After 3 weeks of daily driving, my Zap Xebra is sitting, sadly, with several inches of snow on it in the driveway. I'd like to drive it in the snow, but there's enough trouble getting around in my Ford AWD. It' slick on all the driving surfaces today so I'm not driving the 3 wheeler. Besides, once the temperatures dipped into the 20s, the emergency brake would not release, leaving the brakes engaged. I can't drive the car because it won't go!
Once the temperatures reach above freezing again I will unleash the car and steal the glances of the public away from the gasoline marquees.
No matter where I go, it's fun to stop just inside the door and look back to the car to observe who is inspecting it. Somebody always checks it out, several people will notice it and walk over to admire it. At the grocery store I was followed to the car by a woman who had to remark how cute it was. What kind of gas mileage does it get? she asked. I replied that it's electric and doesn't use gasoline. She didn't understand! I told her it doesn't have a gas tank. She said it was still cute!
What a relief. If it doesn't survive scrutiny at least it's cute.
The title arrived in the mail today. Now that I can register it and get a regular license plate, it's time to order a personalized plate. I've toyed with several ideas but seem to be holding fast on 999MPG. Alaska DMV only allows 6 characters. Photo to follow when the plate arrives.
I would like to drive the car no matter the weather, no matter the temperature. I don't want to risk having an accident with the car, so I will be garaging it until the end of the winter weather season. It might have to sit until the end of March! Since it's insured and charged and ready to go, it breaks my heart to park it. I want to drive it. It wants to be driven.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Sunday, November 29, 2009
End of First Week
After my first week of electric vehicle ownership, I have only 3 words: It's the answer! Getting around in Ketchikan is just as easy with my Xebra as with the Ford, even easier since I can park in just about any ol' wide spot. I've had to make a couple of adjustments in my routes to accomodate hills but everything else is about the same. Go, electric!
I just realized last night it's been a week since the Xebra came on the ferry. I have put 150 miles on the car doing what I normally do: going to the store, taking kids to activities, driving to work, visiting friends. Since my ICE car gets about 12 mpg that's about 12 gallons of gas I didn't buy, didn't use, and don't miss paying for. At $3.25/gal, it tallies to about fifty bucks I put in my pocket. The car pays for itself, just on the gas I don't use. Not to mention that new set of tires, the repairs, the (fill in the blank) that the Ford needs. Plus, I get a new car to drive. Costs no more to plug it in. At a penny a mile, I've spent $1.50 this week for transportation.
My wife went for her first outing. She seems happy enough with the car but is disappointed. Since she works so far out the road (Point Higgins) it wouldn't be practical for her to drive electric... yet. When the 4 wheel drive electric comes out with lithium-ion battery we'll go get a loan. The kids still marvel that it's so quiet and haven't complained even a little bit. It's a very kid-friendly car.
I've made a couple of modifications to the car to improve the quality of the ride. The rear portion of the rear wheels wheel wells came not completed. I think it's a design flaw, an oversight. For Rain Country anyway. Above the mud flaps there is open space, which allows water, dirt etc to fly right into the engine compartment. I closed that up with some more mudflap material. Also, the lid on the engine compartment was not closing all the way due to a rubber shield for the 7th battery installed there (the 84th volt). I trimmed it a little and look! the cover fits tightly now. That dramatically decreases the interior noise. Aaah.
Finally, I put a seat cushion on the drivers seat and it's so much more comfortable. Comfort level is very important since it's a reasonable factor for comparison to ICE vehicles. Once you cross the comfort bar to compare the two and it seems about even, comfort-wise, the distinction between electric and ICE begins to blur. And electric looks better and better!
The main difference between them still would be that the electric car is unforgiving. You can't just take a cab to the gas station and return with some juice and start going again. I still don't know what I will do when/if I run out of juice. I have an electric cord in the back seat - I hope it'll be long enough!
A Few Thoughts
Now that some of the excitement has worn off, I am starting to think along other lines. For example, why is there any interest at all on the part of manufacturers in producing hydrogen cars? We certainly don't need them when we have electric cars. If we want to reduce the amount of gasoline used by consumers, they should manufacture electric cars. Pushing the deadline for new technology back by entertaining the concept of a hydrogen powered vehicle only allows ICE cars to continue to pollute and be the dinosaurs they are. And manufacturers don't change their product. Wasn't part of the bailout of the auto industry to induce Ford & GM to make a better product, explore alternative fuels?
Electric cars are the answer. Only a few things are needed to make them a real competitor of the ICE vehicles: refueling stations, lighter-weight batteries, and comfortable production models. In other words, solve the problem of distance and you solve the problem of greenhouse gas emitting Internal Combustion Engines. If this is truly the goal, then electric cars are the answer. Everything else will follow: repairs, parts, service stations, infrastructure, etc.
Electric cars are the answer! Go electric!
