Switched-On Highways

The range on electric cars have greatly improved these days, so too has the speed. Imagine having a electric car with the rotary-engine loaded in the front along with a small mag-lev wind turbine. The reserve batteries would be loaded in the back where the gas tank usually sits. that would be perfect.

Imagine no more stopping for a recharge after 100 or so miles, because as the car moves the motion would create a wind push effect, effective spinning the small turbine in the hood of the car generating electricity constantly for the batteries to keep the car moving. No more gasoline, no more stop for recharging. Problem solved,

Hurray for the Electric car...It lives, forever!!

Andre McNab

Why not go one better and let the electric car travel above the traffic?
Make Commuter Travel Electric!



Will the future of the automobile depend on the old reliable internal combustion engine or will it be electric and clean. I think both will be needed, electric for short distance and commuting and the traditional, heavier and more comfortable car for longer travel with the family.
Electric cars have limitations, their range, charge time for batteries and the batteries themselves seem to create new and different problems. The new lithium ion batteries, which now run computers and cell phones, are being developed for car batteries. They require materials (cobalt) which are not found in abundance in this country and would again make us dependant on foreign countries mainly in Africa, which are not too dependable or friendly to us. Electric cars are already commercially available. They are low speed (25-35 Mph), use the traditional nickel-cadmium batteries and have a limited range of approximately 40 miles.
These small and light electric cars could be driven from home to a nearby terminal where they would hook up to an overhead rail via a connector. From that point, they would be controlled by an onboard computer and guided to their destination without operator interference while the battery is being recharged. At the destination terminal the car would simply disconnect from the rail and continue the journey to the workplace.
This overhead rail system could be built along the median of highways with terminals at commuter parking lots. A system like this could actually be a new mode of public transportation. The commuter would not have to adhere to a schedule, would never have to leave his car and would arrive at his destination without stopping or waiting for a bus or train. Busses get stuck in the same traffic jams as all other cars and then they run all day nearly empty of passengers, burning precious resources.
Our present economic crisis compels us to look at new revolutionary ways to change from our entrenched traditional behavior and I think that commuter travel by electric car is one of the most rewarding and lowest hanging fruits to pick.



Fred Rapp
3 Babcock St.
West Warwick, RI 02893
rappfred@gmail.com

From the title of this article, "Switched-on Highways" I assumed the 'charge-as-you-drive' system would be touted as the way to extend drive distances of the electric vehicle and thereby eliminating their main disadvantage. However, its the promotion of an industry designed to rent you batteries, and probably proprietary ones to boot. Its the 'proprietary' part of the equation and the "by the mile" contract I 'm not sure about. Would this squelch competition and stagnate battery development? I think I need to hear more.

For the 'charge-as-you-drive' system who would set the rate, the State or local government, or local Utility? I'm sure every political layer would want a piece of the revenue.

The one fact that is neglected in this discussion is where does all the electricity come from? More dirtl coal burning plants? Expensive natural gas fired plants? Not from "dangerous" nuclear plants I hope! And what about the disposal of all these huge battery packs? I have not once heard what the replacement cost is for a battery pack on a hybrid much less an all-electric car.

The idea of electric cars is an interesting one and it obviously has its pros and cons, just like anything. The big question that I have is that it sounds like we'd be using a huge amount of batteries. Where and how would these be disposed of when they can no longer be used? Otherwise, we'd just be harming our environment in a different way.

The idea of an electric car obviously has it's pros and cons. My big question here is that it sounds like we'd be using a huge amount of batteries. Where and how would they be disposed of properly so as not to harm our environment in a different way?

A better infrastructure model:

Instead of cars having a fixed battery that needs to be charged in situe, carmakers should agree on 5 to 10 industry standard battery packs. A car needing a battery charge would go to a "filling station". At that station the car would drive over a semi-automated rack that would remove the battery pack and install a freshly charged pack. This should take no longer than refueling a gasoline car. Nobody would own a battery pack. You just basically buy electrons. This system could potentially easily be converted to from existing gas stations. You never need to buy a new battery pack. You would still have the option of recharging the battery pack at home or work if time permits.

Don't worry! they will find a way to tax you and if you do not pay the tax then the MOB will send their enforcers for you!

We need to set up the highways with a 'CHARGE AS YOU DRIVE' system like electric trains and busses use to get power. Set up stretches of highway with tracks that electric vehicles can tap into and pay for using current existing technology. What are the roadblocks?? The blind who are addicted to oil.

If it's as cheap and as effiecient as this article makes it out to be, I see this being huge in urban centers, It would be fantastic to just plug my car in over night so that I can go too and from work. 5 days a week I don't really travel that far anyway. And on my days off, I could just switch to my gas vehicle, if I wanted to make a large trip

Why not set up our interstates with a "CHARGE AS YOU DRIVE' infrastructure? Simple technology used on electric busses and trains right now could be expanded to the highway system. Get you head our of the sand.

Who the hell wants to go looking around for a "charge post" everytime the car need s a charge? A range of 155 mile as of today's technology?! I don't think the electtic car will ever be taken from the "dustbin" of history-not in this country anyway..

You plug the wattmeter into any 20A outlet. It links a wireless phone to the credit card company. Electricity fills the car battery. When finished, the wattmeter tells the CC company how much to charge. Just like a card swiper at a pump, but the watt meter could be carried anywhere. Hell, give them and the account setup away for free with the purchase of the car. Infrastructure, gimmee a break. Doesn't anyone in America think?

What 20 mile barrier? I get up to 60 miles on my electric S-10. I charge at night, so no further load on the electric grid, and it'll charge up to 80% in minutes, not hours. Walmart and alot of other companies will let me charge while I shop. It cost them pennies, and I'll be more apt to spend money at thier store instead of one that won't let me charge. Not to mention no oil changes, no tune ups, no exhaust fumes, no sending my money to the middle east. I can't imagine going back to a gas burning vehicle! Saving about $270 a month. www.evalbum.com/1752

Finally! I built an electric S-10 that does 77 MPH, and has a range of 40-50 miles, enough to get me to work and back, and some driving around for errands. All that and at a cost well below $15,000. Anyone with a little electical and mechanical ability can do it, so why can't the major car companies? Now if I could charge at my "green" company while I work, I would have far greater range. I went from a $300 a month gas bill to a $30 electric bill increase. I'll never go back to gas! www.evalbum.com/1752

Talk about bait and switch. I was referred here from an MSNBC site that said that this article would tell me

Why electric cars are better than hybrids.

This little interview certainly does not do the job. Hybrids are versatile, already widely available, and use cheap fuel. I suppose electric vehicles are cute, but where can I buy one? Why should the feature of plugging it into my wall compel me to sacrifice performance? Where I live, I can buy a small passenger hybrid or a large van produced by a major company to the highest quality standards in the world, not from some little sketchy startup. And hybrids rely less on environmentally destructive batteries. They can function with little or no battery power if necessary.

Denmark? Israel? Tell you what, when your cars can make it in Japan or Taiwan, I will know it is ready for the US market.

Hybrids are a good solution available today at low risk to the consumer. They perform as vehicles supplying performance that is comparable to a usual vehicle on the road. If you need a straw man to make a gee whiz article, you should stick to comparisons with GM products.