The Tour de Sol Reports, 1998
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The following is copyright Michael H. Bianchi. Permission to copy is granted provided each Report is presented without modification and this notice is attached. For other arrangements, contact me at +1-973-822-2024 .
For more on the NESEA Tour de Sol, see the web page at
Official NESEA Tour de Sol information is available from the sponsor, the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) at 413 774-6051 , and 50 Miles Street, Greenfield, MA 01301 , and nesea@nesea.org . All media enquiries should be addressed to ...Jack Groh Groh Associates email: GrohPR@aol.com 401 732-1551 telephone 401 732-0547 fax 401 952-0886 cell/pager
Table of Contents
Report #1: 1998 NESEA American Tour de Sol - Routes, Dates, & Highlights
Report #2: s `Sungo' and `Hopper EV' return to the American Tour de Sol
Report #3: Early Reports on Teams Showing Up This Year
Report #4: Looking for Volunteers
Report #5: Routes, Dates, & Highlights
Report #6: NESEA American Tour de Sol Sponsors
Report #7: Winning by the Numbers
Report #8: The Return of Car 50 from Connecticut
Report #9: Light Happens
Report #10: Team Profile - `Garnet One'
Report #11: Team Profile - `Solar Tiger II'
Report #12: Team Profile - `Viking 23'
Report #13: Demonstration Vehicle - `Viking 29'
Report #14: Other Reporters
Report #15: Team Profile - `Ed'
Report #16: Demonstration Vehicle - `Ford Electric Ranger'
Report #17: Team Profile - `Slipstream'
Report #18: Team Profile - `Helios the Heron V'
Report #19: Friday and Saturday: Registration, Display and Testing
Report #20: Team Profile - `Project e- 2'
Report #21: Team Profile - `Kineticar III'
Report #22: List of Entrants
Report #23: Day 1 Race Summary
Report #24: Team Profile - `The Olympian'
Report #25: Team Profile - CitiVan
Report #26: Day 2 Race Summary
Report #27: Team Profile - `The Electrifly'
Report #28: Janet's Fund
Report #29: Demonstration Vehicle - `Toyota Prius'
Report #30: Demonstration Vehicle - `Toyota RAV4-EV'
Report #31: Autocross Results
Report #32: Day 3 Race Summary
Report #33: Day 4 Race Summary
Report #34: Purring into Washington DC
Report #35: The Rally is Over - The Reports Continue
Report #36: Final Results Are Delayed
Report #37: Team Profile - `Comuta-Car'
Report #38: Team Profile - `Porche 914 Electric Bull'
Report #39: Team Profile - `Hopper EV'
Report #40: Demonstration Vehicle - `Lectra'
Report #41: Team Profile - `Maryland's Saturn HEV'
Report #42: Team Profile - `TU ParaDyne'
Report #43: Team Profile - `Sol Survivor IV'
Report #44: Team Profile - `Spyder Juice'
Report #45: Interview - Rob Wills, Technical Director
Report #46: Team Profile - `Sunpacer'
Report #47: Team Profile - `Honda EV Plus'
Report #48: Interview - Nancy Hazard, ATdS Director
Report #49: Final Awards
Report #50: Another look at the Results
Report #51: Technical Testing Scores
Report #52: Technical Testing - Production Category
Report #53: Demonstration Vehicle - `Chrysler Epic'
Report #54: Team Profile - `Shocker III'
Report #55: Getting the Details Right, Saturday Testing
Report #56: Team Profile - `Solar Commuter Car'
Report #57: Team Profile - `Mach .1'
Report #58: Team Profile - `Ovonic Electric Scooter'
Report #59: Team Profile - `NFA Sol Machine'
Report #60: Team Profile - `Sungo'
Report #61: City Driving, Country Driving, Overnight Charging
Report #62: Team Profile - `Charger Bike'
Report #63: Stopping Midway From Princeton to New Castle
Report #64: Stories From New Castle and Dover Deleware
Report #65: Team Profile - `Re-Chargers'
Report #66: Team Profile - `59 Berkeley'
Report #67: Team Profile - `Electric Lion'
Report #68: Notes from Wednesday
Report #69: An Advisor to a Winning Team
Report #70: Team Profile - `Ovonic-Solectria Force'
Report #71: Onward to the Capital
Report #72: A Reporter's Final Thoughts
Report #1: 1998 NESEA American Tour de Sol - Routes, Dates, & Highlights
Folks, It's time to start planning to coming to the 1998 NESEA American Tour de Sol! Below is the current schedule, lifted from www.nesea.org .
As in the past, I will be acting as reporter and announcer.
Mike Bianchi
Dates: May 8-18, 1998
Location: New York City to Washington DC with events in:
New York Morristown, Princeton and Burlington County, NJ New Castle and Dover, DE Sandy Point State Park, MD Washington, DC.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 1998 NESEA TOUR
SAE joins NESEA for a special NYC event: May 7-8
The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), the most prestigious automotive engineering association in the world, is joining forces with NESEA on a two- day mini-conference May 7-8 called "Making Hybrid Electric Vehicles Commercially Viable". The event, will attract engineers from around the world and be the opening event for the NESEA Tour. NESEA Tour vehicles and participants will arrive Friday, and offer tours of the vehicles to area students and rides to conference participants and fleet people.Tech Testing and Starting Ceremonies in New York: May 9-10
Saturday and Sunday will include technical testing and starting ceremonies in the heart of downtown Manhattan. The New York City Department of Transportation has taken the lead in New York, and they will work with us to assure that everything runs smoothly.New Jersey Rolls out the Red Carpet: May 10-11
The New Jersey Department of Transportation, the Department of Environmental Protection, the Board of Public Utilities, and several rideshare companies and friends will roll out the red carpet in Morristown, Princeton, and Burlington County Institute of Technology, New Jersey. We have found an amazingly rural route through this densely populated state that is probably second only to California in the number of commuter trips taken each day. New Jersey boasts Power Commute, an Electric Station Car Demonstration in three towns, a newly created Office of Sustainability which is attracting Green businesses to the state, and an active Clean Cities program. Furthermore, NJ Transit will soon acquire two Orion hybrid electric buses.Delaware will host the Range event: May 12
The NESEA Tour will visit Delaware for the first time this year. The Governor and all the state agencies are working with us to make our two stops in Delaware very special. After stopping in historic New Castle, we will follow the coastline to Dover, the beautiful capital of this state, and home of the Dover Downs, a Nascar sanctioned race track. Dover will be the location for range demonstration.Maryland to host Autocross event: May 13
We will return to Sandy Point State Park for an educational event for school children, an Autocross event, and acceleration testing. We will again be working with the Governor and all the state agencies on this event.Washington DC and the Legislative Connection: May 14-15
Washington will be the final celebration of the 10th annual NESEA Tour, and we have a unique opportunity to showcase vehicles and educate decisionmakers on how far electric vehicles have come in 10 short years! We are working with the U.S. Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Electric Transportation Coalition, Edison Electric Institute, Potomac Electric, Darby Associates and more to make our visit to the U.S. Capital as effective as possible. We plan to visit both the White House and legislators on Capitol Hill. We look forward to working with each team to assure that all of your representatives come to meet you, and learn about electric vehicles! The final awards ceremony will be held on Friday, May 15 at a NESEA hosted brunch.
Report #2: s `Sungo' and `Hopper EV' return to the American Tour de Sol
The 10th NESEA American Tour de Sol attracts entrants from colleges and individuals around the country. I spoke to Tom Hopper, a teacher and team advisor at New Hampshire Technical Institute's (NHTI) electric vehicle racing team. Tom will also be returning as an individual entrant.
NHTI's `Sungo' will be coming back once again with some significant modifications. `Sungo' is a two-person commuter car made from a welded aluminum frame with a composite body that hinges up at the front to let the people get in and out. In 1997 it one a number of prizes, including 1st place in the Commuter Catagory. Not to rest on their laurels, the team plans several changes aimed at improving its range and drivability. Major changes include reworking the rear battery compartment to get better packing of the Ovonic nickel metal hydride batteries and adding 2 extra 12-Volt modules making the total string 144 Volts. They are also improving the battery cooling ventilation and adding better battery monitoring. They hope to extend the range to 150 miles-per-charge. Structural improvements are being made to the front end to make it more rugged. While they are at it, they are adding 3.5 inches to the wheel base and giving the aluminum frame a thorough inspection, particularly looking for cracks and weakness. The dual permanent magnet motors and toothed belt drives on the rear wheels have been swapped out for a new pair of AC induction motors that drive the rear wheels through fixed-ratio planetary gear boxes. They'll also improve the seating a bit, overall `Sungo' but looks very much the same. "We expect `Sungo' to be tougher, quicker and with greater range, plus fail safe", Tom said.
Tom was very happy how his personal project did in the 1997 NESEA Tour. It is a larger 2-person, aluminum frame and composite body car known as the `Hopper EV'. In the autocross, it's wide stance, front sway bar, and low-and-center battery pack gave it excellent handling through the twists and turns. And after the awards ceremony, Tom and his co-pilot drove the `Hopper EV' from Portland Maine to Concord New Hampshire, using the diesel-fueled generator trailer. Since then, Tom drives it every day commuting to work at NHTI.
But, as in past years, Tom has a few changes in mind. `Hopper EV' will be entered again as a series hybrid, but this time without the generator trailer. Instead, a 90 cc engine burning 85% Methanol and 15% gasoline (M85) will attach directly to the car. Loosing the trailer will lower the tandem weight by 450 pounds, to about 1200 pounds curb weight. As before, the engine will be under the driver's control.
The drive train, which was also using toothed belts, is being replaced with the same planetary gear box that is going into `Sungo', and it will be driven by one of the same AC induction motors as `Sungo' uses. "The problem with belts is they will break in hard acceleration and they wear the small pulleys. We are very excited about the gear boxes."
On top of that, the roof is going to be raised a bit to give more head room, a larger rear window is going to be installed, and some acoustic sound deading material will be added.
Report #3: Early Reports on Teams Showing Up This Year
Now it is time, once again, for the annual Reports From the North East Sustainable Energy Association's "American Tour de Sol Electric Vehicle Championship." Each year at this time we present the long distance, out-in- the-real-world EV sporting event from the East Coast of the United States. This is the 10th anniversary of the American Tour de Sol and it seems it will live up to laurels. I had the opportunity to speak with Nancy Hazard, Director of the ATdS, and Sheilah Pierce, the Event Coordinator, while they were in Morristown NJ planning the stop here on Sunday May 10th. A more detailed route and plan of events will be posted later.
What I wanted to report today is some of the entrants and participants who have signed up.
Perennial participant Solectria will be represented by three vehicles. The Connecticut Ride Share folks will return with one of their Solectria `Force' passenger cars, running on Electrosource Horizon advanced lead acid batteries. Another `Force' will have a pack of Ovonics Nickel Metal Hydride batteries. And we expect to see the new Solectria `CityVan' package delivery vehicle.
The New York Power Authority is coming, entering a Honda `EV Plus' with its long-range nickel metal hydride battery pack.
Toyota is participating in the NESEA Tour as a Silver Sponsor. While they will not be entering any vehicles in the competition, they are bringing two `RAV4- EV' sport utility vehicles for public display and ride-and-drive demonstrations, _and_ one of their `Prius' hybrid-electric cars that are being sold in Japan. The `Prius' will act as the Pace Car of the ATdS.
"We have six or seven hybrids this year," Nancy said, "including a car from the University of California at Davis, and Swarthmore College will be returning. Tom Hopper will again have the only hybrid that is a personal project."
Among the new entrants will be a high school in Cinnaminson New Jersey. I have not seen the details yet, but I'd expect this team to get a lot of local press.
A number of one-person vehicles are promising to be present. The `Charger Bike', which provides electric assistance _only_ while the rider pedals, will be ridden by a high school team. The team known as `Project e-', which for years has entered a pickup-truck which was at first purely electric and then hybrid-electric, says they will be entering a single-person vehicle.
Some others of the entrants will be familiar names. Team New England will return with their `1959 Berkeley' sports car. And the `Sol Survivor IV', the slick Solar Commuter car from the high school in Peterborough New Hampshire is expected to be back. The team from Cato-Meridian High in Cato New York should make it also.
NESEA says they also have a `Citicar' entered and at least one more bicycle.
And finally, one of my favorite teams, the 4th-through-8th graders from the Riverside School in Lyndonville Vermont (not one of them legal to drive, yet) will be be there. Last year they claimed their `Helios the Heron', converted from a 1971 Volkswagon microbus ran on electricity, but I think there was a lot of psychic energy from 40 screaming kids pushing it down the road. Regardless, they have been one of the most popular teams with the young people who visit the many public displays given during the NESEA Tour.
As in years passed, the American Tour de Sol will be a collection that will prepresent the art and science of electric vehicles, from the creations of hobbiests to the products of major corporations. If you want to see real electric vehicles, "on the hoof", I know of no finer place.
