EV's (still??)

[jeff tarquinio <tarquinio_jeff@domain.elided>]

	What sort of acceleration was used from stops?  
	What crusing speeds?  
	Distance at each speed?
	How many stops in 300 miles??  
	What kind of tires?
	What tire pressure?
	How many and what grade and height of hills climbed?  
	Start on hills?  
	How deeply were the batteries discharged?  This 
		*seriously* effects the life of the batts


	I witnessed a 300 mi. run on secondary roads with stop lights , stop 
signs, and speed limits through the hills of western New England Green 
Mountains on a single charge.  They were the only team to get a speeding 
ticket which cost them penalty  points, but as for the specifics, I dont 
think it matters.  They recharged overnight and ran the same type of 
terrain the next day.  The production car is a direct descendant of the 
test/race/proto car with upgrade mods to the motor controller due to the 
added two years of research and development.  The test car didnt have 
operating windows, but simply because they prepared the body of the car for 
the race, and concentrated on the range asspect of it.  The production 
model has power windows, locks, A/C, ... as I said.  As far as safety, its 
got shoulder harness belts, driver's and passenger airbags, and the common 
impact/crush zones of any current model compact/midsize car.  It may even 
have ABS.  The batteries are stored in a row two wide, with the long axis 
along the long axis of the car in what would be the tranny tunnel of a 
regular car (low center ogf gravity).  The batteries are special deep cycle 
batteries, perhaps even specially designed to their specs.  They drove from 
Boston (actually Burlington) to New York for the appearance on Good Morning 
America, cruising at highway speeds.  They made the trip the night before 
so they could charge and be ready for the program in the AM.
	This being an IH digest, I will get into more detail off line if you 
want.  I can even get you in touch with the company.  Its called Solectria 
and they are located in Burlington, MA.  I'm sure they'ld love to get into 
a detailed and heated discussion about pros and cons, as well as being able 
to answer all your technical questions.  
Layda,
Tark '77 Terra 345/T19/D20