Vanagon EuroVan
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Date:         Thu, 06 Jul 95 21:18:37 CDT
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Joel Walker <JWALKER@ua1vm.ua.edu>
Subject:      electric eurovan

VW Elektro-Van by James Sly Electric Car magazine, Winter 1994

A long running experiment in real world use

Part of Volkswagen's extensive 20-year research program into alternative energy concepts, the Elektro-Van is the electric vehicle with perhaps the longest and most far-reaching heritage.

Since the beginnings of the Elektro-Van program in 1973, there have been a number of different Elektro-Vans in VW's program. Real-world testing has always been an important focus. VW has built and tested about 70 Elektro-Vans for the RWE power company in that period. From 1979 to 1984, an additional 14 vehicles were built and tested in a new-technologies program with BMFT. Ten of the Elektro-Vans went to the U.S.A. in 1979 as part of a Tennessee Valley Authority test program. Between 1981 and 1986, 12 Elektro-Vans were used by the German Post Office in a trial program.

The most recent test program was on the island of Rugen in the North Sea, formerly part of East Germany. Ten Elektro-Vans were built and delivered to Rugen at the end of 1992. They remain on the island, doing daily, day-long service. The results of the testing on Rugen will be added to the large quantities of information Volkswagen has compiled over the years, and allow further refingement of the Elektro-Van concept.

You get in and turn the key. Yes, a good old ignition ... er... starter ... er... vehicle key. Part of VW's plan is to present the consumer with as familiar a version of the vehicle interface as possible. So yes, you sit down and click a key to start things rolling. There's a "fuel" gauge, too -- actually a battery charge indicator -- and a tachometer with a green band to indicate the most efficient operating range of the asynchronous drive motor. Because of the inherent efficiency of the manual gearbox, the driver of an Elektro-Van finds a gear-shift lever connected to a five-speed transmission. The clutch pedal is gone, however, replaced with an electric servo linkage that automatically handles the clutching chores for you. We selected first gear, and pushed down on the gas ... uh... accelerator pedal.

Acceleration is a relative term, of course. The ponderous Elektro-Van doesn't quite spring to a speed of 35 mph in 15 sec; 46 mph arrives in 42 sec. Top speed is 55 mph. But the motor is torquey, and small hills present no serious problems. Starting on a hill is no problem, either. Even with the weight of the Elektro-Van, the high-torque motor allows you to pull smoothly away.

There are 190 1.2-volt cells connected together to provide 100-amp/hr of storage at the Elektro-Van's 228-volt output. The NiCads tip the scale at a hefty 1144 lb. Does it drive differently from a regular van? Aside from the lethargic acceleration, the most noticeable thing is the feeling of weight. That's unavoidable, we suppose, considering the half-ton weight of the batteries alone! In handling maneuvers and under braking, you do notice the weight. Second most noticeable is the low noise. There is the gentle hum of the electric motor, but more predominant is tire and wind noise. With the relative silence of the electric motor, even the slippy, low-drag shape of the EuroVan makes some noise as it pushes aside the air at 35 mph. The tires themselves are the loudest offenders.

The Elektro-Van is a real vehicle. It's no tiny, lightweight toy. It can carry a number of passengers -- with luggage to match -- in comfort, if not at speed. There are even provisions for heating. In an internal combustion-engineed vehicle, heat is in great supply, even wasted. On an electric vehicle, the use of precious power to warm the car seems less than practical. "Want to get home or be warm?" could be a real question in a battery-operated vehicle. VW engineered a small gasoline heater warms water that flows through the standard fresh-air system, keeping the occupants toasty when those cold winds blow off the North Sea.

VW's ongoing research with the Elektro-Van concept and the continued test of new, different, refind and re-engineered systems has produced a vehicle that is constantly improving. The rolling test bed in the real world has not only reached an extremely usable status, but has also helped to greatly improve Volkswagen's other alternative programs, including the CityStormer and the Elektro-Hybrid.

<pictures show the Eurovan, the asynchronous motor coupled to the Eurovan's standard five-speed transmission, and a cutaway drawing showing the placement of the batteries over the rear axle ("under" the rear seat>


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