Comments hewman1 has made

Ethanol the new eco-diversion

I rented and drove a GM EV1 oil-free, zero-emission, highway-capable battery electric vehicle (EV) almost seven years ago. It was fast, comfortable and practical for a visit to Los Angeles (with its hundreds of free recharging parking spots.)
Hundreds of people still drive practical EVs such as the Toyota RAV4 EV, one of the few survivors of the great major-automaker EV crushfest a few years back. Tesla is making sports EVs now; Commuter Cars sells its fast Tango EV and another practical highway EV debuts next week in Santa Monica.
Almost half of the RAV4 EV drivers charge them from home solar installations for truly zero-emission driving. All the noise about ethanol (replacing the now-debunked hydrogen hype)serves to distract Americans from the promise of EVs that can be built right now.On How the world got addicted to oil, and where biofuels will take us posted 2 years, 11 months ago 28 Responses

Ethanol the new eco-diversion

I rented and drove a GM EV1 oil-free, zero-emission, highway-capable battery electric vehicle (EV) almost seven years ago. It was fast, comfortable and practical for a visit to Los Angeles (with its hundreds of free recharging parking spots.)
Hundreds of people still drive practical EVs such as the Toyota RAV4 EV, one of the few survivors of the great major-automaker EV crushfest a few years back. Tesla is making sports EVs now; Commuter Cars sells its fast Tango EV and another practical highway EV debuts next week in Santa Monica.
Almost half of the RAV4 EV drivers charge them from home solar installations for truly zero-emission driving. All the noise about ethanol (replacing the now-debunked hydrogen hype)serves to distract Americans from the promise of EVs that can be built right now.On A lighthearted look at biofuels through time posted 2 years, 11 months ago 28 Responses

EV1 fast, efficient, clean

Umbra is uncertain that a zero-emission battery electric vehicle (EV,) at 90% fuel-efficient, is better than petro-powered cars that are less than 20% fuel-efficient.
I'm not!
Someone else called the GM EV1 heavy and slow-to-charge. I drove an original, lead acid-battery EV1 and beat everything out of stoplights with it. The weight of even old-tech lead cells is nearly offset by the absence of a heavy internal-combustion engine (plus all its complicated support systems,) transmission and fuel tank.
Also, advanced batteries now weigh a quarter as much, making electric vehicles ligter than equivalent gas cars.
Another point: the original 1996 EV1 recharged (in free public charging spaces) to 80% full in two hours while I shopped or ate a leisurely lunch. The full six-to-eight hour charging took place at night while I slept. GM built an improved model EV1 with quicker-charging nickel-metal hydride batteries in 1998.
Another person thought that GM sold EVs. Of several thousand of eight EV models built by six major automakers for US use, only a few hundred of two models (Ford Ranger EV and Toyota RAV4 EV) were ever offered for sale, at double the price of their gas equivalents. They were snapped up. All the other EV models were closed-end leased and have nearly all been repossessed and crushed. This (as well as the lack of marketing and lawsuits to avoid EV requirements,) is definitely not normal automotive business practice.On Umbra on electric cars posted 3 years ago 12 Responses

EVs: 40% less pollution, 100% more fun!

I learned about EVs after using electric golf cars to shuttle pedestrians starting in 1986. My first EV book, about converting one's own car to battery power, convinced me that I could segue from bicycle-commuting to zero-emission vehicles without regrets.
I followed GM's development of the EV1 almost from its inception, and finally got a chance to rent and drive one in early 2000. The car put a grin on my face that wouldn't go away (finding out that GM wouldn't sell me one did the trick.)
I've been EVangelizing ever since, and am thrilled to now be able to foresee the day that I can buy a major-maker EV. The grin is back!

Breathe free, hewman1