I don't think you can meet all requirements you lay out, but can almost. However you go, I think you're going to exceed $20K. The least expensive route I see is to use an S-10 crew cab pickup to build a Red Beastie type vehicle. This will definitely be heavy, and since the 4 door S-10s are pretty recent, your glider will likely be fairly expensive as well. With 40 or so flooded batteries, you're far from maintenance free as well, although a watering system will help.
The other way to go is the way Sheer has with his Honda. Start with a slightly larger 4-door Accord or something similar (and you'll likely want to start with a newer donor), use a Seimens AC system with 336 volts worth of batteries. Lead-acid are probably not up to the task, particularly in colder climates, so you'll probably want some kind of advanced chemistry. NiZn look promising but are still unproven. NiMH will likely last 100,000 miles, but your whole budget will be blown on batteries. Unfortunately, doing a one-off at retail prices (even with Victor's great prices for an AC system) will likely push a 100,000 mile, 100 mile range, plug and play, maintenance-free Ev to around $40,000 or more. If I won the lottery (or better yet had Bill Gates to back me), here's my dream to get EVs in every garage: Work with a Korean manufacturer to get gliders with heavier springs and shocks already installed. Use a model already approved and imported into the US. Install an AC system such as Seimens, AC Pro, etc., buying in quantities to get the price down. Work with Saft or Panasonic to get a large enough run of NiMH batteries to get the prices down to a reasonable level. Even better would be to have the motor, inverter, battery boxes, batteries, charger, etc. installed in the car as it rolled down the assembly line. Based on what the other manufacturers have done, and on my gut feelings (more than any real numbers), I believe that an initial run of 1000 or so cars could sell at around $30,000 each and would be snapped up in a heartbeat. The trick is to get a large enough run that the prices for batteries and motor/inverter systems come down (which would already be happening if CARB hadn't backed off their mandates). Obviously this requires a very large initial investment. Personally, I believe that a run of 10,000 or more well done cars would still fly off the dealer's lots. The technology is here now, but the price is still high. Maybe folks on the EVDL should all invest in buying out one of the ailing foreign automakers and start producing EVs in their factory. Of if we wait another 10 or 15 years, we might can pick up GM for a song. Just wait until oil prices go through the roof, they have all the wrong vehicles (as they did a few years ago when the Japanese automakers took over) and they're losing money hand over fist. Well, guess I'd better come back down to reality. Dave Davidson Laurel, Maryland 1993 Dodge TEVan >From: Mike Chancey <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Subject: Conversion Concept Ideas >Date: Sun, 22 Sep 2002 00:47:03 -0500 > >Lately here have been several threads about Insight conversion, EV1 >replacements and other such semi-hypothetical EVs. It got me thinking, >what kind of EV could be built to meet the following: > >Assume a total budget of $20,000, including the donor vehicle (used). > >Expected service life, 10 years, 100,000 miles, average about 30 miles per >day, or about 3500 charge/discharge cycles at about 30-40% discharge, >though there would be occasional deeper and shallower cycles. > >Initial investment to cover all battery replacements required during >service life. (Economics of high cost long life batteries vs low cost >short life batteries will come into play here.) > >Sealed service free batteries an asset, alternatives to be considered. > >Able to carry 4 passengers. 4 doors preferred but not required. > >Capable of ranges of 80 to 100 miles at highway speeds. > >0-60 acceleration no more than 14 seconds fully loaded. (Minivan/Large SUV >performance equivalent.) > >Able to charge from both 120 and 220 volt sources. > >Air conditioning and heating a must, power steering probably needed, as >this would likely be heavy. > >As much as possible, this should be a "plug and play" vehicle, once >converted it should not require extreme effort to keep in service. > >Now the question. Can this be done? Is it possible with today's >technology? What would such a conversion be? Too much to ask for? Any >thoughts? > >Thanks, > >Mike Chancey, >'88 Civic EV >Kansas City, Missouri >EV List Photo Album at: http://evalbum.com >My Electric Car at: http://www.geocities.com/electric_honda >Mid-America EAA chapter at: http://maeaa.org >Join the EV List at: http://www.madkatz.com/ev/evlist.html _________________________________________________________________ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com
