The Tour de Sol Reports, 2000

Sponsored by
The AutoAuditorium System
from
Foveal Systems

A Fully Automatic, Multi-Camera System
that Produces Videos Without a Crew

www.AutoAuditorium.com


Unfortunately, this set of reports was never finished.  I still have the tapes of interviews.  Maybe someday . . .

The following is copyright Michael H. Bianchi.  Permission to copy is granted provided each Report is presented without modification and this notice is attached.  For other arrangements, contact me at +1-973-822-2024 .


For more on the NESEA Tour de Sol, see the web page at

http://www.nesea.org


Official NESEA Tour de Sol information is available from the sponsor, the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) at 413 774-6051 , and 50 Miles Street, Greenfield, MA 01301 , and nesea@nesea.org .  All media enquiries should be addressed to ...
        Jack Groh
        Groh Associates
        email: GrohPR@aol.com
        401 732-1551 telephone
        401 732-0547 fax
	401 952-0886 cell/pager
 

Table of Contents

Report #1: The 11th Annual NESEA American Tour de Sol -- Who's Coming?
Report #2: Dates/Highlights/Route
Report #3: 2000 ATdS Dedicated to George Bradford
Report #4: What To Expect At The American Tour de Sol
Report #5: Websites for NESEA ATdS Entrants
Report #6: The Tribes Gather at New York Hall of Science
Report #7: Topher Waring Wins George Bradford Award
Report #8: First Drop Out
Report #9: Tour de Sol Results on the World Wide Web
Report #10: New York State Energy Research and Development Authority on Display
Report #11: Ford "Think" on Display
Report #12: Corrections to the Website Addresses
Report #13: "New Jersey Genesis" Number 1
Report #14: "E.D." Number 4
Report #15: "Paradyne" Number 7
Report #16: "New Jersey Venturer" Number 9
Report #17: "Moo Rocco" Number 12
Report #18: "Artimus" Number 38
Report #19: "Honda Insight" Number 41
Report #20: "EPIC Minivan" Numbers 51 and 52
Report #21: "HEV Darango" Number 54
Report #22: "Garnet One" Number 62
Report #23: "The Trout" Number 64
Report #24: "Solectria NiCad Force" Number 67
Report #25: "Sungo" Number 72
Report #26: "Envirocycle III" Number 89
Report #27: Ford "Electric Ranger"
Report #28: On the Dynamometer
Report #29: Honda Insight Owner #1
Report #30: "Solectria Super Force" Number 11
Report #31: Tails from the Charging Trailer in New York City
Report #32: "Solar Black Bear" Number 20
Report #33: "Phantom Sol" Number 66
Report #34: "Spirit of Pioneering" Number 68
Report #35: More on the Fisher-Tropisch Diesel Fuel
Report #36: "Soljourner #2" Number 21
Report #37: "E-Ride Gen II" Number 34
Report #38: Nancy Hazard, NESEA American Tour de Sol Director
Report #39: "Response II E" Number 5
Report #40: "Spyder Juice" Number 31
Report #41: "Honda Insight" Number 47
Report #42: "Honda Insight" Number 48
Report #43: "Solar Bolt" Number 61
Report #44: "Sunpacer" Number 92
Report #45: "Blue Bird/Solectria School Bus" Number 60
Report #46: "Ovonic Scooter" Number 3
Report #47: Driving a Ford "Th!nk"
Report #48: "The Olympian" Number 16
Report #49: "Kineticar III" Number 18
Report #50: "Deer Valley HEV" Number 36
Report #51: "Polytech Ranger-Electric", Number 65
Report #52: "Hopper EV" Number 94
Report #53: Interview with Topher Waring


Report #1: The 11th Annual NESEA American Tour de Sol -- Who's Coming?

It is that time of year, again.  For those of us with a bug for electric transportation, and electric cars, trucks and buses in particular, it is the time when we look forward to the NESEA American Tour de Sol. 

This year the route goes from the New York City area, through New Jersey, into Deleware, Maryland and ends in Washington DC. 

The list of 48 vehicles, below, (40 competing entrants, 5 DEMONSTRATION vehicles not in competition, and 3 control vehicles) was found on the sponsor's web site, www.NESEA.org .  In particular, the Tour de Sol pages start at

		http://www.NESEA.org/transportation/

Your's truly intends to be your eyes and ears again this year.  (Last year's effort was reduced due to health and career events.)

So please come along with us.  Visit the web site for more details, and make plans to attend one of our public displays. 

		2000 NESEA American Tour de Sol Entrants
			 (as of 4/20/00)

Vehicle name, (vehicle description, battery manufacturer, chemistry*)

	team name;				city, state

*PbA=Lead acid Battery, NiMH=Nickel Metal Hydride battery

PRODUCTION CATEGORY

Honda Insight (2-person coupe, HEV, Gasoline)

	American Honda Motor Co.;		Torrance, CA

Honda Insight (2-person coupe, HEV, Gasoline)

	Naoto Inoue;				Kennebunkport, ME

Honda Insight (2-person coupe, HEV, Gasoline)

	DWRA;					Santa Ana, CA

Solectria NiCad Force, ('95 Solectria Force, SAFT, NiCad)

	Connecticut Partnership;		Windsor, CT 

EPIC Minivan #1, (Minivan, SAFT, NMH)

	Team EPIC;				Southfield, MI

EPIC Minivan #2, (Minivan, SAFT, NMH)

	Team EPIC;				Southfield, MI

Corbin Sparrow, (Purpose-built, Optima, PbA)

	Motor Bike Imports Inc.;		 Pennsauken, NJ

Blue Bird School Bus, (School bus, PbA)

	New York Power Authority;		New York, NY 

DEMONSTRATION CATEGORY

Honda Insight (2-person coupe, HEV, Gasoline)

	American Honda Motor Co.;		Torrance, CA

Honda Insight (2-person coupe, HEV, Gasoline)

	Larry Dussault;				Pataskala, OH

EPIC Minivan #3, (Minivan, SAFT, NMH)

	DaimlerChrysler;			Southfield, MI

Nissan Altra EV, (Minivan, Hatachi, LiIon)

	Nissan North America;			Gardena, CA

Nissan Hypermini (NEV, Hatachi, LiIon)

	Nissan North America;			Gardena, CA 

BATTERY-ELECTRIC CATEGORY

59 Berkeley, ('59 Berkeley, TBA)

	Boston University;			Boston, MA 

Solar Bolt, ('74 Fiat, Trojan, PbA)

	Solar Bolt Team;			Bolton, CT

Sparky Spartan, ('72 Porsche 914, Trojan, PbA)

	Camelback EV Racing;			Phoenix	AZ

The Olympian,('86 Ford Escort, Electrosource & Optima, PbA)

	Pirates;				Cinnaminson, NJ

ERIDE, ('94 Chevy s-10 conversion, Trojan, PbA) plus 2 more vehicles TBA,

	ERAD;					Phoenix, AZ

Spirit of Pioneering, ('95 Chevy S-10, Trojan, PbA)

	Delta College EVDP;			Delta, MI

The Electrifly, (Pontiac Firefly Voltmaster, PbA)

	Enviromotive;				Cannington, Ont

Response II E, (Purpose-built NMH)

	Response LTU;				Southfield, MI

Super Force (Updated Solectria Force, PbA)

	Team New England;			Cambridge, MA 

Polytech Ranger-Electric ('88 Ford Ranger, Trojan, PbA)

	Team Polytech;				Woodside, DE

Sundog, (Sedan, PbA)

	Sol SARUM Race Team;			Salisbury, CT

Sungo, (Purpose-built Sedan, Ovonics, NiMH)

	SEV of NHTI;				Concord, NH

Electric Bull (Porsche 914, Trojan, PbA)

	Shadow Mountain Electric Matadors;	Phoenix, AZ

Spyder Juice ('57 Spider, East Penn, PbA)

	Team Arachnids;				Tallahassee, FL

TBA, (Sedan, Trojan, PbA)

	U. Maine Solar Vehicle Team;		Orono, ME

Moo Rocco, ('84 VW, PbA)

	VT Technical College;			Randolph Center, VT

Soljourner #2, (Jeep Wrangler, TBA)

	West Philadelphia Soljourners;		Philadelphia, PA 

US DOE HYBRID CATEGORY

Geocamino (Geo Metro, Trojan PbA +LPG)

	Solar Electric Research Team;		Waterbury, CT

E.D., ('96 Ford Taurus, Ovonic NMH + Diesel)

	LTU Hybrid Drive;			Southfield, MI

Kineticar lll, (Chevy S-10,Trojan, PbA + LPG)

	CSERT-NVCTC;				Waterbury, CT 

Hopper EV (purpose-built, TBA)

	TBA;					Concord, NH

New Jersey Genesis, ('94 Merc Sable, Adv bat + Borohydride Fuel Cell)

	Team New Jersey;			Trenton, NJ

New Jersey Venturer , ('96 Solectria Force, Saft NiCad + Fuel Cell)

	Team New Jersey;			Trenton, NJ

Garnet One, ('96 Chevy Beretta, PbA + CNG)

	Swarthmore College HEV Team;		Swarthmore, PA

The Aluminum Cow, ('94 Mercury Sable, Moltech Power Systems, NiMH)

	UW-Fut Car Team;			Madison, WI

Paradyne, ('92 GeoMetro, Concord PbA + RFG)

	Hurricane Motorworks;			Tulsa, OK 

SOLAR-ELECTRIC CATEGORY

Artemis, (Purpose-built, Johnson Controls VRLA, PbA)

	BHS FAMS '00;				Brighton, MI

Solar Black Bear ('98 Chevy S-10, Trojan, PbA)

	U. Maine Solar Vehicle Team;		Orono, ME 

ONE PERSON CATEGORY

Sunpacer, (Purpose-built, Deka Dominator, PbA)

	C-M Sunpacer Tech Team;			Cato, NY

Envirocycle, 2-wheel, GMB Champion, PbA)

	Solar Electric Research Team;		New Britain, CT

The Trout, (2-wheel, TBA)

	Team Millersville;			Millersville, PA 

NFA Sol Machine (3-wheel, TBA)

	Team Newburgh New York;			Newburgh, NY 

CONTROL VEHICLES

PsyC3H8O, ('95 Kawasaki motorcycle, LPG)

	Alternative Fuel Motorcycle;		Blacksburg, VA

Dodge Caravan, (Gasoline) (control vehicle for the EPIC)

	NESEA;					Greenfield, MA

Geo Metro, (Gasoline)

	NESEA;					Greenfield, MA


Report #2: Dates/Highlights/Route

It's a long standing tradition that on even-numbered years the NESEA American Tour de Sol visits major population centers.  Here is the event in considerable detail, largely lifted from the web page

     http://www.nesea.org/transportation/tds00route.html

Your's truly will be along, interviewing the teams and also acting as announcer during the event.  If you see a heavy-set guy with a beard that's going white and and a head that's going bald who's always talking into a microphone, that's likely to be me.  Stop by and say Hi. 

The NESEA America Tour de Sol Itinerary

     2000 NESEA American Tour de Sol
     New York City - Washington, DC
     May 12 throurgh 19, 2000 --- It's Clean Air Week!!

May 11-12, New York City

                         SAE/NESEA CONFERENCE
        Hybrid-Electric Vehicles in the Bus and Truck Markets:
           New Ways of Building Better Heavy-Duty Vehicles

This conference will attract over 150 key stakeholders from around the world involved in creating, marketing, testing, regulating and using heavy-duty hybrid-electric vehicles.  Hybrid-electric technologies blend new technologies that produce heavy-duty vehicles with extraordinary capabilities, including fuel economy and low emissions.  But in order to reap these benefits, the benefits must be quantifiable, certification processes must be in place, users must ask for these vehicles, and manufacturers must produce these vehicles.  Presentations, panel discussions, poster sessions and a trip to the NESEA Tour makes this conference a "must attend" for people involved with air quality and transportation technologies. 

Highlights:

EVENTS AND PARTERSHIPS WITH COMMUNITIES, ORGANIZATIONS AND BUSINESSES:

More businesses, agencies, organizations and individuals are involved in the local steering committees than ever before.  Two Clean Cities seminars which will attract agencies and private companies that need to buy clean vehicles for their fleets, a renewable energy expo, and a seminar on renewable energy will be held along with the NESEA Tour this year.  In addition, teacher workshops held in March will encourage educators to bring their students on a field trip to the NESEA Tour. 

NEW YORK CITY: May 12-14

Bringing the NESEA Tour to the Big Apple is always exhilarating.  We will hold a display on Friday at the New York Hall of Science for young people and professionals.  The Environmental Business Association of NYS is taking the lead on a Clean Cities seminar, which will draw fleet customers.  Professionals attending the SAE/NESEA Hybrid Vehicle Conference will join us, and our partnership with the NY Hall of Science will help us attract hundreds of students.  Our weekend event will be at the South Street Seaport, a lively commercial shopping center with many ethnic eateries in lower Manhattan overlooking the East River and the Brooklyn Bridge.  Test drives, music, and technical testing of the vehicles will attract thousands of people.  Special thanks needs to go to the many NY agencies who are sponsors and partners of this gala affair, especially the NYC Department of Transportation, the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, the New York Power Authority, and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. 

