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Mark Cohen and Barry Commoner, from the Center for the Biology of Natural Systems ... Read more

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Presents a balanced account of the progress being made & the difficulties being encountered in electric vehicle development.Provides an insight into the types of electric vehicles (EV) & hybrid electric vehicles currently under development & examines the infrastructure required for fleets of EV & HEV to be introduced into our cities.DLC: Electric vehicles - Batteries. ... Read more

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Designed for service technicians and automotive students, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel Vehicles, 2e, offers practical coverage of hybrid vehicles. Beginning with the fundamentals, the book discusses historical trends and environmental concerns, followed by separate chapters detailing each major hybrid system.  The text highlights products from leading manufacturers, making the information easy to incorporate into an existing course. Throughout the text, ample photos and illustrations, as well as features such as Real World Fix boxes, help readers effectively understand and service hybrid vehicles. ... Read more

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Recent attention to hybrid cars that run on both gasoline and electric batterieshas made the electric car an apparent alternative to the internal combustion engine and itsattendant environmental costs and geopolitical implications. Few people realize that the electriccar—neither a recent invention nor a historical curiosity—has a story as old as that of thegasoline-powered automobile, and that at one time many in the nascent automobile industrybelieved battery-powered engines would become the dominant technology. In both Europe andAmerica, electric cars and trucks succeeded in meeting the needs of a wide range of consumers.Before World War II, as many as 30,000 electric cars and more than 10,000 electric trucks pliedAmerican roads; European cities were busy with, electrically propelled fire engines, taxis,delivery vans, buses, heavy trucks and private cars.

Even so, throughout the century-long history of electric propulsion, the widespread conviction it was an inferior technology remained stubbornly in place, an assumption mirrored in popular andscholarly memory. In The Electric Vehicle, Gijs Mom challenges this view, arguing thatat the beginning of the automobile age neither the internal combustion engine nor thebattery-powered vehicle enjoyed a clear advantage. He explores the technology andmarketing/consumer-ratio faction relationship over four "generations" of electric-vehicle design,with separate chapters on privately owned passenger cars and commercial vehicles. Mom makescomparisons among European countries and between Europe and America.

He finds that the electric vehicle offered many advantages, among them greater reliability andcontrol, less noise and pollution. He also argues that a nexus of factors—cultural (underpoweredand less rugged, electric cars seemed "feminine" at a time when most car buyers were men),structural (the shortcomings of battery technology at the time), and systemic (the infrastructuralproblems of changing large numbers of batteries)—ultimately gave an edge to the internalcombustion engine. One hopes, as a new generation of electric vehicles becomes a reality,The Electric Vehicle offers a long-overdue reassessment of the place of this technologyin the history of street transportation. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A European Perspective on EV's ... But a Bit Dry ...
This is a book about the rise and decline of the electric car and the formation of the modern transportation network from the 19th century.It is an interesting topic, and this book tells the tale from a European perspective, where the ending is the same (EV's declined, the ICE tiumphed) but the path to the ending is a little different.

I really liked the meticulous data, graphs and detail showing theuses and comparing the EV to the ICE and the use of them compared to the size of the cities.What is interesting is that in Europe the EV as a mainstream vehicle lasted a lot longer in the form of fleet vehicles than in the US (In the US the EV stopped being sold in the Depression, in Europe it lasted until the 1950's).

All the data and graphs make for a rather dry read, and if there is a complaint, it is this.First and foremost I was looking for a good read, and I feel I have an academic textbook.

If you want a good read, there are other books out there that provide it.If you want a European perspective, and don't mind the textbook like read, this is a decent pick! ... Read more

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Unprecedented secrecy surrounded the early development of General Motors's Impact. Shnayerson watched the story unfold from a position of access never granted a reporter before--literally from the inside of the pace-setting GM Impact program. This is the first book to penetrate the silence surrounding GM's risky and successful decision to become the world's first mass producer of the electric car.Amazon.com Review
The story of General Motors' first mass-produced electric car,the EV1 (at first, unfortunately, named the Impact). This project wasdecades in gestation, the early dreams of pollution and noise-freevehicles taking a long time to progress beyond visionaryprototypes. This was partly because of opposition to the concept fromoil companies and the automotive industry. Eventually a combination ofgovernment prodding and technological advances in battery design madeit possible. Schnayerson describes the supportive role of GM chairmanRobert Stempel and the tenacity of a group of true-believingengineers who kept the idea alive after Stempel was ousted. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

The Sunraycer
The dream of the electrical vehicle was first inspired by the success of the sunraycer, a vehicle capable of 41 mph and able to traverse the US on five gallons of gas.EV technology faced two signicant barriers: the DC to AC inverter and the 100,000 mile battery life.AC motors were lighter and but the electricity had to be chopped or inverted.Alan Cocconi had built a inverter for his SunRaycer and also designed and built regenerative braking. At Aerovironment, Brooks used the Sunraycer power design and built an EV with a more power inverter and AC motors and battery pack. Cocconi built two inverters which each powered a 50 kilowatt motor.

