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

Thu Nov 19 09:41:13 UTC 2009

This is a very valid point as sometimes new cars that are well tuned can be 
extremely quiet when idling at a light.
Chuck
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "michael townsend" <mrtownsend at optonline.net>
To: "'Discussion of new quiet cars and pedestrian safety'" 
<quietcars at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, November 18, 2009 10:57 PM
Subject: Re: [Quietcars] Electric Plug-ins? How soon can we see them and 
inwhatquantity?


> 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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