NEW JERSEY: May 15-16

NJ Governor Christine Whitman, the NJ Department of Transportation, the Pace Energy Project, and the Trenton planning committee have taken the lead to make the New Jersey portion of the NESEA Tour very special.  On Monday, May 15, an event will be held in downtown Trenton that will include the NESEA Tour, the Pace Clean Power 2000 Expo, and a seminar offered by the Interstate Renewable Energy Council, and the NJ Office of Sustainable Business.  The planning committee is working with NESEA to reach out to legislators, business people, state agencies, and young people.  Food, music, and test drives will all be used to attract thousands of people to this first-time event for Trenton.  There will also be a display for students at the Grover Middle School, and a school just south of Trenton. 

MARYLAND: May 16-17

W. L. Gore & Associates and Chesapeake City have joined NESEA to create a very special event in this picturesque community on the historic Chesapeake and Delaware Canal.  On Tuesday, May 16, an event for the whole community that features electric car and boat exhibits, food, music, and test drives will go into the evening.  Entrants will be competing in a special range event, held on route 301, as well as participating in a talent show! A partnership with the Maryland State agencies will make the Wednesday, May 17 event at Sandy Point State Park, near Annapolis, MD, a great educational resource.  The Department of the Environment is taking the lead on outreach to students, while the Department of Energy Administration is organizing a Clean Cities seminar.  Seminar participants will come to the NESEA Tour for test drives, while students will visit the cars and special exhibits.  In the afternoon, NESEA Tour entrants will compete in events that will test the acceleration and handling capabilities of their vehicles. 

WASHINGTON, DC: May 18-19

Washington, DC, home of the U.S. Department of Energy, title sponsor of the event, will host our finish-line and awards ceremonies.  The Capital Building is a beautiful back-drop to our Thursday, May 18 event, which will attract legislators, decision makers and students.  We will all celebrate and top placers will receive trophies.  A Junior Solar Sprint competition for middle school students will also be held.  The official Awards Ceremony will be held on Friday, May 19 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Virginia. 

Friday, May 12

QUEENS, NY - New York Hall of Science, Flushing Meadows Corona Park

 For directions to New York Hall of Science call 718-699-0675
     ** Test Drives & Display: 9:00-am-3:00pm. 
     ** Technical Testing & Registration: 9:00am-3:00pm

Saturday, May 13

NEW YORK CITY - South Street Seaport, lower Manhattan

 For directions to the South Street Seaport call 212-732-7678x5
     ** Test Drives & Display: 10:00am to 6:00pm. 
     ** Technical Testing on Water Street: 9:00am-6:00pm

Sunday, May 14

NEW YORK CITY - South Street Seaport, lower Manhattan

 For directions to the South Street Seaport call 212-732-7678x5
     ** Test Drives & Display: 10:00am to 2:30pm
     ** Technical Testing on Water Street: 9:30am-12:30pm

Route:

     Vehicles will leave South Street Seaport at 2:30pm
     by taking left onto Peck Slip,
     left onto Pearl St,
     right onto Fulton St.,
     right onto Gold St, left onto Beekman St,
     right onto Park Row; then over the Booklyn Bridge,
     straight onto Adams St which turns into Borerum St.,
     right onto Bergen St,
     left onto Court St.,
     left onto Union St.,
     right onto 6th Ave.,
     left onto 20th St.,
     right onto McDonald St,
     right onto the Fort Hamilton Parkway to Rt 278W
     over the Verrazano Narrows Bridge then right onto Narrows Rd N.,
     exit onto Richmond Rd.,
     left onto Arthur Kill Rd.,
     onto the Korean War Veteran Parkway & left onto Rt 35S. 
     From Rt 35S take Rt. 9S,
     exit onto Raritan Rd,
     Right onto CR 535W. 
     This Road runs thru S. Amboy, Parlin, Sayreville, South River,
          East Brunswick, Cranbury, and East Windsor into
     West Windsor, NJ, and the Grover Middle School

Monday, May 15

West Windsor, NJ, to Trenton NJ to Southern, NJ

West Windsor: Display for Grover Middle School Students: 7:45am to 10:00am

TRENTON, NJ - New Jersey State Museum, State Street

 For directions to the New Jersey State Museum & Library call
609-292-6464 ext 1
     ** Test Drives & Vehicle Display: 10:00am - 3:00pm
     ** Pace Clean Energy 2000 Expo: 10:00am - 3:00pm
     ** Media Event/ Governor Whitman,
          honorary chair of the event(invited):12:20
     ** Interstate Renewable Energy Council, Seminars: 9:00am -
12:00pm

Route:

     Vehicles will leave Grover Middle School at 10:00am and
     drive to the Trenton, NJ, event via Rt 535. 

     Vehicles will leave Trenton at 3:00pm and
     drive on Rt 206S thru White Horse, Mansfield Square, & Columbus. 
     At Chambers Corners take Rt 537W thru Mount Holly,
     take left onto Rt 674W thru Mt.  Laurel, Evesboro;
     left onto Springdale Rd to Rt 534W thru Blackwood
     to our overnight stop. 

Tuesday, May 16

Southern, NJ to Chesapeake City, MD

CHESAPEAKE CITY, MD - Downtown

 For directions call 410-392-3833
     ** Test Drives & Display: 11:30am - 7:00pm

     Range Event starts: 1:30pm
     Talent Show: 3:30pm - 5:00pm

Route:

     Vehicles will leave our overnight stop at 10:00 am on Sewell Rd.,
     go thru the towns of Sewell & Barnsboro. 
     Sewell Rd turns into Breakneck Rd. 
     Take left onto Rt45W past Mullica Hill & Woodstown. 
     Take right onto Hainsneck Rd,
     take right onto CR 540,
     left onto Rt 130S,
     right onto I295W & cross the Delaware Memorial Bridge. 
     Get onto Rt 9S. 
     Go thru Collins Park & St.  Georges. 
     In Kirkwood take left onto Rt 71S to 301S
     to Rt 15W to Rt 286W into Chesapeake City, MD. 

Wednesday, May 17

Chesapeake City, MD to Sandy Point State Park, MD

SANDY POINT STATE PARK, MD

 Directions to Sandy Point State Park: Take Exit 32 on Rt 50 east of
Annapolis
     ** Test Drives & Display: 10:00am - 4:00pm
     ** Autocross event: 1:30pm - 4:00pm
     ** Seminar: "Advancing the AFV Choice": 9:00am - 12:30pm

Route:

     Vehicles will leave Chesapeake City, MD, at 10:00am via
     Rt 286S to Rt 213S thru Cayots, Cecilton, & Georgetown. 
     At Gelena take Rt 290S thru Chesterville & Crumpton to Rt 544W. 
     At Kingstown take Rt 213S thru Church Hill,
     Starky Corner & Centerville,
     then take Rt 18W. 
     Drive thru Graysonville & Chester;
     get onto Rt 50E, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, to
     Sandy Point State Park, MD. 

Thursday, May 18

Sandy Point State Park to Washington D.C. 

WASHINGTON, DC - East of the Capitol Building (tba)

     ** Test Drives & Display: 10:00am - 3:00pm
     ** Finish Line Media Event: 1:30pm (tentative)
     ** Junior Solar Sprint competiton: 11:00am - 12:30pm

Route:

     Vehicles will leave Sandy Point State Park at 9:00 am
     via Rt 179W & pass thru Historic Annapolis. 
     Take 665W then to Rt 214W thru Hall, Kolbes Corner & Largo
     into D.C. 

Friday, May 19

Awards Ceremony and Brunch: 10:00am - 11:30am (by invitation only)


Report #3: 2000 ATdS Dedicated to George Bradford

Late last summer, the NESEA American Tour de Sol lost a great friend.  George Bradford, technical co-director of the Tour died of cancer in September 1999.  All of us who have worked with him, known him, and loved him will miss him. 

George was the one who was always smiling, always seeing the humor and fun when others were a little too focused on winning or their misfortune.  Because of his encouragements, many a team that would have thrown in the towel, packed their bags and gone home found the courage to stay.  Because of his knowledge, they would then find the means to work though their difficulties and continue to run.  He would often give the final "fun" prizes at the closing ceremonies, acknowledging both the extraordinary efforts and the clever, imaginative, and humorous turns in the rally.  An educator himself, at the close of the 1999 Tour, he thank all for the things the teams taught him.  "I am proud to be a part of _your_ event," he said. 

This year's Tour is dedicated to George's memory As Tour Director Nancy Hazard said, "NESEA, our many sponsors, and partners celebrate George's life and his vision for a better future - a future with green transportation for the next millennium."


Report #4: What To Expect At The American Tour de Sol

Fair warning.  This piece is my annual confession that I really don't care who wins what prize at the NESEA American Tour de Sol this (or any) year.  It isn't why I go.  So if you are looking for breathless commentary on who's beating who by how much, second by second, I'm afraid you will be disappointed. 

Oh, I'll tell you who gets what prizes, and who's ahead day by day.  But these reports will be more about the human stories and the technical challenges of the teams and their entries. 

I first went to the 1993 American Tour de Sol because I was curious as to the state of electric car technology and the ATdS looked like a good place to see EVs "on the hoof".  It definitely was and is! Since the Tour is a rally that is run on an open course (that is without any special traffic control or considerations) the vehicles have to deal with the real world as they find it.  Traffic, people, weather, rules- of-the-road, and, some years, HEAVY WEATHER! The practical electric vehicle and the organized team should be able to handle them all.  The trend has been to better and better vehicles capable of making it through the rally.  Many more get all the way through without incident.  Some of the more inventive new designs get stressed beyond their limits, but in 1999, for example, only one vehicle, custom built from the ground up, was unable to complete the course. 

The underlying theme of the NESEA Tour is practical and reliable electric and hybrid electric transportation that is easier on the environment and sustainable.  This year's tour will have some very interesting attempts in those directions. 

For example, there will be two(!) hydrogen fuel cell powered vehicles in the Tour.  The "New Jersey Venturer", Number 9, returns, after becoming the first hydrogen fuel cell vehicle to ever enter an EV competition anywhere in the world! This is a hydrogen fuel cell car in the "classic" (classic?) model -- tanks of H2 gas fed into a Proton Exchange Membrane fuel cell. 

But the second hydrogen fuel cell car, the "New Jersey Genesis", built by a team largely related to the "Venturer" people, produces the hydrogen gas from a chemical reaction that evolves the gas on demand.  Moreover, both the liquid pre-reaction "fuel" and the post-reaction waste product solution are stable and relatively benign.  In fact it's likely the waste product could be recycled back into the fuel form, creating a closed system. 

The hydrogen fuel cell cars will be in the newly created RENEWABLE FUELED VEHICLE CATEGORY. 

THIS is why I've come to the Tour -- to see cutting edge technology. 

Cannot afford cutting edge technology? Me neither.  Although I still enjoy my 1995 Solectria "Force" EV, my everyday car. 

How about a commercially available gasoline electric hybrid that can be fueled up at your corner filling station? How about one that is for sale today? America Honda Motor Company is a gold sponsor of the Tour this year, and there will be ten(!) "Honda Insights" in sight at the Tour sites.  (Forgive me.) 5 are in the DEMONSTRATION CATEGORY and are not competing.  But the rest are in the competitive PRODUCTION CATEGORY, many entered by individuals. 

The US DOE HYBRID CATEGORY will have 7 vehicles using a variety of fuels and control strategies: Diesel, Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG), Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), Reformulated Gasoline (RFG).  (I wonder if Tom Hopper will bring his soy bean oil bio-diesel hybrid this year? It smelled just like French fries going down the road.)

And of course there will be a herd of 17 BATTERY-ELECTRIC CATEGORY entrants, with lead acid, advanced lead acid, nickel cadmium, and nickel metal hydride chemistries represented. 

Add 4 ONE PERSON CATEGORY with 2 cycles and a pair of 3-wheeled cars, and 2 SOLAR-ELECTRIC CATEGORY entrants, plus 3 gasoline and LPG CONTROL VEHICLES to collect efficiency comparison data, and you have world class event with something for every EV enthusiast, and those who think they might like to become one. 

So why not come to the NESEA Tour? May 12 through 19th, New York City to Washington DC.  Check out the web site, www.NESEA.org, or my previous reports.  We'll see you there. 


Report #5: Websites for NESEA ATdS Entrants

The World Wide Web is such a resource! It seems like _everybody_ has a web site.  So why not in the EV world?

Indeed.  Most of the teams in the NESEA American Tour de Sol have web sites.  Here, from a quick scan of the entrant database, are the 27 vehicles that list web sites.  I have _not_ tried to look at all of these. 

