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The Small Dead Animals blog is part of my morning routine. Today they linked to this Spectator article about how hard it is to sell electric cars. People are starting out with range anxiety, and proceeding to wondering what to do if the battery needs replacing and they have a multi-$K wheeled brick.
I have an idea.
Start a company to modify electric cars into gas powered cars. They have a perfectly good chassis and drive train, after all. Make use of them.
One approach would be to install a simple one- or two-cylinder gas motor that would run a generator and charge the battery whenever it needed a charge. The motor would only run at full speed, and only on-demand, so MPG would be very good. That would take up some trunk space, but it would be minimally invasive otherwise. The downside is that the battery would have the same lithium self-immolation and lifespan issues.
Another approach would be to replace the lithium death batteries with good ol' lead acid. With the gas-powered generator, you wouldn't need as much battery capacity, because you're charging them as you go. You have a hybrid that can be safely charged, and firefighters know how to deal with lead acid battery fires.
Depending on the power plants that are available, it may be possible to skip the "turn it into a hybrid" step and go straight to a gas car. Picture a motorcycle engine powering a generator to run the electric motor(s). It would run all the time, but at a very good MPG. And there would be no battery at all to burn down your garage.
I really think, that, considering the substantial cost of replacing a bad lithium car battery and the risks involved in having one, there might be a viable business model here; even doing them one at a time. Say, work out some kits to handle the various EVs that people have been foolish enough to buy, and train a bunch of Pep Boys mechanics to do the conversions. Of course, it would void the warranties on the cars, but as long as it's cheaper than the repair bill, who cares?
Paging Mr. Musk...
Discussion (40)
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I'm not sure how all the energy usage works out. I used to wonder why they did not do things like the diesel electric locomotives on our trains. Without going into the details, automotive transportation is probably too variable for that option to work well.
On a similar note I recall watching a video where a Tesla owner had his vehicle changed over to a high-performance, gasoline-engined car, but kept most of the rest of the high-tech innovations that he enjoyed.
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As far as conversion, I doubt if the juice is worth the squeeze.
I would support requiring only wind or solar power in the manufacture of EVs.
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Why not just buy a hybrid in the first place and skip all the hassle?
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How are things with the hybrid market? We hear a lot about EVs, but not so much about hybrids. They have lithium ion batteries too, which concerns me.
I had a chance to buy a low-mileage 2015 hybrid in excellent condition recently. I know the owner and he would have given me a great price, but I was concerned, in part, that the age of the batteries might necessitate their replacement in a couple of years.
There were other ways in which the car was not quite what I wanted, but the batteries were a big factor in my mind.
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That's for people smarter than those who bought EVs.
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