The GM impact prototype solved both of these problems.Alec Brooks was assigned to study Paul MacCready in the offices of AeroVironment and his efficient motors.MacCready had built an Electric Vehicle prototype for GM - with its streaming lines; the initial idea was too make the rear wheel base shorter than the front creating a tapering effect.The car was to be built from aluminum rather than steel.The Impact had a fiber glass body.

It was Baker's job to bring the EV car to market.Baker reluctantly took the task, a task he dreaded because of early failure with the electrovette.

Lead Acid batteries were a problem, but they were cheap and they worked.Lead acid batteries needed water replenishment; engineers tried to devise methods and these batteries could not be 100% discharged and recharged for a 1,000 cycles. Heat and cold affect the electrical output of the battery.The batteries weighted about 900 pounds.Nickle Metal Hydrid was proven but not used immediately; Baker didn't want any delays; Baker needed to get the EV quality to production status: heater, air conditioner, radio, and suspension system.

The impact could accelerate from 0-60 seconds in 7.9 seconds reaching a speed of 75 mph; it could travel 124 miles at 55 mph and in city reach 300 mile range.

Great book, but the story ends prematurely
This is a great book. The author follows the tangled story of how GM developed the first production electric car... but he went to press just a year or two before GM sent it to the crusher. See the documentary Who Killed the Electric Car? for the sad end to this story.

For contrast, google for the on-line copy of "The Prius That Shook the World". While Schnayerson was following GM he was totally unaware of the development of the Toyota Prius. Like Shnayerson's book, the Prius book takes the development of a new car from a clean sheet of paper to production. From reading both, Toyota seems to have much longer term plans and much less in-fighting. GM changed it's mind with every new CEO.

By coincidence, neither book has a single photo in it (aside from the cover) and lots of personalities. But from 2007 looking back the Prius story has a much happier ending.

The real story of GM's EV1 (as opposed to the film Who Killed The Electric Car?)
The book "The Car That Could" tells the story of GM's EV1 much better than the film "Who Killed the Electric Car?".The book tells the story of the EV1's birth.That is of course a more hopeful story than the EV1's death, which the film covers.And that fact alone makes a big difference in the impact of the story that is told.

But there is another difference."The Car That Could" tells the inside story of how the EV1 came to be.People within GM make a huge effort to give birth to the car.This was no sham attempt to live up to the California Air Resources Board mandate to put electric cars on the road.GM clearly had its technical and marketing people do their best work.And they did build a great little car, a car that could.

As we know now, though, GM's EV1 did not live very long.The passion of those who put their money down to lease the cars could not make up for the fact that they were few in number.When the California Air Resources Board's mandate went away, that spelled doom for the EV1.

No new EV1s were made.Those that had been made were crushed.A sad end for the car that could.

But though the film "Who Killed the Electric Car" implies that GM killed the EV1, the reasons for its death were more complex than that.And the real story of its death has not, I think, been told.Certainly not as well, and with so much insight, as the story of its birth.

But the story of the electric car has not ended.And there may be some hope for a happy ending.Recently GM's CEO Rick Wagoner has said that he regrets the decision to kill the EV1.And GM promises to come out soon with a new series hybrid electric car.That may put GM back into competition with Toyota and Honda, and their parallel hybrid cars.If so, maybe we will see another, more successful version of a GM car that could.

Michael Shnayerson did a great job researching and writing about the birth of the EV1.Many of the insights written into the book will help those thinking about electric cars today.

So in my mind, "The Car That Could" should be required reading for anyone who wants to participate in the electric vehicle industry.Copies are hard to find now.But if you are interested in electric cars, find a copy and read it."The Car That Could" makes the must-read list; "Who Killed the Electric Car?" does not.

Did GM really want to build an electric car? Here's your answer.
This is a fascinating inside story about the development of electric cars in the early '90s.

GM unveiled a prototype electric car in 1990 and conveyed the message to California (and other states) that they could develop such a vehicle for consumer use. California shortly thereafter adopted standards requiring the top 7 car manufacturers to sell emission free vehicles totalling 2% of sales in 1998, increasing to 5% in 2001, then 10% in 2003.

GM proceeded to lose enormous sums of money in the early 1990s. But they still worked to develop the electric car for two reasons. One was to be able to meet the California standards. The other was hoping they would be ahead of the curve and make money on the new technology.

