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grant_west 10-05-2012 10:23 AM

Cool Electric Cars
 
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Here in the Bay Area we have a few High Current charging stations. There are 3 ways you can charge a electric car.
#1 Normal household 110 outlet
#2 220V Outlet, This is what most Charge stations you see are or what Most electric car owners install in their home
#4. 440 Volt Super Charger. There are only a few of them in existance right now and one of them is in Belmont Ca, Its a VW research department. These "Super chargers" will take most cars from empty to 80% in 30 min's. They are Free and open to all electric cars. IMO this is like the Area 51 of Electric car's
I have seen some pretty wild/cool cars coming in and out of this place. My brother snapped this Pic of a Electric Porsche today. Its a Porsche 918 Hybrid

grant_west 10-05-2012 10:29 AM

On Monday I was in the Marina having lunch with a Friend and Gavin Nuesom (former mayor of SF)
pulled up and parked right in front of me with his New Tesla S. This car has a 300 mile range and
does the 1/4 mile in under 13 seconds, Its a Huge car for a All electric. My Prius is parked in back of it to give you a Idea of the size. Its looks to be the size of a 7 BMW, And to me that's huge for a All electric car.

grant_west 10-05-2012 10:30 AM

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pic's

wakeboardingdad 10-05-2012 11:28 AM

Didn't Tesla get a bunch of money from Obama? I think Romney ranked it with the $90B losers like Solendra (sp). :)

I like Tesla and the guy who founded it (founder of Paypal (sold) and SpaceX). It is a nice looking car, both the sedan and the coupe. We have a Leaf here at work. (power company) We bought two Leafs and two Volts. Haven't driven the Volt but the Leaf, well, I was really impressed. It was no slouch, even on the interstate. The problem is the 114 mile (or thereabouts) range and that we only bought the slow 120V chargers.

pesos 10-05-2012 11:42 AM

That Porsche was on my list until I saw the expected price tag. Will be keeping an eye on the Infinit Emerg-E as a possible alternative to the new NSX. Wish they'd get these out the door already!

pesos 10-05-2012 11:46 AM

Well nevermind on the Emerg-E - not going into production.

grant_west 10-05-2012 12:07 PM

My Brother has a Leaf: He was headed for the Charging station when he spotted the 918. I hate to say it But Im very impressed with the Leaf. Currently electric car owners don't have to pay a cent to charge up. Public charge stations are free! For some people the electric car thing works perfict and others it would never work. My brother is one of the people it works for.
He charges up every other day for free at a local parking garage.
He drives from redwood city to SSF everyday. On the 2nd day he parks the car at the Public garage 2 blocks away and charges up. He likes to get his little walk in and get his car charged up. He installed a charge station at work when he dosen't want to walk in the rain ect, But I think for him its a awesome deal.
He was so impressed with how much gas I have saved in the Prius and how its worked out from me that made him look in a direction (small compact car) That would have NEVER looked. He parked his Infinity QX, And now the Wife has it for Mom SUV duty and the Family Saleen Mustang is for sale

cadunkle 10-05-2012 2:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grant_west (Post 1787976)
#4. 440 Volt Super Charger. There are only a few of them in existance right now and one of them is in Belmont Ca, Its a VW research department. These "Super chargers" will take most cars from empty to 80% in 30 min's. They are Free and open to all electric cars.

Free, huh?So the local power company generously donates power for free that comes out of employees pay or executives bonuses? I highly doubt that. They're not in the business of giving things away, they're in business to make money. The money for that "free" charge costs somebody. How many KWH to do a full charge? What's the avg price in Cali? Who runs these things? I suspect taxpayers are likely getting robbed on this. Taking money from normal working class people trying to get by and already hurting from high taxes, and giving it to rich people who buy electric cars. Or possibly the state forces the electric companies to give this power for "free", in which case they increase the price of electric for everyone to pay for the "free" electric they are forced to give to the rich. I'm curious how this scheme works, and who pays for it.

grant_west 10-05-2012 2:39 PM

Cory good question's I don't have a Electric car so I'm not sure on the exact ammout of KW to fill a average car. I do remember hearing the cost of $3 in Electricty to fill a Tesla Roadster with a 100 mile range. So that's like 2x the MPG of a Prius at almost 1/2 the cost.

