Tag Archives: electric car

Eagle G-car

On the Electric Eagle G-Car

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Eagle G-Car

Personally I find this to be one of the most exotic electric vehicles out there.  This is the Eagle G-Car from G Car Motors Inc. of the Philippines. It made some news about a year ago, and I haven’t really found any updates on the NEV. The top speed is about 25 mph and is capable of running 50 miles on a charge. Charging takes about 4-6 hours. What intrigues me about this car is the price. Prices range from 140,000 to 280,000 pesos, about 3,300 to 6,600 USD.  I would buy that car right now! If the street laws permitted me to drive around town in zones under 50mph. Apparently, it can be registered as a Low Speed Vehicle (LSV) in Canada and the United States. Click on picture below to read the official brochure.

Check out the G Car Motors site, where you can find some more info and possibly order one. It hasn’t been updated since January and I emailed them see if there were any developments. No response, but I hope they are doing well, because these are very economical electric vehicles. However, I imagine they would have a tough time passing many safety standards in most countries.

Here is a video of the car in action:

BG C100

Very Informative Video of BG’s C100

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BG Automotive is currently manufacturing America’s first mass produced electric car, the BG C100. Here we see the first known footage of the vehicle in action. The car has extensive safety features, a steel body, and is priced under $20k. Keep in mind this car is only allowed in speed zones up to 50 mph depending on your local laws. But hell, the way things are going in Detroit, by the time these cars are ready for delivery in February 2009, they might be the only mass produced cars in America.

Dodge EV

Awesome Video of Dodge EV smoking a Challenger

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In this video from the Los Angeles Times you see the superior acceleration that comes from an electric motor. While the Challenger sports a 425 hp HEMI engine; the Dodge EV, as well as every electric car, has full torque over the entire RPM range. I always love seeing these drag races between electric drivetrain cars and internal combustion engine vehicles. While the weight of the battery back hinders EVs, you have to realize how much an electric car doesn’t need: exhaust system, intake, engine cooling system, oil, gas tank, a big heavy engine, and a complicated transmission. And an electric drivetrain uses just 12 moving parts, and efficiency at the wheels is roughly 90%. Gas engines have hundreds of moving parts that have to endure extreme heat and friction, leaving the efficiency at a measly 20%. With all the advances in electronics over the past 20 years, electric vehicles have limitless potential, while combustion vehicles have pretty much reached their peak. This drag race is a good demonstration of that fact.

The Dodge EV is part of Chrysler’s ENVI program that is currently developing three electric vehicles.

Tesla Roadster

What is the Tesla Roadster 1.5, exactly?

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The second generation of Tesla Roadster will look exactly the same, but sport a new “Powertrain 1.5”.  This powertrain is an improved motor, inverter and gearbox designed to replace their previous two-speed transmission that had many durability, efficiency and cost challenges.  The faulty 2-speed transmission effectively forced Tesla to sell its Roadster locked into second gear, dramatically hampering acceleration. The one speed transmission “improves motor torque by a bit more than 30% beyond what was already great and the ¼ mile time for the car is now in the 12.9 second range. The top speed of the vehicle remains over 120 mph,” according to Tesla CTO JB Straubel.

According to Tesla’s site, Powertrain 1.5 makes the following improvements:

  • An improved inverter (PEM) to deliver higher motor current
  • An improved motor to handle higher current and torque
  • A new single-speed gearbox
  • A new motor to gearbox coupler and an improved motor cable
  • Upgraded vehicle firmware
  • NO changes to the battery pack

Tesla Roadster Inside

PEM-green, Battery-blue, Electric Motor-under the PEM

The Power Electronics Module (PEM) basically acts as an amplifier and guide that converts and regulates the power from the battery to the motor. When you put the pedal to the floor you tell the PEM to give the motor some juice. By using newer IGBTs (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors) that convert and regulate power from the battery, they have been able to boost the PEM output current by about 33% from 640A rms to 850A rms with the same number of IGBTs.  Fancy talk for using recent advances in electronic technology to make a more efficient PEM and a more powerful Roadster.

The motor has been improved by changing the casting in order to link with the new transmission. The motor terminal lugs have been changed, as well as the cable from the motor to the PEM to improve efficiency and reduce temperature rise.

The heart of the Powertrain 1.5 improvement is in the gearbox. CTO JB Straubel explains it best in his blog:

The new gearbox is the most significant change from powertrain 1.0 to 1.5. We have significantly reduced the complexity of this gearbox by getting rid of the need for shifting or speed matching between two gear sets. There is only one set of gears that is always engaged with a ratio of (8.2752:1). There are no clutches and we have also done away with the need for an electric oil pump and instead integrated a very efficient gear-driven oil pump into the gearbox. All of these simplifications have saved a great deal of mass and the new gearbox is approximately 45kg instead of 53kg for the old two-speed design.

