CALLING ALL ELECTRIC CAR SKEPTICS & LOOKYLOOS, FANS & WANNABEES!
April 18 “Revenge of the Electric Car” Feature Film Screening In White Plains, NY April 21 “EV Showcase” In White Plains, NY
This Earth Week in White Plains, two Electric Vehicle events are being organized by New York City Lower Hudson Valley Clean Communities. (That's NYCLHVCC - if you’ve a better name to suggest, they are in fact open to suggestions.) To encourage your enjoyment of the movie screening and Electric Vehicle display, I am pleased to present an EV Primer below.
First, know that NYCLHVCC is a tiny U.S. DOE-funded outfit (with "Clean Cities" clones in every major U.S. market), working behind-the-scenes to battle transportation-related pollution, in part by funneling government money to worthy pilot or “seed” projects involving companies and/or municipalities willing to "match" with their own funds. NYCLHVCC works hard fighting uphill battles convincing mass transportation constituencies and the rest of us to do the right things, and we owe them our support. If Clean Cities helps change trends in the U.S., these changes can trickle across the world.
"Revenge Of The Electric Car"
Movie Screening, Wednesday, April 18, 6 p.m. Cinema De Lux, White Plains, NY.
(The screening starts at 6:30 with a "pre-game" talk by representatives from Con Edison, Coda Electric and Beam Charging). A thrilling documentary that follows the Director Chris Paine and his film crew behind the closed doors of major auto distributors to chronicle the story of the global resurgence of electric cars. Revenge follows the race to be the first, the best, and to win the hearts and minds of the public around the world. It’s not just the next generation of green cars that’s on the line. It’s the future of the automobile itself. $15. RSVP , or just show up!
Electric Vehicle Display
Saturday, April 21, noon - 4 p.m., near City Hall in White Plains, NY.
The EV Showcase is an opportunity for consumers to experience EV technology with options for Ride-and-Drives during City of White Plains Earth Week festivities! Get your questions answered on where to purchase your future EV, how and where to charge and much much more! It's an experiential electric vehicle showcase! See the BMW Active E, the Coda All Electric, the famous Tesla Roadster, the mass-market Chevy Volt, Nissan Leaf, and more! Free.
EV Primer What's Available?
Pure EVs now (or near to) actually available, or taking wait list requests, include the Mitsubishi i-MiEV, Chevy Volt, Nissan Leaf, Ford Focus, models coming from BMW. Tesla Roadster, Tesla Model S, and Coda Electric. Of course, the other big guns are working on their own but haven't said much.
Charging
Plan to do it in your garage. Charging stations are springing up but slowly, and some of them charge twice or more than your home electric rate, where electricity costs about 1/3 the amount of gas or diesel to go the same distance. In the NYC area, an "off-peak" nighttime home rate might take you even lower, but at present it's not a simple rate structure and won't work for many. Special in-home charging stations are being pushed but are technically not required.
How About Battery Safety?
A few incidents of battery fire or "explosion" have occured due to tough testing conditions by diligent companies. Batteries have a long track record of propelling vehicles safely. Electric vehicles were first around in the late 1800s, and were the dominant car type right up until around 1910, when the ease of hauling gasoline beat out the difficulty of rapidly building out electric lines. Many thousands of gas cars or pickups converted to EVs have operated safely in the U.S. since the mid '70s first gas crisis. Think about it - under all sorts of conditions, gasoline or diesel fuel propelling a vehicle will explode. If gas was proposed today as a vehicle propulsion fuel, it would never get past the regulators. Batteries are fine.
Converting A Car From Gas To Electric
I recommend this only for folks who have a "classic" car (like a '65 Mustang or '85 Porsche) who want to drive a hot green car, and have lots of money. That is, the process is way too expensive and involved for the average person. It costs $15,000 - $40,000 (or more) depending on range (20-80 miles) and systems (as in, whether you want power steering, heat, and air conditioning restored). Don't believe the nonsense on the Internet about getting it done for $5000 in 50 manhours = Run Away! from anyone who says conversions are anything but complicated, time-consuming and expensive. Technologically simple, yes. Technically and pragmatically simple, no. Yes, they can be done by a good mechanic who researches properly, but it’s a 200-300 manhour process. That said, if you qualify, it can be one sweet ride. (For a truly cheap converted EV, find one to buy at www.evtradinpost.com or http://www.evtradinpost.com. For the high-end, see www.evporsche.com)
The "Sure, The Exhaust Is Clean But Where's The Power Come From To Charge It" Controversy
There should be no controversy. Pundits love to write about this stuff to generate press or sound smart. If you choose to entertain only one summing generality, take this one: it's easier to manager power plants than it is to manage individual vehicles. The powers that be (no pun intended) are figuring it out, from "clearer coal plants" to natural gas, wind, hydro, solar and nuclear. Right now as it is, a relatively small portion of our power in NY comes from coal. Perhaps the most blatant omission in the writing on this subject of "well to wheel" philosophy is this little piece of trivia - the electricity burned to refine a gallon of gas, which all goes away with an EV, is about 6 kwh of electricity per gallon. That's huge!
Also important is that most EVs charge at night, when there's plent of extra electric capacity, and it will be decades before this impacts the grid. That is plenty of planning time based on ongoing increases in demand which by nature are gradual and measurable over time. So enjoy the movie and come see the (near) future in White Plains. See you there. Eric Illowsky is Co-President of EVIA: Efficient Vehicle Innovation & Action, formerly Electric Cars of New York.
