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Date:         Sun, 25 May 2008 09:55:04 -0700
Reply-To:     Mark Thoma <mpthoma2003@YAHOO.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Mark Thoma <mpthoma2003@YAHOO.COM>
Subject:      Re: Diesel schmiesel...i'm thinking of going electric
In-Reply-To:  <00dd01c8be73$d86085e0$0c00a8c0@OWNERMIKE>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1

Absolutely right on! As a daily commuter the van would be fine. The cost to 'fuel' it with electricity would be low (I've heard estimates that put the cost per mile for an EV equivalent with $1.00 per gallon gasoline), compared to the $4.69 (and climbing) I'm now paying for diesel, but the cost to convert would be prohibitive...and it would be cheaper and a lot less hassle to begin converting waste vegetable oil to run in my TD. But as a relatively well known radio (ex TV) personality in the city where I live a lot of people know I drive the van and an EV van would draw attention to what's possible. If this revolution is going to happen people need to be aware what's out there now and not listen to that same old crap from Washington/Detroit that the timetable for meaningful change is decades and not months or years long. Granted the van would have only about a 60-80 (more than enough for my daily needs) mile range on current lead acid technology but that would increase as Lithium Ion technology gets better and I eventually change over to the lighter/longer life/higher capacity Lithium Ions. And it would be cheaper and a lot less hassle to begin converting waste vegetable oil to run in my TD.

Mike <mbucchino@CHARTER.NET> wrote: Why would the COST to convert any vehicle to electric, be any different, based on how good it's original gas mileage is? Sounds like a load of crap to me. What is your personal experience regarding this? None, I'll bet.......... The weight of ANY vehicle converted to electric will be heavy, but the power used to propel that vehicle down the road will be the same. The range may be shorter in a heavier vehicle, all else the same. The areodynamics don't even come into play until you exceed certain speeds. Shorter trips and slower speeds will suit this fine, it just depends on how a person intends to use this van. We're not trying to locate the optimum vehicle to convert, we're trying to consider the actual concept when applied to our beloved vans. The brakes, suspension and subsequent handling on our van is more able to deal with the added weight, than the cheap, weak crap on some small econobox. Think about it.

There's always millions of people willing to say 'it can't be done'. I want to hear that one person say, "Yes, we can do that!'........which one are you?

Mike B.

----- Original Message ----- From: "Paul Guzyk"

To: Sent: Saturday, May 24, 2008 9:49 AM Subject: Re: Diesel schmiesel...i'm thinking of going electric

>A Vanagon is one of the worst platforms for converting to an EV. > Too heavy, no aerodynamics. A repeatable range of 100 miles it will > cost you more than $8000. > > If you want an EV, get something small and light, like a Suzuki > Swift. Generally if it is good on gas it will be good on electric. > If it is crappy on gas it will be expensive to convert to electric.


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