Ok the way it works here in California is. Charge stations require you apply for a Credit card style key that Unlocks the charge station. the charge stations just don't have live power sitting in them ready to go. You plug in your car and then swipe your card. the card tells the station who you are and what car the power is going into ect. This information is being collected to figure out where power is being used and distributed. Kind of like how Smart meters are being used here in California. Power for your electric car will not be for ever but for now it is. When the Prius first came out you got a 2k tax cut and a Free Car pool sticker and Bridge pass to promote the sales of hybrids. this seems to be the same sort of promotion to get people to buy a Electric car. There was a 2k instant rebate when my brother bought his Leaf along with a Free home charger. My brother is getting Solar for the house so it makes even more sense. Before the next argument comes up about electric cars and how they are no better because Electric plants burn coal bla bla. This is Where Solar makes great sense. Your solar system collects energy that can be used to power your car/ Pretty cool IMO

wakeboardingdad 10-05-2012 6:08 PM

The past few Prius threads really have me interested. I have never been in or driven one but makes me want to.

I work for the largest distributor of TVA. There are several charging stations in town, but I they are all TVA or government subsidized. One of the local charging station areas is supplemented by a local solar array. I really do not know what the current draw is for the Leaf, but it is supposedly overnight with the 120V charger and 8 hours for the 240V. The electric car buzz and the low costs for "fuel" is hyper exaggerated. Electricity, at your home, is not free and it eventually won't be anywhere else. These type devices will also usher in time of use rates. This is something that we do not have in the Valley just yet, but if you have it now, you know what I mean. The system cannot continue to be increased in size for a 2-4 hour peak demand each day due to everyone getting home, chilling down the house, and firing up the ovens and dryers and now the family commuter car. These rechargable vehicles are high demand devices.

grant_west 10-05-2012 6:50 PM

Most of the chargers like the one my brother has in his Garage is a true smart charger. Its connected to the web and it knows when the cheapest charge rate is and is programed to kick on or start when power is at its cheapest. So the Idea that in the future we all come home and Over load the grid with your electric car is not true. The Idea is to plug in your car and let the charger decide when to turn on and off. I think this is how they think they can even out the city's power demand's That was the Idea behind "Flex Your Power" running your laundry and Dryer after 7 to reduce the demand on the grid. Its not just good for the grid its when power gets cheaper.

wakeboardingdad 10-05-2012 7:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grant_west (Post 1788083)
Most of the chargers like the one my brother has in his Garage is a true smart charger. Its connected to the web and it knows when the cheapest charge rate is and is programed to kick on or start when power is at its cheapest. So the Idea that in the future we all come home and Over load the grid with your electric car is not true. The Idea is to plug in your car and let the charger decide when to turn on and off. I think this is how they think they can even out the city's power demand's That was the Idea behind "Flex Your Power" running your laundry and Dryer after 7 to reduce the demand on the grid. Its not just good for the grid its when power gets cheaper.

I thought they prolly had time of use metering in Cali. We do not have it here and people think it's big brother. You know, being able to monitor when a person is awake, busy, or away; learning the habits and use traits of a customer.

When we were skiing in Colorado some years ago, the condo had a master control to reduce total house demand and limit it. Pretty cool, but we don't have that here. Our fuel is much cheaper here than on the coasts, just like our electricity and power. This does not help the electric vehicles growth in this area. I didn't know the chargers were so advanced. Ours is just a plug and play (basically an extension cord).

peter_c 10-10-2012 9:43 AM

Those of you looking at electric cars should be looking at a solar system. In fact if your power bill is over $100 a month you should be looking at a solar system. As an investment it will give you a 10-18% roi year one. Since power costs will effectively double every 10 years (much like gas) even financing one makes sense. Some contracts you never own the system and get a guaranteed production. With that said a Leaf's average usage is 250kw a month. Leave it on the main meter (At least here in California they offer a reduced rate for charging cars.

Time of use is going to be mandatory without an option for all in the future. Businesses here in California are now on the program. Just happens time of use is in the middle of the day when a solar system is rockin'. As they saying goes sell high and buy low, which is how solar and time of use work together.

The electric cars have timer to tell it when to charge as do the upgraded charging stations at home. Unless you can't charge your car over night there is no reason for the upgraded charger.

These days vehicles like the volt (can be leased for $240 a month if negotiated) allow a person the freedom of gas for 80% of their driving yet allow them to go as far as they want.

calexan 10-10-2012 10:03 AM

The Porsche 918 is amazing and probably the only electric/hybrid I would drive. Gorgeous!

detonate69 10-10-2012 1:12 PM

I just watched a video of a Tesla S drag racing a BMW M5 0-100. The BMW is a V8 twin turbo 500hp machine, and it got smoked by the Tesla. I would own one of the new Tesla S in a heart beat.

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norcalrider 10-10-2012 1:54 PM

Incredibly huge fan of the 918. Only lacking the $845K to pick one up and go green. Also think the Panamera Sport Turismo concept looks like a great electric-hybrid option.

http://image.motortrend.com/f/400926...e-quarters.jpg


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