I just realized last night it's been a week since the Xebra came on the ferry. I have put 150 miles on the car doing what I normally do: going to the store, taking kids to activities, driving to work, visiting friends. Since my ICE car gets about 12 mpg that's about 12 gallons of gas I didn't buy, didn't use, and don't miss paying for. At $3.25/gal, it tallies to about fifty bucks I put in my pocket. The car pays for itself, just on the gas I don't use. Not to mention that new set of tires, the repairs, the (fill in the blank) that the Ford needs. Plus, I get a new car to drive. Costs no more to plug it in. At a penny a mile, I've spent $1.50 this week for transportation.
My wife went for her first outing. She seems happy enough with the car but is disappointed. Since she works so far out the road (Point Higgins) it wouldn't be practical for her to drive electric... yet. When the 4 wheel drive electric comes out with lithium-ion battery we'll go get a loan. The kids still marvel that it's so quiet and haven't complained even a little bit. It's a very kid-friendly car.
I've made a couple of modifications to the car to improve the quality of the ride. The rear portion of the rear wheels wheel wells came not completed. I think it's a design flaw, an oversight. For Rain Country anyway. Above the mud flaps there is open space, which allows water, dirt etc to fly right into the engine compartment. I closed that up with some more mudflap material. Also, the lid on the engine compartment was not closing all the way due to a rubber shield for the 7th battery installed there (the 84th volt). I trimmed it a little and look! the cover fits tightly now. That dramatically decreases the interior noise. Aaah.
Finally, I put a seat cushion on the drivers seat and it's so much more comfortable. Comfort level is very important since it's a reasonable factor for comparison to ICE vehicles. Once you cross the comfort bar to compare the two and it seems about even, comfort-wise, the distinction between electric and ICE begins to blur. And electric looks better and better!
The main difference between them still would be that the electric car is unforgiving. You can't just take a cab to the gas station and return with some juice and start going again. I still don't know what I will do when/if I run out of juice. I have an electric cord in the back seat - I hope it'll be long enough!
A Few Thoughts
Now that some of the excitement has worn off, I am starting to think along other lines. For example, why is there any interest at all on the part of manufacturers in producing hydrogen cars? We certainly don't need them when we have electric cars. If we want to reduce the amount of gasoline used by consumers, they should manufacture electric cars. Pushing the deadline for new technology back by entertaining the concept of a hydrogen powered vehicle only allows ICE cars to continue to pollute and be the dinosaurs they are. And manufacturers don't change their product. Wasn't part of the bailout of the auto industry to induce Ford & GM to make a better product, explore alternative fuels?
Electric cars are the answer. Only a few things are needed to make them a real competitor of the ICE vehicles: refueling stations, lighter-weight batteries, and comfortable production models. In other words, solve the problem of distance and you solve the problem of greenhouse gas emitting Internal Combustion Engines. If this is truly the goal, then electric cars are the answer. Everything else will follow: repairs, parts, service stations, infrastructure, etc.
Electric cars are the answer! Go electric!
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Thanksgiving - and not a drop of gasoline!
The Xebra has been on the island for 4 days now. It is a hit! One (conservative) Ketchikanite said, "Squish it before it gets in the woodwork!" Every kid that has seen it is a fan, and a lot of adults, too. I have challenged the district attorney, who operates a smart car, to see who has the better car (I'm going to lose in a race). He's a fan! My boss gave me carte blanche to plug in at work and was genuinely excited looking at the various models that are available, especially the Zap Alias, a 125mph prototype scheduled to go into production in 2010.
I put 25 miles on my Xebra yesterday and still made it home just fine. When it's fully charged it shows about 92 volts. Once the batteries get down around 70 volts, the battery light comes on when you floor it and a tiny warning horn sounds. This tells me I need to get nervous and start looking for an outlet. I don't know what I will do when/if I run out of juice. It can't be towed or jumped. I guess I'll try to not have that happen!
I really feel like I'm getting away with something by not using gas. On the other hand, charging the car is so cheap it's nearly free. It costs about a penny a mile. That means I can drive 100 miles for a dollar! Compare this with my Ford that goes 100 miles for about 26 dollars. Plus, there is almost no maintenance on the car except normal wear and tear, wash and wear, check the air in the tires and fill the washer fluid. Every time I have a chance to drive it I can't wait to get started. Is anything wrong with this picture? The electric car is the answer!
Tomorrow on Thanksgiving I will take it out the road when traffic is light and see how it fares on the highway. I know it won't do better than 35 in places but it might get close to 50 in others.
What a great addition to our family fleet. I hope someday my kids can learn to drive using an electric car.
I put 25 miles on my Xebra yesterday and still made it home just fine. When it's fully charged it shows about 92 volts. Once the batteries get down around 70 volts, the battery light comes on when you floor it and a tiny warning horn sounds. This tells me I need to get nervous and start looking for an outlet. I don't know what I will do when/if I run out of juice. It can't be towed or jumped. I guess I'll try to not have that happen!