Report #4: Looking for Volunteers
The 1998 NESEA American Tour de Sol starts with two days of registration and inspection of the entrants. Friday and Saturday, May 8th and 9th, the teams will assemble in New York City to have their vehicles scrutinized. When the cars are not actively being inspected and tested, they will be on display.
The inspection and testing serves two purposes. First it collects technical data, recording the weight, acceleration, braking and other performance and design information. Secondly, as this is an event that occurs entirely on public streets and highways, there is a great interest in the safety aspects of the vehicles' design and construction.
Another major concern is electrical safety. Just as you would not want a fuel leak in a vehicle with an internal combustion engine (and they will be looking for those in the Hybrid Category entrants) you do not want an electrical leak. The NESEA Tour rules require less than 1 milliamp (mA) of current through a 10,000 Ohm resistor when measured between the chassis and the most-positive and most-negative poles of the fully-charged battery. That requirement comes from the fact that 5 mA through the human body can be lethal and 10,000 Ohms is a ball-park value for the resistance of the body hand-to-hand. This sounds like an easy requirement to meet, but experience shows that sometimes it is overlooked. Often a small amount of moisture or other contamination on the battery modules, connectors or wires can create a leakage path that can get you in trouble. With battery pack voltages getting near 200, and in one case 340, Volts, this is a technical detail that requires design attention.
Looking over the vehicles is interesting, informative and fun. (It is how I got my start.) If you have the interest and can be there Friday and Saturday May 8th and 9th, NESEA would love to have you volunteer. Those with knowledge and experience with cars, fuel systems, or electricity are particularly welcome, as they need many eyes to look all over the vehicles. They will also need folks to write down weights, measurements, and information, time accelerations, measure stopping distances, and the like.
If you would be interested in being part of the "scrutineering", give NESEA a call at 413-774-6051. FAX: 413-774-6053. E-mail: transp@nesea.org. I know they will be glad to hear from you.
Report #5: Routes, Dates, & Highlights
The followoing is lifted from the NESEA Web site ...
http://www.nesea.org/98ATDS/98atds_route.htmlIt gives a good overview of where the tour will be and what it will be doing and when. It could be helpful in planning your visit; it's never too early.
1998 NESEA American Tour de Sol --- May 8-14
Come see the Electric Vehicles of the Future at a Free Event near you and Celebrate with us 10 Years of Progress !
Friday, May 8
NEW YORK CITY/World's Fair Marina, Queens
11am-3pm SAE/NESEA Hybrid Conference held May 7-8. Call (724) 772-7148 for details.
Saturday, Sunday, May 9-10
NEW YORK CITY/South Street Seaport Marketplace
Saturday - 9am-6pm
Sunday - 9am-1:15pm
Starting Ceremony - 12:30pm-1:15pmVehicles drive to Morristown via the Holland Tunnel thru Jersey City on Lincoln Highway West to 510W thru Newark, Orange, Northfield & Florham Park into Morristown. (25 miles)
Sunday, May 10
MORRISTOWN, NJ/Morristown Train Station
Morristown Electric Car Festival - 2-5pm
NESEA Tour vehicles join Festival: 2:15-5:00pmVehicles drive to Princeton via 663S thru Harding Township, New Vernon, & Basking Ridge to 525S thru Lyons, Liberty Corner, Mt. Horeb, Martinsville, & Chimney Rock, to 533S thru Finderne, Manville, Weston, Mill Stone Boro, Griggstown, Bridgepoint, & Rocky Hill Boro, to 206S into Princeton.(39 miles)
Monday, May 11
PRINCETON, NJ/Princeton High School
7:45-10am Event and Restart ceremonyVehicles drive to BCIT via Rte 571S thru Penns Neck, Princeton Jct., Grovers Mill, West Windsor, & Post Corner, to 526W thru Dutch Neck & Edinburg, then)South thru Hamilton Square, Mercerville, Haines Corner, Edgebrook, Yardville, Groveville & North Crosswicks, to 660S thru Chesterfield, to 543W thru Mansfield, Columbus, & Jacksonville into Mt. Holly.(37 miles)
Monday, May 11
BURLINGTON COUNTY INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY(BCIT)/Westampton, NJ
Eco Living Festival - 10am-6pm
Jr. Solar Sprint event - 9am-11:30am
NESEA Tour vehicles on display - 11:30am-4pm
Special student workshops - 1:30pm-2:30pm
Bicycle event - 4:15pm-6pm
Restart ceremony 4:00pmVehicles drive to.New Castle via Rte 626E thru Timbuctoo to 541S thru Mt. Holly, Fostertown, & Crossroad onto Marlton Pike & 620W thru Melrose, Pine Grove, Brush Hollow, & Heritage Village to 544W thru Cherry Hill, Haines Corner, Corner Coffins, Lawnside, Magnolia, & Woodbury to 551S thru Parkville, Mt. Royal, East Greenwich, Asbury, Swedesboro, & Pennsville. Over DE. Mem. Bridge to 9S into New Castle. (60 miles)
Tuesday, May 12
NEW CASTLE, DE/Delaware Air National Guard
7:45am-10am Event and Restart ceremonyVehicles drive to Dover via 9S thru St. Georges, Port Penn., Bay View Beach, Thomas Corner, Stups Corner, Taylors Bridge, Flemings Landing, Dutch Neck Crossroads, Leipsic Cowgills Corner, to 8E to Dover's Capitol Complex.(39 miles)
Tuesday, May 12
DOVER, DE/Capitol Complex
11am-6:30pm
Media event and range event start - 1pm-1:30pm
Range event on Rte13S - 1:30pm-6:30pm.
Wednesday, May 13
DOVER, DE/Polytech - Woodside
7:45am-10:00am Event and Restart ceremony
Jr. Solar Sprint event - 9am-1:30pmVehicles drive to Sandy Point State Park via 8 & 44W thru PearsonĚs Corner, Davis Corner, and Hartly to 300W thru Everetts Corner, Sudlersville, & Church Hill, to 213S thru Starkey Corner & Centreville to 50W & 18W thru Queenstown Grasonville, Chester, & Stevensville, over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge to Sandy Point S.P.(67 miles)]
Wednesday, May 13
SANDY POINT STATE PARK/Annapolis, MD
A Day in the Sun Festival - 10am-2pm
NESEA Tour vehicles on display - 11:15am-4:30pm
Media event and Autocross event - 1:00pm-4:30pm
Thursday, May 14
WASHINGTON, DC/PA Ave & 3rd St., NW
Jr. Solar Sprint event - 9:30am-11:15am
Media event and NESEA Tour display - 11:15am-4pmVehicles will drive from Sandy Pt. S. P. to DC starting at 9:30am via East College Parkway to179S to 648S to Rte 450 thru Annapolis, to Riva Rd & 214W into Washington, DC.(42 miles)
Friday, May 15
WASHINGTON, DC
Awards Brunch and Ceremony - 11am-1:30pm by invitation only
EVENTSThe 10th annual NESEA Tour will include ten events in eight communities during the week of May 8-14. Each community has formed a committee to work with NESEA to make each stopover exciting & informative. Please join us in thanking the over 150 people working on these events! If you would like to join the fun, please contact us. Following are reports on events and committee activities.
NEW YORK: The NESEA Tour will be returning to the South Street Seaport Marketplace for a gala weekend event and technical testing. On the Friday before, school groups, the automotive press, and SAE/NESEA TopTec participants will be invited to a special display and Ride & Drive in Queens. The committee, made up of sponsor representatives, the Industrial Designer Society of America, the Long Island Jr. Solar Sprint, and the Council on the Environment, are working on creative ways to get their members involved. John Mlynick, musician and NESEA member, will take charge of the stage. Pre-event activities and publicity are a high priority for the committee. They are also reaching out to area bike clubs to encourage them to schedule biking events that include the NESEA Tour.
NEW JERSEY: The NJ DOT's electric vehicle demonstration project, Power Commute, and Pat and Mike Skelly, five-year NESEA Tour volunteers, were the decisive factors in attracting us to New Jersey. New Jersey's problems with pollution, population density and demographics are also perfect for EVs! We will be stopping in three communities.
MORRISTOWN, NJ: MCRides, the MorrisCounty rideshare company, is our host as well as host to the Power Commute program. With a Mothers' Day theme of "Rides for Moms," we will congregate at the train station Sunday afternoon. Members of the community and Power Commute partners will offer rides, food & music, plus lots of kids will make this a great afternoon! Mike Bianci, long-time announcer and chronicler of the NESEA Tour, is helping here in his home town.
PRINCETON, NJ: The Princeton High School will be the setting for our overnight stop, and an early Monday morning event for area school children. The Greater Mercer County Metropolitan Transit Authority, a Power Commute partner, is taking the lead here, and will bring vehicles for rides!
BURLINGTON COUNTY INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY (BCIT), located near another rideshare program, Cross County Connections, is the host for this all- day Monday event. Pat and Mike Skelly invited Joyce Goldsmith of Burlington County Waste Management to get involved. Between the three of them, and BCIT, they must know everyone in Burlington County, and they have gotten everyone involved! A morning Jr. Solar Sprint event, workshops for kids, shuttle buses from neighboring Mt. Holly, and an evening program will make this a fun and educational event. Burlington County is home to DEP Commissioner Shinn, who he will come and invite the governor! Entrants can recharge Monday afternoon, before setting out for Delaware.
DELAWARE: This is our first trip to Delaware, and they are rolling out the red carpet for us. The Colonial School District is taking the lead on creating a Tuesday morning event for students in NEW CASTLE, and they are working hard to incorporate the technological aspects of the Tour into their spring semester curriculum. The cars will then drive down along the Delaware River to DOVER. We expect both kids and state legislators to join us for lunch at the beautiful Capitol Complex. The entrants will then have an opportunity to demonstrate their range capabilities. Wednesday morning we will hold an event for the students at POLYTECH-WOODSIDE, who are especially excited to see us, since they have a program that involves EV technology!
MARYLAND: The NESEA Tour will return to Sandy Point State Park, which overlooks the Chesapeake Bay, for a mid-day Wednesday event with area students. An afternoon Autocross event will be hosted by the Greater DC Area Sports Car Club of America. The Maryland Departments of Energy Administration and the Department of Natural Resources are taking the lead in reaching out to area businesses, who will both exhibit and become sponsors of school buses. We all hope to match our success of two years ago when over 1500 students were bussed to the NESEA Tour!
WASHINGTON, DC: Pennsylvania Ave and 3rd Street, with the Capitol building as the backdrop, will be the site of our final celebration on Thursday. The DC Jr. Solar Sprint group, the Potomac Region Solar Energy Association, the Gas Guzzler Campaign, the Capitol Children's Museum and the Electric Vehicle Association of Greater Washington have taken the lead in attracting students to the event. We are working with Darby Enterprises, Copeland, Lowrey & Jacquez, the Electric Transportation Coalition, the Energy and Environmental Study Institute, Edison Electric Institute, Transportation 2000 and others on invitations to the President, the Vice President, agency heads, and legislators. For those participating in the NESEA Tour, the finale will come at the Awards Ceremony to be held Friday after brunch.
Report #6: NESEA American Tour de Sol Sponsors
(Lifted from the NESEA Web site ...
http://www.nesea.org/98ATDS/98atds_sponsors.htmlThe NESEA tour happens because of lots of volunteer effort and the sponsorship of some generous organizations and companies.)We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to our wonderful NESEA Tour de Sol Sponsors!
Title Sponsor:
United States Department of Energy
Silver Sponsors:
New Jersey Department of Transportation
The City of New York
New Jersey Department of Transportation
Society of Automotive Engineers
Toyota Motor Sales, USA: RAV4-EV
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Bronze Sponsors:
Chrysler Corporation
Delmarva Power & Light Company
Electric Transportation Coalition
Energy Conversion Devices - Ovonic Battery Company
GPU Energy
NEES Companies
New Jersey Board of Public Utilities & Dep't of Env. Protection
New York Power Authority
NYSTEC - Alternative Fuel Technology Center
Penske Utility Rental
State of Delaware
State of Maryland
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
Argonne National Laboratory
Report #7: Winning by the Numbers
The NESEA American Tour de Sol US Electric Vehicle Championship, for indeed that is its name, is an event where being the first under the FINISH banner does not confer any particular honor. In fact, to be a "winner" an entrant must excel in many different ways _other_ than speed! There are points awarded for the design and execution of the car, the ease with which it passes the various inspections for structural integrity and safety, and a number of other factors before the rally even begins. Once underway, longest driving range becomes a much cherished prize. In this, the 10th American Tour de Sol, there are some new prizes worth noting.
For one, the Production Category has a "public acceptance" prize based on a 200 point scoring system where the category entrants are evaluated on how they compare with cars that run on internal combustion engines (ICE). Under this scoring, 100 would represent an Electric Vehicle (EV) "equal to" an ICE vehicle in its every day abilities. (Once again, top speed is not likely to dominate the figuring.)
In the US Department of Energy Hybrid Category there will be a prize sponsored by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. The testing will be performed by Argonne National Laboratories and will look closely at the exhaust emissions.
