Some regular readers may have noticed that I’ve been a bit detached from the blog in the past week. There’s a good reason for that. I’ve been immersing myself in the joys of owning and learning about the nuts and volts of an electric car.
Yes, that evil old Anthony Watts, doubter of Anthropogenic Global Warming, is now driving an NEV (Neighborhood Electric Vehicle) to and from work every day, to lunch, and on errands in town. I put 100 miles on it the first week. Of course this sort of energy efficiency isn’t anything new for me, since I put solar on my home, and on one of the local schools when I was a trustee. But never mind that, I’m still “evil” for doubting AGW. 😉
It would be interesting to see what some other pro-AGW folks drive. I see Jim Hansen has a 85 mile each way commute from his house in Kintnersville, Pennsylvania to Columbia University in NYC.
The NEV is a 2002 Ford “Think” which is no longer in production since California dropped the ZEV (Zero Emissions Vehicle) mandate in 2003. It is one of the rare “pickup truck” models, and as seen below, the former owner drove that point home:
If you are a Ford pickup truck owner, you’ll recognize the logo. The famous Ford F-150 pickup truck is rated for a 1500 pound cargo capacity. This vehicle is rated at 500 pounds, hence the designation, though not an official one.
Those who have owned Fords are often reminded of these famous F.O.R.D descriptions:
“Fix Or Repair Daily”, or “Found On Road Dead”.
Since this operates on 6x 12V Gel Cells, which are under the seats, I’ve added a new one:
Found On Road Discharged
Though not really, I get about 25-30 miles of range from this vehicle, and finding a power plug is easy between my home, office, and some folks around town I know. Currently it has a top speed of 25MPH, which is limited by a controller, but the vehicle can be modded with new programming and an enhanced efficiency motor to reach up to 39MPH. I’m not sure if I need that, as I have not found the speed to be an issue. I mostly take the back streets anyway, and my office is about 2 miles from my home. The only place I can’t go is the Highway, but I don’t need to.
The complete vehicle specs are listed here, from testing done by the US Department of Energy.
Now here is the really important part, look at the DOE rated energy cost:
Energy Cost: @ $0.10/kWh: $0.016/mi
In California, I pay about 15 cents per kilowatt/hour, so my cost would be: $.024/mile or 2.4 cents per mile. With battery replacement every 4 years, I figure that will rise to 3, maybe 4 cents a mile. Even if I’m off by a factor of 100%, and it costs me 6-8 cents a mile to drive, it is still a bargain. In my regular vehicle, given the $3.89/gallon gas price, I figured I was spending about $40-$50 per week in gasoline costs just doing my daily routine and errands.
So, my mission here is simple; I’m not saving the planet, I’m saving money.
That is infectious, and my local newspaper editor, David Little, did his weekly Sunday column on it and the electric car club in town. He’s hooked.
Right now the vehicle is in my garage, I completely disassembled the body and dash so I could locate an intermittent electrical connection and give the entire vehicle a good cleaning and inspection. The former owner lived in a desert area, and there was a lot of sand in it. It has been a joy to work on. It is simple and efficient in design, and easily maintainable with simple hand tools. I’ve located the electrical problem and fixed it. Once I get the vehicle reassembled, I’ll get back to blogging more on the issues related to USHCN and surfacestations.org
In the meantime, I’m having a ball! Bumper sticker suggestions are welcome.
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Man oh man Anthony, that’s about the ugliest golf cart I’ve ever seen. If you decide to go into production make sure the northern New England edition has 18″ balloon tires, and a Briggs & Stratton auxiliary engine for cold weather starts.
Oh, and heated seats would be a great feature for those frosty mornings. What about air?…sure would be nice on those hot & muggy July afternoons. When will you be accepting down payments for the new and improved advanced edition,
the FX50WATT?
I have a few bumper stickers:
“Watts for my Truck”
“My chemical reactions are reversible.”
“Displaced Emissions”
“My CO2 is released in (pick a state)”
Have fun with your new toy!
Richard
Bumpersticker suggestion – “Caution : evil climate change denialist on board”
Should be in a yellow diamond shaped sign.
