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
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
If this driver's car gets 20 miles per gallon, this represents 62.5 gallons of gasoline. At $4.25/gallon (about the price we paid in 2008), our typical driver spends about $265 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 off-peak electric rate of just 3 cents/KWH (ask your utility about off-peak rates.) 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 $265 for gasoline - only costs $17.50 in electricity for our electric car - a savings of $247.50!
If you were buying an electric car, and your car payment was $500, try subtracting the fuel savings from it: it becomes $252.50. This means you can afford a better EV with a bigger car payment!
Maintaining your electric car
It costs very little
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. This is why EVs last a long time, and have very high resale values.
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 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, or especially nanotechnology batteries, have a much longer life. Some cars with newer versions of these batteries may 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
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 power plants 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.
And coal plants are baseload. This means they run all the time, EVs or no EVs. Peak load plants are not coal. Adding electric vehicles to the grid increases coal pollution very little.
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 up to 80% 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 14 cents per mile, and can run higher than 30 cents per mile, depending on the vehicle and gas prices. Electric cars drive around for only a penny or two per mile. The difference comes mainly from efficiency. Much greater efficiency = much less pollution.
Believe it or not, your gas car also 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
- 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.
- 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.
- Jerry's EV conversion
- Here's somebody's experience converting a car to electric.
- The ZAP Zebra
- The ZAP is a very fun little EV that only costs $11,700 brand new. You won't be able to take it on the freeway, however.
- Buy an electric Mazda 3
- For just $21,500, you can drive a Mazda 3 that has been converted into an electric car.
- Alaniz Conversions
- For the price of a good used car, you could be driving one of these superb EV conversions.
- E-Volks conversion kits
- Do it yourself! E-Volks has electric vehicle conversion kits for as little as $2280.
- 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 the freeway-speed vehicles run at about 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 (with expanded battery pack), 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. - Tesla All-electric sports car
- Alas, here we have an EV which is not cheap (it's over $100,000) 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 about 220 miles per charge.
- The Aptera
- The Aptera is an exciting but unusual-looking car that is expected to retail for under $30,000. It will be available in both electric and serial-hybrid versions.
- The Triac
- The Triac is another tiny EV which is expected to sell for a very reasonable sum.
- 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."
- Study showing there's enough juice to charge EVs
- "Science Daily - A new study for the Department of Energy finds that "off-peak" electricity production and transmission capacity could fuel 84 percent of the country's 220 million vehicles if they were plug-ins."
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: $8.49 (as of 10/13/2008)
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 10/13/2008)
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: (as of 10/13/2008)
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: $40.50 (as of 10/13/2008)
Electric car publications on eBay
Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand by
Cheap electric car feedback
Would you drive a cheap EV?
Fetching blurbs now... please stand byWhere's my wallet?
taylordfit says:
I sure would. With high gas prices, I would drive almost anything to get around.
Posted October 06, 2008
lisa Bass says:
I would love to buy a real electric car. But the car manufactures want us to support OPEC. I just installed solar panels and am currently looking into a wind turbine for my house, so I say bring on the electric car.
Posted October 03, 2008
me says:
of course i would
Posted September 29, 2008
Hunter/ T, says:
Yes, Please I would, hut not at these prices. I'm looking for 5000 or less. Do you have any for that price ????
Posted September 29, 2008
MURF says:
Is it really a choice with all thats going on in the world?
Does the future look like it is getting better or worse on oil?
Posted September 24, 2008
You're off your rocker!
jordan_lin says:
i am very intrigued by the electric car that i want to build one for myself.
Posted October 03, 2008
Doubtful says:
"If electric cars were readily available, of course we would all know about them, and where to get them."
Oh really? like the GM EV1?? yah righttttt!
Its only now when the world is so far in the toilet we may never claw our way out that car companies begrudgingly are telling us they will be coming out with new electric cars and even those are SO highly overpriced that only the rich who can already afford to drive around in their Hummers can buy THEM! I am so jaded by fat cat greedy corporate american I don't believe there will ever be an avoidable fully electric car! I would gladly purchase a fully electric car if it didn't cost me as much as a small HOUSE
Posted October 02, 2008
Thundergas says:
The Tesla car from Tesla motors is your "serious bid" for EV production.
It also out performs all stock gas cars and most high performance cars
"How powerful is the acceleration? A quick story to illustrate. A favorite trick here at Tesla Motors is to invite a passenger along and ask him to turn on the radio. At the precise moment we ask, we accelerate. Our passenger simply can't sit forward enough to reach the dials. But who needs music when you're experiencing such a symphony of motion."
Novelty? Tell that to The National Electric Drag Racing Association (NEDRA) ALL there cars will smoke any fossilize gas guzzler on the road!
http://www.teslamotors.com
http://nedra.com/
Posted July 31, 2008
says:
Probably not. But I appreciate the work you did getting this info together.
Posted July 19, 2008
