jake

I don't really buy in-wheel motors by this company (I think they are the same ones that paraded around the PML Mini with amazing specs on paper, but never showed its actual performance). They mention the performance of the Volvo Recharge vehicle, but I have yet to see a video of it where it was going anything but sluggish. I saw one where it went up a slight incline and slowed notice-ably.

The only wheel motors that I saw that were truly impressive are the ones in the Eliica.

@Geronimo
Those modules use 2900mAh cells:
http://industrial.panasonic.com/www-cgi/jvcr13pz.cgi?E+BA+3+ACA4001+NCR18650+7+WW

Tesla will be using the higher density 3100mAh cells instead:
http://industrial.panasonic.com/www-cgi/jvcr13pz.cgi?E+BA+4+ACA4001+NCR18650A+7+WW

Panasonic is also coming out with 3400mAh cells in 2012, but Tesla won't be using those yet (way too close to the Model S launch). Maybe in a couple of years Tesla will be using them.

I can't really say which is right. More research is necessary as to optimal station placement. I do agree a lot of the stations being installed right now is likely not optimal since there isn't enough research done. But you have to start somewhere and then move the stations if necessary as the market gets larger and people complain.

I don't agree with that. There's the whole argument that offpeak means dirtier marginal electricity and charging on peak means non-marginal electricity. Also you can still have it charge during peak hours, and just stop charging during spikes and the overall load won't be too affected. And even during peak hours the electricity cost still isn't that high. In a typical 8-5 job, you'll have ~4 hours offpeak and 5 hours on peak.

I would argue aero is most important in an EV. The least efficient mode of operation in an EV is highway usage (when people complain about range, it is ALWAYS from highway travel, not from a primarily city trip), and aero dominates there. Weight helps in rolling resistance, but the savings you can get from that becomes negligible in highway speeds. Weight usually has more effects in city driving, increasing power demand during acceleration and when rolling resistance is a bigger component. EVs are most efficient in this mode of operation though, so it becomes less of a concern.

The effects of weight is also counteracted in an EV because of regen braking (which extra weight helps). The other thing that is opposite in EVs is that when you have a more powerful motor, the motor is generally more efficient, not less, (because in general you need windings to handle more current, which means lower resistance).

This could be a PR nightmare for GM, but more importantly a PR nightmare for plug-ins in general. Hopefully the cause is found soon, before the media mouthpieces get too far along in blaming it on the plug-in when it could be from other problems. And of course the media won't temper this by reporting how many vehicle fires happen each year in conventional vehicles; they'll put up the image somehow this is isolated to plug-ins.

@2 Wheeled Menace
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminium

The wiki article is a good resource. The main reason is because direct reduction from the bauxite ore with carbon is not possible unlike with iron. The intermediate product. aluminum oxide. has an extremely high melting point, and so requires electrolysis to convert to aluminum, which is why it is so energy intensive.

This one goes into more detail:
http://www.chemguide.co.uk/inorganic/extraction/aluminium.html

As long as you have a J1772 adapter for that outlet (such an adapter would also need a special box in it to do the J1772 handshake required for level 2 charging). But as mentioned by jeffwishart, the onboard charger is only 3.3kW (basically 240V@15amps) so it can't use the faster 50 amp anyways.

Don't know if it is out yet, but there's a EVSE that you can "install" just by plugging it into a socket. You can use that as an "adapter".

"Careful wording here ... remember that Leaf has Level-3 charging at up to 62Kw"

But their level 2 charging is a pathetic 3.3kW. The difference between level 2 and level 3 is still relevant. Level 2 means you can have that charging in your home, level 3 typically means a off-board charger connected to a industrial power source. The availability of higher power level 2 is also much better than level 3 (see the RV charging article).

http://green.autoblog.com/2011/04/15/new-electric-car-drivers-finding-a-home-at-rv-parks/

"Careful wording here ... remember that Leaf has Level-3 charging at up to 62Kw"

But their level 2 charging is a pathetic 3.3kW. The difference between level 2 and level 3 is still relevant. Level 2 means you can have that charging in your home, level 3 typically means a off-board charger connected to a industrial power source. The availability of higher power level 2 is also much better than level 3 (see the RV charging article).

http://green.autoblog.com/2011/04/15/new-electric-car-drivers-finding-a-home-at-rv-parks/