Is Edison2 Against The Electric Car?

Sometimes we may come across as anti electric car. We are not. We are in favor of basics. We believe in less is more, because less has a lower footprint in carbon, cost and maintenance. The opportunity we are focused on is that of simplicity. There is a cost to everything. Today every car has features which some of us will never use but that still have a cost. There is a material cost and a fuel cost; it is not uncommon for cars to carry around 200 lbs in wiring.

Today we face limited natural resources and widespread environmental challenges. In a time of crisis you stock up on the basics. You get what you know you need. Cars with looming energy supply problems are no different. It is in this context that we have distilled our car to the absolute minimum and end up with a very light and safe car. It is the basics that make it possible to get good performance from a one or two cylinder engine. When you make changes of the scale we are embracing then suddenly every part become smaller: smaller in weight, smaller in production time and smaller in cost.

Think about it. For a car our size you can get an engine and transmission that might cost $3000, lasts for decades, can be worked on by any mechanic – in a car that gets 100mpg, without issues of range. So the idea of spending $6000 or more for a battery pack with a life that is, at most, just half the life of the car…

It is our opinion that there is a need for the simple car – the back to basics car. A car built of fewer materials. A car that is less expensive to build, to buy and to run. A car that is not for everyone but that may just be for a very large number of people who want to save money, or maybe help save the planet.

24 Hours of Daytona

For those of you following our team we would like to point out that Kevin is taking his Doran Racing Cincinnati crew to the 24 Hours of Daytona this week. They will be racing the #77 McDonald’s sponsored entry. Our very own engineer Brad Jaeger is one of the drivers. The race has extensive Speed channel coverage, so check it out Saturday or Sunday. It is for 24 long hours…

I remember when I used to race these races. Those were some of the most fun days of my life. The races feel really long – seems a lifetime – with their own life and rhythm. In the beginning there is a sprint, then things start to happen. It is always tense but also exhilarating. Coming down off the banking at 180 and breaking hard is a great challenge and feeling.

My favorite time always was in the morning after a long night when the sun came up. You got recharged. Then in the infield after the hard right U turn it is flat out, if you dare. The cars can barely do the next corner with a full braking into the following right and then back on the rear banking and straight; you go through the gears and feel the speed climbing.

Then through the shicane as hard as you can and watch coming back, on the banking there is a change in attitude that can get you really quickly, then again on the bank and flat out. In my day there was no power steering so by morning it was blisters on the thumb from holding down the steering wheel.

We all wish Brad and Kevin’s crew good luck. Brad is in very good hands with Kevin, who has won there 5 times.

You are only 24 once when you do the 24. Brad, we are all rooting for you, from my two year-old to everybody in the shop. Well done. - Oliver and the Edison2 team

Brad Jaeger at the 2009 24 Hours of Daytona

It's all about the platform

“Edison2’s Very Light Car Scoffs at Electric Avenue” was the catchy title of an article on Autoblog Green that spread through the automobile blogosphere, capturing the irony of our little conventionally powered X Prize entry residing on trendy Electric Avenue. The Detroit Auto Show was a coming-out party for the Very Light Car and this article was part of the buzz we created. The article certainly captured some of the uniqueness of the Very Light Car – electric cars and hybrids were the rage at the NAIAS, and it is true that we are one of only 3 X Prize entries that eschew batteries – but it left an impression that is not completely accurate.

What is really unique and most important about the Very Light Car is not the power source, but the unprecedented combination of low weight and low aerodynamic drag in a vehicle large enough to seat 4 plus luggage. It is our efficient platform that sets us apart.

A lot of the visitors we attracted understood this. We were intrigued by the interest shown by battery manufacturers and others associated with electric cars: our innovations can solve their biggest problem.

The problem? Creating an electric car with enough range to be practical for most consumers; the amount of batteries needed to move a car 200 miles or more on a single charge means a heavier, pricier car. Hoped-for breakthroughs in battery technology are overdue and not expected anytime soon.

The solution: take the weight out of the chassis and make the shell incredibly aerodynamic. This means fewer batteries, a longer range and a lower cost.

E85, diesel, gasoline, natural gas, hybrid or electric; the power source and methods of storage are not what really matter. Energy diversification for power trains is a good idea.

What matters is that this is the most efficient automobile platform ever built.

The Very Light Car: it’s all about the platform.



Auto Show Update

After a first week devoted to media, politicians and the industry, the Detroit Auto Show has taken off; since Saturday it has been open to the public. From 9 am to 10 pm there are visitors of every size, age and description, from schoolkids to hip-hop teens to young professionals to retired auto workers. There are simply lots and lots of people. It makes for an exciting, tiring, very long day.

This gives us a further chance to gauge where we are and what we need to improve. There are a considerable number of visitors who understand our car and like its Spartan nature. This, in the end, is the most important request we make of consumers. To make a real leap in auto efficiency means making a very different vehicle. 

Some people love the Very Light Car, and some do not, but make no mistake: everyone takes notice. 

Detroit: Friday Night

Tonight (Friday) was fun. Electric Avenue was very electric. They do a charity ball every year at the North American International Auto Show; it is the biggest party I have ever seen. Black tie and 10,000 people. Everybody had fun but everybody took it seriously, and went out of their way for it to be special. In the last 6 events they have raised $35 million.

In the morning we had off and visited some of our experts. We saw our EEGR engine run. 250cc, Turbo and still with too much horsepower: about 75 hp, which is what happens when you have high compression (for efficiency) with a turbo (for acceleration). We are reducing it for efficiency but it was interesting in particular as it sounds completely different than anything you have ever heard.

The knowledge base in Detroit is incredible and irreplaceable. Right now Detroit and Michigan need our government help, and trust me, letting this slip would be suicide to the American way of life in the long run. There is something really special here in Detroit that took a long time to build and that would be very hard to replace. - Oliver