Cheap Electric Car: Costs for Building Your Own

General Motors CEO says affordable electric cars needed to shift market

So I learned from the Associated that General Motors Corp. Chief Executive Richard Wagoner says global warming is not going to be solved with $100,000 (€64,000) electric cars. Do and his company is focusing on a cheap vehicle more consumers can afford. Haaaa versus focusing on building cheap electric cars.  A foolish move.

Wagoner spoke to the Commonwealth Club of California on Thursday on the topics of global warming, ethanol availability, and rising gas prices.

Global warming needs a solution that can “significantly shift the fleet of vehicles to different fuels or different propulsion technologies fairly rapidly,” he said after the event.

History and Who is Killing the Electric Car?

Source: The Panelist

As I mentioned on The Panelist…

With the race to launch the world’s first commercially viable zero-emission vehicle now in full swing. Yet it would be kind of fun to take a short trip down memory lane to see the genesis of this race and how we can formulate our expectations going forward.

The story can be traced back to the early 1990’s, when General Motors (GM) was developing its all-electric vehicle (EV) technology, slated to launch in calendar year 1996 (for the 1997 model year). Using decades-old, proven lead-acid battery technology, GM came out with the EV1. GM released 200 vehicles in its inaugural year in Arizona and California and consumers could only drive them as a lessee.

Electric Motors

The return of the Electric Car!

Donor Electric Car

SIf you have a donor car, here is what you can expect for costs to budget for the components alone on a cheap electric car.
(Source: Grassrootsev.com)

Alot cheaper for

1. Non-speeding highway driver
   War P 9″ Motor
   $1,395.00
2. Z1K-LV Controller
   $1,775.00
3. SW-200B Contactor
   $ 128.00
4. PB-6 Pot Box Accelerator
   $ 76.50
5. PC-30 DC to DC Converter
   $ 175.00
6. A13X400-4 Safety Fuse
   $ 21.50
7. e-meter with complete setup
   $ 286.20
8. PCF- 20 battery charger
   $1,499.00
9. Total – $5,356.20

So I ask? Aren’t those cheap parts for an electric car?

Build Your Own Electric Vehicle 2nd edition by Seth Leitman and Bob Brandt on Flickr.