 Vehicle Name          New Jersey Genesis
 Vehicle Number        1
 Category              RENEWABLY FUELED VEHICLE CATEGORY
 Team Name             Team New Jersey
 City                  Trenton
 State                 NJ
 www                   www.civeng.Rutgers.edu/Venturer

 Vehicle Name          Ovonic Scooter
 Vehicle Number        3
 Category              ONE PERSON CATEGORY
 Team Name             Ovonic Battery Company
 City                  Troy
 State                 MI
 www                   www.ovonic.com

 Vehicle Name          New Jersey Venturer
 Vehicle Number        9
 Category              RENEWABLY FUELED VEHICLE CATEGORY
 Team Name             Team New Jersey
 City                  Trenton
 State                 NJ
 www                   www.civeng.rutgers.edu/venturer

 Vehicle Name          The Aluminum Cow
 Vehicle Number        10
 Category              USDOE HYBRID CATEGORY
 Team Name             UW-Madison Future Car Team
 City                  Madison
 State                 WI
 www                   www.cae.wisc.edu/~vehicle

 Vehicle Name          Moo Rocco
 Vehicle Number        12
 Category              BATTERY-ELECTRIC CATEGORY
 Team Name             VT Technical College
 City                  Randolph Center
 State                 VT
 www                   http://www.vtc.vsc.edu/clubs/solar

 Vehicle Name          Geomino
 Vehicle Number        14
 Category              USDOE HYBRID CATEGORY
 Team Name             Solar Electric Research Team
 City                  New Britain
 State                 CT
 www                   www.club.ccsu.edu

 Vehicle Name          Kineticar III
 Vehicle Number        18
 Category              USDOE HYBRID CATEGORY
 Team Name             CSERT-NVCTC
 City                  Waterbury
 State                 CT
 www                   www.nvctc5.commnet.edu

 Vehicle Name          Solar Black Bear
 Vehicle Number        20
 Category              SOLAR-ELECTRIC CATEGORY
 Team Name             U. Maine Solar Vehicle Team
 City                  Orono
 State                 ME
 www                   www.ume.maine.edu/solar

 Vehicle Name          Soljourner#2
 Vehicle Number        21
 Category              BATTERY-ELECTRIC CATEGORY
 Team Name             West Philadelphia Soljourners #2
 City                  Philadelphia
 State                 PA
 www                   www.Phila.k-12.pa

 Vehicle Name          Spyder Juice
 Vehicle Number        31
 Category              BATTERY-ELECTRIC CATEGORY
 Team Name             Team Arachnids
 City                  Tallahassee
 State                 FL
 www                   Simplersolar.com

 Vehicle Name          E-Ride Gen II
 Vehicle Number        34
 Category              BATTERY-ELECTRIC CATEGORY
 Team Name             Deer Valley ERAD
 City                  Phoenix
 State                 AZ
 www                   dcartier@district.dvusd.k12.az.us

 Vehicle Name          The Wedge
 Vehicle Number        35
 Category              BATTERY-ELECTRIC CATEGORY
 Team Name             Deer Valley ERAD
 City                  Phoenix
 State                 AZ
 www                   http://drive.to/ERAD

 Vehicle Name          Solar Market Insight
 Vehicle Number        41
 Category              PRODUCTION CATEGORY
 Team Name             Naoto Inoue
 City                  Kennebunkport
 State                 ME
 www                   talmasz
 			((I don't know what this means, and I cannot find
			anything in a quick Internet search.  Probably a
			typo.))

 Vehicle Name          Honda Insight
 Vehicle Number        43
 Category              DEMONSTRATION CATEGORY
 Team Name             Larry Dussault
 City                  Pataskala
 State                 OH
 www                   dussaultmarketing.com

 Vehicle Name          EPIC Minivan #1
 Vehicle Number        51
 Category              PRODUCTION CATEGORY
 Team Name             Team EPIC
 City                  Auburn Hills
 State                 MI
 www                   www.daimlerchrysler.com

 Vehicle Name          EPIC Minivan #2
 Vehicle Number        52
 Category              PRODUCTION CATEGORY
 Team Name             Team EPIC
 City                  Auburn Hills
 State                 MI
 www                   www.daimlerchrysler.com

 Vehicle Name          EPIC Minivan #3
 Vehicle Number        53
 Category              DEMONSTRATION CATEGORY
 Team Name             Team EPIC
 City                  Auburn Hills
 State                 MI
 www                   www.daimlerchrysler.com

 Vehicle Name          HEV Darango prototype
 Vehicle Number        54
 Category              DEMONSTRATION CATEGORY
 Team Name             DaimlerChrysler
 City                  Washington
 State                 DC
 www                   www.daimlerchrysler.com

 Vehicle Name          Blue Bird School Bus
 Vehicle Number        60
 Category              PRODUCTION CATEGORY
 Team Name             New York Power Authority
 City                  New York
 State                 NY
 www                   www.nypa.gov

 Vehicle Name          Garnet One
 Vehicle Number        62
 Category              USDOE HYBRID CATEGORY
 Team Name             Swarthmore College HEV Team
 City                  Swarthmore
 State                 PA
 www                   http://www.engin.swarthmore.edu/org/HEV/

 Vehicle Name          The Trout
 Vehicle Number        64
 Category              ONE PERSON CATEGORY
 Team Name             Team Millersville
 City                  Millersville
 State                 PA
 www                   muweb.millersv.edu/~nait

 Vehicle Name          Polytech Ranger-Electric
 Vehicle Number        65
 Category              BATTERY-ELECTRIC CATEGORY
 Team Name             Team Polytech
 City                  Woodside
 State                 DE
 www                   www.polytech.kiz.de.us/index.htm

 Vehicle Name          Phantom Sol
 Vehicle Number        66
 Category              BATTERY-ELECTRIC CATEGORY
 Team Name             U. Maine Solar Vehicle Team
 City                  Orono
 State                 ME
 www                   www.ume.maine.edu/solar

 Vehicle Name          Solectria NiCad Force
 Vehicle Number        67
 Category              PRODUCTION CATEGORY
 Team Name             Connecticut Partnership
 City                  Windsor
 State                 CT
 www                   ourworld.com/homepages/jsime conndot/

 Vehicle Name          Sungo
 Vehicle Number        72
 Category              BATTERY-ELECTRIC CATEGORY
 Team Name             SEV of NHTI
 City                  Concord
 State                 NH
 www                   www.nhti.net

 Vehicle Name          Envirocycle
 Vehicle Number        89
 Category              ONE PERSON CATEGORY
 Team Name             Solar Electric Research Team
 City                  New Britain
 State                 CT
 www                   www.club.ccsu.edu

 Vehicle Name          PsyC3H8O
 Vehicle Number        98
 Category              CONTROL VEHICLES
 Team Name             Alternative Fuel Motorcycle Team (AFMT)
 City                  Blacksburg
 State                 VA
 www                   http://fbox.vt.edu:10021/M/mmunsey/front824.htm


Report #6: The Tribes Gather at New York Hall of Science

It was wet and chilly in the area around New York City as dawn arrived on Friday May 12th.  The Electric Vehicle Tribes were to congregate at the New York Hall of Science in Queens New York for technical testing, orientation, publicizing and socialization.  Would this be another soggy Tour de Sol, like it was last time we were here?

No, it would not! As the day progressed, the rain stayed away, and the skys slowly became brighter.  Only as the sun started to descend did the chill of evening return. 

And the Tribes do indeed gather.  There are teams and individuals; high schools, colleges and corporations; conversions, ground-up (meaning that was how they were built, not that they resembled hamburger) vehicles, and commercially available vehicles.  Here is a electric motorcycle, called "Envirocycle" from Central Connecticut State University, and there is a big yellow school bus from Blue Bird.! There is a couple from Kennebunkport Maine in their silver Honda Insight, and a guy from Erie Pennsylvania in his silver Honda Insight, and a group from New York Power Authority with _their_ silver Honda Insight.  (Are all Insights silver?) New York Power Authority has also brought along a pair of Toyota RAV4-EVs from their fleet.  DiamlerChrysler is here with 3 EPIC electric vans and a Dodge Durango hybrid electric sport utility vehicle.  There's a Ford Electric Ranger truck sold by a Syosset NY Ford dealer on display, and a big Solectria box delivery van used as a postal delivery vehicle, and a little Ford Think from Norway. 

There is a dynometer set up to measure the exhaust chemistry of the hybrid electric vehicles, and groups of "scruntineers" looking over the vehicles to determine that they are safe for 5 days of driving through the city and country between here and Washington DC.  They look to see that the cars have sound brakes, properly restrained batteries, and that they are free from the dreaded electrical "ground fault" (where high voltage from the battery pack shows up on the car chassis; Ouch!). 

There is a lot of greeting of old friends and making new ones.  There are busses letting off school children going to the Hall of Science museum and also visiting the Tour display. 

 "How fast does it go?"
 "How much electricity does it use?"
 "How come that one has solar panels and this one doesn't?"
 "Is it more likely to be hit by lightning?"
 "Did you build it yourself?"
 "Can I get one?"

There's a converted VW Scirocco EV that moos like a cow for a Vermont College.  A high school built black beauty, with solar panel wing above the roof, that looks like a cross between the Batmobile, Knight Rider, and something else.  There are hybrids that run on diesel, and compressed natural gas (CNG), and liquid petroleum gas (LPG), and 85% Methanol (M85), and hydrogen (H2). 

There are flooded lead acid batteries, sealed lead acid batteries, nickel cadmium batteries, and nickel metal hydride batteries. 

Yes, I'd say the Tribes have gathered and it is going to be a great gathering. 


Report #7: Topher Waring Wins George Bradford Award

The first award presentation was made at the end of May 12th, during the team orientation meeting. 

The 2000 NESEA American Tour de Sol is dedicated to George Bradford, who served as co-technical director and head of the race jury for many years.  Technical Director Rob Wills recalled George as the "Master of the Cooperative Solution" and one who always brought "equanimity and fairness" to the event.  Nancy Hazard, Tour Director, presented a memorial plaque to George's wife, Nancy Bradford, and family. 

As part of the dedication of the Tour to George's memory, a new award, "The Bradford Electric Vehicle Teacher Award" has been created.  The first recipient is Topher Waring, for many years a teacher at the Riverside School in Lyndonville VT, and now a high school teacher, and member of the 2000 Tour race jury. 

Readers of these reports in years past know of my great joy in visiting with the Riverside School's "Helios the Heron" teams.  Topher Waring was one of the sparks of those teams.  He guided 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students in creating vehicles that were within their capabilities and yet could travel down the road, even though not one of the creators was legal to drive their creation.  He would give a pair of 8th grade kids a $300 E-Meter, the instruction sheet, and say, "We only have one so it _has_ to be put in right.  You have all day to study the problem, figure out the answer, and then do it.  Call me if you have questions." And they _did_ do it, and they did it right.  A week later, at the Tour technical testing site, I saw those same two 8th grade students, sitting in the middle of a bunch of high school students, helping the older kids figure out just how their E-Meter should be done. 

Congratulations Topher! We applaud you. 


Report #8: First Drop Out

The first few days of the Tour de Sol are all about getting ready to roll.  Along with the technical testing, orientations, etc. it is the first day we find out who isn't going to make it. 

The first casualty was the "New Jersey Genesis".  A real ambitious project, with a pair of fuel cell stacks, a promising new means of producing hydrogen on demand, and an all aluminum chassis and body, it just isn't quite ready to run.  Battery problems just as they were ready to integrate the whole has brought them up short.  Still they plan to bring the vehicle to the displays, talk about the systems, and the promise these technologies through out the rally.  And their stable mate "New Jersey Venturer" a hydrogen hybrid using bottled gas, will carry the team flag.  (More in a detailed report later.) While we are at it, I'm told these are the official web site addresses:

     NJ Genesis     www.genesis.rutgers.edu
     NJ Venturer    www.venturer.rutgers.edu


Report #9: Tour de Sol Results on the World Wide Web

Tired of waiting for my reports of who's doing what in the American Tour de Sol? Certain that there had to be a better way?

You're right.  There is! And you can find it at

		  www.ensco.com/tourdesol

Ensco, Inc. of Springfield VA is providing a sophisticated means to collect, organize and post the NESEA Tour results so all can see just what is happening.  In some cases, even while the event is in progress.  Using equipment and services provided by AirLink Communications and Verizon Wireless, five vehicles will have real-time Global Positioning System (GPS) reporting information that will be shown on one of the web pages, with updates every 30 seconds!

The web site also has a high level description of the underlying technology. 


Report #10: New York State Energy Research and Development Authority on Display

New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) is displaying here at the New York Hall of Science, and they have been doing a lot with electric vehicles over the years.  I spoke with Tom Collins, Communication Director for NYSERDA. 

NYSERDA was instrumental in introducing the Orion Diesel Hybrid bus, displayed at the 1999 American Tour de Sol, to the New York City Metropolitan Transportation Authority.  The NYC MTA is now running about 15 Orions in service. 

NYSERDA also has been working on alternative fuel buses, and is now introducing Compressed Natural Gas buses (CNG) into the upstate New York markets, and also school buses. 

In New York City, they have introduced about 400 electric taxi cabs conversions into the fleet, with another 200 scheduled to be added.  They are also working with a company, GSM out of Plattsburg NY, on some new, light weight, composite body electric taxis for New York City.  The photo showed a yellow and black taxi that would be very distinctive in a NYC traffic mix. 

"We also are working with the taxi fleets to convert cabs to natural gas.  We offer a $6000 incentive to convert to natural gas."

"Baker Electromotive, in Rome NY, is doing one of the largest conversion of electric vehicles in the country right now for the US Postal Service." The photo showed a large white postal delivery box van.  This is successor to the Baker company in Virginia that did the truck conversions about 5 years ago.  They have moved to Rome and are doing the contract in cooperation with Ford.  "We are hoping to do about 5000 of them.  This is the first mass production facility in the country that we are aware of, and they will employ a couple of hundred people."

