- DC electric vehicles are the most popular for the do it yourself conversion market. Affordable conversion kits and parts can be found at http://www.electroauto.com/catalog/kits.shtml.
The conversion involves replacing the gasoline motor with an electric motor, extra batteries, and the electronic controls for the system. The results can be astounding. In fact a converted S-10 pickup truck called Smoke Screen ran a very respectable 11.083 seconds in the quarter mile at Speedworld in Arizona, in September of 2008. That is fast even for a gas powered car.
These can be fun and fast, although the range on a charge is limited by the use of lead acid batteries. This is the limiting factor of a DC conversion, as the lithium ion batteries are far to expensive. - Although considerably more complex, the AC electric car has come a long way. The same type of kit to convert a current gas car to AC electric is also available, although the added electronics and a more expensive motor make it pricier then the DC car. The AC induction motor is more efficient and powerful, and still within the range of the do it yourself converter.
This is where the Tesla Roadster comes in. Boasting 0 to 60 mph times of just over three seconds, a range of 200 miles per charge and stunning looks, this is the epicenter of electric cars. This technology is here and now. Costing a little over $4 to charge on household electricity, and taking just over 4 hours, this car seems to have all the problems associated with electric cars figured out. - Hydrogen fuel cell cars can be included in the world of electric cars because the fuel cell does just one thing. It creates electricity. Therefore, the hydrogen fuel cell car is an electric vehicle of the first magnitude. It actually generates the electricity that the high performance AC induction motor uses. The technology is still a few years off, but research and development continues, and a few prototypes have made the pages of popular magazines.
- Electric vehicles have some advantages over some of the other alternative vehicles.
The technology to make them work is here and now, and conversions are done all over the country.
The cost to charge one puts the cost per mile of fuel well below the cost per mile of gasoline. And there is almost no maintenance except changing the brushes every once in awhile on the DC Motor conversions. The AC motors are zero maintenance.
To make things even better for the outlook of electric cars, the hydrogen fuel cell car will give us the ability to generate our own electricity to power them. - In terms of available technology and ease of conversion to electric across the economic and infrastructure spectrum, the electric car is in the lead to be the technology that displaces the gasoline car.
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