REPLY: “Driver emits CO2” with one of those hazmat stickers might work also.
Hi Anthony,
I guess I’m going the opposite way. With gas here in the Hearland going to $4 a gallon, I’m close to getting a used Ford Excursion. All of a sudden they are on lots everywhere, the prices are falling fast!
REPLY: Your bumper sticker could read “Giant Sucking Sound”.
very nice. I’ve seen a couple of Smart Cars, which look very similar to yours, riding around my city here in central Pennsylvania.
you should also put thato n your bumper sticker: I’m not saving the planet, I’m saving money.
far more people respond to the “wanna save some bucks” rhetoric then the “you must do this or we all die!” rhetoric.
(that said I don’t drive at all. Because I’m an incredible penny-pincher, not because I believe the world will end if I do start driving.)
I’m not saving the planet; I’m saving money
He doth protest too much, methinks
Neat little car, though – I like the idea of overclocking it…
Bumper sticker, obviously: “Driven by Watts”
REPLY: Best one yet!
I scanned through the above talented notes and hope I don’t plagiarize anyone.
First you should send your good governator a thank you for not taxing your ‘fuel’ for road use.
Also you should make note of your savings on tune-ups and oil changes and just think, no radiator to leak antifreeze on your driveway to poison your neighbors dog.
Anthony,
good thing, like that.
Personally, I had a “riksha” – type (one front wheel, two rear wheels) for 17
years (made from three used bikes), added some solar panel (four years ago)
Officially it was capable of 6 kmh (really 9.5) with a diesel battery (65 kwA)
for energy storage. It was harder than biking, but I saved the fee for a gym
(or fitness studio, as we name it here). So far, it worked in both ways, have
same weight at 54 as with 19 years (Or as my wife may say, “Soo old, but still
no fat ass in his trousers”, OK she is younger than me.)
The luggage/baggage room is between the rear wheels. On occasions I had
about 50-60 kilograms in there.
REPLY: The “riksha” lives on see http://www.zapworld.com
How About:
“Real Men Have Huge Carbon Footprints”
Don’t get in an accident in a golf cart. We have plenty of them around here, the results are not pleasant. They won’t let the golf carts drive on the sidewalk, so you are on your own.
Me, I won’t ride in one if it were free. One accident and you are likely finished for the rest of your life. There is more than just saving money …
Here is something to think about — I have a friend who was driving down the few miles to get an ice cream one evening, he and the wife on board. Along comes a big car, driver loses control, hops the medium, headons his car — Been limping ever since, can no longer work, back surgery helped a little, his wife is in constant pain after hip replacement, she eats pain killer pills like popcorn. Sorry, not gonna do that for no amount of money.
REPLY: I hear you, the same would be true if a rode a bycycle. The key is alert and defensive driving, and using side streets (which I do) rather than the main thoroghfares.
If you like electric cars the Tesla is pretty spiffy.
100% electric
0-60 in 3.9 sec
220 miles per charge
2 cents per mile.
Sharp looking sports car.
Unfortunately the price tag, > $100k, is also pretty spiffy.
http://www.teslamotors.com/
I’m hoping that once they develop the technology they can produce a more reasonably priced car that the average person can afford.
I am about 8 miles from my office. I would love to do this, but it needs to have 45 mph speed to handle the city streets. It also needs to close up securely. I am waiting for batteries to get better like these: http://www.fireflyenergy.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=273&Itemid=100
They have a version 3D2 battery in the works that will be much better yet. I hope to get a small older car that has a blown engine and a manual transmission, and convert it. Unfortunately the conversion cost looks to be about $10k.
REPLY: For that, you need a Zap car or a Zap Truck. see http://www.zapworld.com Used trucks on Ebay for about $8K
Completely off-topic, but the F50 and various slogans made me think of it…..
Years ago, when I lived in the Toronto area, I knew a fair few people that worked for the Ford plant in Oakville.
The (unofficial, I think) slogan for the union workers at the plant was “UAW – We screw Ford together”
In the same vein, the Litton workers used the phrase “Litton – we put a little cruise into everything we build”, since they were manufacturing cruise missile parts at the time.
