Electric Car Conversion Kits – Useful Tips On Dealing With Them

An electric car conversion kit will allow an individual to make a gasoline propelled vehicle into an electric vehicle. If you are interested in electric car conversion kits, they are available from vendors to use in a do-it-yourself form. You should research the best types of cars suited for the electric car conversion kit as well as the type of car to meet your needs. However, there are a number of things to keep in mind before converting to a “green” car.

A Few Things To Consider

The majority of electric cars can only be driven between 30 and 100 miles, this is affected by driving conditions and the weight of theautomobile. For those who have a daily commute in this range, an electric car conversion kit makes perfect sense. For a two car family, where one vehicle is used only for short trips, an electric car is a good alternative. It will save a great deal on the costs of gasoline annually. If your daily commute is more than 30 miles one way and/or in rough or hilly conditions, an electric car may not be the best alternative for you. However, if the daily commute is only 20 miles each way, and the road conditions are normal it may be ideal.

An electric vehicle needs to be recharged overnight. This requires a garage or carport that has electrical outlets. Most electric car conversion kits allow your car to travel up to 25 miles “per gallon” ratio, top speeds are comparable to gas-powered vehicles, and can carry up to four passengers. The cost is usually less than $10,000, but batteries need to be purchased about once a year. These cost about $300 each; that is another expense that should be considered.

Individuals who are interested in learning more about electric car kit conversions can attend various schools with courses on the subject. These courses show the proper way to perform the elements of the conversion process, reducing mistakes and errors that can affect the end result. There are also various workshops available in communities with instructors who are qualified to give you the basic information for working with an electric car kit. They can also assist you with devising a time frame and budget that works to get the project done. For those who aren’t confident in their mechanical abilities, a mechanic with experience in this type of installation may be the best option. Companies which specialize in converting vehicles are springing up rapidly. Many are available via the Internet, and there are also websites which direct the user to conversion specialists near their areas.

Having considered all the ramifications and limitations of converting your vehicle, and if you decide that its right for you and your family, there are many ways of going about the process. Once completed, you will have the satisfaction of knowing that you have done your part toward protecting the environment, and saving yourself money, too.

Ford Electric Car – True Story Revealed

One of the best known car manufacturers worldwide is the Ford Motor Company. As one of the largest car companies, they have been in no rush to get into manufacturing the electric car market. Due to consumer demand, an electric car was manufactured, placed on the market and sold by Ford – a cleaner, environmentally friendly car producing less pollution and no greenhouse gas emissions. It was their first version of an electric car.

Called the Think City electric, Ford produced many years ago, and a lot of people were keen to take advantage of this new vehicle. It was pollution free and more energy efficient than a fuel powered car. The United States have very rigid standards about the road safety of vehicles on their road, so the Think City electric didn’t meet those strict standards. Ford had to cease production of their first prototype and as a result many of the cars were returned once customers had reached the end of their leases. The cars were then crushed as they couldn’t be sold in America. So Ford no longer market the Think City cars, although a few can still be found.

Ford have now implemented and produce hybrid electric cars after much research. These mostly run on battery power, as well as being able to use gasoline power at the touch of a switch. Many of these electric cars can be seen on the roads. As a leading manufacturer of electric cars in the industry, Ford decided to branch out and produce electric vehicles such as Ford trucks, mini-vans and the SUV’s, rather than limit their production to just electric cars.

Ford mostly produce electric cars of the hybrid version to meet safety standards, but abroad you can find Ford brand electric cars. Many countries do not have as rigid safety standards, so the electric car can be seen driven by even more people in countries such as England and France.

Some people may be disappointed that Ford had to move from producing electric cars to hybrid vehicles, but as they weren’t able to meet the safety standards, there was no choice for the company. As a result it was more cost efficient to produce a more environmentally-friendly vehicle to cope with their customers’ demands, than it was to keep the electric cars on the road and try to meet the safety standards.

Ford do continue to listen to their customers and are trying to come up with a suitable model for an electric car. As leaders in the industry, it may only be a matter of time before they can replace the hybrid version with a new exacting Ford brand electric car. Customers will have to wait and see what comes up in the future. With the fast pace of modern technology, it could be possible.

Electric Car ? Short History

 

People become interested in the electric vehicles since 1830 when Joseph Henry invented the electric DC (direct connect) motor.

Only after the invention of rechargeable batteries in 1859 by Gaston Plante the electric cars were starting to become viable.

In the 1912 were over 34.000 electric vehicles. The EV industry vanished with the invention of the electric starter for gas-powered cars and also because of the cheap price of gasoline.

The oil crisis in the 1970’s mede the EV’s to remerge. General Motors, Ford, Sebring/Vanguard and many others started to experiment in the EV field, but with no success to make profits because of the high cost.

In the 1980’s th e poution cause by gas-powered cars was beginning to get out of control.

