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Most people don't know that there are thousands of electric cars on the road today, and they can be both inexpensive to obtain and to operate.
Why tolerate unpredictable gasoline prices? An inexpensive electric car can be a fun project that saves real money - and pays for itself in short order.
Can you really buy an electric car?
You only have to spend a few thousand
If electric cars were readily available, of course we would all know about them, and where to get them. The reality is that the major automobile manufacturers do not sell EVs. So we have to look elsewhere.
In truth, most of the electric vehicles on the road today were built by hobbyists or small entrepreneurs. In the links section at the bottom, you will find some of these people, and the cars that they sell.
The majority of these cars are converted gasoline cars. An old car with a poor engine but a good body is obtained cheaply. The engine, and all gasoline components are stripped out, and a new electric drivetrain is installed.
You might decide to convert a car you already own - or buy a car which has already been converted. The good news is that an electric car of this type can be obtained for as little as $5000. Prices almost never get as high as $20,000.
Most of these cars will be based on old battery technology, as the new tech batteries are protected by patents that make it hard for the small businessmen to deal with. But you will still be able to drive at freeway speeds in cars that accelerate and handle well. Your driving range may be limited to less than 100 miles, or even less than 50 miles. But cars like this are still fine for most commuting and day-to-day driving tasks.
Remember, an electric vehicle can be plugged in anywhere. I charge mine while I'm at work, so I have plenty of juice to run an errand or two on the way home.
In truth, most of the electric vehicles on the road today were built by hobbyists or small entrepreneurs. In the links section at the bottom, you will find some of these people, and the cars that they sell.
The majority of these cars are converted gasoline cars. An old car with a poor engine but a good body is obtained cheaply. The engine, and all gasoline components are stripped out, and a new electric drivetrain is installed.
You might decide to convert a car you already own - or buy a car which has already been converted. The good news is that an electric car of this type can be obtained for as little as $5000. Prices almost never get as high as $20,000.
Most of these cars will be based on old battery technology, as the new tech batteries are protected by patents that make it hard for the small businessmen to deal with. But you will still be able to drive at freeway speeds in cars that accelerate and handle well. Your driving range may be limited to less than 100 miles, or even less than 50 miles. But cars like this are still fine for most commuting and day-to-day driving tasks.
Remember, an electric vehicle can be plugged in anywhere. I charge mine while I'm at work, so I have plenty of juice to run an errand or two on the way home.
Can an electric vehicle save me money?
Apply the fuel savings to your car payment
The typical driver puts about 15,000 miles per year on his car. This works out to 1250 miles per month.
If this driver's car gets 20 miles per gallon, this represents 62.5 gallons of gasoline. At $3.20/gallon (about the price we paid in 2006), our typical driver spends about $200 on gasoline every month.
An electric car uses kilowatt-hours (KWH) of electricity instead of gasoline. Typically our EV might get from 3 to 7 miles per KWH. So, for this example, we'll use 5 miles/KWH. In my city, there is a special EV electric rate of just 2.5 cents/KWH. But in other places, the electric rate could be 10 cents or higher per KWH. So let's use 7 cents.
Using these numbers, the same 1250 miles per month - that cost our typical driver $200 for gasoline - only costs $17.50 in electricity for our electric car - a savings of $182.50!
If you were buying an electric car, and your car payment was $500, try subtracting the fuel savings from it: it becomes $317. This means you can afford a bigger car payment.
If this driver's car gets 20 miles per gallon, this represents 62.5 gallons of gasoline. At $3.20/gallon (about the price we paid in 2006), our typical driver spends about $200 on gasoline every month.
An electric car uses kilowatt-hours (KWH) of electricity instead of gasoline. Typically our EV might get from 3 to 7 miles per KWH. So, for this example, we'll use 5 miles/KWH. In my city, there is a special EV electric rate of just 2.5 cents/KWH. But in other places, the electric rate could be 10 cents or higher per KWH. So let's use 7 cents.
Using these numbers, the same 1250 miles per month - that cost our typical driver $200 for gasoline - only costs $17.50 in electricity for our electric car - a savings of $182.50!
If you were buying an electric car, and your car payment was $500, try subtracting the fuel savings from it: it becomes $317. This means you can afford a bigger car payment.
Maintaining your electric car
It costs very little
Some people think electric vehicles are complicated, and therefore difficult to maintain. Nothing could be further from the truth.
A gasoline engine and its associated components are made up of thousands of parts. Every part represents the possibility of a breakdown. This situation is far different in an electric vehicle. Electric motors have only ONE moving part. There is no maintenance needed on an electric motor. No filters, oil changes, coolant, NOTHING.
You have electric motors all over your house - in your clothes washer/dryer, refrigerator, air conditioner, can opener, blender, and on and on. Appliances do break - but when was the last time the electric motor itself was to blame? There is almost nothing in the technology world more reliable than an electric motor.
How about the batteries? Yes, of course batteries have a limited life, and need periodic replacement. The oldest battery technology is lead-acid. In a typical EV, a lead-acid battery pack might last for 20 to 30 thousand miles. The pack in my EV, which consists of 16 batteries, costs me about $800 to replace. That works out to about 4 cents per mile. Add to that the typical electricity cost per mile of 1.5 cents, and our total operating cost is only 5.5 cents per mile.
