Well, in a nutshell, because they...
- * don't use petroleum-based liquid fuel (gas or diesel, domestic OR FOREIGN)
- * don't pollute nearly as much as gas or diesel vehicles (that's right, even with Tennessee's coal-intensive power grid)
- * don't cost a lot to operate (electricity is cheap around here and maintenance is little to nothing for these puppies)
- * don't waste fuel idling (they don't idle at all. Remember, no tailpipe on these babies)
- * are a BLAST to drive! (get ready, 'cause the relatively quiet electric vehicle ride is often interrupted by hoots and hollers of praise and envy...)
No gas? C'mon now, how does that work?
Really. It's true. These Electric Vehicles run on electricity and further they just plug into your standard household wall outlet! You don't need any special infrastructure or extra, and expensive, contraptions to put in your garage, you just simply take the cord from the Electric Car and plug it into a standard GFI outlet that runs on household 110-120 volt power to charge your car and then zip...you're off!
Our vehicles can also be modified to accept 220-volt higher-speed chargers so that you can charge your vehicle more quickly at home or through the coming network of commercial chargers. Keep looking around, you'll see higher-speed chargers starting to pop up soon.
Additionally, most of our Electric Vehicles are designed to accept more "electric juice" at any time regardless of their current state of charge. This is great, because it means that you can usually "top off" anytime it's convenient without having to worry about issues with the batteries' memory. We like to call this "opportunity charging." Like in the computer industry, this "plug and play" benefit makes easy for drivers to comfortably use the vehicles, while feeling confident along the way.
So what do you mean they don't pollute as much? I thought Electric Cars were "Zero Emission Vehicles?"
Technically our Electric Vehicles are "zero emission". After all, they don't have a tailpipe. However, let's be honest, right now that electricity to the charge our Electric Cars is usually coming from the local power grid, which often is powered by that pretty dirty coal stuff. But even with our TVA powered grid here in Middle Tennessee, using electric power is so much better when it comes to emissions. Here's how...
Let's go ahead and look at the general makeup of TVA-generated power in the Middle Tennessee region.
Coal & Oil = 64% (Coal approx. 55%)
Nuclear = 29%
Hydro = 6%
Alternative = 1%
While 64% of our local grid electricity is generated from oil and coal, it should be noted that the remaining power is generated using low or no air-pollution technologies. Additionally, TVA currently has sulfur dioxide scrubbers at seven of its coal-fired plants, with three more to be operational by 2010. When finished, more than half of TVA's coal-fired capacity will be equipped with scrubbers and sulfur dioxide emissions will be reduced by 80 to 85 perfect below peak 1977 levels. TVA has also begun installing SNCR systems to help reduce Nitrogen Oxide emissions. As of 2007, these and other measures have reduced summer nitrogen oxide emissions by 81 percent over 1995 levels. (www.tva.gov/power/powerfacts.htm).
Now here's the big kicker. At Lamar Alexander's Congressional Caucus on Electric Vehicles in June of 2008, TVA Spokesman Bill Samson dropped this tasty nugget of incredible info. Apparently, TVA has between 17,000-18,000 Megawatts of untapped nighttime power. What that means is that the coal plants keep on burning coal overnight while most of us are sleeping and not using much electricity. You see, power companies can't just shut down the coal plants at night, they have to keep them going so that the supply of energy is consistent. Starting and stopping them everyday is not possible. So in other words, the "engine" is still runnin', they just got it in "neutral" overnight. That means that all those emissions are being created anyway and all that electricity is going untapped.
So when would most Electric Vehicles be charged? - Yep...overnight.
So then, by using an Electric Vehicle - or "EV" - and charging it mostly at night, means that you would displace all the greater emissions from tailpipe emissions PLUS you'd be putting to use power that usually goes untapped thus getting even more emissions reduction!
Well, by using national electricity grid production averages (which are similar to TVA's), electric vehicles...
reduce CO2 by 11%-100% compared with ICEs and by 24%-54% compared with HEVs, and significantly reduce all other greenhouse gas emissions, using the U.S. grid mix. If all U.S. cars were EVs, we’d reduce global warming emissions. Using electricity 100% from coal, EVs still would reduce CO2 by 0%-59% compared with ICEs (one analysis found 0% change; six others found reductions of 17%-59%). On the other hand, if electricity comes from solar or wind power, EVs eliminate all emissions. Using natural gas to make electricity, emissions fall in between those from coal and renewable power. - WELL-TO-WHEELS EMISSIONS DATA FOR PLUG-IN HYBRIDS AND ELECTRIC VEHICLES: AN OVERVIEW by Sherry Boschert, author, December, 2006
Alright, what's with all this EV, NEV, ZEV, LSV, MSV, PHEV (arrrgh...) electric car mumbo-jumbo and what does it mean for me?