The next picture on the board was a large tractor-trailer truck.  "That's a heavy duty hybrid truck.  We are working with Lockheed- Martin.  It's a take off on some of the technology developed for the hybrid buses, and we realized there is another market out there and it is the heavy-duty truck market that is doing a lot of start-and-stop short haul business.  We have three test vehicles so far, that Lockheed loans out to different companies."

And there was a picture of the "Pet", Personal Electric Transportation, scooter that took a prize in the 1999 Tour de Sol.  "They are now being produced up in Plattsburg NY, at the old air base up there, they have a big contract with Los Angeles, and they just got into full production last month.  We are real excited for the possibilities, both in this country and for export, where the scooter market is much bigger." The PET company was originally based in Hawaii.  "We enticed them to New York."

And finally there is photo of human-hybrid pasta burner.  It's a PediCab tricycle, with electric assist, for transporting a pair of people.  "It's a fairly new project for us.  There is a lot of interest in the beach areas, say on the boardwalks.  It isn't that big an emissions thing, but we feel that if we can help people see electric vehicles in many different forms, styles and applications, we can help generate the market." There is also a picture of a tricycle hotdog cart in the same mode. 

"We are very happy to see the commercial production of these vehicles after working on prototypes for years and years.  It's through events like this that we are able to show these to the public and generate interest and excitement as we go."


Report #11: Ford "Think" on Display

Seth Leitman of the New York Power Authority (NYPA) is here at the Hall of Science with a Ford "Think", which used to be known as a Pivco.  Ford bought the Pivco company, based in Norway, a while back and now is moving to make these little, two-place EVs with plastic bodies into a commercial product.  The body is obviously plastic, as it does not have the polish and shine of a painted metal panel, or even a polished composite panel.  Instead it is a matte finish.  The Think logo, with the dot _under_ the i, is molded into the front of the car.  This one is colored sort of dark blue on the bottom with a light gray top.  A fairly large area behind the two seats could handle grocery bags, packages, or whatever.  A hinged glass vertical panel serves as both rear window and access to the package area. 

NY Power Authority Electric Vehicle Program is testing the "Think" for a demonstration program.  "These are currently built in Norway and shipped here.  What Ford plans to do in 2002, when they plan to mass market it, is to build plants in the US to make it cheaper to sell.  We are showing this to people who might be interested in a demonstration project in the New York area."

"It has an aluminum frame, with a composite plastic body.  It uses 220 Volts ac to charge, and takes about 6 to 8 hours to charge.  I believe this one has nickel cadmium batteries." The charging plug is a three prong male labeled "16 Amp 250 Volts", a bit bigger than an XLR audio plug; I believe it is a standard European connector power.  The batteries are below the seats.  "A typical charge will give you 50 to 55 miles.  The regenerative braking helps."

"New York Power Authority has provided over 185 electric vehicles in the New York City metropolitan area, to customers as well as our fleet.  They include EPIC minivans, Toyota RAV4-EVs, Ford Electric Rangers, that Blue Bird/Solectria school bus over there which we just got." The "Think" is being considered for a station-car program, where people ride the train, and then unplug an electric and drive the rest of the way to work.  At the end of the day, they drive back to the station, plug in, and take the train home.  New Jersey Transit has a successful program based on Solectria "Force" cars, and NYPA has one in White Plains NY.  The "Think" would take up less room, and also be a more affordable way to support 2-person commuter pools. 


Report #12: Corrections to the Website Addresses

Here are website corrections that have come in ... 

NJ Genesis www.genesis.rutgers.edu NJ Venturer www.venturer.rutgers.edu

Connecticut Rideshare ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/JSime_ConnDOT/


Report #13: "New Jersey Genesis" Number 1

The "Genesis" is not running in the NESEA Tour.  They just didn't have enough time to pull it all together.  Still it represents one of the most exciting glimpses into how hydrogen fuel cells could change the way we drive.  The car will be on display throughout the rally.  I spoke with Ben Fratto of Team New Jersey on Friday at the New York Hall of Science. 

The first thing to notice under the hood is two tall HPower Fuel Cell stacks.  "Two 5 kiloWatt fuel cells, in series, for 10 kiloWatts total." Behind the stacks is a Solectria drive system, of the type they use in buses.  "We didn't want to be lacking in power, so we put a power house in there." Since the batteries were not installed things looked uncrowded.  Also, using a Mercury Sable as the base vehicle gives you a lot more room under the hood.  There was plenty of room for the humidifier and pump.  I suspect it will become more cramped when everything is installed. 

Inside the car, the center console has been modified and is now taller and boxier.  It houses the Solectria motor controller, and a pump for running the borohydride system (which we'll discuss in a moment).  On top is a small reverse/forward/power-level switch for the motor, and a laptop computer for data collection. 

In the trunk is the Millennium Cell hydrogen generation system, or at least the components that eventually will be connected to create it.  The Millennium Cell technology starts with a sodium borohydride solution which is stable under normal conditions.  However, when it is brought in contact with ruthinium metal you get hydrogen.  "It's a reduction oxidation (redox) reaction.  You have NaBH4 and water (H20).  One is reduced and the other is oxydized which gives you 4 hydrogen atoms and the borate.  The waste product could, in theory, be regenerated back into the NaBH4 form.  They are still developing that technology." The liquid tanks are made of plastic, and there is a metal pressure bottle for storing the hydrogen at relatively low pressure, about 60 pounds per square inch.  The actual reaction chambers, where the hydrogen is produced, are a pair of cylinders, maybe 16 inches long and 3 inches in diameter. 

The car itself is light weight.  "Light weight seats, light weight wheels, light weight body! The body will not take a magnet.  It's all aluminum.  Aluminum brake calipers." The car may be a third lighter than the steel equivalent.  "Ford donated the car.  20 of these were built.  16 were crash tested; 4 were left.  This is one of them."

 Vehicle Name          New Jersey Genesis
 Vehicle Number        1
 Category              RENEWABLY FUELED VEHICLE CATEGORY
 Organization          Rutgers University
 Team Name             Team New Jersey
 City                  Trenton
 State                 NJ
 Description           New Jersey Genesis (1994 Merc Sable, NiMH+ fuel
                       cell)
 www                   www.genesis.rutgers.edu
 new this year?        New car, returning team
 No People in Project  200
 Motor                 Solectria; 3 phase AC Induction; 56kw cont/118 kw
                       peak
 Batteries             GP/NiMH; 30 cells/series/$15K; 14600whr/312v/
                       600lbs
 Controller            Solectria; AC Inverter
 Charger               none
 Charger Offboard      Solar charge station, custom built
 PV Array type amount  20 w; Solarex; Polycrystalline
 Construction          1994 Mercury Sable ; Frame: Mercury Sable;
                       Aluminum body
 Dimensions LxWxH      15' 6"; 6' 8"; 4' 7"
 Hybrid                HPower Fuel cell; Hydrogen; TBD
 No of Passengers      5
 Maximum Speed mph     85
 Range miles           1,000
 Weight pounds         2585
 Program blurb         Team New Jersey's latest development is the New
                       Jersey Genesis, an advanced vehicle which could
                       give Tour attendees a glance at what the future of
                       transportation may look like.  The Genesis vehicle
                       looks like an ordinary Ford Taurus.  But the
                       resemblance isn't even skin-deep!  The body and
                       frame are an all-aluminum prototype donated by
                       Ford Motor Co.  Many advanced lightweight parts
                       further refine the efficiency of the vehicle. 
                       Under the hood is a 100-HP Solectria electric
                       motor and a 10 KW H-Power fuel cell.  Advanced
                       NiMH batteries provide intermediate power storage. 
                       Like the New Jersey Venturer, the fuel cell is
                       powered by hydrogen, so the vehicle's only
                       emission is pure, clean water.  It is the method
                       of storing hydrogen, though, that is the most
                       exciting and unique feature of the car.  Hydrogen
                       is stored in the form of a solid powder which is a
                       non-toxic and non-flammable, yet highly
                       concentrated fuel derived from borax, a common
                       household substance.  The powder is mixed with
                       water to form a liquid fuel stored in an ordinary
                       fuel tank.  The concentrated form of the fuel
                       gives the vehicle an estimated 450 mile range. 
                       It will also make it  possible in the future to
                       generate the fuel from centralized renewable
                       sources of clean power like hydropower or wind
                       power.  Team New Jersey believes that the Genesis
                       vehicle's introduction at the Tour de Sol 2000
                       will represent the first truly practical
                       demonstration of a totally clean transportation
                       system. 

New Jersey Department of Transportation, which is a major portion of the team, will be showing a highway electric display sign in Trenton that uses a fuel cell running on hydrogen generated by a Millennium Cell. 

"Genesis", like "Venturer", was built by a team drawn from state government, industry and education.  Most of the partners are from New Jersey. 


Report #14: "E.D." Number 4

Jessica Green gave me the update on "E.D.", which stands for Electric Diesel, which has been at the Tour de Sol before, but has not had the best of luck.  What's different this year?

"It's had some major modifications in some areas.  It's the same in others.  It's a diesel hybrid that starts in electric mode and then uses the diesel engine to assist when needed.  At higher speeds it switches to diesel mode and the electric is used to assist the diesel. 

"To reduce the drag we used prismatic mirrors and no door handles.  Instead the doors are opened with small push buttons that cause them to pop open.  The trunk hood has a small rise in the middle that causes the air to flow over the sides rather down the back.  You'll notice we have fender skirts over the rear wheels to flow the air around the wheels and reduce drag."

A sign on the side says "F. T. Diesel".  "That stands for Fisher Troppe.  The fuel comes from South Africa and has better emissions." I'm also told it's a diesel fuel made from natural gas. 

 Vehicle Name          E.D. 
 Vehicle Number        4
 Category              USDOE HYBRID CATEGORY
 Organization          Lawrence Technological University
 Team Name             Current Advantage
 City                  Southfield
 State                 MI
 Description           1996 Ford Taurus (Diesel + Ovonic NiMH)
 new this year?        Returning car and team
 No People in Project  40
 Months to Build       12
 Motor                 Unique Mobility; Brushless DC; 32kw cont./64kw
                       peak
 Batteries             Ovonic/NiMH; 13 cells/par/$90,000;
                       16.25whr/171.6v/360lbs
 Controller            Unique Mobility; Microprocessor
 Charger               Solectria/204-330kw; Input:230-110v/20a; High
                       freq/ss
 Charger Offboard      none
 PV Array type amount  100 w; Solarex; MSX50
 Construction          1996 Ford Taurus; Steel frame; Alum. & steel body
 Dimensions LxWxH      15' 8"; 5' 7"; 5' 0"
 Hybrid                Volkswagen; 1.9L parallel; Diesel/77 mpg
 No of Passengers      5
 Maximum Speed mph     112
 Range miles           600
 Weight pounds         3800
 Program blurb         Lawrence Technological University's 2000 team
                       consists of some 30 mechanical and electrical
                       engineering students.  Built on a 1996 Ford Taurus
                       chassis, the charge depleting parallel hybrid
                       electric powertrain consists of a 58-hp Unique
                       Mobility electric motor and a modified Volkswagen
                       1.9 liter direct-injected turbo-diesel engine
                       coupled in parallel to a Volkswagon transmission. 
                       This year's vehicle is powered by a 194 volt
                       battery pack with 13 Ovonic Nickel Metal Hydride
                       (NiMH) batteries.  This year, the vehicles's
                       performance has been imporved by modifying the
                       transmission along with relocating and modifying
                       multiple components. 


Report #15: "Paradyne" Number 7

I spoke with James Thrasher of the Hurricane Motorworks team from University of Tulsa Oklahoma.  He started as a freshman on the project and this is now his third year in the club.  Financing comes from the local community and the university. 

This car won the USDOE HYBRID CATEGORY in 1999 and returns to defend its title with a new paint job.  It is now a deep blue instead of white.  "We've been working on the PLC (Programable Logic Controller) control system this semester, so the driver doesn't have to think about everything.  Instead the PLC decides which mode the car is in, controlling its efficiency.  It will switch between pure electric, pure ICE (Internal Combustion Engine), and hybrid modes all by itself." The original car was bought off a used car lot with 80,000 miles on it, and then converted by the students to hybrid operation using the original 3 cylinder, 1 liter engine.  Last year they ran regular gasoline, but this year they are running 35 gallons of low-sulfur gas donated by Philips Petroleum.  The low-sulfur formulation is supposed to cut down on acid rain. 

Last year the team averaged 50 miles per gallon.  They hope to beat that this year.  Last year the driver had to make all the decisions about which mode to run in.  This year it will all be decided by the ZWorld PLC. 

There has also been considerable work on the exhaust system to quiet it down and reduce emissions. 