Hehe. Post or not, as you see fit….just thought you might enjoy the comment personally.
Mike Walsh
He He, I always thought it was Atomz until this thread. You aren’t the only one with this dyslexia
I know this is OT…. but Arizonans sound pretty smart….
http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2008/05/12/daily5.html
I confess that I tried onece to buy a Citicar (Citivan, actually). Wife pointed out correctly that we would be able to buy batteries for it if we did.
Sigh.
Please don’t take this the wrong way BUT:
What’s the crash rating if broadsided by a real F150?
REPLY: I thought about that long before and it is the same as riding a bycycle on city streets. The key is defensive driving.
mr. steve sadlov:
in spanish is:
“Fabricado Ordinario para ReparARLo DiariAMENTE” or better:
“Fabricado Ordinario para Repararlo a Diario”
and remember, that if you are in Barcelona or San Sebastián, you must say “castellano” not español!!!!
sorry…
“Please don’t take this the wrong way BUT:
What’s the crash rating if broadsided by a real F150?
REPLY: I thought about that long before and it is the same as riding a bycycle on city streets. The key is defensive driving.”
Not much comfort when the other guy is drunk or distracted on his cell phone. I have been broadsided by a drunk driving old 89 Olds. I caught his lights out of the corner of my eye as he ran the red light at the intersection I was just entering. It was only the power of my V-8 Mustang that saved me as I gunned it and took the hit in the rear panel instead of the driver door which would have killed me. I have always driven a full sized, 4 door, V8 since. When my real estate agent friends complain about the current price of gas I tell them this. If they get 20 miles per gallon, and drive a prospective buyer around for 400 miles before they buy, you have used $80 worth of gas (rounding up to $4 per gallon). The commission on that sale will be somewhere around $6000 on average. Not so bad when you look at it that way.
I’m going to echo what you and others have said – the only way that “green” technology will succeed in the long run is if it is cost-effective, saves money and is thus what people will prefer to use. Not sure if I would be brave enough to use your electric vehicle on my daily commute through west London, as it’s a regular carmageddon out there – but if it was bigger, heavier and more armoured (and still economical!) I’d consider it.
To: Tom in Florida.
That was one of the reasons I bought the Bronco 8 years ago.
11 years ago I survived a drunk driver rear ending me at 3 am while I was stopped at a red light. He was traveling 60-80 mph and never hit his brakes.
My truck, a jacked up Nissan SR5 was thrown end over end and I ended up over 40 feet and upside down from the original point of impact. I was saved by the the guy hitting my tires and throwing the truck in the air. He was saved by the same thing as my car went up before my bumper took off his head. ‘
The heavy duty rollbar also prevented me from being crushed. I was taken Code 3 to the hospital taped to a backboard and then walked home after being given a clean bill of health 3 hours later–hence my Bronco.
I used to ride a bicycle a few miles to work each day. I did not take roads. It was about 10 miles round trip. Did it for years, because I enjoy riding a bicycle. Mostly in parks and trails now, never on the road anymore. Too many ignorant inattentive drivers on the roads nowadays.
The problem is the odd accidental occurrence will eventually befall you. No one can be alert for everything all the time. It only takes one.
I value my healthy life and the lives of my family, much more than I do anything else.
Stay safe.
The only thing that appears missing is the rack for the golf clubs.
REPLY: No it is not missing, I don’t play golf.
Good for you Anthony. Saving a buck is saving a buck.
>“It would be interesting to see what some other pro-AGW folks drive.”
My wife and I have a Honda Insight. Over 40,000 miles we have averaged 59.5mpg. For both of us it is our first choice ride. Because we live out a dirt road that sometimes gets snow we also have a Toyota Tacoma 4WD (4 cylinder). It also comes in handy to collect wood we use to heat in the winter.
We looked into various electric vehicles, but to find one (other than the Tesla) that could handle the 1,800’, 10 mile climb from town is daunting. It will be nice when/if batteries improve somewhat.
I am retired, so it is relatively easy for me to avoid driving as much as possible. If I still worked I would be living closer to town.
I am shocked. Shocked.
REPLY: Bzzzt!