Newer battery technology, like Li-Ion, has a much longer life. Some cars with neewer versions of these batteries warrant the battery pack for as much as 250,000 miles, or the life of the vehicle.
Are there other operating costs? The electronic controller in the car is very reliable also - my own EV is 25 years old, and has all the original motor and electronic controller parts. They have never needed repair.
Just like a regular car, you will need periodic brake and suspension work - but if your EV has regenerative braking, which uses the electric motor to brake the car - your brake pads will last much, much longer that they would on a standard auto.
A gasoline engine and its associated components are made up of thousands of parts. Every part represents the possibility of a breakdown. This situation is far different in an electric vehicle. Electric motors have only ONE moving part. There is no maintenance needed on an electric motor. No filters, oil changes, coolant, NOTHING.
You have electric motors all over your house - in your clothes washer/dryer, refrigerator, air conditioner, can opener, blender, and on and on. Appliances do break - but when was the last time the electric motor itself was to blame? There is almost nothing in the technology world more reliable than an electric motor.
How about the batteries? Yes, of course batteries have a limited life, and need periodic replacement. The oldest battery technology is lead-acid. In a typical EV, a lead-acid battery pack might last for 20 to 30 thousand miles. The pack in my EV, which consists of 16 batteries, costs me about $800 to replace. That works out to about 4 cents per mile. Add to that the typical electricity cost per mile of 1.5 cents, and our total operating cost is only 5.5 cents per mile.
Newer battery technology, like Li-Ion, has a much longer life. Some cars with neewer versions of these batteries warrant the battery pack for as much as 250,000 miles, or the life of the vehicle.
Are there other operating costs? The electronic controller in the car is very reliable also - my own EV is 25 years old, and has all the original motor and electronic controller parts. They have never needed repair.
Just like a regular car, you will need periodic brake and suspension work - but if your EV has regenerative braking, which uses the electric motor to brake the car - your brake pads will last much, much longer that they would on a standard auto.
How electric vehicles help with pollution
It doesn't matter what power plants burn
A common criticism of electric vehicles is that they only move pollution from the tailpipe to the powerplant. In other words, since power plants still burn dirty fuel, there will still be pollution. This is not a fair criticism.
First, only about half the electricity created comes from burning coal, but this is still our major pollution worry. Only 3% comes from oil.
But energy is wasted in the evening, and at night, because many powerplants are very hard to start up, and so can't be easily turned off when demand goes down. Electric cars charge mostly at night. There is currently enough wasted electricity and excess capacity for millions of electric cars, before more plants will need to be built. No new pollution will be created by using electricity that otherwise goes to waste.
But how about when electric cars catch on, and new plants have to be built? I hope these will be clean plants. But even if they are coal plants, the newest designs for coal generated electrical plants are 85% efficient, far more efficient than a typical sub-25% efficient gasoline engine. Greater efficiency means more miles on less fuel, and therefore less pollution per mile.
But even if all the above were not true, electric cars would still produce much less pollution than gas cars, because of the greater efficiency of electric drive (electric motor, 95% efficient, versus gas engine, 25% efficient.) Delivering energy by wire to electric cars (95% efficient) is also much, much more efficient than trucking gas to thousands of service stations.
The proof of all this is right in the fuel prices. Gasoline costs at least 10 cents per mile. Electric cars drive around for only a penny or two per mile. The difference comes from efficiency. Much greater efficiency = much less pollution.
Believe it or not, your gas car uses electricity. It's true, large amounts of electricity are used to refine gasoline. Gasoline makes pollution during refining, it makes pollution when it's being delivered to gas stations, and it makes pollution when you use it.
Incidentally, hydrogen fuel-cell cars are also electric cars, including batteries, which are needed for acceleration. But they are less efficient than battery-powered cars, because of the extra electricity required to extract the hydrogen, and the wasted energy of transporting hydrogen to service stations. Fuel cell vehicles will always be more expensive than pure electric cars, because they are electric cars with a fuel cell added on.
First, only about half the electricity created comes from burning coal, but this is still our major pollution worry. Only 3% comes from oil.
But energy is wasted in the evening, and at night, because many powerplants are very hard to start up, and so can't be easily turned off when demand goes down. Electric cars charge mostly at night. There is currently enough wasted electricity and excess capacity for millions of electric cars, before more plants will need to be built. No new pollution will be created by using electricity that otherwise goes to waste.
But how about when electric cars catch on, and new plants have to be built? I hope these will be clean plants. But even if they are coal plants, the newest designs for coal generated electrical plants are 85% efficient, far more efficient than a typical sub-25% efficient gasoline engine. Greater efficiency means more miles on less fuel, and therefore less pollution per mile.
But even if all the above were not true, electric cars would still produce much less pollution than gas cars, because of the greater efficiency of electric drive (electric motor, 95% efficient, versus gas engine, 25% efficient.) Delivering energy by wire to electric cars (95% efficient) is also much, much more efficient than trucking gas to thousands of service stations.
