“I WISH EVERY CAR COULD BE LIKE THIS!” Seven-year-old Annie Rhoads was mesmerized by a ZAP Xebra sedan at the recent Home and GardenShow at State Fair Park. The electric car comes with zebra-stripedecals, runs on three wheels and looks like a cross between a golf cartand a VW Beetle.
“She’s concerned about global warming,” saidher mother, Julie Rhoads, of Racine. Annie isn’t alone. A recentRasmussen Reports poll shows that 73% of Americans express concernabout the long-term effects of global warming. Their concerncombinedwith anxiety over $4a-gallon gasand dismay over imported oil’spernicious effects on U.S. foreign policy are sparking interest inalternative fuels. Electric cars like the Xebra are one alternative.
ChrisAllessi owns K-Man Auto and Scooter, which sells the Chinese-built ZAPelectric cars. He says the vehicles are cheap to operateabout 2 centsper mileand contain fewer parts than traditional cars. Still,Americans have not been quick to embrace the technology. The ZAP Xebratops out at 40 mph and has a 40-mile range with standard lead-acidbatteries. An optional lithium battery quadruples the range, but adds$8,000 to the normal price tag of $12,000.
“There’s still some resistance,” Allessi said. “We have an idea of what a car should be, and it’s a gas-guzzling SUV.”
General Motors flirted with high-speed electric cars in the ’90s, a story told in an infuriating documentary called Who Killed the Electric Car? aboutthe rise and fall of the EV1. The car traveled at highway speeds withexcellent acceleration, and its Panasonic lead-acid battery could berecharged off a standard 110-volt line overnight, giving the car a160-mile range or better. GM built and leased 800 EV1s in California and Arizona, but eventually recalled and destroyed most of the cars, blaming “lack of consumer interest.”
Electriccars require far less maintenance and moving parts than their internalcombustion cousins, and widespread adoption would threaten not only oilcompanies, but the lucrative aftermarket parts business. Industryresistance is still cited by electric car proponents.
“We were OK to set up a booth at the Journal Sentinel SportsShow in February,” Allessi said. “But one of the sponsors, Chevy, putup a fit that we were going to be there, and so we were forced out ofthe show. The newspaper won’t give us the time of day, and the TV andradio stations are ignoring us, too. It’s like we don’t exist.”
EarlHuebner, marketing specialist at Columbia ParCar of Reedsburg, Wis.,which has been producing electric cars for 60 years, said manufacturerswere once reluctant to commit to higher-speed electric cars due touncertainty about how alternative fuel vehicles might evolve in thefuture.
“Companies didn’t want to invest hundreds of millionsof dollars in advanced battery technology in the ’90s, then have therug pulled out from under them 15 years later with another powertechnology,” he said. Because electric cars such as the Xebra are lowspeed, and don’t meet passenger vehicle safety standards, they areclassified as Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEVs), and heavilyregulated. Wisconsinis the only state that leaves it up to municipalities to allow NEVs ontheir streets. Milwaukee only recently permitted NEVs, joining 35 otherWisconsin cities and towns, including Glendale.
But it’s still illegal to drive from Milwaukee to a town that doesn’t allow NEVs, such as West Allis.
GREASE CARS AND HOME BREWERS
Asubculture of tinkerers and amateur chemists who turn waste vegetableoil (WVO) into biodiesel fuel has materialized in the last decade orso. Locally, the Milwaukee Biodiesel Co-op attracts about 30individuals to its meetings, where members share experiences, comparetechnical notes and help newcomers.
WVO can be used one of twowaysstraight up, in a specially modified “grease car”; or chemicallyaltered and used either straight or mixed with regular diesel fuel. “Wedon’t want to wait for Washington to get serious about weaning America off oil,” says Tom Brandstetter, a co-op member whose Volvo diesel wagon runs on straight waste vegetable oil.