The carmakers sought ways to improve the air quality but they were not willing to risk entering th EV industry.

The only electric cars you could see on the roads those days were actually converted from gas-powered cars.

With the development of new type of batteries in the 1990’s, car makers were once again interested in the EV’s.

These new batteries were making EV’s viable by increasing thei range and performance.

But still, because of the high price of the batteries the average consumer couldn’t get one.

The many clients for EV’s were the companies that needed vehicles that would travel short distances at a time.

The best thing at an EV is the fact that it is extremely quiet, it can be recharged for practically nothing compared to gas prices and it is nearly maintenance free, not to mention the very low pollution level.

EVs are coming back, and it looks like this time, they will be here to stay.

 

Coming Soon: Electric Cars For Sale

The question is will it last? Have we finally reached a crisis point in a time when the world’s automobile manufacturers realize we need an alternative to gas powered vehicles? That the only way to avoid the fate of the dinosaur is to drive better gas mileage into their cars and trucks while continuing research on other alternatives? Consumers are buying electric car kits, spending money on electric car conversions, and trying to find out exactly what electric cars are and how they work. But if gas sees sub two dollars a gallon, will we forget about the pain of $5 a gallon gas?

Most people say no. Most people realize we have gone down this road before and they are not willing to get caught behind the eight ball again. Problem is no one tells the car makers. All of the majors are working on alternative fuel sources for the next few model years banking on the fact that the world’s drivers have had enough. Problem is if gas is cheap again, consumers will pick up right where they left off and drive up demand for SUV’s and other gas guzzlers which will force automobile manufactures to retool to release pent up demand and sideline their “green” programs yet again.

Going Green Does Have Problems

There is a huge outcry against the E85 or Ethanol based fuel program. For one the energy savings created by using ethanol is negated by the fact that it burns less efficiently than gas. Also, with the price of food skyrocketing, people have a problem with turning that food into fuel. Not to mention logistics, there are only 1500 service stations out of a total of 176,000 that offer E85 ethanol, and the vehicle in question has to be converted to take the 85/15 ethanol gas blend. In other words, this will be another boondoggle that gets us no were fast.

There Are Other Solutions

The electric car is seen as the next best technology and will hit the market in full force over the next few model years. Toyota is considering a Prius with solar panels to power the air conditioning unit. General Motors is planning on launching the sleek and sexy Volt in 2010, and BMW is working on a hydrogen powered engine they say will be ready in less than ten years. There are rumors that Mercedes-Benz plans on eliminating gas powered engines from its entire fleet by 2015. That is a pretty bold effort, but one that is surely needed.

But if any of these fantastic technological breakthroughs are going to be successful people are going to have to buy them. No one is going to confuse you for a secret agent while tooling around town in your Prius, and you are certainly going to get stares in your SMART car from Mercedes, but for all the wrong reasons. But not to worry all of you fashonistas out there waiting for the right car to accessorize your dog-wallet-purse-girlfriend-job with, the Volt is a nice looking vehicle and if you happen to have a hundred grand laying around, you could always pony up for a Tesla and be green and sexy all at the same time!

Why The Size And Strength Of Batteries Is Holding Back The Electric Car Market

Have you ever used a battery? Of course you have. It is highly unlikely that there is anyone alive today that has not used a battery. Many times you do not realize how much you depend on batteries until they die and you do not have any spares around.

When you think about batteries you may not think about the batteries that power your vehicle, but these too are batteries. They can be recharged and last much longer than the double A or nine volt batteries that charge the cd players or flashlights that you were probably thinking of but they are batteries nonetheless. They also require different care than the batteries that you may have had in mind originally.

With the price of gas and the pollution involved, alternatives have been developed to the vehicles that we have always used. One of the first is the electric car. The electric car depends highly on a rechargeable battery and of primary concern with this is the capacity of the battery, the size of the battery, and with size also comes the weight of the battery.

As it stands right now the size of a car battery is tied to the strength of a car battery. A regular car battery is nine inches by twelve inches, by seven inches in size. What is most important is power. It takes power to move the car and power to maintain speed above ten to fifteen miles per hour. This power must come from the battery.

In the case of electric cars this power must come from the battery. In order to get more power (more amps) from a battery it requires more size and/or more batteries. In order to get the speed needed for the electrical vehicles you actually need several batteries. By using several batteries, obviously you take up more space, by taking up more space; you lose more space for other things. Since the parts of a vehicle are pretty much mandatory what you lose is seating space and/or storage space.

Because of this, we are down to two seats with the electric car. So, obviously there are some problems with the electric cars. There are some situations to be resolved. With the environmental issues that are resolved it is definitely worth trying to resolve the issues.

More and more people are concerned about the environment and as this concerns mounts they are realizing that electric cars may be the way to go for environmental safety. Cars that can use a combination of gas and electricity are referred to as hybrids. Currently these types of cars are quite expensive but as time goes on the price will go down.