 Vehicle Name          Paradyne
 Vehicle Number        7
 Category              USDOE HYBRID CATEGORY
 Organization          University of Tulsa
 Team Name             Hurricane Motorworks
 City                  Tulsa
 State                 OK
 Description           1992 Geo Metro (RFG +Concord PbA )
 new this year?        Returning car and team
 No People in Project  25
 www                   www.hev.UTulsa.edu
 Motor                 Solectria ACgtx20; 144AC Induction; 12kw
                       cont./30kw peak
 Batteries             Concord/PbA; 12 cells/series/$720;
                       7whr/144v/600 lbs
 Controller            Solectria; Motor controller
 Charger               Zivan N63/2.5 kw; Input: 230v/19a; Hi freq./ss
 Charger Offboard      none
 PV Array type amount  none
 Construction          1992 GeoMetro; Steel frame; Steel body
 Dimensions LxWxH      12' 2"; 5' 1"; 4' 5"
 Hybrid                Suzuki 3cyl; .0L/ par; Gasoline/48mpg
 No of Passengers      2
 Maximum Speed mph     85
 Range miles           unlimited
 Range 99              493*
 Weight pounds         2300
 Prize 99              1st place+ Range+2ndAcel
 Program blurb         The TU Paradyne is a parallel-hybrid vehicle based
                       on a converted 1992 Geo Metro with a 1.0 liter
                       engine and a 22kW electric motor.  The University
                       of Tulsa's team consists of 20 undergraduate
                       mechanical and electrical engineers, one graduate
                       student, and three faculty advisors.  Paradyne took
                       first place in its category at the 1999 NESEA Tour. 

Another car, Tulsa'a third, called the "Proxima" is in the works.  Brad Cummingham says it will be a totally new vehicle, designed from the ground up, with a light weight carbon fiber frame. 


Report #16: "New Jersey Venturer" Number 9

Ben Fratto, who in past American Tour de Sol's was associated with car from Cinnaminson High School, "The Olympian", is now on Team New Jersey with their pair of hydrogen fuel cell cars.  "Venturer" is the vehicle that entered last year's ATdS and became the first fuel cell powered car to enter an EV competition anywhere in the world, to the best of our knowledge. 

The car is a conversion of a conversion.  It started life as a Geo Metro sedan, became a 1996 Solectria Force electric, and then was converted in 1998 and 1999 to hydrogen Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell operation.  Nine spiral-wound fiber glass gas bottles are in what used to be the back seat area. 

They have a new, graphite fuel cell stack.  "The graphite makes it lighter.  We've also modified the fuel cell controller.  We should now be able to develop 5 kiloWatts, which should be able to sustain 38 to 40 miles an hour without drawing anything from the battery." They figure they are good for about 90 miles running on batteries only. 

A 2 foot long silver tube, about 2 inches in diameter, is a humidifier.  "The fuel cell operates more efficiently with warm, humidified air." Since the exhaust from a fuel cell is steam, the "Venturer" recycles some of that back to the humidifier.  A small pump delivers the humid air at 2 pounds per square inch, which also makes the fuel cell a little happier. 

The fuel cell produces 42 Volts, which is far below the 196 Volts needed to charge the Nickel Cadmium batteries, so a "buck converter" boosts the voltage. 

 Vehicle Name          New Jersey Venturer
 Vehicle Number        9
 Category              RENEWABLY FUELED VEHICLE CATEGORY
 Organization          Rutgers University
 Team Name             Team New Jersey
 City                  Trenton
 State                 NJ
 Description           New Jersey Venturer (1996 Force, Saft NiCad+ fuel
                       cell)
 www                   www.venturer.rutgers.edu
 new this year?        Returning car and team
 No People in Project  200
 Motor                 Solectria; AC Induction; 24 kw cont/42 peak
 Batteries             Saft/NiCad; 26 cells/$11,000; 15600whr/156v/700
                       lbs
 Controller            Solectria; AC Inverter
 Charger               none
 Charger Offboard      Neocon 7kw ; Input:208v/35a; High frequency
 PV Array type amount  18 w; Solarex; Polycrystalline
 Construction          Geo Metro; Steel frame; Steel body
 Dimensions LxWxH      13' 8"; 5' 10"; 4' 8"
 Hybrid                H Power fuel cell; Hydrogen; TBD
 No of Passengers      2
 Maximum Speed mph     70
 Range miles           400
 Weight pounds         2700
 Program blurb         Team New Jersey is a multi-disciplinary
                       partnership of State government, New Jersey hi-
                       tech companies, and academic institutions which
                       last year developed and fielded the first
                       hydrogen-powered car in the U.S. at the 1999 Tour
                       de Sol.  The New Jersey Venturer, returning this
                       year, is a hybrid electric vehicle using a 54 HP
                       electric motor, a 21 KWH NiCad Battery pack, and a
                       5 KW hydrogen-powered fuel cell.  Hydrogen is
                       stored in high pressure, lightweight tanks.  The
                       Venturer has an estimated 325-mile range. 

Since last year "Venturer" has been making the rounds to the sponsoring companies, often at a picnic.  Then there was a trip back to H-Power for the new fuel cell, and to Neocon Technologies for new batteries, and finally a trip to the New York 2000 Auto Show. 


Report #17: "Moo Rocco" Number 12

This car was a novelty favorite last year.  It made a mooing sound going under the finish banner; lots of heads turned.  I asked Jeff Laughlin and Steve Kopeck what's new. 

Among the changes for this year, the battery pack was changed from Trojan T-105s to T-145s, 96 to 120 Volts.  They put in an 800 Amp Kodiak controller, but it failed, and they are back on their 400 Amp Curtis.  The new battery box, lined with 1-inch shower stall wall, is lower in the car, lowering the center of gravity.  New custom springs in the front have improved the handling and the carrying of the weight.  "It now has a horn that works."

Last year, what impressed me was the so-called "bottle cap sensors", the PICEMS (PIC Electronic Monitoring System) project.  A tiny integrated circuit, made by Microchip International, is epoxied into a plastic bottle cap, measuring the voltage on each battery block and the temperature on each battery terminal, as seen by a thermistor.  Those values are communicated to a central display by plastic fiber optic cables, which means the likelihood of an unfortunate short or ground fault is much lower.  At least that is the plan.  The sensors didn't actually work in 1999.  This year? "We are about 2 millimeters from having it work.  We intend to have it at least partially functional by the time we get to Washington DC.  It will be sending data over the radio to our chase vehicle." They finished their bench test just before they came to New York, and believe it will operate as expected when they install it.  Is the design for the sensor system on the Internet? "We do hope to go into production some day, so we are not releasing the intimate details of our design."

 Vehicle Name          Moo Rocco
 Vehicle Number        12
 Category              BATTERY-ELECTRIC CATEGORY
 Organization          Vermont Technical College
 Team Name             VT Technical College
 City                  Randolph Center
 State                 VT
 Description           Moo Rocco (1984 Volkswagon,Trojan PbA)
 www                   http://www.vtc.vsc.edu/clubs/solar
 new this year?        Returning car and team
 No People in Project  50
 Motor                 Advanced DC; 8" 203-06-400 1A; 14kw cont/49kw peak
 Batteries             Trojan/PbA T-145; 20 cells/series/$1,900;
                       25whrs/120v/1440 lbs
 Controller            Curtis Pmc; 1221C-7401
 Charger               K & W /2kw; Input: 125v/20a; Transformerless
 Charger Offboard      none
 PV Array type amount  160 w; Solarex; Polycrystaline
 Construction          1994 Volkswagon Scirocco
                       ; Steel frame; Steel body
 Dimensions LxWxH      13' 8"; 5' 4"; 4' 1"
 No of Passengers      2
 Maximum Speed mph     85
 Range miles           60
 Weight pounds         3550
 Program blurb         In February 1999, we converted our 1984 Volkswagon
                       Scirocco to electric power.  The hallmark of our
                       club is student involvement.  Students and alumni
                       are responsible for nearly the whole Moorocco
                       project.  Students have designed and constructed
                       many complex electronic systems, including a
                       regenerative break and vacuum pump controller, and
                       a computer monitoring system. 

Between Tour de Sols, this car has been showed off a lot.  "We showed it at the Burlington Vermont Earth Day Festival, parading it down Church Street.  We got a lot of good press and TV coverage."

"We would like to thank Vermont Tech Student Government which has helped us out these past two years, and the administration for its support."


Report #18: "Artimus" Number 38

John Gillis is a Manufacturing Science and Chemistry teacher in Brighton MI.  All the students were elsewhere on Friday, so I spoke with him. 

"It has solar panels for charge assist, but not enough to fully charge the batteries.  A 72 Volt system; 12 6 Volt batteries.  20 horsepower peak motor, 13 continuous.  Top speed around 42 miles per hour.  The frame is custom made." Last year it was covered in black tarp material.  "The guy who welded the frame for us had this Fiberglas body, based on a VW Scirocco, in his garage.  He said if we wanted it we could have it and we put it on here.  We're probably 100 pounds heavier than last year, but also a little more aerodynamic. 

"Along with the new batteries, we repostioned them.  You'll remember at the autocross last year we tore the tire off the wheel with the hard cornering.  Our center of gravity is more forward so that shouldn't happen this year. 

"The solar panels last year were 2 on the hood, 2 on the roof and 2 on the back." Now they are all mounted on a frame mounted above the body. 

"The car was built as part of a Ford sponsored 2-year program where the students learn business, organization, statistics, job search, design engineering, manufacturing technologies.  Ford started this program about 10 years ago because they need people interested in manufacturing."

"Artemis" was transported to the Tour de Sol in the same car carriers that brought the Lawrence Techniclogical University cars, "E.D" and "Responese II E".  The new batteries are ones that Lawrence Tech was no longer using.  "Our association with them worked out real well."

 Vehicle Name          Artemis
 Vehicle Number        38
 Category              SOLAR-ELECTRIC CATEGORY
 Organization          Brighton Area Schools FAMS Program
 Team Name             BHS FAMS 2000
 City                  Brighton
 State                 MI
 Description           Purpose-built (SAFT, PbA)
 new this year?        Returning car and team. 
 No People in Project  25
 Motor                 Advanced DC; Brushed 75054; 18 kw cont/peak
 Batteries             NiCd; 72v;  12 6-Volt blocks. 
 Controller            Curtis; 1209B
 Charger               none
 Charger Offboard      K&W BC-20/; Input:120v/20a; Transf/rectif
 PV Array type amount  350 w; Solarex; Polycrystalline
 Construction          Purpose built; Light steel frame; Fiberglass body
 Dimensions LxWxH      13' 11";   5' 10";   5'' 10"
 No of Passengers      2
 Maximum Speed mph     55
 Range miles           75
 Range 99              38
 Weight pounds         2000
 Prize 99              (24% solar) 1st Solar Category
 Program blurb         The Artemis is a solar-assisted electric car using
                       a 72-volt, 11 horsepower motor.  It is built on a
                       modified off-road racing vehicle chassis.  It uses
                       one-wheel drive and is equipped with front drum
                       and rear disk brakes.  The car was built by last
                       year's Ford Academy of Manufacturing Sciences
                       class and has been improved by this year's class. 
                       Approximately 35 students and several staff
                       members have worked on the car.  The car would not
                       exist without the help of dedicated parent
                       volunteers. 


Report #19: "Honda Insight" Number 41

Naoto Inoue has a couple of businesses, named "Talmage Solar Engineering" and "Solar Market", so it's natural that he should want something like a "Honda Insight" He and his partner, Susan Roberts, are here to rally in the entire Tour. 

"I did an electric car conversion in 1991 using a 1983 Nissan Sentra using Mike Brown's parts.  The moment I was done I realized I had created a dinosaur.  I had intended to run in the first NESEA Tour that went from New York City to Washington DC, in 1996, but realized I could not get back home without a trailer or truck.  I realized how much extra environmental damage I would cause by driving an extra truck, so I dropped out and waited."

And, in time, Honda came out with the "Insight" and Naoto bought Serial Number 105 in February.  "It's great.  It's got everything I need.  It has great fuel milage, safety, and it's fun to drive." He has got an overall average of 57 miles per gallon, but he has gotten 78.4 mpg in a four hour trip.  "I hope to get it above 80 during the Tour de Sol." That's going to call for a real light feather foot. 

 Vehicle Name          Solar Market Insight
 Vehicle Number        41
 Category              PRODUCTION CATEGORY
 Organization          Naoto Inoue
 Team Name             Naoto Inoue
 City                  Kennebunkport
 State                 ME
 Description           Honda Insight (Gasoline-electric hybrid + NMH)
 www                   gosolarmarket.com
 new this year?        New car and team
 Motor                 Honda ; Induction; 10 kw peak
 Batteries             Panaonic P Cell/NiMH; 120 cells/series/; 900
                       whrs/144v/45 lbs
 Controller            Honda; AC
 Charger               none
 Charger Offboard      none
 PV Array type amount  none
 Construction          Honda Insight HEV; Aluminum body; Plastic/steel
                       frame
 Dimensions LxWxH      12' 11"; 4' 5"; 5' 7"
 Hybrid                Honda; 1 L/parallel; Gasoline/60 mpg
 No of Passengers      2
 Maximum Speed mph     80
 Range miles           600
 Weight pounds         1878

The fact that the "Insight" only seats two people is a plus to Naoto.  "Sit by the side of the road and count the number of people in most cars.  It's one.  This vehicle meets the commuting needs of most people."

The Maine license plate reads SOLR MKT . 


Report #20: "EPIC Minivan" Numbers 51 and 52

Shelia Wood of "Team EPIC" was showing the pair of "EPIC Minivans" that will be running in the NESEA Tour.  EPIC stands for Electric Powered Interurban Commuter.  There is a third EPIC for ride-and-drive demonstrations at the public displays.  The "EPIC" won the Customer Acceptability prize at the 1999 ATdS. 