WVO is free and plentiful, thanks to America’slove of deep-fried food. Home brewers collect grease from arearestaurants and cafeterias, which are glad to be rid of the stuff. Oncethe scorched potato residue and congealed mozzarella is filtered out,the grease can be used as fuel, or further refined into biodiesel.
Thereare some challenges, though. First, biodiesel only works in dieselengines, and diesel passenger cars are not as easy to come by astraditional cars. Older model Volkswagen Rabbit diesels are much indemand for running straight grease. Only 3.5% of new car sales in the United States are diesel, compared to 50% in Europe.
Diesel engines deliver approximately 30% better mileage than gasoline engines. What’smore, filtered WVO is too viscous for most fuel systems. This problemcan be overcome by adding a heated “grease tank” to a car, which isaccessed with a manual, dash-mounted switch after the car’s enginereaches a set temperature. Mixing straight grease with diesel is notrecommended.
After it’s filtered, WVO can be “cooked” (hotwater heaters work fine) and then treated with methanol and a catalystto create a methyl ester. This produces a less viscous biofuel that canbe used straight-up or blended.
The good news is that, givenappropriate safety precautions, tools and patience, anybody can makebiodiesel. The discouraging news is that if drivers filtered and cookedevery drop of WVO in the United States,about 11 billion gallons worth, it would only replace 1% of whatAmericans use every year for transportation. Clearly, the road toenergy independence does not run through Popeyes Chicken and Biscuits.
“Peopleturn to biodiesel for different reasons,” said Kyle Capizzi, aMilwaukee coop board member who brews large batches of biodiesel at afarm co-op in northern Illinois. “Some do it to save money. Some want to be personally energy independent.
Otherssee it as a way to reduce their carbon footprint as much as possible.”Yet the call of biodiesel is heeded across the political spectrum,which only adds to its charm. “I once taught a Pentecostal minister tomake it. He said he wanted to help his congregation beself-sufficient,” Capizzi said. “The more we talked, the more Irealized how wildly different our views were, and that biodiesel was anopportunity to bridge that gap.”
In addition to thesmall-scale brewers, biodiesel is also produced on a much larger scalefrom soybeans, the oil of which is blended with diesel fuel for farmersand fleet operations. The Milwaukee Department of Public Works (DPW)dispenses a biodiesel blend at seven DPW fuel terminals for its1,200-plus vehicles, including garbage trucks, snow plows, salt trucksand construction equipment. Crop biodiesel is controversial, however,as it competes with food crops for land and agricultural inputs. Onerecent study showed that converting fallow fields to biodiesel cropsmay contribute to global warming.
Brad Fons, of the Milwaukee Hybrid Group, said 16 hybrid vehicle models are currently available for sale in the United States,but that number could nearly double in the next few years. “Hybrids areon the upswing,” he said. “They’re finally catching on.”
Consumershaven’t been as quick to embrace the technology as might be expected.Fons blames misconceptions about battery life and cost savings. “Thereis a mistaken belief that the batteries have a finite life span, andcost thousands of dollars to replace, but we know that isn’t true,”Fons said. “The nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries used in today’shybrids will last as long as the car, or even longer.”
He said that the city of Vancouver,British Columbia, has been running 64 hybrids since 2001, all on theiroriginal batteries. “In that whole time, the average cost formaintenance and repairs for those 64 cars was only 4 cents permile.” Fons said some are skeptical that the premium that car buyerspay for a hybridabout $3,000 to $6,000 more than the price of thenon-hybrid modelcan be recovered through fuel savings. “The mostcommon argument against hybrids is that they take too long to justifytheir higher purchase price,” Fons said. “But when you add in fuel andother factors, such as maintenance, repairs and resale value, hybridsprovide great value.”
The automotive consumer groupIntelliChoice recently examined a range of costs of ownership for 2007hybrid and non-hybrid versions of the same vehicles, and publishedthose findings. The Toyota Prius comes in first on a cost-payback listat $10,288 over five years or 70,000 miles. The Ford Escape Hybrid 2WDmodel is fourth at $5,975.
