Sunday, December 23, 2007

Downshifting a Notch

One thing about transportation policy is that licensing and regulation really define the market as far as what vehicles are offered for sale. I present to you today the iZip Express electric bicycle. It's a bicycle with a battery pack and electric motor. It basically lets any regular person achieve the performance of a Tour de France bicycle racer.



I suggest reading the review at the LA Times or checking out the Youtube clip above. The electric motor assists your pedaling so that you could easily maintain 15-20 mph. I haven't ridden one, but I suppose the feeling is like ET in the bike basket making your bike fly.

Since this thing is a bicycle, it has all the advantages and disadvantages of a bicycle, aside from the motor assist and the $3000 price tag. Advantages are easy parking, extremely high efficiency, and no licence, insurance, or registration needed. Disadvantages include sharing the road with cars, the whole theft problem, and the limited durability/puncture resistance of bicycle tires. The battery range of 31-62 miles is more than enough for any bicycle trip you'd likely plan around town, and at 60 lbs, you could ride it home on a dead battery if necessary.

Comparing this to gasoline powered transportation gets a little tricky because the closest competitors are really those lawnmower engined scooter boards which were pretty popular a few years back but are most definitely not street legal. The smallest street legal gas scooters are models like the Honda Metropolitan which costs $1,900, has a top speed of 40 mph, gets between 80-100 mpg, and requires registration and insurance. It also has a four stroke engine which makes it infinitely cleaner than the smoke-spewing two strokes of years past. In the end, I don't think it's a fair comparison, both because they're targeted at different markets, and because it's not fair to compare a new, innovative product intended for early adopters to a mature product like a motor scooter. The electric bicycle is simple enough that I could see someone building a bolt-on module to retrofit regular bicycles for a very economical price.

Update: One more note on prices. The $3,000 iZip Express is the top of the line model powered by lithium ion batteries. They also have more affordable models which cost $1,200 with NiMH batteries and $600 with lead acid batteries.

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Energy Bill with 35 MPG CAFE

No big post today. I'm working on a story about EVs and driving range, so look for that soon.

So the news is, we passed an energy bill with a 35MPG CAFE standard by 2020, and Bush actually signs it. We had to toss requirements for renewable electricity and keep subsidies for oil and coal, but hey, better than nothing. Hooray. We'll need it. Future energy prices are anyone's guess, but there's a good chance fuel prices would've dictated 35 MPG cars in 2020 if CAFE didn't.

Sunday, December 9, 2007

Riding the Vectrix Scooter

So yesterday I was at the Cycle World International Motorcycle Show in Long Beach. It was nothing less than an orgy of internal combustion recreation. The demo rides outside the show filled up pretty fast, but I managed to squeeze in two test rides. One was a sweet KTM 690 Supermoto. The other was this, a Vectrix electric scooter (not me in the video).



Here's the rundown: 27hp, 462 lbs, 62mph top speed (governed), $11,000 (plus tax and registration, minus a tax credit in some states), NiMH battery pack. The range is 65 mi under ideal conditions. Expect about 40 mi in real world driving on city streets. It is freeway legal, but range drops drastically at freeway speeds.

Comfort, performance and cargo capacity are comparable to gas powered scooters of the same size (comparison chart below) but with no noise and no exhaust. It kept up easily with city traffic. It's a quality product with running gear sourced from the same manufacturers as what you'd find on a Vespa or Aprilia scooter, and it's on sale now. The demo riders loved it.

Now let's compare to the gas powered competition. Scooters in this size class are licensed as motorcycles and you'll need a motorcycle endorsement to ride on in most states. One comparable model would be a Suzuki Burgman 400.



Vectrix vs. Burgman 400
VectrixBurgman 400
Price$11,000$5,900
Power27 hp32 hp
Range40 mi187 mi
Fuel EconomyN/A52 mpg*

* There are no official EPA tests for motorcycles. This figure based on real world tests.

Even accounting for the low cost of electricity and no engine maintenance costs, the Vectrix still costs substantially more. At this point, price and range are the only things holding it back. There are no compromises in power, comfort or build quality. You'll pay a little more than a gas scooter, but it's by far the most affordable and practical electric vehicle you can buy.

The show-goers were what you can call motorsports enthusiasts, more sophisticated and cosmopolitan than, say, the NASCAR or gun show crowd, but nevertheless a group diametrically opposed to the environmental crowd. It was brave of Vectrix to show their product to this crowd, and they made a good impression.

Welcome and Setting the Rules

Hello, and welcome to my blog. I'll be writing on energy and transportation issues, mostly about autos and motorcycles since that's what I know the most about. We'll look at other sides of transportation too like rail, aviation and shipping, but maybe in less detail.

Just to give you some background, I've actually been a car and motorcycle enthusiast for longer than I've been an environmentalist. I still love cars, motorcycles, and motorsports; Formula 1 and MotoGP are my favorites. However, it's time to grow up and face the future. Global warming is real. Peak oil is real. We can't go on with business as usual. If we don't make other plans for transportation, we'll be in a world of hurt.

Look for my first story soon. In the meantime, leave a comment to say hi or check out my blogroll on the right.