But many technical issues needed to be resolved to bring the car to market, the biggest being batteries. Developing batteries capable of providing adequate storage capacity for a reasonable amount of driving was (and remains) a monumental problem.

At the same time GM was developing a marketable electric car, they (along with Ford, Chrysler, and Big Oil) lobbied hard to eliminate the emission free mandates, claiming the technology and consumer demand wasn't there. What did GM want to happen? It seems that they didn't really know, in part because they were bleeding money.

California blinked in the 4th quarter of 1995 and eliminated the mandate. Then, in January 1996 GM unveiled the EV1, a 2 seat electric sports car.

For a follow-up on the "success" of the EV1 and other EVs, I recommend the movie "Who killed the Electric Car?". Disturbing.

The Story Behind the Most Successful Modern Electric Car
Shnayerson tells the story up to when the GM Impact was introduced.The film "Who Killed the Electric Car?" got me interested in electric cars.The GM Impact (EV1) was the most successful modern electric car, but it disappeared into the crushers shortly after its introduction.

His story is that of a dedicated crew inside GM working against budget cuts and management changes to make the car.It is a good read.

A shortcoming is that there are so many major characters-- A new one on each page in some chapters.One is Ken Baker, who runs through the whole narrative, as do Roger Smith (yes, that Roger) and Robert Stempel, one a former GM Chairman.

Another major character doesn't appear until chapter 20:Stan Ovshinsky.The 12 pages describe his career and the Ovonic 12-volt NiMH battery, and the test on the track at Mesa, Arizona, where his batteries powered the test Impact EV 201 miles on a single charge.

All of these 100+ GM execs and engineers were heart-and-soul dedicated to making the EV succeed.One cannot read this book and feel that GM was against the electric car.Shnayerson is an outsider, and was in no way a mouthpiece for GM or an industry apologist.When he tells of GM execs moving their families to Lansing or to Troy so they can work more on the Impact, you get a strong feeling that GM wanted this car to happen.GM sunk a few billion dollars in it.

I could have done with fewer pages of office drama and a new character on every other page, all of whom "exuded midwestern charm," and less about whether so-and-so was "on the fast track to a senior vice-presidency."

I would have preferred line drawings of new assemblies, for example, regenerative brakes-- a first by GM.I wanted more technical details!Cut a couple dozen pages of drama and give us line drawings!For example, in one of the few technical discussions; Setting a standard for EV chargers, page 223, after 3 years and $10 million, GM accepted Hughes's inductive 220 volt charger.Ford stayed with the basic prong-and-socket conductive charger.I wanted a line drawing of each, a photo of each, a short description of each.

Shnayerson gives an objective account of politics, noting the reelection of California Governor Pete Wilson in 1994, and Republicans unseating Democrat governors, and Republicans making huge gains in Congress in Nov 1994-- as a factor in reducing the auto industry's motivation to push the EV.That political revolution is missing in explaining the death of the EV in California in "Who Killed the Electric Car?" where the government villians are made out to be Bush, Cheney, and Rice.Shnayerson suggests that a Republican sweep in 1994 may have been the bigger factor, with a repudiation of 25 years of environmental legislation.

We humans may be incapable of analyzing economic factors, but we always emphasize political factors.This mental shortcoming has to do with the Availability Bias, from cognitive psychology:We overestimate factors easy to imagine or remember (like political figures we don't like) and ignore factors difficult to imagine or remember (like anything to do with economics).So when GM cuts funding in 1992 for the Impact, everyone, like director Chris Paine of "Who Killed the Electric Car?" screams out that there is a giant conspiracy by bad guys in Oil, but few recognize that when a company has a loss of a billion dollars, they need to cut back somewhere.

Shnayerson spends only a few pages on Japanese electric cars:All four major Japanese carmakers had cars to show at the Anaheim California December 1994-- EV Symposium 12.Mazda had an EV Miata.In France, residents were paying for the privilege of test driving 50 Peugeot-Citroen ZX and 105 model prototypes.If Big Oil, Autos, and the U.S. Gov killed the GM EV, who killed the French and Japanese EVs?Which brings up the Big Red Cars in Southern California.

