[Quietcars] Electric Plug-ins? How soon can we see them and inwhatquantity?

Thu Nov 19 06:57:49 UTC 2009

Pertaining to all of the car types below.  

And while I think that the legislation and concern about hybrids is a great
thing, we may be missing the boat entirely when we limit ourselves to this
rather than exploration of the quieter cars, which encompasses the whole of
the quiet cars, meaning electric, hybrids of all types whether they be
gasoline or diesel, quieter cars with Muzzled or choked off exhaust systems
and engines, etc.  Thanks, Deb.  

Mike T

-----Original Message-----
From: quietcars-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:quietcars-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Deborah Kent Stein
Sent: Thursday, November 19, 2009 12:53 AM
To: Discussion of new quiet cars and pedestrian safety
Subject: Re: [Quietcars] Electric Plug-ins? How soon can we see them and
inwhatquantity?

Thanks for passing this along.  They're coming.  I think there's no doubt
about it.

Debbie

----- Original Message -----
From: "michael townsend" <mrtownsend at optonline.net>
To: <quietcars at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, November 18, 2009 8:19 PM
Subject: [Quietcars] Electric Plug-ins? How soon can we see them and in
whatquantity?

> I'm a car nut, but a guide dog handler who loves to travel and loves 
> technology.  I read about hybrids and their effect on pedestrian 
> travel and how they effect all of us, whether we're blind or not.  I'm 
> sharing this from Motorweek.org in hopes that it raises the bar in 
> your thinking about the future.  Not suggesting any panic, but giving 
> those who are narrowly focused that this is the future of travel in 
> some limited form, and that we ought to know about it as guide dog 
> handlers, cane travelers or professionals in the O_M and guide dog 
> fields.
>
> Mike T
>
> Reality Check
> John Davis
> We've been hearing about the promise of plug-in hybrid-electric 
> vehicles for years-that is, hybrids that can have their batteries 
> recharged by simply plugging them into the electrical grid. A proper 
> PHEV should use even less petroleum fuel than today's hybrids. But, 
> while we've seen a lot of plug-in concepts, how close are they to 
> being reality?
> Most full or two-stage hybrid vehicles, like the Ford Escape and 
> Toyota Prius, can operate for short distances-usually at low speed 
> only-on pure electric power. But add a larger rechargeable battery 
> pack into the mix, one that can be plugged into the electrical grid, 
> and you can now drive that same vehicle for many more miles before the 
> combustion engine ever starts.
> How many miles depends on the capacity, or kilowatt hours, of the 
> battery pack-but it's possible for one of these vehicles to peg well 
> over 100 miles per gallon with little penalty in weight or lost cargo 
> space.
> Right now there are about 600 plug-in electric hybrid vehicles in the U.S.
> Most are
> converted from standard hybrids by one of a dozen or so small 
> companies, but nearly every major carmaker has or is developing their 
> own plug-in with an eye towards near-future production.
> But decisions made now can have an impact 10 or 12 years down the 
> road, so engineers and manufacturers are scrambling to include the 
> very latest battery and power management technology into these 
> vehicles before they commit to the mass market.
> Jim Francfort, with the DOE's Idaho National Labs, is tasked with 
> keeping tabs on over 200 PHEV's in a nationwide study to track how a 
> variety of these designs fare in real-world driving.
> JIM FRANCFORT:
> "We're tracking not just the concept, their design concept, but also 
> the overall concept of plug-in. We're trying to find out: will people 
> plug them in?
> Why
> won't
> they plug them in? How far they drive per charge, how far they drive 
> each month, how many kilowatt hours. there's lots of interest in not 
> just the individual vehicles, but the overall concept."
> The DOE program cars are equipped with onboard data loggers, many of 
> which give real-time fuel economy and system information. But it's not 
> just manufacturers that are looking for this valuable feedback.
> JIM FRANCFORT:
> "We actually have 75 testing partners. The majority -- probably the 
> single largest segment are electric utilities, and there's lots of 
> interest in the electric utility industry in what this will do."
> Virginia Dominion Power has added two plug-in Prius hybrid conversions 
> to their fleet of 1000 vehicles, which include biodiesel and clean 
> natural gas vehicles, as well as traditional hybrids.
> CHRIS GRIFFITH:
> "Dominion Virginia Power chose to do these two plug-in electric hybrid 
> vehicles to measure the impact on the electric grid should the 
> technology become more prevalent."
> It costs about fifty cents and five hours time, to fully charge one of 
> these Priuses through a standard household outlet. But what happens 
> when there's two million of them running around and everybody wants to 
> plug-in at 5:00?
> Small utilities like Dominion Virginia Power are looking ahead to 
> answer these questions today, so they don't become a problem five or 
> ten years from now.
> The one fact that makes plug-in hybrids so appealing to consumers and 
> manufacturers alike is that the electric grid is already in place from 
> coast to coast, unlike the delivery and dispensing infrastructure that 
> would need to be built for mass distribution of hydrogen or many other 
> alternative fuels.
> One manufacturer who's betting heavily on plug-in hybrids is Henrik 
> Fisker.
> His Fisker
> Karma luxury sedan intends to be the first volume-production plug-in 
> hybrid vehicle when it goes on sale next year.
> HENRIK FISKER:
> "The upside of the market for a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle is 
> almost endless.
> Almost every car company will have a plug in hybrid electric vehicle 
> eventually.
> And that's maybe in 5, or 6, or 7 years down the line because they 
> just make so much sense."
> So, while viable plug-in hybrids are being tested on the road today, 
> it's fair to say that battery technology has not yet evolved to where 
> most manufacturers would like it to be. Still, the promise of plug-in 
> hybrids is real.and that bodes well for a cleaner driving future for 
> all of us.
> http://www.mpt.org/motorweek/autoworld.shtml
> "I am accustomed to hearing malicious falsehoods about myself...but I 
> think I have a right to resent, to object to, libelous statements 
> about my dog."
> -Franklin D. Roosevelt
> Mike Townsend and Seeing Eye dog Brent Dunellen, New Jersey  08812
> emails:  mrtownsend at optonline.net;
> michael.townsend54 at gmail.com
> Home Phone:  732  200-5643
> Cellular:  732  718-9480
>
>
>
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