Canadian Car Shows

[stubblebut]

If you love car shows as much as I do, here you go....
http://www.carshownews.com/national/Canadian.htm

[jaggedfish]

Looooove car shows.

If you're ever on the Sunshine Coast, you gotta check out the Sleepy Hollow Rod Run in early August. One of the top faves of mine for high calibre customs. The Friday night run from Sechelt to Halfmoon Bay and back is fantastic with great driveway parties along the route - much fun!

Ian

[marsgal42]

Much closer to home (at least for me) is the Vancouver Electric Vehicle Association show this weekend. Saturday in Burnaby.

If I could find a way to rig a charging point at home (I live in an apartment, but have discussed this with the building management) I'd convert something and tell TransLink to take a hike. My commute is about 10 km each way, well within the capabilities of current electric vehicle technology.

...laura who prefers to keep Gumdrop as a fun vehicle

[Green1]

My commute is about 10 km each way, well within the capabilities of current electric vehicle technology.

I personally don't have a commute, but I have been considering converting something myself as well...
The big misconception is that electric vehicles have a short range, or are slow, etc...
nothing could be further from the truth... I've never met anyone who has too long a commute for an EV (range can easilly exceed 200km, I don't know about you, but I'm not willing to commute that far!) and speed is only limited by your imagination...

I will have an EV... I just don't yet know when...

Due to lack of infrastructure for charging they don't make a good single vehicle for a family (hard to go on a long road-trip for a vacation), but most famillies have more than one vehicle anyway, why not make one of them electric?

[marsgal42]

It's abundantly clear at the VEVA show that speed and range aren't issues, if done properly. Several of the owners seem to delight in showing up in clouds of tire smoke.

The oldest vehicle at the VEVA show is the club's 1912 Detroit. It still works, though the batteries are modern. I've ridden in it: it's like riding in a mobile telephone booth. I like the idea of converting a little pickup, which has a load bed to put batteries in, and suspension to hold them up. The Mitsubishi i EV isn't shipping quite yet (though I've seen Japanese ads for it on YouTube), and the Feds won't let me buy one anyway.

A colleague of mine has driven a Prius since they were first available in Canada. The first time he took it in for its smog check ("AirCare" in Greater Vancouver) it failed. The engine kept stalling at idle...

...laura

[jaggedfish]

That would've been an interesting show to go to.

I was thumbing thru a car mag at my physiotherapists office last night - can't remember the name - it had a section on the latest concept show in Japan.... all electrics. There was a cool looking one that had a mini Mack truck kinda look to it... for the YouTube Generation it said because the rear was convertible to a camera mount for rear facing video. Very boxy, like another vehicle we are so familiar with but looked like it had a giant front grill on it. There was another one that was like a scooter which docked in the rear of a slightly (only slightly) larger electric. Kind of inspiring when you see the cool designs not to mention the inexpensive (not free) fuel.

As for Laura's comments on the Prius... I think hybrids should be exempt from aircare anyway - just makes sense really. Which then begs the question as to priority ferry loading and cheaper rates for Smart Cars and any future vehicle that is similar in size and economy. They take much less deck space. That could open a can of worms but... there... I said it anyway.

Cheers!
Ian

[Green1]

personally I think hybrids should be banned, most of them get worse fuel milleage than a good TDI or CDI diesel, plus they have the environmental problem of battery disposal. They really are the worst of both worlds, all the disadvantages of both and none of the advantages...
I saw a lifecycle environmental analysis for a hybrid a while back (I think it was a prius?) and once you took in to account the manufacturing and end of life disposal it turned out worse for the environment than a Hummer

As for a conversion platform, I was thinking a JDM kei car, like a mazda az-1 or a honda beat or suzuki cappucino...

[sahdot]

As for a conversion platform, I was thinking a JDM kei car, like a mazda az-1 or a honda beat or suzuki cappucino...

I've seen an "Electravan" here on Salt Spring. Built (converted, actually) by Jet Industries in the late '70s early '80s on Subaru 600s. Cool van. Looks like a lhd Sambar.

-jim

[Green1]

personally I want something sportier than that... I have the Delica for most of my driving, and when I'm at work I drive a ford E250 full size van.
Don't get me wrong, I love driving the Delica, and I think it's fun to drive, but as an additional vehicle I want something else, something that's fun in a different way, something that can go around a bend without slowing down....

[marsgal42]

There were some really interesting cars at the VEVA show today.

You can really see the difference better batteries make. The cars with lead-acid batteries all had a range of 50 to 70 km on a charge. The lithium ion and nickel metal hydride cars all had a range more like 150 to 220 km on a charge. Most quoted top speeds around 110 km/h. Even the 1912 Detroit has a maximum range of 90 km, albeit on modern batteries.

The catch, of course, is that a car-size pack of fancy batteries is $10,000 (or more). And with a limited number of discharge cycles, this must be amortized in to the car's running costs. Tesla use lithium ion batteries in their cars. So do Mitsubishi in the i EV.

I wandered around the parking lot and saw 2 Delicas (Gumdrop, plus one with prominent Terra 2 stickers on it - one of ours?), 2 Pajeros, and a Hi-Ace. Sang the praises of Delicas to a couple of people. Gumdrop attracted a lot of attention today...

...laura