There will also be a "City Drive" in New York City which will award a prize awarded to the most energy efficiency EV in this most urban of urban settings. Two years ago in New York City, the `Solectria Force NMH' (Nickel Metal Hydride) and the `Solectria Sunrise' both turned in efficiencies of about 200 Watt-hours/mile on the city driving cycle. The `Sunrise' will not be here, but a `Force NMH' will be defending the title.
For the past several years, the NESEA Challenge has awarded prizes based on the best overall oil-well-to-wheel-well vehicle efficiency. This prize answers the speculation that EVs might just move the pollution from the tail pipe to the power plant, and in fact may in fact increase overall pollution due to electric transmission losses. The numbers collected in past Tour de Sols say otherwise. They showed that a gallon of _crude_ oil taken from the ground, shipped to a refinery, made into gasoline, shipped to a gas station, pumped, and burned in an ICE car gets 35 miles per gallon of _crude oil_. Take the next gallon of oil from that same well, ship it to an electric power plant, generate the electricity, transmit it a house and into an EV's charger, charge the battery, and then drive an otherwise identical car and you will travel 65 miles per gallon of _crude oil_. And, of course, it is easier to keep a relatively few big, stationary electric generation facility burning oil in top condition than it is to keep millions of small, mobile engines burning gasoline and diesel fuel running as cleanly.
In this year's NESEA Challenge, each EV will have two meters measuring energy in Watt-hours. One meter will be on the Alternating Current (AC) line that feeds the charger. The other will be in between the battery and the motor controller. This will allow more accurate measurement of the energy losses in the charger-and-battery subsystem.
As of April 1st, NESEA's count of registered competitors was:
Production Category 5 Commuter Category 12 USDOE Hybrid Category 10 USDOE Solar Commuter Category 4 One Person Category 5
total 36There is also a new Demonstration Category for vehicles which will be on display and providing public ride-and-drives, but will not be awarded any prizes.
Report #8: The Return of Car 50 from Connecticut
((This is a replacement for Report #8. Jim sent me an updated version. The changes are all in the paragraph that begins "Car #50 just received ...".))
One of the joys of serving as a reporter of the American Tour de Sol (this will be my fifth year in that role), is that I get to know some of the regulars and they get to know me. So it wasn't too much of a surprise to get the following note from Jim Sime of the Connecticut DOT. It tells so clearly just how things have changed in the car they will be bringing back to the Commuter Category, that I'll just repeat the whole thing. Since I am mostly interested in the technology of the entrants, this speaks directly to me. I just _love_ those details.
Mike
Connecticut Rideshare Solectria Force with Electrosource Horizon BatteriesDavid Fabricatore and I look forward to seeing you again at the 1998 American Tour de Sol (ATdS). John Hudson will be driving the support van, as he did in 1996. This year my son William, age 10, will travel with the team and keep a journal. It should be both fun and educational for Will.
John and I are researchers employed by the Connecticut Department of Transportation. This is the fourth year the Department has partnered with the Connecticut Rideshare Co. to participate in the American Tour de Sol.
David and I will again be the driver/navigator team.
The ATdS is an important element in the Department's evaluation of production electric vehicles (EVs) as a means of improving urban air quality, reducing the use of petroleum per vehicle mile and dependence on foreign oil. Our evaluation with car #50 is examining the performance of a production electric car with an Advanced Lead Acid Battery (ALAB). The ALAB being evaluated is an 85 Amp-hour valve-regulated lead-acid electric-vehicle battery.
Since last year we have upgraded the motor and belt drive system on our 1995 Force. The car actually had a 1994-production year motor and belt-type drive train. The five 4-door sedans purchased by The Connecticut Rideshare Co. may have been the last Forces built before Solectria changed its standard drive train to the quieter direct-drive design.
Car #50 just received a factory upgrade of its motor and drive train, so under the hood it's essentially a 1998 Force. A model ACgtx20 replaced the original Solectria motor, model ACgv20. This new AC induction motor delivers 43-45 HP and is a brushless sealed design and weighs 78 pounds (lbs.). It is compact and has extremely low electrical resistance. Nominal power of the ACgtx20 is 12 kW and nominal torque is 20 Nm, while maximum power and torque are 37 kW and 70 Nm, respectively. Nominal motor speed is 4,000 rpm, while maximum motor speed is 12,000 rpm. The motor has an efficiency of 92%. A Solectria model AT1200 gearbox with the standard 12:1 gear ratio replaced the belt drive assembly. The gearbox is lightweight, weighing 35 pounds. The factory upgrade also included watertight electrical connectors, an Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) sock to improve radio reception, and a new-design fuse box.
The car is equipped with Electrosource Horizon advanced lead-acid batteries, a 220 volt charging system and the Badicheq computerized battery management system. All thirteen Electrosource horizon batteries were replaced with a new set of 85 Amp Hour Horizon batteries. A pack of thirteen batteries powers the car. The Horizon is a valve-regulated advanced lead acid battery. Inside are lead-fiberglass wire woven into lightweight mesh. The mesh is coated with an electrochemical paste. The design uses a starved electrolyte system and gas recombination. They are maintenance free, spill-proof, and can be mounted in any position. Battery attributes are: rapid recharge, high peak power (450- 500 W/kg, 30 seconds @ 50% Depth of Discharge (DOD), terminal limited), 85 Ah capacity, 41 Wh/kg, 90 Wh/l, 12 V, 24.9 kg per battery, and 400-cycle life at 70% DOD. [1]
Gus Sfakianos at Neocon Technologies Inc. in Long Island, NY replaced the on- board 12 Amp, 220-Volt Mentzer battery charger with a 22 Amp, 220 Volt K&W Charger. The charger is still controlled by a Badicheq computerized battery management system, but our Badicheq did receive a software upgrade. Also, the laptop computer and Badicheq laptop software were upgraded to the new Windows 95 version.
For the past three years we ran Goodyear Invicta GL radial tires, size P155/80R13. This is a 44-psi tire with a treadwear rating of 280, traction rating A and temperature rating B. The Invicta weighs about 14.5 lbs. and has a maximum load rating of 959 lbs. (3,836 lbs. for a set of four). For the 1998 ATdS, Goodyear sent us Intrepid radial tires, size 175/70R13. This 44-psi tire has a rated load capacity of 1,047 lbs. (4,188 lbs. for four) and a treadwear rating of 380; traction rating A; and, temperature rating B. The Intrepid weighs about 1 lb. more than the Invicta. Also, the Intrepid has a 5.25-inch tire width, about 7/8-inch wider than the Invicta. However, the width of tire-to-pavement contact appears to be only 0.125 inch wider when the width of the "rain channel" is subtracted from the overall width of the Intrepid. We will pursue a comparison of EV efficiency with these two tire models after the ATdS.
The wider Goodyear Intrepid tire led us to purchase a wider wheel as well.
We selected a 10-lb. Panasport 13x5.5 inch alloy wheel. The Intrepid/Panasport tire and wheel combination is 2 lbs. lighter than last year's Invicta mounted on a steel wheel with hubcap.
That's about it for changes to Car #50. Again, we look forward to seeing you on May 8, 1998.
Jim Sime
Solectria/Horizon #50 Connecticut EV/NAVC Production CategoryP.S. Information and data about Car #50 performance in previous ATdS events is posted on http://www.rideshare.com, which links to another site that contains Badicheq data and graphs from 1996 and 1997 ATdS (http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/JSime_ConnDOT)
Note:
[1] Reisner, D. E., "Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) Batteries for MotivePower," US NANOCORP, Inc., North Haven, CT, 1996.
Report #9: Light Happens
The day dawned cool and gray over the New York Hall of Science in the Flushing area of New York City today (Friday the 8th of May). The weather report said to expect showers. The early arrivers were already setting up a couple of tents and the NESEA traveling solar array, and a couple of electric cars and an electric school bus were already in evidence.
As the day progressed, the promised showers arrived, but so did more and more American Tour de Sol entrants, and bus load after bus load of school kids. "How far does it go?" "What do you do when there is no sun?" "High school kids built _that_!?" "How much does it cost?" "Where can I get one?" These were some of the questions heard.
And your loyal reporter was there, sticking his microcassette recorder under the nose of many a team member, getting their stories and learning about the trucks, vans, cars, bicycles and tricycles entered by corporations, colleges, high schools, a middle school, and individuals. We expect them to come from as far away as Florida and Canada, Arizona, California and Washington State.
We'll see the first fuel cell powered Tour de Sol vehicle, from a surprising source. We'll see one of the biggest entrants, and some of the smallest. We'll see vehicles with sophisticated computer controls, and vehicles with manual controls. We'll see a vehicle with 2 gear boxes and 2 shift levers. We'll see teams that have had woeful difficulties in the past come back to try again, and we'll see winners defending their titles. We'll see teams trying to run as much as possible on pure sun light, teams that will charge from the grid, teams that will burn fuels to generate their own electricity, and teams that will both charge and burn a fuel. We'll even see a demonstration vehicle that gets it's electricity from light, but not the sun. We'll see the only production hybrid-electric car being sold to the public. And much more.
So stick around. Over the next week or so I'll try to be your eyes and ears here at the electric vehicle event where the rubber hits the everyday, city- town-and-country roads of the north eastern United States.
Oh. You want to know where the Report title "Light Happens" comes from? It's a bumper sticker on one of the entrants.
Report #10: Team Profile - `Garnet One'
OK. I admit it. When I saw the entrant from Swarthmore College last year, I didn't hold out much hope for it completing the race (an opinion I kept to myself). It was a bit of a rats nest of wires and tubes. Not only was the electrical wiring all over the place, and none of it seemed to be labeled or color coded, but the tubing for the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) fuel also seemed a bit distracted; not quite sure where it was going. But the team proved me wrong. In spite of a few problems, they kept it going and did quite well. They even won a prize: the Blue Sky Club "Team Spirit Award", for staying happy in the face of adversity.
Well, `Garnet One' (Number 62) returns with a new team and a very neat and refined look befitting the lines of the Beretta car used as a platform. And I said so when I spoke with the team members. "That's because we basicly changed everything except for the major components like the DC motor and the internal combustion engine. We rewired the whole car, fixed up mechanical problems we had before, strengthened the battery box, replaced the exhaust system, fixed the cooling system, and added an instrument panel full of analog meters. Last year all the measurements were fed into a computer and it was a pain in the neck. It didn't work and it was difficult for the driver and passenger to know what was going on with the car." Although it has taken a lot of time and a few parts, there were not any major expenses to be paid, so funding has not been a major issue.
The original team members, who created the car as a senior design project, graduated last year and are now working. The team this year is all new members, and the car has been their senior project.
Finding CNG was a problem for the team last year, as we traveled up through Vermont and New Hampshire. They were given permission to plug in to charge for the portion of the route where they could not find fuel. This year they did their homework and have found fuel all along the way.
Most of the past 12 months the car has been in the shop being overhauled, but during the past two months they've put about 400 miles on it, getting it ready for the NESEA Tour.
Vehicle Number 62 Vehicle Name Garnet One Category USDOE HYBRID CATEGORY Team Name Swarthmore HEV Team No People in Project 8 Organization Swarthmore College Town Swarthmore PA Description 96 Chevy Beretta (Pba + CNG) New this year? returning Motor Advanced DC; FBi 401A; 21 kW cont, 60 kW peak Batteries Trojan; PbA; 1200 lbs; 16,200 Wh, 120 V Series Controller Curtis 1221B-7401; Transistor Charger K&W; Transformerless Construction Chevrolet Beretta; Steel Frame; Steel Body Hybrid Kawasaki; 2-cylinders; 317 cc; Series; CNG No of Passengers 2 Maximum Speed 75 mph Range 150 miles Capacity 350 pounds Weight 3700 pounds Brakes Front Disk; Rear Drum; Non-Regen Wheels Tires 4 Ameri; G4's
Report #11: Team Profile - `Solar Tiger II'
(History Lesson - Part 1)
There is a history of electric vehicles that is not widely talked about oreven very well known. During the 1960's and 1970's, there were a number of attempts to bring EVs to the American market that didn't quite work out. One of those was a thing known as the "Zipper" (Have I spelled that right? It may have one or three p's.), that held two people, had 3 wheels with rear-wheel drive, an ABS plasic body, and reminds one of the little patrol vehicles you see today. Not many were built.(History Lesson - Part 2)
Last year the team from Union-Endicott High School worked very hard on aground-up vehicle that never crossed the starting line. Severe problems with the brakes and steering kept them from passing the technical inspections, and so they were not allowed to race. They did display their car at each of the stops along the way, though.Fate smiled on the Technology Club in the person of the retired CEO of EZ Red Battery in Deposit NY. He had the only Zipper truck ever built and was looking to give it a home. It had been sitting for a while and would need work, but would the Club be interested?
