Electric vehicles are cars and motorcycles, right? While they look familiar, there are differences between gasoline and electric vehicles we all must understand.
What will it take for automakers to build affordable 250 mile range electric cars?
How much range in an electric car is "enough" that we stop yearning for "more"? Two-hundred-fifty (250) miles is as good a number as many. Until 2018 that much range required an expensive Tesla, and now that it's 2019 there are a few 250+ mile range EV's from several automakers.Do electric cars have alternators?
Every car has an alternator, and it's there to keep the 12 volt starting battery charged up. Right? Actually, no. How come electric cars don't have alternators that just recharge the battery while you drive? And since electric cars do not have alternators how do they keep the 12 volt battery charged?What is the difference between traditional Hybrid, Plug-in Hybrid, or All-Electric battery-electric vehicles?
When I first heard of electric vehicles the difference between hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and electric vehicles didn't make sense. We're accustomed to one kind of vehicle, where you pour a liquid fuel like gasoline or diesel into a tank then roar off into the distance. But as we delve into electrified vehicles, we learn there are three kinds, and that there are significant differences and tradeoffs between them. Namely, how much of your driving will be powered by electricity, and whether that electricity does or does not come from the electric grid. Put another way, the difference is primarily in how far you are willing to go to divorce yourself from gasoline. The traditional hybrid, and the plug-in hybrid (or PHEV), relies on gasoline, and uses gasoline to implement long range driving, while the all-electric vehicle uses no gasoline, and therefore relies on fast charging for long range.What is an Electric Vehicle? Is a hybrid vehicle an electric vehicle?
I first heard about electric vehicles in 1994 when a roommate started on an electric vehicle conversion of a Volkswagen Rabbit. Even though he explained to me what he was doing, he showed me the metal brackets for the battery pack, I didn't understand. All I knew is never drove the VW Rabbit, and that he worked on it occasionally. I think this can happen for many, that we'll see something but not have the frame of reference to understand it. It's not enough to say an electric vehicle is powered by electricity if our mind doesn't grasp that cars can be powered by fuels other than gasoline or diesel. The last 120+ years of gasoline this and diesel that taught us all about liquid fuel (gasoline or diesel) bought at a gas or petrol station, that's stored in the fuel tank, and burned in an engine. Accepting electric vehicles means wrapping our heads around new facts - that the energy for our vehicles can come from electricity.Where can I buy an Electric Vehicle (bicycle, motorcycle, car)?
It's not like you can just buy an electric vehicle at any old dealership, is it? Regular car dealerships do carry electric cars, and it is possible to just go to a dealership plunk down money and drive away in an EV. This was not always the case, as there were many years those of us wanting an electric car had to build our own. Buying an electric bicycle or electric motorcycle is a little trickier since they are not so widely distributed.
