As I said before, there's no shortage of naysayers for practically
anything that anyone aspires to accomplish in this world.  It's easier (read
= lazier) that way.
  Those aren't the opinions we're all interested in hearing about........

Mike B.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Robert Keezer" <warmerwagen@YAHOO.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Sunday, May 25, 2008 1:47 PM
Subject: Re: Diesel schmiesel...i'm thinking of going electric

> It's not that it can't be done. It's pointless.
> Where will the seven passengers sit?
>
> True, you sure can fit a lot of batteries in
> there, and you will need to , in order to
> overcome the weight of the vehicle and the
> batteries.
>
> And all those extra batteries will add weight.
>
> Paul is right- the small car platform is the only
> way to go.
> Lighter in weight, generally a 1-2 person car.
>
> A Vanagon with all those batteries needed to
> overcome it's own weight and the weight of the
> batteries will be only a two person vehicle.
>
> Most people give up on the electric Vanagon. I
> have never seen one.
> I've seen electric Golfs, Rabbit's, Hondas, etc.
>
> I've given up on using my Vanagon as a daily
> driver and will soon be driving the 87 Jetta that
> gets 35 mpg.
>
> City busses run on electricity but only by using
> overhead supply wires and a caternary.
>
> If city busses had their own batteries, they
> would be too heavy, which is why they use the
> external power supply,  like subways.
>
>
> Robert
> 1982 Westfalia
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> --- Mark Thoma <mpthoma2003@YAHOO.COM> wrote:
>
>> Absolutely right on!  As a daily commuter the
>> van would be fine.  The cost to 'fuel' it with
>> electricity would be low (I've heard estimates
>> that put the cost per mile  for an EV
>> equivalent with $1.00 per gallon gasoline),
>> compared to the $4.69 (and climbing) I'm now
>> paying for diesel, but the cost to convert
>> would be prohibitive...and it would be cheaper
>> and a lot less hassle to begin converting waste
>> vegetable oil to run in my TD.
>>  But as a relatively well known radio (ex TV)
>> personality in the city where I live a lot of
>> people know I drive the van and an EV van would
>> draw attention to what's possible. If this
>> revolution is going to happen people need to be
>> aware what's out there now and not listen to
>> that same old crap from Washington/Detroit that
>> the timetable for meaningful change is decades
>> and not months or years long.
>> Granted the van would have only about a 60-80
>> (more than enough for my daily needs) mile
>> range on current lead acid technology but that
>> would increase as Lithium Ion technology gets
>> better and I eventually change over to the
>> lighter/longer life/higher capacity Lithium
>> Ions.  And it would be cheaper and a lot less
>> hassle to begin converting waste vegetable oil
>> to run in my TD.
>>
>> Mike <mbucchino@CHARTER.NET> wrote: Why would
>> the COST to convert any vehicle to electric, be
>> any different,
>> based on how good it's original gas mileage is?
>>  Sounds like a load of crap
>> to me.  What is your personal experience
>> regarding this?  None, I'll
>> bet..........
>>    The weight of ANY vehicle converted to
>> electric will be heavy, but the
>> power used to propel that vehicle down the road
>> will be the same.  The range
>> may be shorter in a heavier vehicle, all else
>> the same.  The areodynamics
>> don't even come into play until you exceed
>> certain speeds.  Shorter trips
>> and slower speeds will suit this fine, it just
>> depends on how a person
>> intends to use this van.
>>   We're not trying to locate the optimum
>> vehicle to convert, we're trying to
>> consider the actual concept when applied to our
>> beloved vans.  The brakes,
>> suspension and subsequent handling on our van
>> is more able to deal with the
>> added weight, than the cheap, weak crap on some
>> small econobox.  Think about
>> it.
>>
>>   There's always millions of people willing to
>> say 'it can't be done'.  I
>> want to hear that one person say, "Yes, we can
>> do that!'........which one
>> are you?
>>
>> Mike B.
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Paul Guzyk"
>>
>> To:
>> Sent: Saturday, May 24, 2008 9:49 AM
>> Subject: Re: Diesel schmiesel...i'm thinking of
>> going electric
>>
>>
>> >A Vanagon is one of the worst platforms for
>> converting to an EV.
>> > Too heavy, no aerodynamics. A repeatable
>> range of 100 miles it will
>> > cost you more than $8000.
>> >
>> > If you want an EV, get something small and
>> light, like a Suzuki
>> > Swift.    Generally if it is good on gas it
>> will be good on electric.
>> > If it is crappy on gas it will be expensive
>> to convert to electric.
>>
>