Did Standard Oil and GM and B. F. Goodrich destroy Henry Huntington's Pacific Electric, the world's best electric car system, with its more than 1000 miles of standard gauge track?Or rather than a giant conspiracy, is the fault in the hands of my mother and father and thousands like them who destroyed the Pacific Electric-- they purchased a shiny new 1949 Nash, instead of spending that money on tickets to ride the Red Cars.We blame the "greedy" oil companies, but we don't think about tens of thousands of Southern Californians ready to buy that status symbol, their own auto, after years of rationing during and after World War II.
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This book chronicles recent advances in hybrid vehicle technologies and looks ahead to future hybrid vehicle development. The content focuses on hybrid vehicles with electrical energy storage systems and potential synergies provided by the electric power. Intended for those involved in all aspects of hybrid vehicle design and development, this book is an invaluable resource for practicing engineers, managers, students, and those with an interest in this promising technology.Editor John M. German, a recognized expert in hybrid technology from American Honda Motor Company, closely examines the technological and commercial facets of hybrid systems. Featuring 28 landmark SAE technical papers -- plus articles from Automotive Engineering International magazine -- from the past seven years (1998-2004), this book provides the most comprehensive information available on topics including power performance and fuel economy; powertrain architecture and controls integration; urban, military, and commercial applications; battery technologies; and energy management, control, and recovery strategies. Hybrid activities at companies such as DaimlerChrysler, Delphi, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Nissan, Toyota, Eaton, FedEx, and the U.S. Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command are included. ... Read more

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An electric vehicle battery (EVB)is a rechargeable battery used in electric vehicles, making them battery electric vehicles (BEVs). Batteries are usually the most expensive component of BEVs, although batteries from old or wrecked electric cars can be bought for battery-to-grid mini-power plants. The cost of battery manufacture is substantial, but increasing returns to scale may serve to lower their cost when BEVs are manufactured on the scale of modern internal combustion vehicles. Since the late 1990s, advances in battery technologies have been driven by skyrocketing demand for laptop computers and mobile phones, with consumer demand for more features, larger, brighter displays, and longer battery time driving research and development in the field. The BEV marketplace has reaped the benefits of these advances. ... Read more

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if you google the 'product' description...
An electric vehicle battery (EVB) is a rechargeable battery used in electric vehicles, making them battery electric vehicles (BEVs). Batteries are usually the most expensive component of BEVs, although batteries from old or wrecked electric cars can be bought for battery-to-grid mini-power plants. The cost of battery manufacture is substantial, but increasing returns to scale may serve to lower their cost when BEVs are manufactured on the scale of modern internal combustion vehicles. Since the late 1990s, advances in battery technologies have been driven by skyrocketing demand for laptop computers and mobile phones, with consumer demand for more features, larger, brighter displays, and longer battery time driving research and development in the field. The BEV marketplace has reaped the benefits of these advances.

... you will go the the first of however many WIKIPEDIA ARTICLES WERE COPIED TO MAKE THE WHOLE, EXPENSIVE 'BOOK'

SIGH... ... Read more

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A: 17th Annual Report to Congress for Fiscal Year 1993; Part B: 18th Annual Report to Congress for Fiscal Year 1994; Part C: 19th Annual Report to Congress for Fiscal Year 1995 ... Read more

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Compiled by South Coast Air Quality Management District ... Read more

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This econometric study covers the outlook for lithium-ion batteries for plug-in hybrid and pure electric vehicles in Europe. For each year reported, estimates are given for the latent demand, or potential industry earnings (P.I.E.), for the country in question (in millions of U.S. dollars), the percent share the country is of the region and of the globe. These comparative benchmarks allow the reader to quickly gauge a country vis-a-vis others. Using econometric models which project fundamental economic dynamics within each country and across countries, latent demand estimates are created. This report does not discuss the specific players in the market serving the latent demand, nor specific details at the product level. The study also does not consider short-term cyclicalities that might affect realized sales. The study, therefore, is strategic in nature, taking an aggregate and long-run view, irrespective of the players or products involved.

This study does not report actual sales data (which are simply unavailable, in a comparable or consistent manner in virtually all of the countries in Europe). This study gives, however, my estimates for the latent demand, or the P.I.E. for lithium-ion batteries for plug-in hybrid and pure electric vehicles in Europe. It also shows how the P.I.E. is divided across the national markets of Europe. For each country, I also show my estimates of how the P.I.E. grows over time (positive or negative growth). In order to make these estimates, a multi-stage methodology was employed that is often taught in courses on international strategic planning at graduate schools of business. ... Read more

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This econometric study covers the outlook for lithium-ion batteries for plug-in hybrid and pure electric vehicles in Oceana. For each year reported, estimates are given for the latent demand, or potential industry earnings (P.I.E.), for the country in question (in millions of U.S. dollars), the percent share the country is of the region and of the globe. These comparative benchmarks allow the reader to quickly gauge a country vis-a-vis others. Using econometric models which project fundamental economic dynamics within each country and across countries, latent demand estimates are created. This report does not discuss the specific players in the market serving the latent demand, nor specific details at the product level. The study also does not consider short-term cyclicalities that might affect realized sales. The study, therefore, is strategic in nature, taking an aggregate and long-run view, irrespective of the players or products involved.

