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Electric cars
Electric cars
Dynasty EV, 4 door sedan neighborhood electric vehicle (NEV). There are two
commonly available electric vehicle designs for automobiles: Battery Electric
Vehicles or BEVs, which convert chemical energy to electrical energy in
batteries; and Hybrid vehicles, which convert chemical energy to electrical
energy via an internal combustion engine and a generator. A third, less
established form, is the 'plug-in hybrid' which attempts to combine the benefits
of both these designs. It allows the moderate capacity batteries of a hybrid
vehicle to be recharged not only from the internal combustion engine and
generator, but alternatively from an external source of electricity (such as a
domestic electricity supply).
Light EVs include electric wheelchairs, the Segway HT, electric motorcycles and
scooters, motorized bicycles, golf carts and neighborhood electric vehicles.
Working electric vehicles include heavy work equipment, fork lifts, and numerous
other service and support vehicles. Strictly technology-proving experimental or
solar powered vehicles include sun racers, electrathons, the aerial Helios
Prototype, and some rocket propulsion systems such as the ion thruster.
According to the (US) Electric Auto Association, as many as ten thousand
full-sized electric cars were in use in American roads in 2006. Most are
converted to electric propulsion by owners or small shops; six major automakers
built about five thousand full-sized EVs for US drivers in the 1990s. Almost all
now have been repossessed and crushed by their makers (see "Who Killed the
Electric Car?" a documentary film about the General Motors EV1). A few hundred
major-maker EVs survive, mostly Toyota RAV4 EVs and Ford Ranger EVs.
Recently, a startup company, Tesla Motors has begun EV production. In a few
months Tesla has sold hundreds of its high-performance Roadsters; they are
powered by Lithium-Ion battery packs (LION) similar to, but larger than, those
found in laptop computers. The Tesla Roadster can accelerate from 0-60mph in 4
seconds and has a range of 250 miles.
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