The proof of all this is right in the fuel prices. Gasoline costs at least 10 cents per mile. Electric cars drive around for only a penny or two per mile. The difference comes from efficiency. Much greater efficiency = much less pollution.
Believe it or not, your gas car uses electricity. It's true, large amounts of electricity are used to refine gasoline. Gasoline makes pollution during refining, it makes pollution when it's being delivered to gas stations, and it makes pollution when you use it.
Incidentally, hydrogen fuel-cell cars are also electric cars, including batteries, which are needed for acceleration. But they are less efficient than battery-powered cars, because of the extra electricity required to extract the hydrogen, and the wasted energy of transporting hydrogen to service stations. Fuel cell vehicles will always be more expensive than pure electric cars, because they are electric cars with a fuel cell added on.
The Cheap Electric Car Link List
Links to help save you money by driving an electric car
If you have a little more money to spend, look at the cars at the end of the list!
- Grassroots EV cars for sale
- Here, for sale, are some gasoline cars converted to electric. Don't be put off by all the 1980s cars here - the best conversion is a car with a good body but a poor engine. The car can then be obtained for next to nothing. Next, the engine and all associated parts are stripped out, and a new electric drivetrain installed.
- Used EVs at Austin EV
- Peruse some used electric vehicles here. Remember, electric vehicles are very reliable, so an old car can still serve you well. Be aware you may need to invest in a new battery pack (about $1000) for some of these.
- Convert your car to electric
- Here's an entrepreneur who will convert your car to electric for a very reasonable price.
- Jerryrig Conversions
- Another electric car converter.
- Ampmobile electric conversions
- Another place to get your car converted to electric.
- The EV Album at Austin EV
- Here you can look at the thousands of EV owners and their cars.
- The ZAP Zebra
- The ZAP is a very fun little EV that only costs $10,000 brand new. You won't be able to take it on the freeway, however.
- New Electric Vehicle at Miles Automotive
- These cars aren't available yet, but will be for sale next year. These imported Chinese EVs should be introduced at prices competitive with gasoline cars. They are based on new Li-Ion battery technology, and can run at 80mph for 200 miles on one charge.
The other vehicles available at the Miles site are NEVs, or 'Neighborhood Electric Vehicles.' These are low-speed electric cars that can't be taken on the freeway. - The Phoenix: The latest and most advanced EV
- The Phoenix represents the latest research in electric vehicles. It can drive up to 250 miles per charge, does 95mph with a full cargo and passenger load, has batteries that charge in only ten minutes, and sports a battery life of 250,000 miles (never replace the batteries.)
Yes, it is a real car, and it is being built for fleet customers this year. It will be available to individuals soon. - High Performance 644-horsepower ZAP-X coming soon
- At $60,000, this is not a cheap EV. But you do get your money's worth. The ZAP-X will boast up to 644 horsepower delivered to four in-wheel motors, sports a Lotus-designed frame and body, and uses the same 10-minute-recharge Altairnano batteries found in the Phoenix to get a 155mph top speed, 350-mile range, and 300,000 mile battery lifetime.
- Tesla All-electric sports car
- Alas, here we have another EV which is not cheap (it's about $80,000) but it is for sale right now, and it has awesome statistics. The Tesla Roadster can out-accelerate a Ferrari, has a 130mph top speed, and gets close to 250 miles per charge.
- Electric Vehicles and Pollution
- Here are a number of studies (warning, this is a PDF file) showing the full well-to-wheels emissions impact of driving electric. The studies have been collected here by Sherry Boschert, author of "Plug-in Hybrids: The Cars that Will Recharge America."
Books and Videos about Electric Cars
Who Killed the Electric Car?
This engaging DVD tells the story of the electric car mandate on the west coast - how electric cars arrived in the late 1990s, how they were loved, and then how they were pried from the hands of weeping drivers and CRUSHED. This is MUST viewing to understand the EV story today.
Amazon Price: $9.99 (as of 05/09/2008)
Plug-in Hybrids: The Cars that will Recharge America
Where hydrogen fuel-cell cars won't be ready for decades, the technology for plug-in hybrids exists today. Unlike conventional hybrid cars that can't run without gasoline, plug-in hybrids use gasoline or cheaper, cleaner, domestic electricity-or both. Although plug-in hybrids are not yet for sale, demand for them is widespread.
Amazon Price: $11.53 (as of 05/09/2008)
Build Your Own Electric Vehicle
Drivers can enjoy the clean-running convenience and economy of an electric vehicle for as much as it costs to buy a new car. This illustrated guide explains step by step how to build an inexpensive EV from a kit or convert an existing internal combustion engine.
Amazon Price: $13.57 (as of 05/09/2008)
Electric and Hybrid Cars: A History
Far from being a modern conception, electric cars were among the first vehicles on the road. In the formative days of the automobile, a third of cars were electric, and they challenged internal combustion engine-driven vehicles for primacy. The story of the electric car is a long one, and it is still being written.
Amazon Price: $55.00 (as of 05/09/2008)