This mass savings is even more impressive when you consider that we have designed this transmission to have a long life at a much higher input torque (400 Nm) and higher speed (14,000 rpm).

The engineering design of this new gearbox has been finished for over a month and we are now running prototypes through their paces on dynamometers. We built two initial gearboxes with machined aluminum housings so we could gain some early test results before finalizing the cast housing tooling and machining fixtures.

One of the most exciting features of this new gearbox (from an EV perspective) that we have been able to validate on the first prototypes is that it has extremely low spinning drag (less than 0.1 Nm of dry drag torque.) This is less than any other gearbox we have tested with the only possible exception being the EV1 gearbox. This low drag contributes to the 1.5 powertrain having a slightly improved range figure.

The two pictures below show some of the gears and shafts. On the left is the input shaft assembly…spinning up to 14,000 rpm bearing selection is very important. The spline on the right connects to the motor coupling. The picture on the right is the intermediate shaft assembly. Notice the transmission locking “gear” in the center that engages with a stationary pawl when the car is parked.

All these changes will dramatically improve performance without effecting the range or power draw from the battery.  Tesla has learned a lot from its inaugural launch, hopefully with this more efficient powertrain they will ramp up production.

Sources: [MotorAuthority, Tesla Motors]

MINI E

MINI E to use AC Propulsion Drivetrain

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Autobloggreen.com had an interesting article today on another electric car that will be utilizing the AC Propulsion drivetrain that has been found in the likes of the GM EV1, Tzero, Telsa Roadster, eBox, and Venturi Fetish:

While we were discussing the upcoming premiere of the new MINI E at the LA Auto Show, we mused that the retro-cute might be sporting a drivetrain courtesy of Tesla Motors. Now comes word via Paul Scott at the new website for the film, “Revenge of the Electric Car” that the MINI will get its gumption from the good folks at AC Propulsion. This may make the MINI spiritually related to the Tesla Roadster, as it was the ACP prototype, the tzero, that served as an inspiration of sorts for the creation of the now-iconic two-seater, but, as they will share no parts, the relationship is purely metaphysical. Indeed, the only current link between ACP and Tesla is the licensing of a “reductive charging” patent.

This revelation does tell us a little something about how the MINI E will be to drive. As those who have gripped the wheel of the ACP eBox know, the re-gen effect is quite strong on this system. While it’s great for getting extra range out of the battery pack, it may take a little getting used to for some drivers. The effect is not unlike the engine braking experienced with a manually shifted car and occurs as one relieves the go-pedal of downward pressure. Once adjusted to the re-gen, the experience of motoring in the MINI E should be excellent and we look forward to being able to confirm that. For the benefit of our readers, of course.

This is exciting news, as every car utilizing this technology has been a highway capable EV, with superior performance, and range. If you’re going to put your money on an fully electric vehicle, I suggest it be one with an AC Propulsion drivetrain, based on its past history.

Model S

“Rendered speculation” unveiled of Tesla Model S

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Last week, a roadandtrack.com article displayed a picture of this vehicle in its new and future cars section. People are having a tough time nailing down where this rendering came from and its legitimacy. Was it released by Tesla Motors? Or is it just somebody’s best estimate of what the car could look like? A couple months ago, I wrote about some rumors swirling that Tesla had possibly leaked information on the Model S design. I must say, the rendering does share some features with the Rapide: a large, low grill, long, narrow headlights, and four doors. But there are also some disparities: more angular, Asian design influence, and smaller back seats.

I don’t believe the final Tesla Model S will actually look like this rendering for a couple reasons. The Model S project was created to bring a luxury, four door sedan to the electric car market. The rendering shows that the back seats are not really sedan worthy, but more like those you find in two door sports cars like the Nissan 350Z and Audi TT. The photo has been stretched and altered by many websites so it is hard to estimate the length of the vehicle, but the Model S is meant to be a very long and large vehicle. The rendering looks a lot like a Mazda RX8, which is by no means a family sedan.

To add to the confusion, a picture in businessweek shows Chief designer von Holzhausen supposedly with a prototype of the Model S. What we see is the rear of a vehicle that looks like a full on hatchback, nothing like the rendering or the Aston Martin speculation, but more like a Toyota Prius. So it looks like everybody is back to the proverbial drawing board.