I really feel like I'm getting away with something by not using gas. On the other hand, charging the car is so cheap it's nearly free. It costs about a penny a mile. That means I can drive 100 miles for a dollar! Compare this with my Ford that goes 100 miles for about 26 dollars. Plus, there is almost no maintenance on the car except normal wear and tear, wash and wear, check the air in the tires and fill the washer fluid. Every time I have a chance to drive it I can't wait to get started. Is anything wrong with this picture? The electric car is the answer!
Tomorrow on Thanksgiving I will take it out the road when traffic is light and see how it fares on the highway. I know it won't do better than 35 in places but it might get close to 50 in others.
What a great addition to our family fleet. I hope someday my kids can learn to drive using an electric car.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Riding the Xebra to work
Day one with the car at work: Success! There was a tailwind going to work and actually got near to 50 mph but really seems to consistently make 40 and even 45 on occasion. A lot of questions from co-workers about the car. It generated some fair measure of excitement and the interest of course drew some disparaging comments from upper management, i.e. does it have enough power to drive over his foot, stuff like that. The most pressing question was in regard to the selling price. Including registration and a dealer fee and the ferry cost to come to Ketchikan, it has run nicely just below $10,000 for the car.
Including the trip home for lunch, my total mileage for one day to work and back is about 13 miles. That's a gallon of gas on the Ford, but today I didn't burn it. The Ford sat on the street and I used the clean energy provided by the KPU hydro facility at Swan Lake to power the electric car.
I got the Green Car Co tech on the phone and had a chance to ask several questions, including proper charging of the batteries. It seems that by luck or something I have done everything right so far. He said that the first days I should run the batteries as low as possible, totally tap them, and then charge for a good long time. I ended up charging them overnight, so for about 12 or 14 hours after running completely out of juice at my mother in law's house they got a complete charge. The tech said that a lot of people don't deplete their batteries thinking that keeping them charged is good but actually this makes them shallow and unable to hold a full charge.
Depleting them and re-charging them in the first cycles establishes some kind of long-term benchmark for the batteries, and conditions them to accept a full charge but also to deliver current to the level established on this first use. So they will provide energy to the very last and re-charge completely to their peak. In fact, the batteries had a speck over 90 volts in them this morning. I think that means they got a full charge! It is an 84 volt system, after all!!
Sunday, November 22, 2009
рдеे Arrival
Our Xebra arrived on the ferry this morning. The ferry was late. I went to unload the car and found it had already been taken off by a ferry employee. There it was in the parking lot! So we photographed it and inspected it, and prepared to go. Kids were falling apart with anticipation. I turned it on and put it in gear. It didn't start. Tia was watching with the video camera. Suddenly I was reminded of the Star Trek movie we watched the other night, when the Enterprise is called with a green crew to assist at planet Vulcan. It doesn't go when the captain gives the command.
Sulu says he doesn't know why it's not going into warp. Then Captain Pike says, "Is the parking brake on?" I checked the parking brake, and sure enough, it was engaged. Once released, we take to the streets and try out our new car. We didn't warp out, but moving at a fast clip nevertheless.
We drove to Saxman and hit all the gas stations along the way. Traffic was light but people walking and driving as well had equally interesting responses, all of them positive. We only visited the gas stations for a laugh. One last time around!
After putting 15 miles on the car we drove home. I have a few observations about the car to share.
The ride is a little bumpier than a regular car. It is also a little louder, since the electric motor has a cooling fan that kicks on and buzzes. The car in general is not soundproofed or insulated. It's kind of a "bare bones" design. Comfort lacks. The seats are hard and I will be buying padded seat covers to compensate. The inside fogged up with the three of us inside. The heater doesn't have a defrost option, so all vents are all on whenever the heater is on, defrost, mids, and floor all equally.
The body is not perfect. There are a couple of places that look like they were finished by a high school autobody class. Inside, the spartan comfort level suggests that carpet and a few decorations might be in order. The instrumentation is easy to read but I am not sure what to make of the information it provides.
Finally, the literature that accompanied the car doesn't offer much to go on. It is a challenge to begin a completely new vehicle with adequate information but this may challenge me to a different level. I will look on the web to see whether any other Xebra owner has light to shed on reading the power use and when conservation measures must be in order to avoid running out of juice.
Overall I am pleased with the car. It will be a great commuter for Ketchikan.
Sulu says he doesn't know why it's not going into warp. Then Captain Pike says, "Is the parking brake on?" I checked the parking brake, and sure enough, it was engaged. Once released, we take to the streets and try out our new car. We didn't warp out, but moving at a fast clip nevertheless.
