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2010 Progress Highlights
Perspective and Retrospective
2009 was spent creating the plugs, molds and initial skins for the fuselage, doors, canards, wings and wheel pants. Molds for the new windows were created and sent overseas, taking ten months to get our first three sets of windows. A frame was built to go inside the fuselage skin, with torsion-bar style springs on all four corners of the suspension. A new motor unit was created that uses two electric motors to drive the vehicle at all times, with a third kicking in when needed for acceleration. The transmission unit is single speed with a motor-wheel ratio of 6.66 to 1, driving the front wheels.
January, February & March 2010
The vehicle has been sanded and painted with a primer color. The floor has been installed, along with front and rear seats. An emergency brake and manual electrical off-on switch has been installed in the center console. With the recent arrival of the windows, the work on the window retraction has begun. The electrical controllers have been installed, with some wiring still needing to be completed.
April & May 2010
It was decided to use the knuckle off the Geo Metro / Suzuki Maruti rather than the aluminum knuckle created last year. These are still being used on Suzuki vehicles built in India, so are still available. These knuckles are as light as our aluminum knuckles and have a few million miles of operating history. The vehicle drive train wiring is complete and the vehicle has moved under its own power, using lead acid batteries. Steps ahead include a battery management system for our Lithium-Ion batteries, and creating a device to coordinate the signals from the throttle and brake rheostats to each of the three motors. Work continues on the window retraction mechanism. The curvature and shape of the windows prevents the entire window being retracted into the door, so part of each window remains fixed and the other portion, a 12 x 22 inch section, electrically retracts into the door.
June, July & August 2010
A bank of 44 cells of Lithium-Ion batteries have been installed in the ElectriCar. This gives over 17 kWh of storage and upgrades our system to 72 volts. The initial set of gears we created for the motor unit were more noisy than expected, so new helical gears were created, which run more smootly and are much more quiet.
September & October 2010
We decided to show the ElectriCar at the SEMA show in Las Vegas the first week of November. We trimmed and straightened the door lines then painted the vehicle. Lights and an interior have been installed. Windows and rear-view mirror cameras have been installed.
November & December 2010
We exhibited the ElectriCar at the SEMA show in Las Vegas Nov 2-5. The reaction of the automotive industry seemed fairly positive. We told people we expected to start selling the car in about six months, and that we are aiming for a price of less than $20,000, after federal rebates. Most people told us that they thought the car would be a winner if we can accomplish that. We expect to sell the car, fully completed and licensed as a kit car. After the show, it has been back to work to complete the items required to get the vehicle licensed and legal on public roads. This includes the heater/defroster, windshield wiper & washer, and computer software & instrumentation.