Hey, we understand. All these acronyms can make one "acronumb". So, we'll try to help you here.
EV = "Electric Vehicle". VerdeGoh!'s electric cars are these
ZEV = "Zero Emission Vehicle". All of VerdeGoh!'s electric vehicles are classified as ZEVs.
NEV = "Neighborhood Electric Vehicle". This term was established in 1998 by the Federal Government as a new classification for slower, cleaner electric vehicles. Right now, VerdeGoh!'s current line-up of cars meet this classification.
LSV = "Low Speed Vehicle". This acronym is often synonamously used with NEV. Most of VerdeGoh!'s current lineup can be classified as LSVs. LSV means that the Car is fully street-legal and can go up to 25mph on roads with speed limits of 35mph or less.
MSV = "Medium Speed Vehicle". This is a new classification of vehicle that many States have adopted that expands the Federal LSV law. The State of Tennessee passed such a law in the Summer of 2008 that allows vehicles that meet the Federal LSV safety requirements to go up to 35mph on roads with speed limits up to 40 mph. In both cases of the LSV and MSV allowances, motorists can cross roads that have higher speed limits. Some of VerdeGoh!'s vehicles can be utilized under the MSV law and can provide greater performance for our customers.
HEV = "Hydrogen Electric Vehicle". This type of vehicle runs on stored hydrogen or on a fuel cell. There are some prototypes and concepts out there, but this technology is still a ways off before being realistic for consumers.
PHEV = "Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle". These are vehicles that will have both the capacity to run on pure electric power and have some form of liquid fuel engine that will augment the mobility of the vehicle once the electric power is depleted. So far, other than some boutique custom applications, there are no PHEVs commercially available in the U.S. Most of the major auto manufacturers are concentrating on PHEV. VerdeGoh! supports the move towards PHEV as a part of the equation. However, these options appear to still be several years off from being a reality. VerdeGoh!'s electric vehicle options are available TODAY.
Right now, VerdeGoh! carries everything but the PHEV and the HEV. We can't wait until the PHEVs are available from manufacturers like GM, Mitsubishi and such...a COUPLE OF YEARS FROM NOW (tapping foot here.) and we'll will be even MORE excited when the HEVs show up about the time anti-gravity, the teleporter from Star Trek and the Flux Capacitor does. (wink.wink.)
Dang it. Aren't these things just glorified Golf Carts? And shoot, what about safety? Are they safe?
While some of our entry products like the Tomberlin E-merge may look like Golf Cars, even they meet the Federal safety requirements to be a street-legal LSV. In fact, all of our vehicles meet the Federal requirements established over 10 years ago by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration. In the industry, we refer to this as FMVSS 500 (or FMVSS 49 CFR 571.500 to be exact). Some of these safety requirements include seatbelts, turning signals, parking brakes, headlights and stop lamps. Also, most of our vehicles also have robust, metal cages fully wrapping around the passenger compartments VerdeGoh!'s MSVs also meet or exceed the FMVSS 500 safety requirements as required by Tennessee State Law.
So tell me here. If I use one of these vehicles, can I personally make a difference in helping America get off Foreign Oil?
The short answer is - YES.
In America, we consume about 20 Million Barrels of Oil a day. Of those 20 Million Barrels, about 70% is used for transportation fuel (Gasoline and Diesel). Also, about 60% of that Oil is imported from outside the U.S.
Now of that 65% imported oil, you might think that most of it comes from Saudi Arabia or some of those other Middle Eastern Countries. But you might be surprised to learn that we import about as much or more from each of our neighbor countries Canada and Mexico as we do from Saudi Arabia. Further, only about 10% of our total consumption comes from oil from Persian Gulf Countries. If getting off of "Middle Eastern Oil" is important to you, then commuting using Tennessee electrical power would get you personally almost COMPLETELY off oil altogether, not to mention that "Middle Eastern Oil."
http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/energy_in_brief/foreign_oil_dependence.cfm
http://middleeast.about.com/od/oilenergy/a/me070905e.htm
http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/pet_move_impcus_a2_nus_ep00_im0_mbbl_m.htm
Okay. I'm almost convinced. What do I do next?
Call us, or come by and see us and the vehicles in person. We promise that you won't encounter any salesmen in suits wearing cheap gold watches intimidating you in to believing that you must buy NOW!
Instead, you'll find a knowledgeable team of electric vehicle advocates who are trying to change the world and need your help to do it. We look forward to working with you to build a cleaner, more economical and more FUN future for transportation!