Since them, the EPICs have been to other shows, such as the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure show in Atlanta, where they drove 353 miles using Norvic fast charging technologies that can bring the battery to 80% of full charge in about 30 minutes.  That's good for 50-55 miles.  Aerovironment also makes a fast charger that works with the EPIC.  "Those fast chargers are used at Los Angeles Airport to charge electric shuttle EPICs used to shuttle passengers from the express parking lots to the terminals and back."

Numbers 51 and 52 are being driven by students from Lawrence Techincal University.  Lawerence Tech also has a couple of cars entered in the NESEA Tour.  "They did a wonderful job last year."

A Dodge Caravan which is esentially the same body, but gasoline powered, will shadow the EPICs, which will allow NESEA to compare the efficiency data. 

 Vehicle Name          EPIC Minivan #1
 Vehicle Number        51
 Category              PRODUCTION CATEGORY
 Organization          DaimlerChrysler
 Team Name             Team EPIC
 City                  Auburn Hills
 State                 MI
 Description           EPIC minivan (1991 Dodge Caravan Electric Powered
                       Interurban Commuter,SAFT, NiMH)
 www                   www.daimlerchrysler.com
 new this year?        Returning car and team
 No People in Project  94
 Months to Build       NA
 Motor                 Northrop Grumman; AC Induction; 75kw cont/100kw
                       peak
 Batteries             Saft/NiMH; 14 mod/series/; 31899whr/336v/
 Controller            Northrop Grumman; AC Induction
 Charger               none
 Charger Offboard      Lockheed/14kw; In2.08kv/24010a; Switch hi freq /cs
 PV Array type amount  none
 Construction          1999 Dodge Caravan; Steel frame; Sheet metal body
 Dimensions LxWxH      15' 6"; 6' 5"; 5' 9"
 No of Passengers      3
 Maximum Speed mph     80
 Range miles           90
 Weight pounds         4875
 Program blurb         DaimlerChrysler will be returning this year as a
                       Bronze Sponsor of the NESEA  Tour.  For the second
                       time, they are partnering with students from
                       LawrenceTechnological University, of Southfield,
                       MI, on the entry of two EPIC electric minivans.  In
                       addition, DaimlerChrysler  is also showcasing an
                       EPIC minivan which will be available for some test
                       drives, and a prototype hybrid Darango.  The EPIC
                       is being sold in selected markets.  It has a
                       certified range of 96 miles and a top speed of 80
                       MPH. DaimlerChrysler

 Vehicle Name          EPIC Minivan #2
 Vehicle Number        52
 Category              PRODUCTION CATEGORY
 Organization          DaimlerChrysler
 Team Name             Team EPIC
 Program blurb         DaimlerCrysler and engineering students from
                       Lawrence Technological University have once again
                       teamed up for this year's competition.  The
                       students will be driving two production Dodge
                       Caravan EPICs equipped with liquid cooled NiMH
                       batteries with fast charge capability.  Current
                       fleet customers in the states of New York and
                       California are utilizing this unique fast-charging
                       technology to recharge the EPIC and be back on the
                       road in less than 30 minutes.  The EIPC's minivan
                       utility and consumer appeal are just a few of the
                       reasons Team EPIC took 1st place for Customer
                       Acceptability at the 1999 Tour de Sol. 


Report #21: "HEV Darango" Number 54

Jim Kane told me about the prototype Hybrid Electric Darango sports utility vehicle that is entered in the NESEA Tour. 

"A 3.9 liter V-6 engine propels the rear wheels through a transmission, a 55 kiloWatt electric motor runs the front wheels through a differential on the motor.  The goal was to improve the fuel economy and get the same performance out of the V-6 as you could get out of the 5.9 liter V-8.  You treat this as a gasoline car.  There is no charge connector (except we do have one on this prototype for our development).  The stock V-8 Darango gets 15.5 miles per gallon.  In this hybrid we get 18.5 to 19.  I'd have to guess at the weight, but it must be almost 3,750 pounds."

"This uses patented through-the-road hybrid technology.  The only way the engine and electric motor are connected is through the road via the tires.  Except for control signals from the throttle pedal, the fuel-powered system and the electric-powered system are completely isolated.  During launch, you really use the electric motor to assist the V-6, and during breaking you can recapture energy through regeneration from the front wheels.  You can capture energy through the wheels during cruising, to keep that battery at a good state of charge.  At the moment there is a small 1.2 kiloWatthour lead acid pack in the rear. 

"It's been driving for about 8 months, after 6 months of development work.  We have almost 10,000 miles on it so far."

 Vehicle Name          HEV Darango prototype
 Vehicle Number        54
 Category              DEMONSTRATION CATEGORY
 Organization          DaimlerChrysler
 Team Name             DaimlerChrysler
 City                  Washington
 State                 DC
 Description           Darango HEV proto (Gasoline-electric hybrid)
 www                   www.daimlerchrysler.com
 new this year?        Returning team, new car
 No People in Project  94
 Months to Build       NA
 Motor                 Northrop Grumman; AC Induction; 75kw cont/100kw
                       peak
 Batteries             lead acid; about 1200 Whrs
 Controller            Northrop Grumman; AC Induction
 Charger               none
 PV Array type amount  none
 Construction          1999 Dodge Darango; Steel frame; Sheet metal body
 No of Passengers      7


Report #22: "Garnet One" Number 62

This CNG series hybrid electric conversion of a Chevy Beretta was built as a senior design project at Swarthmore College.  All the original students have long since graduated and gone elsewhere.  Luis Quinones, David Knouf, and Tong Lin have inherited the vehicle, and are working on it for credit.  Three other students also help. 

"After coming in 3rd 2 years ago, the manual transmission broke down.  Last year we spent the majority of the effort putting in an automatic transmission.  That was a big project because we had to come up with different aligning tools, transmission plate, motor plate and spacers." The DC motor drives the automatic transmission, and in the past I had heard that meant that the motor had to run all the time to keep the transmission "pumped up".  But that is not what this team has done.  "It doesn't have to run all the time.  We have a little jolt when we start up but it really is not a big problem." The driver just plans for that and deals with it.  The internal combustion engine (ICE), located in the trunk of the car, also got a lot of work.  "It now has ceramic coated exhaust pipes and muffler so all the exhaust heat from the ICE gets radiated out a lot faster." They had to raise the trunk lid a little bit, on four posts, to get some more air in there for better cooling.  "The generator cannot exceed 250 degrees F."

 Vehicle Name          Garnet One
 Vehicle Number        62
 Category              USDOE HYBRID CATEGORY
 Organization          Swarthmore College
 Team Name             Swarthmore College HEV Team
 City                  Swarthmore
 State                 PA
 Description           1996 Chevy Beretta (Pba + CNG)
 www                   http://www.engin.swarthmore.edu/org/HEV/
 new this year?        Returning car and team
 No People in Project  6
 Months to Build       12
 Motor                 Advanced DC; FBI 401A; 21kw cont/60 peak
 Batteries             Trojan T-105/PbA; 20 cells/series/;
                       52800whr/120v/1200lbs
 Controller            Curtis 1221B-7401; Transistor
 Charger               none
 Charger Offboard      Land W BC20; Input:125v/20a; Transformer
 PV Array type amount  10 w; Solanex; Polycrystalline
 Construction          Chevrolet Beretta; Steel frame; Steel body
 Dimensions LxWxH      12' 0"; 5' 0"; 4' 0"
 Hybrid                Kawasaki ; 70cc   Ser; (CNG-1999)
 No of Passengers      2
 Maximum Speed mph     70
 Range miles           150
 Weight pounds         3700
 Program blurb         In a well-hidden garage behind Parazian hall at
                       Swarthmore College, a group of engineering
                       students gather around a white Chevy Beretta. 
                       With some observation it becomes clear this is no
                       ordinary car: a DC motor wired with electronics is
                       packed under the hood, a compressed natural gas
                       engine sits in the trunk, and the back seat is
                       filled with batteries capable of supplying 300
                       amps of current.  Garnet One is the product of
                       Swarthmore's HEV project, now in its third year. 
                       The project was started in 1996 as a senior design
                       project by five seniors and Prof Nelson Macken of
                       the department of engineering.  The Garnet One
                       placed 3rd in its category in 1998. 


Report #23: "The Trout" Number 64

In 1996, there was a Tour de Sol entrant, a project built by two guys, which was a motorcycle that had the drivers legs up, in front.  Sitting in it was like sitting in a recumbant bicycle.  The design let the driver quickly put his legs down on either side to support the cycle when standing still.  This motorcycle from Millersville University has a similar design, although it is much bigger and longer.  I spoke with John Wright, electronics professor at the school, and a former member of the Central Connecticut State University Tour de Sol team of 1991.  "The original Envirocycle was my baby, along with Professor Daryll Dowty.  We built the first motorcycle to complete every leg of the Tour de Sol.  I was the project manager.  10 years later, now, I'm the advisor with a brand new team."

The cycle is a bit over 9 feet long, with a box-beam chassis stretching a Honda "Shadow" 1100cc about 3 feet in the center.  It hauls advanced glass mat batteries, powering a pulse-width modulated controller, connected to a new Lynch permanent magnet DC motor, which is actually two motors in parallel in a single case.  "Our controller is designed for a series wound motor, so we had to do some engineering, along with Sevcon, to make this run." It has regenerative braking, but they don't have a lot of experience with it yet.  They'll be learning during the rally.  A chain reduction off the motor then drives a shaft drive to the rear wheel.  It weighs about 800 pounds, and can do 60 miles per hour. 

The goal of this one is to break the 81 mile Tour de Sol distance record set in 1991 by the Schiller Power Group of Germany. 

The name, "The Trout", comes from the fiberglass shell that covers frame.  "The shape is copied from one of the most efficient animals in nature." However, they won't be running with the shell.  "We're just testing the drive train this year." Next year they will have the shell and a "landing gear" that can drop when the bike stops. 

 Vehicle Name          The Trout
 Vehicle Number        64
 Category              ONE PERSON CATEGORY
 Organization          Millersville University, NAIT Chapter
 Team Name             Team Millersville
 City                  Millersville
 State                 PA
 Description           Purpose-Built electric Scooter (Deka PbA)
 www                   muweb.millersv.edu/~nait
 new this year?        New vehicle and team
 No People in Project  20
 Months to Build       9
 Motor                 Lynch. 
 Batteries             Deka Advanced Glass Mat lead acid;
                       6 cells/parallel/$3500;
                       NA/whrs/6v/400lbs
 Controller            Sevcon
 Charger               none
 Charger Offboard      none
 PV Array type amount  none
 Construction          Purpose built ; Steel frame; Fiberglass body
 Dimensions LxWxH      9' 4"; 2' 8"; 3' 5"
 No of Passengers      1
 Maximum Speed mph     60
 Range miles           150
 Weight pounds         850
 Program blurb         not received

About 13 students have been working on the design of this extraciricular project for about a year, although the actual construction took place over the past 6 weeks. 


Report #24: "Solectria NiCad Force" Number 67

Over the years I've gotten to know Jim Sime of the Connecticut Department of Transportation.  He brought me up to date on their vehicle and the detailed analysis they have been performing over the past 6 years.  This car was originally a lead-acid battery "Force" and it ran 4 years in the American Tour de Sol, with two different lead acid batteries; 95 Amp-hour batteries and 85 Amp-hour batteries, both from Electrosource.  Before the 1999 ATdS, it was switched to SAFT nickel cadmimum batteries.  "This will be the final year for this car at the Tour de Sol.  Last year we did the hilly course and this year we'll do the level coastal course."

Between ATdS events, this car is used at the DoT in work trips and for commuting.  "Our objective is to see if we can run it at the advertised 60-70 miles per day, year round, in cold, storm, rain.  They claim the NiCd battery is long-lived.  We have to find out if that is true before they are going to spend more money to buy more of these for the fleet.  Over the winter, we took it out of service and sent it to E-Vermont, which won a prize in the Production Category.  They are specialists in cold weather systems.  They installed the Espar keorsene-fired heater.  That provides heat and defrosting without taking any energy from the battery.  That should address our observation that the car has 10 to 15 miles less range when using the electric heater and defroster.  We got it back in late February.  It has worked well.  We are really looking forward to seeing how it does next winter. 

"E-Vermont also suggested putting in electric seat heaters, as putting the energy where it did the most good.  So we said why not."

"We are going to run this car for a total of 4 years.  If the battery is really in exceptional condition, we may ask to extend the project until the battery is no longer serving us to establish a life-cycle."

This car has been used to collect detailed data to evaluate if EVs could replace some of the 115 subcompact cars the Connecticut DoT uses. 

They have added a "charge later" timer switch to the charging circuit.  The timer turns on the charger after running out the set time.  "We did some brain storming with James Worden and the Solectria engineers after the last Tour de Sol.  These batteries charge at greater efficiency at lower temperature." Letting the batteries cool before starting charging should help improve the efficiency with which the batteries take on energy.  We are going to collect some data, with or without the delay, to see if it makes a difference." As long as they leave enough time for the charge to complete, there should be no difference in drivable range, but more of the energy will go into the batteries and less willl be loss as heat during charge.  "It's just really learning more about fine tuning a NiCd car."

