NoiseFree

Yeah I suspect that will be the case.

Cool! I have a feeling that once a car has been 'worked-in' and the battery has got a good charge, you should be able to replicate that 42mph thing regularly.

Yeah. I was thinking that perhaps it might have some active motors in it to speed things up. Is it even possible to speed up a charge?

Magellan55

It would be tough in the HS - it takes a really gentle throttle, and some downhill :-) In routine driving, I don't think you could do this without a lot of angry looks from other drivers. But in an all-electric car, or a hybrid designed to drive all-electric like the Volt, it would be normal.

Charging all depends on the voltage and amps of your source. If your house can supply it, a 240v 70Amp supply will fully charge an electric car in just a few hours, and a quick charge will give you enough juice for short commutes in 30 minutes. I think one downside of electric cars is most homes aren't able to supply that, and charging will take more like 12 or 24 hours. If you want something quicker than that, they are also looking at battery swap stations - basically pull into a service station and swap out your batteries for fully charged ones in 5 minutes.

NoiseFree

That sounds a lot more practical if they can get the swapping down to a science.
I mean, quick and painless and no undue wear and tear on the car for the swapping. How heavy would those batteries be anyways?

Magellan55

I'm sure they are heavy, but the swapping is done underneath - you drive your car over a pit, and a machine unlatches the pack, lowers it, and lifts a new one in it's place. i'm sure they have to work out some logistics, standard battery pack sizes, etc., but Nissan I think is piloting this in Israel and several other countries now.

Magellan55

Looks like a moot point soon - proposed new law requires noisemakers on hybrids and electric cars to keep from surprising pedestrians. Stupid.

http://money.cnn.com/2010/05/19/auto...oise/index.htm

gary1944

Unfreakingbelieveable.....well, at least the government is involved so now I feel safe....NOT

agie95

Well, for the most part I agree the gov't should not get involved. There are deaf people though and it would be good to have some kind of noise for them.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

LOL - if you're DEAF (as in completely deaf) a freaking fog horn isn't going to help. so what's next, GIANT FLASHING LIGHTS, PLASTIC ARMS WAVING, or some kind of vibrating device so people 'feel' the car coming!?

this is why we must vote the bums out of office!!!!

YotaCarFan

While they're at it, the bureaucrats can mandate a noisemaker for bicycles so they don't surprise pedestrians, either.

Magellan55

LOL! After posting that article here, I also sent it to a cycling forum I'm on with that prediction :-) Generated a lot of "discussion", including references to silly laws passed in the early days of the automobile.