We drove to Saxman and hit all the gas stations along the way. Traffic was light but people walking and driving as well had equally interesting responses, all of them positive. We only visited the gas stations for a laugh. One last time around!
After putting 15 miles on the car we drove home. I have a few observations about the car to share.
The ride is a little bumpier than a regular car. It is also a little louder, since the electric motor has a cooling fan that kicks on and buzzes. The car in general is not soundproofed or insulated. It's kind of a "bare bones" design. Comfort lacks. The seats are hard and I will be buying padded seat covers to compensate. The inside fogged up with the three of us inside. The heater doesn't have a defrost option, so all vents are all on whenever the heater is on, defrost, mids, and floor all equally.
The body is not perfect. There are a couple of places that look like they were finished by a high school autobody class. Inside, the spartan comfort level suggests that carpet and a few decorations might be in order. The instrumentation is easy to read but I am not sure what to make of the information it provides.
Finally, the literature that accompanied the car doesn't offer much to go on. It is a challenge to begin a completely new vehicle with adequate information but this may challenge me to a different level. I will look on the web to see whether any other Xebra owner has light to shed on reading the power use and when conservation measures must be in order to avoid running out of juice.
Overall I am pleased with the car. It will be a great commuter for Ketchikan.
Friday, November 20, 2009
The Anticipation
After considerable thought and years of discussion I have elected to purchase an electric car. It is a production model and 100% electric. I feel gratified after taking such a beating with the price of oil and gasoline during the administration of Bush, Jr. Paying over $4 a gallon was especially hard. Once when I filled my car up, it cost over $90.
The car is made by the Zap Corporation of Santa Rosa, California. It is made in China and final assembly takes place here in the US. It is a Xebra model, a 4 door sedan, with a three wheel design. The one I picked has had an upgrade that will allow it to travel 45 mph and go about 50 miles. I am toying with the idea of a personalized license plate that says "zaplin".
The upgrade brings an additional battery onboard, which increases the available voltage to 84 volts. There is an additional charger and controller for the battery. Since it has the tricycle design, it insures as a motorcycle for only $192/year, with full comprehensive, collision, uninsured motorist, etc. This compares with around $600/year for the Ford.
So, if you include the vehicle payment for the loan to purchase it, the insurance, and "fuel" for 200 miles a month, the entire cost to operate the electric car balances at what I'm currently paying for only gasoline for my Ford Explorer. This doesn't include what I'm paying for Ford insurance, repairs, or loan (it's paid for). By not driving the Ford, the money for Ford fuel goes right into the Xebra fund and it's the cheapest car I've ever had. It actually equals my gasoline bills alone to buy and insure and operate the Xebra.
The dealer in Seattle insisted on installing fresh batteries before he delivered it to the ferry terminal in Bellingham. As another plus, since the car is under 10 feet (it's 10 feet and a smidge) it travels on the ferry system as a motorcycle, which is about half the charge for a regular car. To barge it from Seattle would cost about $600. To ferry it - as a motorcycle - is only $305.
Any way you look at it, for island hops in Ketchikan, this vehicle makes financial sense and meets my needs. I will pick it up tomorrow morning at 7:30 when the Alaska ferry arrives from Bellingham. Yeehaw and wahoo!
The car is made by the Zap Corporation of Santa Rosa, California. It is made in China and final assembly takes place here in the US. It is a Xebra model, a 4 door sedan, with a three wheel design. The one I picked has had an upgrade that will allow it to travel 45 mph and go about 50 miles. I am toying with the idea of a personalized license plate that says "zaplin".
The upgrade brings an additional battery onboard, which increases the available voltage to 84 volts. There is an additional charger and controller for the battery. Since it has the tricycle design, it insures as a motorcycle for only $192/year, with full comprehensive, collision, uninsured motorist, etc. This compares with around $600/year for the Ford.
So, if you include the vehicle payment for the loan to purchase it, the insurance, and "fuel" for 200 miles a month, the entire cost to operate the electric car balances at what I'm currently paying for only gasoline for my Ford Explorer. This doesn't include what I'm paying for Ford insurance, repairs, or loan (it's paid for). By not driving the Ford, the money for Ford fuel goes right into the Xebra fund and it's the cheapest car I've ever had. It actually equals my gasoline bills alone to buy and insure and operate the Xebra.
The dealer in Seattle insisted on installing fresh batteries before he delivered it to the ferry terminal in Bellingham. As another plus, since the car is under 10 feet (it's 10 feet and a smidge) it travels on the ferry system as a motorcycle, which is about half the charge for a regular car. To barge it from Seattle would cost about $600. To ferry it - as a motorcycle - is only $305.
Any way you look at it, for island hops in Ketchikan, this vehicle makes financial sense and meets my needs. I will pick it up tomorrow morning at 7:30 when the Alaska ferry arrives from Bellingham. Yeehaw and wahoo!
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