Jim reminded me that in these NiCd batteries, the electrolyte of all the blocks are interconnected, so they balance electrolyte automatically.  And there is a cooling jacket around the blocks, also inteconnected, with a radiator under the car and a pump, to help cool the pack when it is being charged or discharged agressively. 

They also blocked up the opening in the front of the car, normally used to cool the engine radiator.  Since there isn't a radiator in the EV, they think they can cut down on the aerodynamic drag. 

 Vehicle Name          Solectria NiCad Force
 Vehicle Number        67
 Category              PRODUCTION CATEGORY
 Organization          Rideshare Company (The)
 Team Name             Connecticut Partnership
 Program Name          Connecticut EV/NAVC
 City                  Windsor
 State                 CT
 Description           Geo Metro (SAFT NiCad)
 www                   ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/JSime_ConnDOT/
 new this year?        New car, returning team
 No People in Project  4
 Motor                 Solectria; AC Induction; 12kw cont./37kw peak
 Batteries             SAFT/NiCad; 13 cells/series/$8,000;
                       15600whr/156v/675 lbs
 Controller            Solectria; AC 325
 Charger               Solectria BC/3.3 kw; Input:250v/16a; High freq/ss
 Charger Offboard      none
 PV Array type amount  none
 Construction          Geo Metro; Steel frame; Steel body
 Conversion            Geo Metro
 Dimensions LxWxH      13' 8"; 5' 2"; 4' 7"
 No of Passengers      4
 Maximum Speed mph     65
 Range miles           80
 Range 99              130
 Weight pounds         2513
 Prize 99              3rd place: Light duty
 Program blurb         Connecticut Partnership to Evaluate an Electric
                       Vehicle.  Team #67 is a partnership between the
                       Connecticut Department of Transportation and The
                       Rideshare Company.  Through a partnership effort,
                       an electric subcompact car (Solectria Force) with
                       nickel cadmium batteries is being evaluated to
                       determine its viability in Connecticut for
                       commuting and work trips. 

This car climbed up Mt.  Washington and, oddly enough, drove back down.  But unlike a gasoline car, an EV with regenerative braking can recover energy as it is slowing down.  How much energy can you recover? Well, this car recovered 38.6% of the energy it cost to make the climb.  "We tapped the service brakes once or twice on the way down, because of traffic.  Otherwise in came down at between 20 and 25 miles per hour on only regen." It cost 7 kiloWatt-hours to go up, 2.7 kiloWatt-hours were recovered coming back down. 

They had a minor accident last summer that dented the hood.  When they went to repair it, they decided to replace the front hood and rear trunk lid with fiber glass.  That saved 17 pounds. 


Report #25: "Sungo" Number 72

Low and wide, this two-seater with the tilt forward cab for entry and the separate motors driving the rear wheels has been at the NESEA Tour at least as long as I have and is one of my perennial favorites.  The base vehicle is a custom built aluminum frame with fiberglass sandwich body.  Over the years it has changed drive systems (gone from toothed belts to gear boxes), battery chemistry (lead acid to nickel metal hydride), paint schemes (white- with-stripes to color-changes-with-viewing-angle blue-purple) and, of course, team members.  I wonder where they are now. 

I spoke with Carl Patton from New Hampshire Technical Institute's Sustainable Energy Ventures (SEV) Club.  What's different? "Last year we were 144 Volts nominal.  This year we're 156 Volts with a new GM Ovonic nickel metal hydride battery pack.  We have two 22 horsepower AC 3-phase industrial sized motors going into a total gear reduction of 8.5-to-1 back to the rear tires.  We have 4-wheel disk brakes, with the front disks changed from 6 inch rotors up to 10 inches so our stopping is more aggressive.  We've improved 4 meters-per-second-squared decelerating from last year.  ` Last year, during the acceleration test (held at a drag strip) "Sungo" suffered what looked like, at first glance, a gear box or motor failure.  From where I was in the announcer's tower it looked like smoke came out of the rear.  "It was the rubber coupling that mated the axel and the gear box together.  Some of us were sure they were going to break, and we went through 4 sets of them last year.  So this year, we have roller chain couplers, used widely in industry.  We don't even have a spare with us.  We're not worried about them breaking this year."

"We finally got an Electrical Engineering Technology student on our team, so it was a lot easier to do the wiring and electronics.  We now have fuses half-way through the pack and between the motors and the pack for safety."

During the summer and fall, the car gets driven around Concord NH and turns some heads.  But after January it's up on blocks and completely dismantled, worked on, and then put back together.  The changing of the brake rotors turned into a 5-week project. 

 Vehicle Name          Sungo
 Vehicle Number        72
 Category              BATTERY-ELECTRIC CATEGORY
 Organization          SEV Club of NHTI
 Team Name             SEV of NHTI
 City                  Concord
 State                 NH
 Description           Purpose-Built Sedan (Ovonics NiMH)
 www                   www.nhti.net
 new this year?        Returning car and team
 No People in Project  13
 Months to Build       18
 Motor                 Solectria; ACgtx20 induction; 21 kw cont/28 kw
                       peak
 Batteries             GM Ovonic/NiMH; 13 cells/series/$5,280; 12480
                       whr/156v/650 lbs
 Controller            Solectria; Networked CD MOSFET
 Charger               none
 Charger Offboard      Mentzer/2420kw; Input:230v/10a; hi freq/ss
 PV Array type amount  100 w; Astropower; Monocrystalline
 Construction          Purpose built; Aluminum frame; Fibergl/foam body
 Dimensions LxWxH      7' 9"; 4' 9"; 3' 7"
 No of Passengers      2
 Maximum Speed mph     90
 Range miles           130
 Weight pounds         1600
 Program blurb         Sungo was built by and continuously improved by
                       members of the Sustainable Energy Ventures (SEV)
                       Club of New Hampshire Technical Institute.  Sungo
                       is a purpose built, all-electric commuter class
                       vehicle.  It carries 12 Ovonics Nickel Metal
                       Hydride Batteries.  Two 22 Hp AC motors drive the
                       rear wheels.  The car can reach speeds of over 90
                       mph.  Sungo has taken first place finishes in the
                       NESEA Tour de Sol in 1997 and 1998. The Club has
                       also recently completed construction of a 2Kw
                       tracking solar array at the school.  It will be
                       used to charge the various electric vehicles used
                       at the school. 


Report #26: "Envirocycle III" Number 89

Every once in a while, a vehicle that comes to the Tour de Sol disappears and then reappears a year or two later.  In this case, the "Envirocycle III" from Central Connecticut State University in New Britian CT was last seen in 1995.  I asked student Blake Mantel and Professor Daryll Dowty to tell me what has happened since then. 

In the intervening years it has been used for student research projects.  "Four students designed test jigs for testing various components of the cycle as senior projects, so the motorcycle was the base around which they worked."

"We spent a year trying to develop a transmission to meet the constraint that we not have to change the configuration of the frame." They tried to use off the shelf stuff that works, but were unable to find anything.  So they went back to a series wound DC motor with battery pack.  "It runs great and it's fun.  Don't know if it will make 55 miles or not, but ..."

They are having problems with overheating of the motor in start-and-stop traffic.  The lack of back-EMF in a DC motor at low speed means high in- rush current at slow speeds which means it can get too hot.  "We are going to try some cooling modifications and watch the temperature carefully so we can pull over if we need to."

 Vehicle Name          Envirocycle
 Vehicle Number        89
 Category              ONE PERSON CATEGORY
 Organization          Central Conneticut State University
 Team Name             Solar Electric Research Team
 City                  New Britain
 State                 CT
 Description           Motorcycle (GMB Champion  PbA)
 www                   www.club.ccsu.edu
 new this year?        Returning team
 No People in Project  10
 Motor                 Advanced DC; Series wound; 8.2 kw cont/11 kw/peak
 Batteries             GNB Champion; 6 cells/series/$850; 100
                       whrs/72v/510 lbs
 Controller            Curtis; Pulse modulated
 Charger               none
 Charger Offboard      K & W BC 20; Imput:120v/20a; Transformerless
 PV Array type amount  20 w; ICP Canada; Silicon
 Construction          1995 Suzuki GS; Aluminum frame; Plastic body
 Dimensions LxWxH      4' 10"; 3' 0"; 2' 8"
 No of Passengers      1
 Maximum Speed mph     60
 Range miles           80
 Weight pounds         1100

"Environcycle" also goes on display at schools.  On the May 31st it will go to the Great American Electric Vehicle Race for Connecticut high schools.  The schools construct vehicles that are limited to about 2 feet by 3 feet and 12 Volts.  "Something that the technology teachers can put together on a reasonable budget."

Central Connecticut State University has been working on a hybrid that they had hoped to enter this year, but "we've had a couple of streaks of bad luck.  We had a fire in the generator control wiring two nights ago, so the hybrid is not here."


Report #27: Ford "Electric Ranger"

George Gluck, from Syosset Ford on Long Island, is at the New York Hall of Science with a year 2000 Ford "Electric Ranger" with lead acid battery.  In California the vehicle is available with nickel metal hydride batteries.  There is a possibility of NiMH batteries being available in New York later. 

How many have they sold? "Over the past 3 years, about a dozen." Most are sold to companies that have "closed loop" operations, where the truck starts and ends at the same place and drives a relatively predicatble route.  "A mail or package truck that travels between the buildings of a university or among the schools in a school district is an ideal application.  Then there was the fuel oil dealer who bought one to be the first guy on the block."


Report #28: On the Dynamometer

I wandered over to the dynamometer while "ParaDyne" Number 7 from University of Tulsa was on, for the second time.  John Henshaw told me what was going on. 

"We were the first ones on this morning, and since then they've made a lot of changes to their procedures after their experiences with us.  During the first two runs on the IM240 (240 second) cycle their computer kept rebooting itself and they would loose all the data.  On the third run, our car overheated, because we're running it under high load, standing still, so the there is no air flow through the engine compartment. 

"Now they are now letting the team driver run the car instead of their driver, because all the vehicles drive so differently.  And they also went to a much simpler driving cycle.  The IM240 has a lot of stop and go, up and down hills, and velocity changes.  Now their just accelerating to 30 mph, staying there for a while and then slowing down. 

The other problem they had was adjusting to the different hybrid fuels used.  "We run reformulated gas.  There is also a bio-diesel, a diesel, an LPG, a CNG, an M85 and an ethanol.  It has been a big learning curve for everyone here."


Report #29: Honda Insight Owner #1

Bruce Arkwright Jr. is here at NY Hall of Science, having driven from Erie Pennsylvania where he lives.  He has had his "Insight" for about a month.  A 34 year old tool and die maker, Bruce bought his "Insight" "because I knew that society could do a little better than it is.  Since 7th grade I've been interested in solar power but didn't have the information to do anything.  About two years ago I started Home Power magazine." Someday he wants to have an solar panel house.  "I had saved up $10,000 for the solar panels, but this came along and I put it down on the car."

He was also looking at the Toyota "Prius", but since the "Insight" showed up first, that is what he bought. 

Amercian Honda Motor Company sent letters to the people who purchased the first 300 "Insight" hybrid-electric cars offering expenses and a stipend if they came to the Tour de Sol to show their cars and talk with people. 

This is the first time I've seen the inside.  The driver's instrument display is a digital display panel, with speed presented in big, orange digits.  There is a battery meter to the right of the speedometer, which indicates electric charge or discharge of the battery pack, labeled "CHARG" and "ASST".  Below the speedometer is a display that shows fuel efficiency in two parts.  There is a "MILES PER GALLON" number (reset by the trip meter?) and an instantaneous miles per gallon graph, labelled from 0 to 150 mpg! "And you really have to watch that bar graph to get your 70 mpg.  Just the operation of the car makes you a more conservative driver." Do you run the risk of driving down the road staring at the display? "Yeah.  I wish they had a heads-up display; that would be helpful."

There are also a tachometer (0 to 7000 revolutions per minute), hot-cold coolant temperature gauge, oil pressure light, and starter battery light. 

The transmission is a 5-on-the-floor manual, with clutch pedal.  "When the car comes to a stop and you put the clutch in, the engine stops, so the car does not idle for any length of time."

Regenerative braking is part of the system.  "Applying the brakes calls for regen, and if the battery is below half full, the car trickle charges the battery up to half."

The battery pack is made of 120 D-size nickel metal hydride cells in series, creating a 144 Volt, 900 Watt-hour pack.  "I haven't had the battery cover off yet, but I got a copy of the service manual so I'll know what I'm looking at."

Bruce has a 12 Volt solar panel that he brought along.  In the sun, he plugs it into the "cigarette lighter", also known as the "accessory outlet", to top of the starter battery. 

"I'm a little peeved with Pennsylvania.  They are supposed to have an incentive (tax break?) for alternative fuel vehicles, but they don't consider the Insight an AFV."


Report #30: "Solectria Super Force" Number 11

Olaf Bleck and Ted Bohn of Team New England have returned with the same vehicle they entered last year, one of the early Solectria "Force" hatchback cars with a trailer holding a second battery pack.  "Last year we talked about making it into the "Super Duper Force" with three battery packs, but we looked at the simulation data and that tells us that the optimum for this event is two.  We have 2 strings of 152 Volts at 80 Amp- hours".  Multiply that out and you get 24,320 Watt-hours.  "There is a For Sale sign on the car again.  Last year we had the batteries for sale.  This year we'll sell both the car and the batteries."

