I read an article in Wired magazine about a new company that wants to move to battery powered vehicles.
Driven: Shai Agassi's Audacious Plan to Put Electric Cars on the Road
Not like a Tesla, or some super efficient car, but regular every day vehicles for people who don't drive a lot during the day. So I started thinking about it for my GP. What would I need to do/replace? This is strictly a theoretical exercise, as I'm pretty sure the cost involved would far out way the payback, unless I got donations of time, parts and labor.
Here's some early thoughts. I don't really need a transmission, just need Park, Forward, and Reverse. I'd be willing to sacrifice A/C, since the time I'd be in the car would be minimal, unless I could find an efficient electric A/C motor instead of belt driven. I probably won't need an alternator, since it's already battery powered. But I'm assuming I'd always be able to plug the car in after 25-30 miles, so I don't need power recovery like current hybrids use. Essentially I want a giant radio controlled car.
The engine bay would mainly be batteries, and I might spread the weight around and put some in the rear. But I'm curious how far I could get on 15-20 fully charged car batteries?
Thoughts? Opinions? Snarky comments?