Not all models fared so well. TheGMC Classic Sierra 2WD hybrid saves its owner $409 over five years, orroughly the price of five fill-ups. For now, gas-electric hybridtechnology seems to have the upper hand, as oil edges closer to $120 abarrel, and Al Qaeda is re-branded as a rogue union of petroleumengineers in order to justify war without end. Greater efficiencieswill be had as automakers design plug-in hybrids that can run for 100miles or more on electricity before switching to gas. Diesel-electricplug-in hybrids could extend the miles-per-gallon ratio even further.
Absentpolitical leadership and widespread commitment to cultural change, it’sunlikely that the answer to our oil addiction lies in a single,technological fix. Advocates of greener transportation technologieslike to talk about reducing our “carbon footprint” and relying more onlocal sources for their needs. “A tomato you grow in your garden has asmaller footprint than one that is trucked halfway across the country,”one advocate said.
This drive for self-sufficiency, long partof our national DNA, seems at odds with the freedom and independence ofour automobile culture. Until recently, self-sufficiency has taken theback seat. That has to change. Solving our energy crisis, reducingcarbon emissions and rescuing U.S. foreign policy from the lure ofpetroleum means giving self-sufficiency a seat in the front.
Why can’t all cars be like that? What’s your take? Write: editor@shepex.com or comment on this story online at www.expressmilwaukee.com.
ECODRIVING MADE EASY
Evenif you don’t have an alt-fuel car, you can try “EcoDriving,” a termcoined by gas-strapped Europeans that means “to drive a vehicle in themost fuel-efficient manner possible, to save fuel and to loweremissions.” In some EU countries, EcoDriving proficiency is requiredfor a driver’s license, and applies to any vehicleautomatic or manual,gas or diesel, old or new, hybrid or conventional.
Besidesreducing oil consumption and exhaust, EcoDriving can also reduce yourgas bill by up to 30%, turning $3.40-a-gallon gas into the equivalentof $2.38 per gallon. The Milwaukee Hybrid Group, which promotesEcoDriving on its Web site and at its meetings, offers these tips:Maintain momentum by anticipating red lights and stop signs andavoiding unnecessary braking and sudden increases in speed. Avoidspeeds above 55 mph and maintain steady speed at all times. Each 5 mphabove 55 mph is like paying 15 cents per gallon more for gas.
Aggressivedriving wastes gas, particularly at highway speeds, but also aroundtown. It can add an extra 22 cents to $1.50 more per gallon. Removeextra weight from the vehicle. Remove roof racks, flags or otherexterior objects when not in use.
Theworst mileage and greatest emissions will occur in the first fiveminutes to 5 miles of driving on a cold engine. Instead of idling yourvehicle after startup, just drive off slowly. Avoid idling for morethan one minute. Restarting your car adds only $10 per year inoperating costs while reducing emissions and engine wear.
Inflateand constantly maintain tire pressure to the maximum sidewall PSI onthe tire. This can save you as much as 15 cents per gallon at today’sgas prices. Invest in regular tuneups to maintain engine efficiency forgas savings of 15 cents to $1.30 per gallon.
Plan your tripsto avoid congestion and minimize unnecessary driving. Combine trips,going to the farthest destination first and then coming back home;short trips from a cold start use twice as much fuel. Leave spacebetween you and other vehicles so that you have more options invariable driving conditions.
Avoid complete stops whenpossible. Anticipate intersection traffic to avoid coming to a completestop. Look for face-out parking to avoid using reverse gear. Facetoward the sun in winter to take advantage of solar heating. Use airconditioning only when necessary and do not open the car windowscompletely.
Use cruise control only at highway speeds and on level roads; avoid use in hilly terrain. Source: www.milwaukeehybridgroup.com K.R.
