
GM 2008 GMC Yukon Hybrid SUV $50,945-53,755
20mpg city/21mpg hwy. seats 8 adults. towing capacity: 6000-6200lbs. 332hp. $2200 tax credit. up to 50% fuel savings. up to 40% city.
towing capacity: 6100lbs. 332hp (248kW) @ 5100rpm.367lb-ft torque @ 4100rpm. $1300 tax credit. 40% fuel savings. 6.0L V8.
GM/2008 Saturn Aura Hybrid sedan $24,550
24mpg city/32mpg hwy. seats 5 adults. towing capacity: no rating. 164hp. $1300 tax credit. 2.4L 4cyl.
GM/2008 Saturn Vue Hybrid SUV $26,270
25mpg city/32mpg hwy. seats 5 adults. towing capacity: 1500lbs. 172hp. $1550 federal tax credit. 24% fuel savings over conventional VUE. 2.4L 4-cyl ECOTEC engine w/4-spd automatic trans. 17" alloy wheels and 6-speaker stereo.
GM/2009 Cadillac Escalade Hybrid SUV $72,865-76,585
20mpg city/21mpg hwy. seats 8. towing capacity: unknown. 332 hp @ 5100 rpm and 367 lb-ft @ 4100 rpm. 50% fuel savings over conventional escalade. bluetooth hands-free calling. 2wd/4wd
Renault's Electri'cite electric van (not on their site, not available in USA)
Renault Elect'Road plugin hybrid (not listed on web site, not available in USA)
Honda CR-Z $19,800+
a sporty hybrid car. "A blast to drive.". 1.5-liter i-VTEC engine with the 10 kilowatt (13.4 horsepower) motor. delivers 122 horsepower and 128 pound-feet of torque. 6-spd manual available. CVT option. 36 mpg city/38 hwy if CVT. The manual gets 31/37.
hydrogen or fuel-cell
most of these are cars I have seen on an episode of Scientific American Frontiers, hosted by Alan Alda. as of today, pretty much no hydrogen distribution stations exist. Attendants must wear special antistatic clothing to prevent sparks. The exhaust of a hydrogen car is water vapor.
Honda 2008 FCX Clarity Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle [Limited lease**]
Zero emissions. Hydrogen powered
GM Hy-wire concept car
hydrogen fuel cell. uses a "Skateboard" that the top of the car rides on. they are shooting for mass manufacturability. as of a movie on Scientific American Frontiers, they got the skateboard down to 6 inches.
hydrogen i.c.e. (might be this), available at $
based on a Ford Focus (conversion)
Mercedes Benz F400 Carving concept car
the only car with wheels that tilt up to 20°
fuel cell. uses a "Skateboard" that the top of the car rides on. "drive-by-wire" concept. they are shooting for mass manufacturability. as of a movie on Scientific American Frontiers, they got the skateboard down to 6 inches. then they came out this this next one based on a skateboard: