What Electric Automobile do you drive? Picture thread!

steveo

100 kW
Joined
Oct 6, 2007
Messages
1,786
Location
Woodbridge, Ontario
I aquired my 2016 Kia Soul Ev Titanium Late last year, she has been sleeping through the winter months.. but she will be on the road really soon :lol:

I will add photos of mine soon.. thought i had em on my phone.. but here is one identical to mine.. love it so far .. other then the app to controller climate control and some other features not available in Canada :? .

Use this website to re-size your images or reduce quality!

http://www.imageoptimizer.net/Home.aspx

some interesting info i found on this article

"Kia has implemented a very interesting attempt to work around these kinds of issues. The cabin air, which, as I discussed previously, is heated or cooled using a heat pump, possibly using heat from the motor, is also pumped through the battery pack. Since the battery works best when it’s the same temperature that humans tend to prefer (about 70 degrees Fahrenheit), it works out that if it’s hot outside, the A/C is running so the battery is being cooled. Likewise, if it’s cold outside, the heat is on so the battery is warmed up. As a result, the Soul EV is probably a better candidate for long distance drives and will likely perform better in the winter, as well."

"Kia decided to take this a little farther. Since the electronics of the car are generating some heat, the heat pump in the Kia Soul EV is able to use both the air and the electronics as a source of heat. As a result, in the winter the Kia Soul EV will be more efficient than a Nissan LEAF."



-Steveo
 

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@amberwolf

Love the ride :lol:

I should of mention i meant i was looking for posts on Electric Automobiles :roll:

I'll revamp the thread, my bad

-steveo
 
52 Ford F-1. At various points it's had a direct-drive warp 11, 11/AC-51 AC/DC combo, and now it's just the AC-51 with a 5-speed. Working on modular battery setup it will share with all other vehicles and solar house.



Tesla 85. Great, but too expensive. I think I'm going to sell it and go back to 100% DIY vehicles pretty soon.

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One of my favorites is my Cushman
 

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I was driving driving a 2016 volt for a month or two

2016-Chevrolet-Volt-in-Heather-Grey-Metallic-e1432337549959-720x340.jpg


Great torque for what it was. Infinite possibilities with access to the firmware.
Of note:

* It was possible to run the battery dry in which case the ICE motor was gutless on hills
* In battery only mode performance was not as nice as mixed... yet sport mode would not engage the ICE in the first 50 miles
* The audio was very poor - why would a manufacturer make THAT mistake when we know from Rental Data that the Torque and Stereo pretty much sell the car
* The chrome grill up front is the most hideous part of the car - it simply must have an aftermarket replacement
* The charger would always default to 8A... and to charge at 12A one had to force the firmware to do it every time (perhaps I should have read the manual...)
* The dash seemed half baked. A bunch of different options that were pretty much all the same
* The steering was very predictable, regen braking very smooth, and tip-in was good
* The stock suspension and tires allowed for very respectable spirited driving. Never broke it loose even in the rain. Always felt in control of the vehicle.
* They went cheap on the lighting... headlights are very important!
* The backup camera took some getting used to... but was very cool
* Its a good car

-methods

P.S. But... its not even in the same universe as a Tesla... let alone the same league.
 
I also like my Volt a lot. Very nice car. However FM reception is crap. Maybe more shielding is needed.

As soon as my dealership figures out now to do it, I'm sure that I'll like the car even more with Android Auto.

As to being like a Tesla... it's apples and oranges. The Volt will go 420 miles without stopping and then you just need to add gas. It'll go 60+ miles on the battery if you drive the speed limit.
 
I am still an electric purist that lives in the future where batteries have a high C rate, long cycle life, and are safe & simple.
I want to see pure electric drive with generator options. Different generators for different needs.

I totally get that due to the maturity of the battery tek we still need to do hybrid setups to meet requirements and cost targets.

I also get the feeling that people want to try and duplicate the existing automotive ecosystem instead of replacing it... for all the arguments we have already heard. The reality is that in the near future cars will be built by robots, serviced by robots, and require little to no aftermarket support (service or parts). The unions really dont want to face up to this... the dealerships (service)... the parts dealers... and all the other people in the mix who have made it a career. Its just a reality of the last 100 years that we are converging away from one economy and into another. Jobs will be lost. Expertise will expire. Micro-Economies will collapse. People will need to buck up, re-train, and embrace.

I feel the same is true for the foot dragging around solar, energy independence, stationary storage, grid tie, - taxation, regulation, control... sigh.

I invested YEARS in understanding the ins and outs of ICE engines. WAY more than I ever needed or could profit from.
And... then... I accepted that I would have to start my education over for electric vehicles.

In the end, all of the experience and knowledge of complex ICE motors maps near perfectly to the challenges of high performance low cost EV's. Its just a matter of dropping the details (like valve lash) and applying the principles (like reliability requirements).

-methods
 
VW E-UP!

VW-E-Up-front_2801779b.jpg


[youtube]ZymlqWxwqNI[/youtube]

Love it :twisted: Perfect city EV.
 
View attachment 2I recently acquired a 2013 Ford Focus EV, in January 2016. It is fully equipped with leather interior, deluxe sound system, Navigation system and even a back up camera.
Ford in the forest.jpg
Bike Rack for my Focus EV.jpg
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Highest range so far.jpg

It was under $12K and I got a 4% loan for 60 months on a trade with no cash out of pocket!! My new payment is $110 lower, plus I am NOT buying $200 a month in gasoline!! My electric bill appears to have gone up about $45 to $50 a month. (I try to consistently recharge later at night at the lower kWh rate.)
I absolutely LOVE this electric car!! It "monitors" how you drive and then calculates your "budget" for miles available range based on your recent driving history. I LOVE that its like magically all charged up EVERY morning when I'm ready to drive.
If you drive "fast" or on the freeway, or accelerating quickly, then you will not get much range "budget"....my least is 60 miles. Note the little green car icon in the dashboard photo, that is the indicator that the car is ready to drive. (zero noises).
If you drive moderately, stay off the freeway, and drive between 35 and about 42 on surface streets, it will give you a "budget" of longer range...my best is 92...as shown in the dashboard photo. That's plenty of driving for me for one day!!
Our EAA club president achieves over 120 miles "budget" range on a regular basis. He uses a technique of gradual acceleration and then coasting in neutral, and using "D" (regeneration) to slow the vehicle to near stop before using his brakes.
There is also an "L" range, which is just a higher level of regeneration, so it feels like you downshifted to a lower gear....but there are no "gears", as in a conventional transmission....there is a single ratio reduction gear box...no shifting at all.
Reverse is accomplished by electronic switching to run the electric motor backwards, just as the "D" and "L" are simply electrically controlled levels of regeneration....the motor being used as a generator whenever you lift you toe off the go pedal.
When you are driving, using the Navigation system, it tells you how much energy you will use according to the "budget" and how many extra miles you have. if you use less energy than your "budget" , then a "+1" appears in the range indicator. then +2, +3, +4 etc. My personal best so far is +27 achieved coming back from Canyon Lake through the mountains to Mesa, Az. It is downhill most of the way and with the switchbacks it is wise to keep your speed around 25mph or thereabouts....which added considerable miles to the range "budget". Conversely, if I drive fast, accelerate quickly or drive on the freeway, and thus use more energy than the "budget" calculated, then a "-1" appears, -2, -3, -4, etc. My personal worst is -21. I took the freeway both to pick up a friend at the airport and to return home, all at speeds over 75. It also deducts mileage if you use the heater, the heated seats, or the air conditioner.
I have been stranded one time, because I left home 13 miles short of having enough miles for the whole trip. (thinking I could add miles by driving in a reserved fashion...but only added a net of 3 miles...so I was 10 miles short). I left it parked, and came back the next day, and charged it at a person's home nearby, who was glad to help a stranger, and check out the handsome electric car. Turns out he was working on a headlight switch, and I was able to help him repair it. My friend who drove me to pick up my car struck up a conversation with his wife, and they were both from the same small town in Ohio, and had many of the same friends in their youth. It was almost like it was supposed to happen! Now they (and me) are all friends!! Amazing turn of events that day!!
it is GREAT driving down the road, listening to good music on the radio with ZERO background noise!! I LOVE never having to stop for gasoline!! LOVE that its the right thing to do environmentally. And I don't support the Middle East OIL WARS!!
I am Eager to install Solar Panels and recharge directly from the Sun for free...What could be better than that?? I have ordered a personalized plate... blue sky, white clouds and the characters ..."EVSRGR8"... of course the wildest character is me!!
 
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Nice Bug, ricklearned! :D

1,000lb Freeway-Legal Dune Buggy, a classic 1970 B.F. Meyers 'Towdster' with a power-to-weight ratio similar to the 2015 Z06. CLICK HERE for the build thread:


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Walkaround - I took a walkaround while at the beach, shot in 4k so you can up the resolution. [youtube]pBSqx-wZ3fs[/youtube]

Shakedown Cruise, driving down a beach road in wide-angle, through some local suburbia for the hills, then the beach again in narrow-angle this time.
[youtube]46_EDW2tI98[/youtube]

-JD
 
The fingers said:
8) Should be featured in Hot VWs Magazine.

Thanks! :D

I don't know that this can compare to the immaculate builds I see in Hot VWs though. :oops: And they wouldn't be impressed by electric power until I get the clutch sorted to do burnouts again, all that torque makes it slip and stink if I try to do anything interesting. I think I need to move up from a stage 1 pressure plate to stage 3 or 4... and there are a few hot spots on the flywheel I might need to get sorted out. :mrgreen: Hard to break in a clutch when you don't need to use it. :lol:

-JD
 
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