They sure were. They redesigned the truck bed, changed the batteries from 48 Volts to 72 Volts, put in a modern controller, replaced the steering, replaced the shocks and brakes, replaced the windshield, added a radio, and gave it a new paint job. Increasing the battery voltage also required reconfiguring the battery layout and adding cooling fans. Originally the battery blocks were all in the front. Now 8 blocks are in the front and 4 are in the back. This layout has improved the handling by balancing the weight better.
The car has been operational for about 2 weeks, but they have not yet tested the range limitations of the car.
At the end of my interview, the Western Washington University team helped make a repair by doing a bit of welding to repair a shock mount that broke while the car was being trailed to the Tour.
Later in the day, I found the car up on jacks again, and they were attempting to repair part of the steering system.
Here's hoping they can be ready for the start on Sunday.
Vehicle Number 37 Vehicle Name Solar Tiger II Category USDOE SOLAR COMMUTER CATEGORY Team Name UEHS Solar Tiger Team No People in Project 26 Months to Build 10 Organization Union Endicott High School Town Endicott NY Description Purpose-built (Trojan, Pba) New this year? returning team, new vehicle Motor Advanced DC Motors; 72/96; 8.952 kW cont, 12.68 kW peak Transmission 2 forward, 1 reverse gears Batteries Trojan T-145; PbA; 17568 Wh, 72 V Controller Curtis 1209B-6402; 48-72 V 400 Amp Charger Zivan K2; Hi Freq. Isolated PV Array 140 W; Solarex; MSX-30L Construction Sebring; Aluminum Frame; ABS Plastic Body No of Passengers 2 Maximum Speed 55 mph Range 65-70 miles Capacity N/A pounds Weight 1800 pounds Brakes Front Drum; Rear Drum; Non-regen Wheels Tires 3 Goodyear Hilander-CT; 4.80-12
Report #12: Team Profile - `Viking 23'
The group from Western Washington University keeps coming back with interesting vehicles. This time, it superficially looks like the car they brought to the 1996 American Tour de Sol, but Rosanne Gile, the team captain who was also on that rally, tells me that it is quite different.
As before, its front wheels are driven with an electric motor and its rear wheels are driven with an internal combustion engine (ICE). "We've replaced the 900 cc Honda racing motorcycle engine and with a 3 cylinder, 1 liter Diahatsu burning reformulated gasoline (RFG). The old motorcycle transmission that was used in the front failed at the last competition, so we've mated a Suburu 4-speed to the motor. This means we have automotive transmissions both front and rear, where before we had motorcycle transmissions, so we have a different shifting pattern to deal with. We still have two separate shifters, although they are now on two separate shift levers, where before there was one lever with a gate between them." I notice that the shift levers have different shapes. I suspect that is to help the driver differentiate them. It looks confusing, "but you just leave the electric in 3rd most of the time, so there not a problem." And you only have to manage the ICE when it is on. The general driving pattern is to start out in electric, and add the ICE when you need the power for hills or the range for cruising.
There is no charging capability from the ICE to the batteries. So they have to both charge the batteries and add fuel. Oh, yes. And there is also the solar panels that cover just about every horizontal surface of the car.
I asked where they intended to get the RFG fuel during the rally? "We drove to California, picked the fuel up, and we have it. In California RFG is the standard you buy at the pump."
The car is built real low to the ground, and has a long, sleek look. The body tilts up at the front to let the driver and passenger in to very laid back seats. The ICE engine sits across the back of the vehicle so there is no rear window. Which means there is no rear-view mirror. Instead a black-and-white TV camera is built into the tail and a small monitor on the dash board shows the driver what's following her.
This rework of `Viking 23' was done by a team of five people, Rosanne said, taking majors in Vehicle Design and Manufacturing Engineering Technology.
Vehicle Number 23 Vehicle Name Viking 23 Category USDOE HYBRID CATEGORY Team Name Western Washington University No People in Project 5 Months to Build 48 Organization Western Washington University Vehicle ResearchInstituteTown Bellingham WA Description Sedan (Saft NiCd+RFG) New this year? returning Motor Unique Mobility; permanent magnet brushless DC; 37.3 kw cont, 44.76 kw peak Controller Unique Mobility; PCM Batteries Saft; NiCd; 353 lbs; 5220 Wh Series/Parallel Charger Offboard Xantrex; High Frequency Solid State PV Array 750 W; BP Solar; Silicon Construction Purpose Built; Carbon Fiber Frame; Carbon Fiber Body Hybrid Diahatsu; 1000 cc; RFG No of Passengers 2 Maximum Speed 100 mph Range 550 miles Capacity 500 pounds Weight 1900 pounds Brakes Front Disk; Rear Disk; Regen Wheels Tires 4 Firestone; F560
Report #13: Demonstration Vehicle - `Viking 29'
The Western Washington University Vehicle Research Institute (VRI) has brought another car along, for display, and while it looks somewhat like its stable mate, `Viking 23', there is a difference. It runs on light, but not sunlight. Instead it is powered by a Thermophotovoltaic (TPV) generator, also referred to as Midnight Sun(R), developed by the VRI and JX Crystals of Issaquah WA.
Picture a canister a bit smaller than a 1 gallon paint can. Up the middle of that can, place a ceramic tube. On the inside wall of the can place solar cells. Burn a fuel inside the ceramic tube, making it hot and therefore it glows. The solar cells in turn use the light from the glowing tube to make electricity. The fuel burns continuously, making the combustion complete, clean, and quiet. Since the solar cells are very close to the glowing tube, the illumination is much brighter than solar cells on the roof of a car.
The silicon carbide ceramic tube glows brightly in the infrared light spectrum, at a wave length of about 0.8 to 1.8 microns, and part of the design challenge is to match the brightest part of the glowing tube spectrum to most sensitive wavelengths of the photovoltaic cells.
In `Viking 29', there are 8 such canisters, burning Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) illuminating gallium antimonide photovoltaic cells at 1700 degrees Kelvin. The 10 kiloWatts produced is stored in a 10 kiloWatt-hour, 260 Volt pack of Saft NiCad batteries. That drives a Unique Mobility 75 kW motor connected through a 4-speed, wide ratio transaxle to the rear wheels. The canisters are surrounded by a water jacket which takes the heat to a large radiator. All this is surrounded by a body of composite materials in a vinyl- ester matrix.
A car of the future? Michael Seal, director of the VRI thinks it might be but it is be too early to tell. The car was finished just before they left to come to the Tour, and so only has about 20 miles on it. "The car was built for the Department of Energy, and the TPVs were built for the Department of Defense. The car is going to Washington to be shown the sponsors."
What is the overall efficiency of producing electricity this way? "It's still very early days in this technology. Right now our best is about 8 percent. We guess that 30%, or even more, is obtainable. Our chief competitor is the fuel cell, which has an in-built advantage that it is inherently more efficient than TPV, but it has to run on hydrogen." But if you add in the cost of producing, storing, and transporting hydrogen then TPV can compete. Plus TPV can run on any available fuel.
The Midnight Sun generators have been developed in the past 3 years. The first commercial applications are likely to be co-generation for mountain cabins, motor homes and yachts, where the waste heat can be used for other purposes.
For more information:
Michael R. Seal Vehicle Research Institute Western Washington University Bellingham WA 98225-9086
360 650-3045
seal@cc.wwu.edu
Report #14: Other Reporters
You know you are onto something when people start copying what you do. There is group here called SolarQuest.com "taking pictures and writing stories and putting them up on a web site." The site is
www.solarquest.com
Report #15: Team Profile - `Ed'
Last year, a team I most wanted to see was the one from Lawrence Tech in Michigan. They had built a car name `Hyades' that, after participating in the FutureCar Challenge in Michigan, drove all the way to Chicago. Would they drive to and from the American Tour de Sol? Well, they didn't. And when they got here they had many problems with bursting hydraulic lines, and so did not do very well at all.
But, undaunted, they have returned with a rework of the same base vehicle that they have much greater hopes for: `Ed' (which stands for Electric Diesel). Becky Steketee is the team leader and told me what else, besides the name, has changed.
`Ed' uses a parallel hybrid design, with both the diesel engine and the electric motor connected to the transmission. A toothed belt from the electric motor passes through a hole in the bell-housing of the transmission so either the engine, or the motor, or both can drive the car. The transmission is a manual, but it is shifted by a computer, so the car is driven as if it had a traditional automatic transmission. The normal driving strategy implemented by the computer is that the car starts off in electric mode. At about 16 kilometers per hour the diesel gets clutched in and pretty much takes over. The electric is brought back in when there is a need for extra power for acceleration or hill climbing.
Unlike some, this car needs both fuel and electric charging, referred to as a "charge depletion strategy". There is no ability for recharging the batteries from the engine. (Surprising to me, since the car has regenerative brakes based on the wheels driving the electric motor operating as a generator. It would seem to be a natural thing to have the diesel engine also drive the motor as a generator.)
Royce Brown told me that the Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) battery pack has a sophisticated monitoring system. It watches the temperature and voltage of each battery module, reported on a LCD panel on the dashboard. If any module (made up of 11 cells) shows a high temperature or an unusual voltage, an alarm is raised. (Such a system is pretty much a necessity on advanced battery systems, in my opinion. The high energy density of these chemistries do not seem to tolerate over charge or over discharge at all. Last year, the car from Chico State University in California suffered a catastrophic overheating of their NiMH pack during an overnight charge. Their monitoring system was out of the car at the time, being bench tested. As they say, it ruined their whole day.)
The solar panel on the roof automatically control a pair of fans on the rear roof pillars, one blowing into the cabin and the other blowing out. When the cabin temperature gets above 85 degrees F, the fans turn on to exhaust the hot air. It also recharges the accessory battery.
One thing you don't notice about the car until you try to get into it is that there are no door handles. I don't mean that they are recessed into the body, or built into the door jamb (as in the Chevy Beretta used by `Garnet One'). I mean there is no door handles. A button on a key fob causes the door to pop open a couple of inches. You then just grab the door jamb. (I think there could be a safety issue here. What if a person outside is pulling on the door jamb just as a person outside is pulling the door closed? Those fingers are going to get caught! Oooch!)
Vehicle Number 4 Vehicle Name Ed Category USDOE HYBRID CATEGORY Team Name Current Advantage No People in Project 45 Months to Build 8 Organization Lawrence Technology University Town Southfield MI Description 96 Ford Taurus (Ovonic, NiMH + Diesel) New this year? returning Motor Unique Mobility; Brushless DC; 43 kW cont, 58 kW peak Controller Unique Mobility/Siemens; EVPH332 Batteries Ovonic; NiMH; 510 lbs; 16250 Wh, 194 V; Parallel Charger Offboard Lockheed Martin; Transformerless PV Array 100 W; Solarex; MSX50 Construction Ford; Steel Frame; Steel/Aluminum/Carbon Fiber Body Hybrid Volkswagen; B20; Diesel, turbocharged, direct injection; 92 horsepower; 60 mpg No of Passengers 2 Maximum Speed 112 mph Range 600 miles Capacity 750 pounds Weight 3857 pounds Brakes Front Disk; Rear Disk; Regen. Wheels Tires 4 Goodyear Eagle LS (EV); 15"
Report #16: Demonstration Vehicle - `Ford Electric Ranger'
Tracy Lanciano, a Vehicle Engineer, and Bill Royle, Sales Manager for Alternative Fuel Vehicles, from Ford were in Flushing with an Electric Ranger. Whenever I see someone from one of the major car companies I always ask the same question. If I want to be an early adaptor of EV technology, and I am not a fleet owner, can I purchase one of these?
"Yes, you can," said Bill. "It's $35,000, unless you want to lease it at $633 per month. You can have one today. We have a toll-free number, 1-800-ALT-FUEL (258-3835), which will answer questions about any of the eleven alternate fuel vehicles Ford builds. That includes literature, where's my closest dealer, or where can I get one. The trucks are not readily available everywhere, by design. 50 of the 4500 Ford dealers are authorized to sell the Electric Rangers. Those dealers are in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Washington."
The Electric Ranger will be on display in New York City and Washington DC only.
Vehicle Name Ford Ranger Category DEMONSTRATION CATEGORY Team Name Ford Motor Company Organization FORD Town Dearborn MI Description Electric pick-up truck New this year? new to NESEA Tour
Report #17: Team Profile - `Slipstream'
In the past, the Cornell team has arrived with vehicles named after bad weather: things like `Tusnami', `Vortex', `Blizzard' and `Tempest'. So `Slipstream' (Number 14) sounds less ominous. Barkley Hershey and Peter Kung told me about it.
The design is similar to ones they have used before. There are two motors driving the rear wheels, an AC induction motor for efficiency and a brushed DC motor for hill climbing and hard acceleration. On top of that, there is a Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) fueled engine for generating electricity to give the car about 300 miles range. The DC motor has a clutch on it, to avoid it presenting a load when it is not being powered or the car is backing up. The AC induction motor is directly connected, and can be driven backwards when the car needs to back up. The AC motor also provides regenerative braking. "We only use the DC motor for 20 to 30 seconds max." It all adds up to quite a package.
The choices between AC vs. DC are under computer control, as is the decision to start the engine. The "vehicle automation system" provides the interface between the accelerator pedal and the two electric motor controllers.