This study does not report actual sales data (which are simply unavailable, in a comparable or consistent manner in virtually all of the countries in Oceana). This study gives, however, my estimates for the latent demand, or the P.I.E. for lithium-ion batteries for plug-in hybrid and pure electric vehicles in Oceana. It also shows how the P.I.E. is divided across the national markets of Oceana. For each country, I also show my estimates of how the P.I.E. grows over time (positive or negative growth). In order to make these estimates, a multi-stage methodology was employed that is often taught in courses on international strategic planning at graduate schools of business. ... Read more

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This econometric study covers the latent demand outlook for lithium-ion batteries for plug-in hybrid and pure electric vehicles across the prefectures and cities of Japan. Latent demand (in millions of U.S. dollars), or potential industry earnings (P.I.E.) estimates are given across some 1,000 cities in Japan. For each city in question, the percent share the city is of it's prefecture and of Japan is reported. These comparative benchmarks allow the reader to quickly gauge a city vis-a-vis others. This statistical approach can prove very useful to distribution and/or sales force strategies. Using econometric models which project fundamental economic dynamics within each prefecture and city, latent demand estimates are created for lithium-ion batteries for plug-in hybrid and pure electric vehicles. This report does not discuss the specific players in the market serving the latent demand, nor specific details at the product level. The study also does not consider short-term cyclicalities that might affect realized sales. The study, therefore, is strategic in nature, taking an aggregate and long-run view, irrespective of the players or products involved.

This study does not report actual sales data (which are simply unavailable, in a comparable or consistent manner in virtually all of the cities in Japan). This study gives, however, my estimates for the latent demand, or the P.I.E., for lithium-ion batteries for plug-in hybrid and pure electric vehicles in Japan. It also shows how the P.I.E. is divided and concentrated across the cities and regional markets of Japan. For each prefecture, I also show my estimates of how the P.I.E. grows over time. In order to make these estimates, a multi-stage methodology was employed that is often taught in courses on strategic planning at graduate schools of business. ... Read more

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Part A: An Assessment of Research & Development Leadership in Advanced Batteries for Electric Vehicles, Vicki L. Bruch, Sandia National Laboratory; Part B: Electric Vehicles: Likely Consequences of U.S. and other Nations Programs and Polices, U.S. General Accounting Office ... Read more

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This econometric study covers the outlook for lithium-ion batteries for plug-in hybrid and pure electric vehicles in Africa. For each year reported, estimates are given for the latent demand, or potential industry earnings (P.I.E.), for the country in question (in millions of U.S. dollars), the percent share the country is of the region and of the globe. These comparative benchmarks allow the reader to quickly gauge a country vis-a-vis others. Using econometric models which project fundamental economic dynamics within each country and across countries, latent demand estimates are created. This report does not discuss the specific players in the market serving the latent demand, nor specific details at the product level. The study also does not consider short-term cyclicalities that might affect realized sales. The study, therefore, is strategic in nature, taking an aggregate and long-run view, irrespective of the players or products involved.

This study does not report actual sales data (which are simply unavailable, in a comparable or consistent manner in virtually all of the countries in Africa). This study gives, however, my estimates for the latent demand, or the P.I.E. for lithium-ion batteries for plug-in hybrid and pure electric vehicles in Africa. It also shows how the P.I.E. is divided across the national markets of Africa. For each country, I also show my estimates of how the P.I.E. grows over time (positive or negative growth). In order to make these estimates, a multi-stage methodology was employed that is often taught in courses on international strategic planning at graduate schools of business. ... Read more

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"Lightweight Electric/Hybrid Vehicle Design" covers the particular automotive design approach required for hybrid/electrical drive vehicles. There is currently huge investment world-wide in electric vehicle propulsion, driven by concern for pollution control and depleting oil resources. The radically different design demands of these new vehicles requires a completely new approach that is covered comprehensively in this book. The book explores the rather dramatic departures in structural configuration necessary for purpose-designed electric vehicle including weight removal in the mechanical systems. It also provides a comprehensive review of the design process in the electric hybrid drive and energy storage systems. Ideal for automotive engineering students and professionals, "Lightweight Electric/Hybrid Vehicle Design" provides a complete introduction to this important new sector of the industry. It includes a comprehensive coverage of all design aspects of electric/hybrid cars in a single volume. It is packed with case studies and applications in-depth treatment written in a text book style (rather than a theoretical specialist text style). ... Read more