The electric part has been working since February. The CNG engine has been working since March.
The 30 Watt Solar panel charges the 12 Volt battery that is used for lights, horn, radio and such.
The team has half mechanical engineers and half electrical engineers.
Cornell was having some difficulties. During technical inspection, the safety people were not happy with the materials used for the fuel lines and clamps. They were able to get suitable replacements. They were also have trouble with one of their E-Meters (which measure the motors energy usages) which was resetting every time the car went into regenerative braking. They hoped to have that repaired soon.
Vehicle Number 14 Vehicle Name Slipstream Category USDOE HYBRID CATEGORY Team Name Cornell HE V No People in Project 25 Months to Build 12 Organization Cornell University Hybrid Elec Veh. Team Town Ithaca NY Description Purpose-built (PbA + CNG) New this year? new car - returning team Motors 2; Solectria & Advanced DC; AC Induction & DC; 40 kW cont, 80 kW peak Controllers 2; Solectria & Auburn Grizzly; AC Induction & DC Batteries GNB; PbA; 3864 Wh, 168 V Series Charger Offboard Japler Monarch; Transformer/Rectifier PV Array 30 W; Solarex; 6-1sf thin flm panels Construction Purpose Built; Alum. Ext. Frame; Fiberglas Body Hybrid Geo; 1 liter; CNG/50 mpg No of Passengers 2 Maximum Speed 68 mph Range 300 miles Capacity 600 pounds Weight 2600 pounds Brakes Front Disk; Rear Disk; Regen Wheels Tires 2 Michelin Proxima 175/65-14; 2 Michelin Energy MXV4 185/65-15
Report #18: Team Profile - `Helios the Heron V'
I've been doing these Reports for five years now, and each of those years there has been a `Helios the Heron' built by the 4th through 8th grade students of the Riverside School in Lyndonville Vermont.
This year they are back again with the same VW microbus they had last year, and a group of kids just bubbling over with energy and enthusiasm for what they have done. The van itself sports many improvements.
What are those improvements? I didn't have to ask twice. "We have 5 new solar panels on the side of the bus. We have regenerative braking hooked up. We have a two new charges. We have nine new batteries. We have a new battery monitoring system."
A battery monitoring system? That's something the college teams are claiming. "We connected telephone wires to each battery terminal, so we don't have to open up the box" to read each battery's voltage. "You plug a telephone cord plug into the panel for each battery (module), connect the voltmeter, and it gives you the reading." Last year they opened the battery boxes each morning and read the module voltages by touching each pair of terminals. This should make the process much easier and safer. (Some of the other teams should consider such a system.) They also added a "little computer chip kinda thing for each battery" that lights a lamp when the battery is full. It then passes "the energy will go to the other batteries to make them full."
The new solar panels, donated by University of Vermont Montpelier, add 65 Volts to the 160 Volt panel already on the roof used to help recharge the main battery pack. They also added a diode to the solar panels so they don't present a load to the system when they are in the dark.
The regenerative braking is driving an alternator that is connected to a charger that is fed back into the battery box.
When the van was not at the Tour de Sol, it was used to take the kids to various local events and sports.
Not everything went smoothly getting ready for the Tour. "Wednesday, when we came to work on Helios, it didn't move. We didn't know what was wrong, and when we traced it, we thought it was the controller." They got a new controller from a source 2 hours away. "We installed the (new) controller, and still it didn't work. That was last night at about 8 o'clock. So we were still looking for what was wrong." They kept looking and finally saw that the plug between the controller and the motor where not quite plugged in all the way. "It took about 5 minutes to fix and that was all that was really wrong."
They also had a ground fault, that proved to be a wire out of place. It was easily corrected.
"Also on Tuesday we were working on the E-Meter which tells us how much further we can run. And we were rewiring it, and it short circuited and it blew up. A $300 meter. But we got another one and got it installed."
Vehicle Number 93 Vehicle Name Helios the Heron V Category USDOE SOLAR COMMUTER CATEGORY Team Name Riverside School No People in Project 90 Months to Build 8 Organization Riverside School Town Lyndonville VT Description 1971 VW Van (Deka-East Penn, PbA) New this year? returning Motor General Electric; Series wound; 150 kW cont, 300 kW pk Controller Curtis; Solid State Batteries East Penn; Sealed Jell Cells; 1600 lbs; 2 strings, 120 V each, charged separately. Chargers Onboard 2, Solectria PV Array 400 W; Arco; 1x4 used panels Construction 1971 VW Bus; Steel Frame; Steel Body No of Passengers 2 Maximum Speed 55 mph Range 75-80 miles Capacity 400 pounds Weight 4000 pounds Mfg Gross Veh Weight 4684 pounds Brakes Front Hydraulic Disc; Rear Hydraulic Drum; Regen Wheels Tires 4 Goodyear; Steel belt radial
Report #19: Friday and Saturday: Registration, Display and Testing
No, there is no truth to the rumor that we plan to change the name of the event to The American Tour de Nimbus.
Friday and Saturday, May 8th and 9th, were the first two days of the American Tour de Sol, and it rained quite a bit both days. People and cars were wet but spirits were not dampened.
On Friday, at the New York Hall of Science in the Flushing neighborhood of New York City, the teams gathered, registered, hosted scores of school tours, and also met with attendees of the SAE/NESEA TOPTEC on Hybrid Vehicles at a picnic lunch hosted by Ford Motor Company. As I spoke to the teams, gathering the information for these reports, I could hear the pride in what they were accomplishing. For some, the old hands at this who have been involved with the NESEA Tour and similar events, this was getting to be a comfortable routine. For others, especially the first-time school teams, to whom this is all new, the Wow Factor was coming into play. They were not the only ones who did this, who had to learn the ways of electric vehicles, sometimes with emotionally painful (and we hope not physically painful) experience. There were lots of others who were doing similar things.
Saturday was the Day of Inspection at the South Street Sea Port in Manhattan. The overhead Franklin D. Roosevelt Drive afforded considerable protection from the rain for the teams and the visiting public. Here the vehicles get weighed, and measured, and tested to ensure that they meet the safety requirements. A small horde of volunteers scrutinize, looking for things like structural strength, brake effectiveness, and electrical, hydraulic, and fuel system soundness.
Of particular concern is the dreaded ground fault, where electricity from the main battery pack leaks onto the car frame where it could give a nasty shock. Finding these things can be tricky and time consuming, especially if the wiring is messy or too well hidden inside a metal car frame. Even an "all composite" car like `Viking 23' can have such a problem, and they did. A dirty battery top and dried electrolyte spill on the frame can present enough of a current path to give you a tingle. A quick clean up solved the problem.
In addition to the basic safety tests, the vehicle handling around traffic cones, acceleration, ability to start on a hill, engineering elegance, practicality, and educational display and team appearance are awarded points called "Tour Miles". Extra miles are awarded for passing the technical requirements readily.
The Saturday New York Times ran a piece on the ATdS feature a picture of cars lined up in Flushing, and one of the `Helios the Heron V' team standing by their pride and joy.
On Sunday at 1 PM, the movable feast will start to move in earnest, from South Street Sea Port to the train station in Morristown NJ. Then at 5 PM, we move on to the Princeton NJ High School.
Report #20: Team Profile - `Project e- 2'
The team from Mount Everett Regional High School in Sheffield MA has been at the ATdS for the past five years with an electric, and then a hybrid-electric pick-up truck known as `Project e-' (pronounced "E Minus"). Not this year.
They are back with something different. Very different! A recumbent tricycle, which puts it in the One Person Category, with an H-Power hydrogen fuel cell, which makes it a Hybrid!!
So the first fuel-cell powered vehicle brought to the American Tour de Sol comes from a high school team. Is there any doubt that these people are helping to invent the future?
Josh Brooks and Jason Cross told me that they just got the fuel cell on Tuesday night, and they just got the brakes working on Thursday. "With just the electric power we can go about 20 miles per hour and do about 30 miles." With pedaling and with the fuel they see themselves going much further. "It is really easy (to ride). Once you get it up to speed and into high gear, it's minimal effort to keep it going 30 miles per hour."
The trike is very low to the ground, with one wheel out in front on a long bar, and a pair of wheels with the seat, battery, fuel cell, and solar panel between them. It is steered with a pair of vertical levers, one on either side of the rider, who sits with his elbows at his side.
Push on one lever, pull on the other, and push rod turns the front wheel. Controls for the motor and horn are on the left hand, brake lights are on the right hand. Normal bicycle squeeze handles control the front and rear brakes. Switches on a panel below the rider's left elbow control head lights and system power. The pedal crank is mounted a bit rear of the front wheel, with a gear and chain that brings the human power back to the rear wheels.
The fuel cell itself is just an aluminum cube, maybe a foot on a side, with an on-off switch. Inside a door are a number (4? I couldn't quite see) of small, black pressure vessels which store the hydrogen in metal hydride. They are filled from an external tank via a gas connection. That process takes two or three hours. The battery is also plugged in every night.
Vehicle Number 97 Vehicle Name Project e- 2 Category ONE PERSON CATEGORY Team Name Project e- 2 No People in Project 25 Months to Build 3 Organization Mount Everett Regional Project e- 2 Town Sheffield MA Description 3 wheel recumbent bike New this year? new bike - returning team Motor Wellington; Brushless DC Controller Curtis; 1204-101 Batteries 2, Hawker Genesis; PbA; 80 lbs; 1248 Wh, 24 V Charger Offboard Todd Engineering; 24 V, 15 Amp PV Array 10.3 W; Uni Solar; Amorphous Construction Purpose Built; Cromolly Frame; Lexan Body Hybrid H-Power Fuel Cell No of Passengers 1 Maximum Speed 30 mph Range 35 to 80+ miles Capacity 225 pounds Weight 150 pounds Brakes Front Hydraulic Calipers; Rear Hydraulic Disk; Non-RegenWheels Tires 3 Primo V Monster; 20x1.75
Report #21: Team Profile - `Kineticar III'
Another team with a long and distinguished history at the NESEA Tour goes by the tongue-twister CSERT-NVCTC. In English, that's Connecticut Solar Electric Race Team - Naugatuck Valley Community Technical College. Eric Rabuse says this is their eighth year with us and they are quite proud that they have always completed all of their legs and never had to tow.
`Kineticar III' is one of two hybrids running Propane (aka Liquid Petroleum Gas/LPG) as their fuel. Their parallel-hybrid configuration puts an engine, clutch, motor and transmission in a straight line. The output of each feeds into the next directly. A clever lever-and-vacuum-actuator arrangement connects the accelerator pedal to both the engine throttle and the motor controller potentiometer. When the engine is not running or has not yet started sufficiently to develop power, the actuator keeps the throttle from flooding the engine. Once the engine is well and truly running, the engine vacuum causes the actuator to change the lever arrangement so the pedal input is also connected to the throttle. The result is the engine can be started while underway and it integrates its contribution of power automatically. The clutch isolates the engine when in pure-electric mode.
This year the team replaced the clutch between the engine and motor with a Maxitorq donated by Carlyle Johnson. They find that it is much more reliable. "We have driven 450 miles before the race, and started to develop some good drivers." (This strikes me as a good plan. Too many teams have their drivers getting familiar with their vehicles as the go under the Start banner.)
Between races, the truck has a community service mission. "We use it for demonstrations on Earth Day, and go to schools to show the kids what could they be doing in college and what the learning curve is like when you are on a design team making a vehicle. I didn't know anything about propane, carburization, clutches, hybrid configurations, batteries or motors. After this project I find I'm on the forefront of this stuff.
"I've been following the team since I was a sophomore in high school. I saw Kineticar I (which was a Ford Escort conversion). This was when the range was under 60 miles. That got me hooked. I started a Hybrid Club in school, but we didn't develop a vehicle. When I got to college, I joined the team. With an advisor like Don Narducci, who has been doing this since the beginning we have accomplished a lot."
Vehicle Number 18 Vehicle Name Kineticar III Category USDOE HYBRID CATEGORY Team Name CSERT-NVCTC Months to Build 3 Organization Naugatuck Valley CTC Town Waterbury CT Description Pick up (Trojan, PBA + LPG) New this year? returning Motor Advanced DC 9-inch; 24 kW cont, 48 kW peak Controller Curtis; Model 1231C Batteries Trojan; PbA; 1120 lbs; 17600 Wh, 96 V Charger Offboard Lester; Ferro reson. PV Array 25 W; Uni-Solar; Amorphous; charges accessory battery Construction 1989 Chevrolet S-10; Steel Frame; Steel Body Hybrid Suzuki; 1 liter; Parallel; LPG No of Passengers 2 Maximum Speed 70 mph Range 400 miles Capacity 400 pounds Weight 4000 pounds Brakes Front Disk; Rear Drum; Non-Regen Wheels Tires 4 Goodyear; P195/60R15
Report #22: List of Entrants
Here is the list of entrants, devined from the first day's data sheet. I'll flesh out the details as I do the Team Profiles.
Car# Car Team Production Category 1 76 Ovonic-Solectria Force Ovonic Battery Co 2 50 95 Solectria/Horizon Connecticut EV/NAVC 3 77 Solectria CitiVan NAVC/BECO/UCBC/Solectria 4 10 Honda EV Plus New York Power Authority Car# Car Team Commuter Category 1 16 The Olympian Pirates 2 10b Shocker III NEAT 3 32 Porche 914 Electric Bull Shadow Mtn. Electric Matadors 4 59 59 Berkeley Team New England 5 72 Sungo NHTI Solar - Solar Car Team 6 66 Re-Chargers University of New Haven 7 31 Spyder Juice Triple Crowne Motorworks 8 13 The Electrifly Enviromotive 9 37 Solar Tiger II UEHS Solar Tiger Team 10 24 Comuta-Car HVCC 11 55 Onipa'a Tiger Body Car# Car Team DOE Hybrid Category 1 8 Electric Lion Team Electric Lion 2 7 TU ParaDyne Hurricane Motor Works 3 23 Viking 23 Western Washington University 4 14 Slipstream Cornell HEV 5 62 Garnet One Swarthmore HEV Team 6 94 Hopper EV New Hampshire Tech Institute 7 22 Maryland's Saturn HEV Maryland SAE, Saturn HEV 8 18 Kineticar III CSERT-NVCTC 9 4 Hyades Current Advantage Car# Car Team DOE Solar Commuter Category 1 69 Solar Commuter Car Team Solarcat 2 93 Helios the Heron V Riverside School 3 58 NFA Sol Machine Team NFA Newburgh NY 4 83 Sol Survivor IV Sol Survivor Car# Car Team One Person Category 1 3 Ovonic Electric Scooter Ovonic Battery Co 2 97 Project e-2 Project e-2 3 12 Charger Bicycle Team Charger 4 21 Mach.1 Mhyee/CTC 5 92 Sunpacer Cato-Meridian HS Tech Team 6 9 ZEV Mobile Boomtown Realty
Report #23: Day 1 Race Summary
Sunday, May 10th was much the same as Saturday. It rained and rained and rained. Much of the time it was a drizzle with a light breeze, but occasionally it was much more with high winds. But the Tour de Sol goes on. After all the mission is to show that electric and hybrid-electric vehicles can be practical transportation, and that doesn't mean just when the sun shines.
So the vehicles left South Street Sea Port, on the eastern shore of Manhattan, drove across town to the Lincoln Tunnel on the western shore, and then through New Jersey to Morristown, a trip of about 30 miles.
The Hybrids took a longer route, up to the George Washington Bridge, and then across the Hudson River and over to Morristown. The Hybrids had to do this because there are restrictions on taking bottled Liquid Petroleum Gas through the tunnels. To keep the rally fair within the Hybrid category, all the entrants drove the same 48 mile route.
Even so, the first cars under the Finish banner were #8 `Electric Lion' from Pennsylvania State University and #7 `TU ParaDyne' from the University of Tulsa Oklahoma. It took them just under an hour and a half, and they averaged about 35 miles per hour. This is not unusual when the Tour goes through metropolitan areas, as the routes tend to be off the major highways. Heavy weather and the fact that this was Mother's Day probably added to the times.
#10 the `Honda EV Plus' add the best time on the shorter route, averaging just under 20 miles per hour.
So here are the results, taken off the Day 1 data sheet compiled by NESEA. As always, these results are subject to change and the final results are not final until NESEA publishes them. Your humble reporter is doing the best he can here, but ...
The teams marked (Not Here) are ones I have not seen and suspect had to drop out before they got here. However, we have had teams join the rally mid-route, so again this is what I know, not necessarily truth.
American Tour de Sol 1998 Day 1 Race Summary
Car# Car Tour Total Production Category Mile Miles 1 76 Ovonic-Solectria Force 71.3 275.2 2 50 95 Solectria/Horizon 71.3 275.2 3 77 Solectria CitiVan 68.0 275.2 4 10 Honda EV Plus 58.9 275.2
Car# Car Tour Total Commuter Category Miles Miles 1 16 The Olympian 69.4 275.2 2 10b Shocker III 69.4 275.2 3 32 Porche 914 Electric Bull 66.4 275.2 4 59 59 Berkeley 56.4 275.2 5 72 Sungo 47.7 275.2 6 66 Re-Chargers 36.5 275.2 7 31 Spyder Juice 10.5 260.9 8 13 The Electrifly -1.3 254.0 9 37 Solar Tiger II -45.3 28.0 10 24 Comuta-Car -101.3 11 55 Onipa'a (Not Here) -101.3
Car# Car Tour Total DOE Hybrid Category Miles Miles 1 8 Electric Lion 89.2 293.1 2 7 TU ParaDyne 89.2 293.1 3 23 Viking 23 87.3 293.1 4 14 Slipstream 83.5 293.1 5 62 Garnet One 82.2 293.1 6 94 Hopper EV 76.8 293.1 7 22 Maryland's Saturn HEV -6.3 252.5 8 18 Kineticar III -23.3 39.0 9 4 Hyades -101.3
Car# Car Tour Total DOE Solar Commuter Category Miles Miles 1 69 Solar Commuter Car 40.5 275.2 2 93 Helios the Heron V -5.1 252.1 3 58 NFA Sol Machine -71.3 20.0 4 83 Sol Survivor IV -101.3
Car# Car Tour Total One Person Category Miles Miles 1 3 Ovonic Electric Scooter 58.8 230.3 2 97 Project e-2 40.7 40.7 3 12 Charger Bicycle 35.7 #N/A 4 21 Mach.1 28.7 #N/A 5 92 Sunpacer -52.1 189.7 6 9 ZEV Mobile (Not Here) -123.3
Report #24: Team Profile - `The Olympian'
Ben Fratto spoke with me about the car known as `The Olympian' from Cinnaminson NJ High School. "The car was started two years ago by Michelle and Jesse, as it says on the car. It's powered by 12 Horizon blocks, in series for 144 Volts, and a range extending pack of 10 Yellow Top Optimas for 120 Volts." The Horizons occupy what used to be the back seat area and some of the trunk, and the Optimas are under the hood and at the back of the trunk. "When (the Horizon pack) goes down to maybe 80 percent, you just change the batteries. We use the emergency disconnect, next to the driver." Pulling on a red handle separates the big Anderson connectors from the main pack to the controller. The connector from the spare pack can then be inserted in its place.
Horizon batteries are pretty sophisticated and expensive batteries for a high school team. I asked how that came about. "We sent a picture of our team and a request for some support. They decided to support us and provided 12 blocks worth about $5000. We were not sure we could make the 70 miles required by the Tour, so we decided to add the $1000 worth of Optimas."
There are two chargers. "For the Horizons, its a K&W BC250 prototype at 144 Volts. For the Optimas, since the BC250 cannot change voltages, we are using a Lester and hoping they don't get damaged during the week. We sort of bought the Optimas for the week. I know its a $1000 wasted, but if it gets us through ..."
Vehicle Number 16 Vehicle Name The Olympian Category COMMUTER CATEGORY Team Name Pirates Organization Cinnaminson High School No People in Project 10 Town Cinnaminson NJ Description 1986 Ford Escort (Horizon/Optima, PbA) New this year? new to NESEA Tour Motor Advanced DC; 9.1" FB1-4001; 21 kW cont, 63 kW peak Controller Curtis; 1231-C Batteries Electrosoure Horizon; PbA; 144 V Optima Yellow Top; PbA; 120 V Chargers Offboard K&W BC250 prototype; Lester Construction 1986 Ford Escort; Steel Frame; Steel Body No of Passengers 2 Maximum Speed 63 mph Capacity 580 pounds Weight 3160 pounds Mfg Gross Veh Weight 3140 pounds Brakes Vacuum Asst & Front Disk; Rear Drum; No Regen. Wheels Tires Goodyear; Eagle Gt-2
Report #25: Team Profile - CitiVan
In the first American Tour de Sol, there was a team from MIT. In that team was a young man named James Worden, who had built his first electric car in high school, and who went on to found the Solectria Corporation, which still builds electric cars.
Along the way, Solectria has been the first to champion controversial causes. They were early believers in AC induction motors and regenerative braking. Now all the electric vehicles from the major auto manufacturers use AC induction motors (or their first cousin, the permanent magnet brushless DC motor) and regen braking. Solectria built an EV pickup truck based on the Chevy S-10. Now Chevy makes an Electric S-10. Solectria put Ovonic Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) batteries in their Force car. Now Honda and Toyota use NiMH and most of the rest are saying they will.
So what's a little company to do? How about a big electric delivery van. I spoke with Beth Silverman, Marketing Manager at Solectria.
"We started the CitiVan project almost exactly a year ago. So far we have delivered three vans and we've got purchase orders for about half-a-dozen. And there are more customers that are `hot'.
"The vehicles are being built in Wilmington MA, right now, but we're hoping that they'll be big enough that we'll have to move (production) to another location in Massachusetts." (I have heard a periodic rumor that Solectria would put a shop in South Boston. Beth neither confirmed nor denied that one.)
The base price is $49,950, with lead acid batteries. It will do 40 to 45 miles per charge. Cabin heat is provided by a gasoline or diesel heater where 5 gallons will last about a week and, of course, heat from fuel doesn't reduce the vehicle range. Our customers are power companies, inner-city delivery companies. There is a big interest for recycling routes. The types of applications we think would be very good are military bases, college campuses, and small, campus-type contained routes. Federal Express and UPS talk about `vertical delivery routes' where a truck goes from the depot to a skyscraper and the guys go up and down all day. They may only drive 10 or 20 miles.
Delivery vehicles may go through 100 starts a day and replacing starter motors is a big maintenance item for those fleets. These don't have starter motors.
General Motors supplies the glider chassis, which includes things like the steering wheel, axles, and brakes, but no engine. Union City Body Company, in Indiana, puts the bodies on. The completed, unpowered van is then shipped to Massachusetts where Solectria does the electrification.
Vehicle Number 77 Vehicle Name Solectria CitiVan Category PRODUCTION CATEGORY Team Name NAVC/BECO/UCBC/Solectria No People in Project 2 Organization Solectria Corp. Town Wilmington MA Description Union City Body Co. Van (Sonnenschein, PbA) New this year? new car - updated team Motor Solectria AC; Induction Drive; 41 kW cont, 70 kW peak Controller Solectria; UMOC 440 Batteries Sonnenschein; Sealed PbA; 2800 lbs; 28 kWh, 312 V Charger Onboard Solectria BC3300; 3.3 kW conductive Construction Union City Body; Steel Frame; Aluminum Body No of Passengers 2 Maximum Speed 45 mph Range 40 miles Capacity 3500 pounds Weight 11,000 pounds Brakes Front Disk; Rear Drum; Regen Wheels Tires 6 Goodyear Wrangler
Report #26: Day 2 Race Summary
Here are the numbers from Tuesday morning. Day 1 was Sunday and was the trip from Manhattan to Princeton, New Jersey. Day 2 was Monday and was the trip from Princeton to New Castle, Deleware.
A few words about American Tour de Sol scoring are in order. First, all points are awarded in units of Miles, even for things that have nothing to do with distance. So, before the rally even started, most teams had Miles awarded during the technical inspections. They are not shown here.
Then there are Miles awarded for traveling from point-to-point during the rally.
And finally, demerits for various infractions are subtracted as Miles. Most of the penalties this year are Unfinished Leg or Late Finish. Others include Late for Display or Start and Late Registration.
Below, "Total Miles" represent the distance traveled, and "Tour Miles" refer to awarded Miles after adjustments (usually subtracted penalty Miles).
Day 2 Total Day 1 Total
Car# Car Tour Total Tour Total Tour Total Production Category Miles Miles Miles Miles Miles Miles 1 76 Ovonic-Solectria Force 171.8 171.8 100.6 100.6 71.3 71.3 2 50 95 Solectria/Horizon 171.8 171.8 100.6 100.6 71.3 71.3 3 77 Solectria CitiVan 167.1 171.8 99.2 100.6 68.0 71.3 4 10 Honda EV Plus 157.4 171.8 98.6 100.6 58.9 71.3
Commuter Category 1 16 The Olympian 169.0 171.8 99.7 100.6 69.4 71.3 2 32 Porche 914 Electric Bull 163.4 171.8 97.1 100.6 66.4 71.3 3 59 59 Berkeley 121.6 169.2 65.2 97.9 56.4 71.3 4 31 Spyder Juice 104.8 157.5 92.3 100.6 12.5 56.9 5 66 Re-Chargers 96.7 143.2 60.2 71.9 36.5 71.3 6 72 Sungo -9.1 108.2 -56.8 36.9 47.7 71.3 7 13 The Electrifly -112.0 59.9 -110.8 9.9 -1.3 50.0 8 10b Shocker III -147.9 97.5 -217.3 26.2 69.4 71.3 9 37 Solar Tiger II -177.8 28.0 -132.6 -45.3 28.0 10 55 Onipa'a (Not Here) -231.8 -130.6 -101.3 11 24 Comuta-Car(Dropped Out?) -233.8 -132.6 -101.3
DOE Hybrid Category 1 8 Electric Lion 189.7 189.7 100.6 100.6 89.2 89.2 2 7 TU ParaDyne 189.7 189.7 100.6 100.6 89.2 89.2 3 23 Viking 23 187.0 189.7 99.8 100.6 87.3 89.2 4 62 Garnet One 182.4 189.7 98.3 100.6 84.2 89.2 5 94 Hopper EV 167.8 189.7 89.1 100.6 78.8 89.2 6 14 Slipstream 26.7 126.1 -56.8 36.9 83.5 89.2 7 22 Maryland's Saturn HEV -148.8 48.5 -132.6 -16.3 48.5 8 18 Kineticar III -155.8 39.0 -132.6 -23.3 39.0 9 4 Hyades -221.8 6.0 -132.6 -89.3 6.0
DOE Solar Commuter Category 1 69 Solar Commuter Car 12.9 122.8 -27.6 51.5 40.5 71.3 2 83 Sol Survivor IV -40.6 73.9 60.7 73.9 -101.3 3 93 Helios the Heron V -132.0 49.9 -127.0 1.8 -5.1 48.1 4 58 NFA Sol Machine -144.6 53.6 -63.4 33.6 -81.3 20.0
One Person Category 1 3 Ovonic Electric Scooter 122.0 169.2 63.2 97.9 58.8 71.3 2 12 Charger Bicycle 72.6 77.6 36.9 36.9 35.7 40.7 3 97 Project e-2 71.7 77.6 31.0 36.9 40.7 40.7 4 21 Mach.1 69.3 77.6 34.9 36.9 34.4 40.7 5 92 Sunpacer -0.8 121.5 51.2 90.9 -52.1 30.6 6 9 ZEV Mobile (Not Here) -253.8 -130.6 -123.3
Report #27: Team Profile - `The Electrifly'
Monte Gisborne, of Peterborough, Ontario Canada, returns with his red 2 seat convertible known as `The Electrifly', and his family support team. Monte's mother and father serve either as navigator or driver of the motor home they are using as their support vehicle during the Tour. The base vehicle is a Pontiac Firefly, first cousin of a Geo Metro convertible. When not at the race, the car is used by Monte's wife "for what it's really designed for, a commuter vehicle in an urban setting. She does about 30 to 40 kilometers (20 to 30 miles) per day. She prefers the electric, so we are robbing it from her for the Tour de Sol."
The goal this year was to "improve the performance in terms of range and speed. The vehicle has been upgraded to 120 Volts. To save weight I got rid of the battery used to power the E-Meter and use a chip instead that allows me to use the auxiliary battery. I removed things that were not necessary, a piece of sheet metal here and there. I also now use an offboard charging system; a much more powerful 208 Volt, 3-phase, 30 Amp system. We refer to it as `the refrigerator'. I should be able to get a complete charge in 3 to 4 hours.
The team name is "Enviromotive", so I asked Monte if he is getting into the business of EVs. "Yes, though I'm not quitting my day job. We had a baby in August, so there is another mouth to feed. I approached the Canadian federal government and they are offering me a grant to do a pre-production prototype electric vehicle of my own design. The National Research Council had heard about this car, wanted to see it, and I took them for a test drive. I think what sold them was when I took them to the bottom of a relatively steep hill in Peterborough. I put it into 2nd gear, just matted it, and we went like a rocket up that hill. The guy was impressed by the torque electric motors can put out. The route I want to take is to build a purpose-built EV, as opposed to a conversion."
"This vehicle is sold and will be going to its new owner after the Tour de Sol. That will generate some funds to help my next venture."
Vehicle Number 13 Vehicle Name The Electrifly Category COMMUTER CATEGORY Team Name Enviromotive Organization Enviromotive Town Peterborough Ontario Description Pontiac Firefly (Voltmaster, PbA) New this year? new to NESEA Tour Motor General Electric; Series Wound; 16 kW cont, 50 kW peak Controller General Electric; Model 1221 Batteries Voltmaster; PbA; 1340 lbs; 22.5 kWh, 120 V Series Charger Offboard Safe Nife PV Array 15 W; Inn. Cons. Prod.; Monocrystalline Construction 1991 Pontiac Firefly; Steel Frame; Steel Body No of Passengers 2 Maximum Speed 70 mph Range 80 miles Capacity 500 pounds Weight 2000 pounds Mfg Gross Veh Weight 2290 pounds Brakes Front Disk; Rear Drum; Non-regen Wheels Tires 4 Goodyear; Invicta GL-R
Report #28: Janet's Fund
Paul O'Brien, advisor to the Project E- team, told me a story about one of his former students, Janet Thieriot. About 10 years ago, while she was a student at Mt Everett Regional, Janet died of cancer. Her parents sued the health maintenance organization involved for misdiagnosis and recently won a large settlement. They said, "this is not our money. It belongs to Janet." So they decided to do something they thought their daughter would approve. Thus the "Janet's Fund" endowment was born.
Once a year a board of governors reviews fund requests from Mt Everett students for projects. They then award Janet's Fund grants to the ones they consider best. `Project e- 2' was one of two proposals awarded in this, the first year. So on the side of the vehicle you will see a logo for "Janet's Fund".
Report #29: Demonstration Vehicle - `Toyota Prius'
The `Toyota Prius' is the pace car for the Tour de Sol this year. Although it is not competing, it travels on all the same legs as the entrants.
The drive system in this car is unusual in that it can fairly be called both series and parallel at the same time. The 4 cylinder engine is coupled through a clever planetary gear system to both a generator and the front wheels. And a separate electric motor also connects to the front wheels. The result is that the gasoline engine can drive the wheels and/or the generator at the same time that the electric motor is driving the wheels. A computer controls all of it. The result is that the engine is in one of two modes: running at near-peak torque or off. Toyota claims it gets 66 miles per gallon.
The Nickel Metal Hydride battery pack is much smaller than in a pure electric. It has 40 blocks, each made of stacks of six D-cells, placed behind the back seat.
The `Prius' threw down the gauntlet to all of those who said hybrid electric vehicles would not work. It is on sale to the general public in Japan, for an admittedly money-loosing price of under $18,000. I was able to drive one in December and I can tell you it operates very much the way I think an electric car should; quiet and smooth, without "shift points" in the driving.
So, as I walked past the `Prius' on display in Manhattan I wondered, out loud, when I could get one? Jeremy Barnes of Toyota Motor Sales had an answer.
"We will have a hybrid powered vehicle on sale in United States prior to the turn of the century. Whether it will be the `Prius' or some other body style is yet to be decided, but it will be a hybrid powered vehicle.
"The `Prius' you see here is a purpose-built vehicle for the Toyota Hybrid System. The way everything is packaged under the hood is specifically for the Japan market, and that's one of the reasons there will be a delay."
At the beginning of May the production rate was raised from 1000 to 2000 units per month. That still puts them about three months behind on delivery. "When the vehicle went on sale in December, we were hoping to sell 1000 per month. We had 3500 orders the first day and we have been behind ever since. The big three have purchased a number of them. They are interested and/or concerned, your choice."
I pointed out that Toyota was taking a bath selling the `Prius'. Each one costs about twice what they are selling it for. How long can they bleed like that?
"Your term is bleeding. Our term is seeding the market. It's an investment in the technology and an investment in the future." Since Toyota is the 3rd largest car manufacturer in the world, it was able to afford the in-house development program and then to sell the result at a price consumers can afford.
Vehicle Name Toyota Prius Category DEMONSTRATION CATEGORY Team Name Toyota Motor Sales USA No People in Project 100 Organization Toyota Motor Sales USA Program Name Toyota Motor Company Town Torrance CA Description HEV (Panasonic NiMH + gasoline) New this year? new to NESEA Tour Motor Toyota; Permanent Magnet Controller Toyota Batteries Panasonic; NiMH Charger Onboard Toyota Hybrid Toyota Hybrid System Construction Prius; Steel Frame; Steel Body No of Passengers 5 Maximum Speed 79 mph Range 118 miles Capacity 827 pounds Weight 3373 pounds Brakes Front Disc; Rear Drum; RegenAs we have been traveling along the route, the `Prius' is attracting a lot of attention. After it finishes each leg, it often goes out giving demonstration rides.
Report #30: Demonstration Vehicle - `Toyota RAV4-EV'
The last time we started the NESEA Tour in New York City, 1996, there was a RAV4-EV on display here. Then, in the 1997 American Tour de Sol, Toyota entered a one in the Production Category. This year they have two serving as demonstration vehicles, and a gasoline RAV-4 running as a comparison vehicle. Since both the electric and gasoline versions both are traveling the same routes, in the same (lousy) weather, NESEA will be able to do apple-to-apple comparisons of engine vs. electric energy efficiency.
(NESEA is also comparing a Geo Metro to a Solectria Force, and a Penski panel van to a Solectria CitiVan.)
Is the vehicle being shipped today markedly different from what we saw in 1996? According to Jeremy Barnes of Toyota Motor Sales, "It has two more (passenger) doors. The development has been more in ease-of-operation."
They have delivered about 165 vehicles in California, Georgia, Massachusetts, and New York, with lease commitments for about that many more. They are being built at the rate of 1.5 vehicles per day in Japan and then shipped to the US.
When will the RAV4-EV be sold outside the fleet market? "About a year or so from now is realistic. But don't hold your breath. A lot will depend on the outcome of the mandates in New York and California. We will put it on sale when we think the product is ready and when we think the consumer is ready for the product. We don't think either of those are right now.
"There are a lot of drawbacks to battery power. The cost, and the battery life which we still don't know. We expect ours to last about 5 years, maybe less, maybe more."
And of course pure EVs have advantages in terms of cleanliness, quiet, and high torque at start. So they are perfect for some uses, but not perfect for lots of uses. Jeremy believes there is going to be a mix of EVs, hybrids like the `Prius' and traditional vehicles for some time to come.
Vehicle Name Toyota RAV4-EV Category DEMONSTRATION CATEGORY Team Name Toyota Motor Sales USA No People in Project 100 Organization Toyota Motor Sales USA Program Name Toyota Motor Company Town Torrance CA Description 1998 RAV4-EV (Panasonic, NiMH) Motor Toyota; Permanent Magnet Controller Toyota Batteries Panasonic; NiMH; 984 lbs; 28,224 Wh, 288 V; Series Charger Onboard Toyota; 220 Vac Construction Toyota RAV4; Steel Frame; Steel Body No of Passengers 5 Maximum Speed 79 mph Range 118 miles Capacity 827 pounds Weight 3373 pounds Brakes Front Disc; Rear Drum; Regen
Report #31: Autocross Results
On Wednesday afternoon, the Autocross event was run by the Metopolitan Area Sports Car Club of America at Sandy Point State Park near Anapolis Maryland. The event is a timed run around a parking lot set up with traffic cones. This year's course included a tight 540 degree left-hand circle that got some tires squealing pretty loudly. The scoring is the number of seconds from start to finish, minus 2 seconds for each knocked over or displaced cone.
Times marked with one of the following do not count.
OC Off Course DNF Did Not FinishCar # Car Run #1 Run #2 Run #3 Fastest
Production Category
10 Honda EV Plus 29.310 29.059 28.610 28.610 50 95 Solectria/Horizon 45.058 OC 30.581 30.315 30.315 76 Ovonic-Solectria Force 27.601 OC 30.893 OC 30.622 30.622 77 Solectria CitiVan 43.902 37.327 37.719 37.327Communter Category
31 Spyder Juice 28.025 27.647 29.151 27.647 59 59 Berkeley 29.627 29.733 29.097 29.097 66 Re-Chargers 31.462 30.702 30.573 30.573 32 Porsche 914 Electric Bul 52.521 OC 30.646 29.749 OC 30.646 10b Shocker III 34.474 31.590 31.237 OC 31.590 13 The Electrifly 34.252 32.472 31.685 31.685 16 The Olympian 32.327 31.775 33.222 DNF 31.775 72 Sungo 32.468 OC 32.007 OC 33.203 33.203DOE Hybrid Category
23 Viking 23 30.682 29.679 29.679 8 Electric Lion 33.533 29.698 30.333 29.698 94 Hopper EV 31.093 31.031 30.440 30.440 7 TU ParaDyne 33.099 30.686 31.001 30.686DOE Solar Commuter Category
58 NFA Sol Machine 37.879 OC 36.890 44.630 36.890 69 Solar Commuter Car 38.724 38.065 37.892 37.892 93 Helios the Heron V 44.933 41.955 40.507 40.507Other Vehicles
X Gasoline Geo Metro 29.184 33.810 OC 28.645 28.645 Y Toyota RAV4 EV 29.049 29.197 28.997 28.997
Report #32: Day 3 Race Summary
Here are the numbers from Wednesday morning. Day 2 was Monday and was the trip from Princeton to Burlington County Institute of Technology to New Castle, Deleware. Day 3 was Tuesday and was the trip from New Castle to Dover Deleware, which was 55 miles. In Dover, the cars were able to work on their range records by driving laps.
A change posted here for the first time is that car #4, which up to now has been listed as `Hyades', from Lawrence Tech. in Michigan, is actually know as `Ed', for `Electric Diesel'.
Day 3 Total Day 2 Total Car# Car Tour Total Tour Total Tour Total Production Category Miles Miles Miles Miles Miles Miles 1 76 Ovonic-Solectria Force 352.1 356.1 182.2 184.2 98.6 100.6 2 10 Honda EV Plus 266.9 281.3 107.4 109.4 98.6 100.6 3 50 95 Solectria/Horizon 263.1 267.1 93.2 95.2 98.6 100.6 4 77 Solectria CitiVan 218.1 226.8 53.0 55.0 97.2 100.6
Commuter Category 1 32 Porche 914 Electric Bull 292.1 302.5 130.6 130.6 95.1 100.6 2 16 The Olympian 263.6 270.4 96.5 98.5 97.7 100.6 3 59 59 Berkeley 184.0 238.3 64.4 69.1 63.2 97.9 4 31 Spyder Juice 183.3 238.0 80.5 80.5 90.3 100.6 5 10b Shocker III 136.9 213.3 73.9 78.9 -6.4 63.1 6 66 Re-Chargers 117.0 214.5 71.3 71.3 9.2 71.9 7 72 Sungo 7.3 160.8 18.4 52.7 -58.8 36.9 8 13 The Electrifly -184.0 68.4 -70.0 8.5 -112.8 9.9 9 37 Solar Tiger II -219.8 51.5 -40.0 23.5 -134.6 10 24 Comuta-Car -322.8 -87.0 -134.6
DOE Hybrid Category 1 23 Viking 23 497.5 457.1 292.1 267.3 107.8 100.6 2 7 TU ParaDyne 414.8 416.8 227.0 227.0 98.6 100.6 3 62 Garnet One 321.4 302.5 141.7 130.6 106.3 100.6 4 8 Electric Lion 248.4 295.9 41.8 106.1 108.6 100.6 5 14 Slipstream 237.9 284.3 60.4 94.5 79.7 100.6 6 94 Hopper EV 236.9 226.8 63.3 55.0 102.1 100.6 7 22 Maryland's Saturn HEV -233.0 48.5 -87.0 -134.6 8 18 Kineticar III -250.9 39.0 -97.0 -134.6 9 4 Ed -286.8 18.0 -87.0 -110.6 12.0
DOE Solar Commuter Category 1 69 Solar Commuter Car 61.3 177.8 50.4 55.0 -29.6 51.5 2 83 Sol Survivor IV -36.4 128.9 49.6 55.0 15.2 73.9 3 93 Helios the Heron V -86.3 104.9 47.7 55.0 -129.0 1.8 4 58 NFA Sol Machine -171.6 84.6 -25.0 31.0 -65.4 33.6
One Person Category 1 3 Ovonic Electric Scooter 185.2 233.4 61.2 64.2 63.2 97.9 2 12 Charger Bicycle 137.7 146.7 67.1 69.1 34.9 36.9 3 97 Project e- 2 122.7 132.6 53.0 55.0 29.0 36.9 4 92 Sunpacer 45.3 176.5 48.1 55.0 49.2 90.9 5 21 Mach.1 19.1 116.2 -48.4 38.6 31.1 36.9
Report #33: Day 4 Race Summary
Here are the numbers from Thursday morning. Day 3 was Tuesday and was the trip from New Castle to Dover Deleware, plus laps. Day 4 was Wednesday, and was the trip from Dover to Sandy Point State Park, near Anapolis Maryland.
This listing includes the Miles awarded during technical testing. The Production category cars do not go through scored technical testing since they all have to pass federal highway safety tests to be in the Production category.
Day 4 Total Day 3 Total Tech Car# Car Tour Total Tour Total Tour Total Test Production Category Miles Miles Miles Miles Miles Miles Miles 1 76 Ovonic-Solectria Force 416.8 424.8 64.7 68.7 182.2 184.2 2 10 Honda EV Plus 335.6 350.0 68.7 68.7 107.4 109.4 3 50 95 Solectria/Horizon 330.3 335.8 67.2 68.7 93.2 95.2 4 77 Solectria CitiVan 275.9 295.5 57.8 68.7 53.0 55.0
Commuter Category 1 32 Porche 914 Electric Bull 433.4 371.2 67.7 68.7 130.6 130.6 73.7 2 16 The Olympian 397.3 339.1 57.8 68.7 96.5 98.5 75.9 3 31 Spyder Juice 323.9 306.7 59.7 68.7 80.5 80.5 80.9 4 59 59 Berkeley 280.3 307.0 59.0 68.7 66.4 69.1 35.3 5 10b Shocker III 266.9 282.0 57.8 68.7 73.9 78.9 72.1 6 66 Re-Chargers 247.2 283.2 62.8 68.7 71.3 71.3 67.4 7 72 Sungo -23.8 160.8 -100.7 18.4 52.7 69.6 8 13 The Electrifly -96.7 125.4 11.3 57.0 -70.0 8.5 76.0 9 37 Solar Tiger II -180.9 87.5 -26.7 36.0 -40.0 23.5 65.6 10 24 Comuta-Car -360.2 -103.7 -89.0 68.3
DOE Hybrid Category 1 23 Viking 23 626.2 525.8 63.0 68.7 292.1 267.3 65.8 2 7 TU ParaDyne 557.2 485.5 66.7 68.7 227.0 227.0 75.7 3 62 Garnet One 463.9 371.2 75.6 68.7 141.7 130.6 66.9 4 8 Electric Lion 394.7 364.6 73.6 68.7 41.8 106.1 72.7 5 94 Hopper EV 383.6 295.5 72.9 68.7 63.3 55.0 73.8 6 14 Slipstream 181.9 284.3 -100.7 60.4 94.5 44.7 7 4 Ed -253.3 54.0 -102.7 -15.0 36.0 64.2 8 22 Maryland's Saturn HEV -269.0 48.5 -100.7 -87.0 64.7 9 18 Kineticar III -289.3 39.0 -98.7 -97.0 60.3
DOE Solar Commuter Category 1 69 Solar Commuter Car 108.8 236.5 46.6 68.7 1.0 45.0 50.3 2 83 Sol Survivor IV 89.6 197.6 53.1 68.7 49.6 55.0 73.0 3 93 Helios the Heron V 31.7 173.6 47.2 68.7 49.7 55.0 68.9 4 58 NFA Sol Machine -215.8 84.6 -102.7 -25.0 31.0 58.5
One Person Category 1 3 Ovonic Electric Scooter 307.4 302.1 57.5 68.7 61.2 64.2 64.6 2 21 Mach.1 252.1 222.2 49.0 51.0 91.6 93.6 44.0 3 12 Charger Bicycle 249.0 192.8 51.0 51.0 62.2 64.2 65.2 4 97 Project e-2 221.3 168.6 49.0 51.0 38.0 40.0 64.6 5 92 Sunpacer 154.0 245.2 55.2 68.7 46.1 55.0 55.6
Report #34: Purring into Washington DC
With the sun bright over head, the 10th NESEA American Tour de Sol arrived a bit before noon today, Thursday May 14, 1998, into downtown Washington DC. About 40 electric and hybrid electric vehicles (EVs) were displayed on Pennsylvania Avenue between 3rd and 4th Streets, NW. The bicycles, tricycles, cars, trucks and vans represented everything from corporate demonstration vehicles, through current commercial offerings, to school and private projects.
Energy Secretary Federico Pen~a addressed the crowd, and especially "the young people who ... are going to be the designers, builders and drivers of these vehicles. You are the ones who will be putting America firmly on the road to a cleaner environment, a stronger economy and a new edge in the global marketplace."
Next Georgia Congressman Micheal "Mac" Collins announced the introduction of the Electric Vehicle Consumer Incentive Tax Act of 1998. The bill, introduced today in Congress, removes restrictions that formerly made it impossible for state and local governments to use tax credits to expand their electric transit and fleet vehicles. The bill amends the nation's tax laws to make a $4000 tax credit available for the purchase of EVs. It also makes large electric trucks, vans and buses eligible for $50,000 clean fuel vehicle tax deductions.
After these announcements, Dr. Rob Wills, Technical Director and co-founder of the American Tour de Sol, announced prizes in each of the rally's categories. Before he did so, he pointed out that even on this sunny day, the sky around the capital dome behind him was not blue, it was gray. The reason it was gray, he said, was the photoactive chemicals that come from car exhaust. He predicted that over the next ten years, as we drive more and more electric cars, the sky will get more and more blue.
Then he and Secretary Pen~a distributed the silver trophies to:
Category Car Team
Production #50 95 Solectria/Horizon Connecticut Rideshare EV Commuter #32 Porche 914 Electric Bull Shadow Mtn HS Phoenix AZ DOE Hybrid #23 Viking 23 Western Washington Univ. DOE Solar Commuter #69 Solar Commuter Car Villanova University PA One Person # 3 Ovonic Electric Scooter Ovonic Battery Co.The final prize presentations will be made at a brunch on Friday, May 15th.
(Materials for this Report were drawn from press releases from the US Department of Energy (DOE) and the Edison Electric Institute.)
Report #35: The Rally is Over - The Reports Continue
The 1998 NESEA American Tour de Sol United States Electric Vehicle Championship concludes this afternoon, Friday May 15th, with an awards ceremony at the Crystal City Marriott, near Washington DC. Your Humble Reporter (YHR) will be the Master of Ceremonies (MC) and will have a Report listing the awards as soon as I can after I return home, probably sometime on Saturday (RltaasaIcaIrh,psoS).
But the Reports will continue for the next couple of weeks. I have at least 3 more hours of taped interviews, and it takes 2 hours to reduce each hour to these Reports. So stay tuned as the adventure continues.
Report #36: Final Results Are Delayed
There was some confusion about the final scoring in the Production Category in the American Tour de Sol, and I missed some of the details. To ensure that I have it right, I am delaying my posting the results until NESEA has had a chance to review them. As things stand now, that will probably happen Monday or Tuesday.
Report #37: Team Profile - `Comuta-Car'
We have two classic electric cars from more than 20 years ago here. The Zzipper (correct spelling) which is the basis of the `Solar Tiger II' and a `Comuta-Car', here from the Hudson Valley Community College (HVCC) in Troy NY.
The Comuta-Car was originally produced in the late 1970s and early '80s, as a response to the oil crisis. The first version was the CitiCar, and a later, more refined version was known as the Comuta-Car. Both could be described as 2 passenger, golf-cart like vehicles, but fully enclosed and with bumpers.
The HVCC `Comuta-Car' entry was built in 1981 and was still owned by Ken Goewey, Sr, advisor to the team, who had been a dealer. Because it was garaged, the frame and body was actually in pretty good shape when they got it about 2 months ago. It still had the 3 sets of contacts that put the batteries in parallel or series, changing the voltage and thus the speed. They removed that, and installed a Curtis controller, an Advanced DC motor, and 72 Volts worth of batteries.
The team is all seniors at the school, in the Automotives program, and this vehicle is a senior project.
After the NESEA Tour, it will be used in the Alternative Fuels course at HVCC. As Mr. Goewey said, "It's all right to mandate 2 percent of sales, but someone has to service these vehicles. They have to know what their doing. The average trainee is very proficient with gasoline powered vehicles, but don't have any knowledge of electrical power. The purpose is to get them interested in electrically powered vehicles."
Vehicle Number 24 Vehicle Name Comuta-Car Category COMMUTER CATEGORY Team Name HVCC Organization Hudson Valley Community College Town Troy NY Description CitiCar (PbA) New this year? new to NESEA Tour Motor Advanced DC; brushed DC; 9 kW Cont, 4.476 kW Peak Controller Curtis; 1209B-6402 Batteries 12 Trojan T-105; PbA; 500-600 lbs; 1800 Wh, 72 V Charger Onboard None Charger Offboard Snapon; Transformer/Rectifier PV Array 10 W; Siemens; 14x13 panel; charges accessory battery Construction 1981 Comuta-Car; Aluminum Box Frame; Fiberglas Body No of Passengers 2 Maximum Speed 52 mph Range 55 miles Capacity 320 pounds Weight 1475 pounds Brakes Front Drum; Rear Drum; Non-Regen Wheels Tires 4 Michelin; P136R13 radialAfter Saturday, at South Street Sea Port, I did not see #24 again. I do not know what happened to them. If I had to guess, they suffered from extremely low range and decided to go home, especially in the face of the prediction of rain for the next 3 days.
Report #38: Team Profile - `Porche 914 Electric Bull'
Another car we saw two years ago is the Porche 914, converted by a high school team, known as the `Electric Bull'. Last time it was a deep blue color. This year it's yellow and purple. Under the hood and in the trunk, everything is inclosed in boxes painted black-with-white-speckles. It looks like som