"This year our secret weapon is now a commercial product.  Power-Cheq Charge Equalizer.  We can now charge the entire battery pack without worrying about gassing any battery.  This is a modular battery management tool." Unlike some battery equalizing systems, this does not bleed current around the more fully charged batteries.  "These are actually miniature battery charges that shuffle current between two batteries if one is higher than the other." It's bidirectional, and one module manages a pair of of battery 6 Volt, 8 Volt, or 12 Volt blocks.  "The next module interleaves in another block, so in, say, a 3 block string, the middle block is in common.  Because the modules are all identical, there are no configuration issues.  You use N-minus-one PowerCheqs in an N block pack.  19 blocks; 18 PowerCheqs." In a long string, if the first block is the least completely charged and the last block is fully charged, the excess current will be daisy chained down through the pack to the block (or blocks) that need it.  When the entire pack is charged, the LED on all the modules stop blinking and the string charger, which can be anything, sees a string voltage which is N times the N block voltages.  So the string charger stops charging.  (In strings without equalization technologies, the first block to get to full charge is driven into overcharge while the string charger tries to bring the entire pack up to full-charge voltage.  Overcharging causes that block to give off hydrogen, which is both a hazard and weakens the block.)

The "Super Force" went 156 miles on a charge last year, a NESEA Tour lead- acid record.  Olaf and Ted were predicting they'll beat their own record "with a new pack and better battery management". 

Last year the "Super Force" was the only car with a trailer, but this year the "Electrifly" from Canada also is sporting one.  "If we can get Fred Whitridge (who brought a trailer in 1995, '96 and '97) to show up we can create a TRAILER CATEGORY."

 Vehicle Name          Solectria Super Force
 Vehicle Number        11
 Category              BATTERY-ELECTRIC CATEGORY
 Organization          Team New England
 Team Name             Team New England
 City                  Nahant
 State                 MA
 Description           Geo Metro (Delphi PbA)
 new this year?        New car and team
 No People in Project  6
 Motor                 Solectria; AC Induction; 15 kw cont/35 kw peak
 Batteries             Delphi/ PbA; 19 cells/ combin/$2,850;
                       27360wh/150v/1604 lbs
 Controller            Solectria; 3 phase inverter
 Charger               none
 Charger Offboard      Solectria/ ; Input:10v/ 10a; High freq/ss
 PV Array type amount  10 w; Astropower; Polycrystalline
 Construction          1993 Geo Metro; Steel frame; Steel unibody
 Dimensions LxWxH      16' 6"; 5' 4"; 4' 8"
 No of Passengers      2
 Maximum Speed mph     70
 Range miles           180
 Range 99              156*
 Weight pounds         3300
 Prize 99              Best Range with PbA- Record!
 Program blurb         Team New England is returning with their Solectria
                       Super Force this year.  This vehicle, originally
                       built by Solectria Corporation, has been
                       significantly modified, and a trailer, which holds
                       additional lead acid batteries has been built to
                       increase the driving range of the vehicle.  Last
                       year the Solectria Super Force captured the range
                       prize for lead acid battery vehicles after driving
                       156 miles.  Their goal this year is to beat the
                       record they set last year. 

The Power-Cheqs are make by Power Designers, LLC.  608 231-0450.  www.powerdesigners.com


Report #31: Tails from the Charging Trailer in New York City

It is now Saturday morning.  The movable feast of Tour de Sol vehicles has moved from the New York Hall of Science, in Queens NY, where at least some of them were tested and displayed to the South Street Seaport area of lower Manhattan, New York City.  Today the testing and displaying will continue, and on Sunday the feast will begin to move in earnest, heading over the Brooklyn Bridge into (where else?) Brooklyn, over the OuterBridge Crossing, and through urban and rural New Jersey to West Windsor. 

This is the 3rd time the NESEA Tour to start at South Street, under the FDR Drive.  In past years that overhead roadway has afforded some shelter from the rain, but there isn't any rain today.  It is spring and feels it. 

At least once a day, all but the hybrid EVs must plug in to "get their juice".  To provide all that power, NESEA brings along the "Charging Trailer", which can be connected into the power grid and the provides a properly sized and protected plug for each vehicle.  That simple statement creates considerable work, and this year Rick Ritter and Steve Kurkoski perform those duties.  I found them Saturday morning and asked if there had been any issues the previous night.  "We had one circuit breaker that was humming a bit loudly, which we'll cycle a few times to wipe the contacts.  There may be some carbon build up.  If that doesn't fix it, we'll change it out."

This year the smallest thing to be charged will be the little Ovonic Scooter, with a simple 110 Volts AC socket, and the biggest will be the Blue Bird/Solectria school bus with its 208 Volt single phase 100 Amp connector.  The Chrysler EPICs will each use a 3-phase circuit.  The EV1 will use a MagneCharge paddle.  Most everyone else will use either 110 or 220 Volt 20 or 30 Amp plugs. 

In past years the charging trailer has been heavily instrumented to get detailed data from each plug.  Last year and this year, each team has a digital Watt-hour meter in line with their charger.  Readings from the Watt-hour meter can be taken in a few seconds, using an infrared download link to a laptop computer.  So all the current transducers for the individual plugs have been removed and, Steve says, they will be put in NESEA's headquarters building in Greenfield MA.  There are current and voltage sensors on each subpanel, so they will be able to look at the current balance. 

At other sites, it is sometimes difficult to get a place to tie the trailer into the grid and have enough parking space.  In those cases, a large portable generator will feed the charging trailer.  Our next stop, West Windsor NJ, will be one such place. 


Report #32: "Solar Black Bear" Number 20

A sign proudly announces that the University of Maine "Solar Black Bear" is defending its 1999 1st place finish in the Solar Category.  Of course, it doesn't mention that the competition was "Helios the Heron", built by 4th- through-8th grade students. 

This is yet another Chevy S-10 pickup truck conversion, sporting a kiloWatt of solar panels mounted on a flat frame above the truck, from hood to tailgate. 

Jacob Pellegier told me that since the last Tour de Sol, it has been used as a utility truck around campus.  "We call it our most practical solar vehicle.  We can do most anything with it.  When we go to parades, we can throw 10 people into the back.  We go to the dump, haul gravel, carry lumber.  Every weekend, when we needed a truck to go get parts (for the Phantom Sol, Number 66), we jump into the Black Bear."

"Last year we were not very impressed with acceleration.  It does weigh almost 5000 pounds.  So we put a 410 rear end in.  It also has anti-sway bars, front and rear.  With the big solar array up top, the center of gravity isn't as low as we might like.  It's solid as a rock, now.  We know it's going to do well again."

 Vehicle Name          Solar Black Bear
 Vehicle Number        20
 Category              SOLAR-ELECTRIC CATEGORY
 Organization          University of Maine Solar Vehicle Team
 Team Name             U. Maine Solar Vehicle Team
 City                  Orono
 State                 ME
 Description           Solar Black Bear (1987 Chevy S-10, Trojan PbA)
 www                   www.ume.maine.edu/solar
 new this year?        Returning car and team
 No People in Project  15
 Months to Build       ??
 Motor                 Advanced DC; NA; 13kw cont/60kw peak
 Batteries             Trojan T-145/PbA; 24 cells/series/$2,400;
                       30096whr/144v/1728lbs
 Controller            Curtis; 1231c-8601
 Charger               none
 Charger Offboard      Alltech Elect/3kw; Input 208v/16.4a;
                       Transf/rectifier
 PV Array type amount  1020 w; BP Solar; Monocrystalline
 Construction          1987 Chevy S-10; Steel frame; Steel body
 Dimensions LxWxH      17' 5"; 6' 2"; 5' 0"
 No of Passengers      2
 Maximum Speed mph     70
 Range miles           95
 Weight pounds         4800
 Program blurb         Watch out!  The Solar Black Bear is back to defend
                       its first place finish in the solar commuter
                       category.  A new excited and diverse team of 15
                       has given the Black Bear more appropriate handling
                       and acceleration capabilities.  This converted
                       Chevy S-10 pick-up has traveled all over central
                       Maine, introducing the force of solar/electric
                       power to the general public with its 144V, Trojan
                       T-145 battery set and 12, 18V solar modules. 


Report #33: "Phantom Sol" Number 66

What do you do when you have a successful vehicle that won it's category in the 1999 Tour de Sol? If you are the University of Maine Solar Vehicle Team, you build another, different vehicle, in a different category, but with the intention of transferring as much knowledge as possible from the former to the later.  (You also reenter the winning "Solar Black Bear" into the Solar-Electric Category).  "With this vehicle we took everything we learned last year from what worked with the Solar Black Bear.  But we built an electric roadster that is basicly raw power." A 1200 Amp(!) controller can give them up to 250 horsepower from the same motor that delivers 110 in the Black Bear. 

The "Phantom Sol" is low, low, LOW! The roof is just 3.5 feet off the ground.  Jacob Pellegier told me that they deliberately built the "Phantom Sol" on the same Chevy S-10 truck chassis as the "Solar Black Bear" has.  "We used exactly the same vehicle and ripped off everything except the frame and structural material.  We made a nice, lightweight body from high impact Lexan thermoplastic.  We can melt and curve the plastic in ways we needed to create the body.  All the plastic weights less than 100 pounds, which is pretty good for a sixteen foot long car." It should be very aerodynamic.  And they expect it to be stable.  "Our center of gravity is 8 inches off the ground." Although the frame has been driven for quite some time, the body is being completed just before Technical Testing on the Saturday before the rally begins. 

Because it is so low, the driver and passenger sit in and among the truck chassis.  Some 40 8-Volt battery blocks are also low down, and carried in front, outboard in boxes along the sides, and in the rear.  "This vehicle is 60 percent battery weight." The blocks are wired as a pair of 160 Volt strings, normally run in parallel.  "We could run on either string alone if we decided too."

The driver and passenger sit with their legs straight out in front.  In front of the driver, the steering wheel is on a long shaft, to bring it back to the driver's reach.  A long bar with T-handle is the emergency disconnect which pulls the pair of Anderson connectors handles, one for each battery string, visible under the Lexan hood.  Another long handle connects to the 4-speed transmission, which is very much forward of the people.  Because the people are sitting low, with their legs forward, behind the front wheels, the motor and transmission are way up ahead of them. 

Students can work on the "Phantom Sol" and the "Solar Black Bear" for credit, in a class called Bio Resource Engineering, or can have it as an extracurricular activity.  "The team is pretty much half and half."

 Vehicle Name          Phantom Sol
 Vehicle Number        66
 Category              BATTERY-ELECTRIC CATEGORY
 Organization          University of Maine Solar Vehicle Team
 Team Name             U. Maine Solar Vehicle Team
 City                  Orono
 State                 ME
 Description           Phantom Sol  (sedan, Trojan, lead acid)
 www                   www.ume.maine.edu/solar
 new this year?        New car, returning team
 No People in Project  15
 Months to Build       8
 Motor                 Advanced DC; FB1-4001; 13.2kw cont/176kw pk
 Batteries             Trojan T-185/PbA; 40 cells/parallel/$1,785; 44800
                       whrs/160v/2520 lbs
 Controller            DC Power Sys; Raptor 1200
 Charger               none
 Charger Offboard      Alltech Elec/3kw; Input:208v/16.4a;
                       Trans/rectifier
 PV Array type amount  85 w; BP Solar; Monocrystalline
 Construction          Purpose built; Steel frame; Lexan body
 Dimensions LxWxH      16" 0"; 6' 2"; 3' 7"
 No of Passengers      2
 Maximum Speed mph     70
 Range miles           95
 Weight pounds         4800
 Program blurb         This Chevy S-10 pick-up is being engineered with
                       the same philosophy of significant battery voltage
                       and solar power as was used on the Solar Black
                       Bear which we entered last year.  The dynamics of
                       airflow have been utilized along with the
                       importance of having an agile body and frame.  The
                       team is dealing with new, cutting edge ideas daily
                       to improve its performance and efficiency.  Most
                       of the vehicle parts have been donated by friendly
                 foundations in Maine. 

Next year, the "Phantom Sol" will probably sport a kiloWatt solar array, like its predecessor. 


Report #34: "Spirit of Pioneering" Number 68

Philip Boullion is from Delta College, University Center, Michigan, just outside of Saginaw.  He is here with a converted 1985 Chevy S-10 pickup truck.  "It had an extended cab originally, which we have replaced with a standard cab, hence the gap between the cab and the back of the truck bed." They originally intended to have a fiberglass faring to flow the air around the vehicle, but that didn't get finished.  So they are making do with polycarbonate, Styrofoam and duct tape, creating a clear plastic cover over what would have been the hood area.  The result is a very visible set of workings up front, but well protected from probing hands.  Visible is a big Anderson connector with a pull-handle can be operated from the cab so they can disconnect the controller from the pack in an emergency.  A rope, tied to the reverse tie of the transmission "is because we blew the transmission two days ago." They are running a 4-speed Volkswagen transmission instead of the normal 5 speed.  "We have the two forward gears that we need, 3rd and 4th, but to push the rail up for reverse, we use that fine piece of string." He claimed that they only had to be able to go in reverse, not do so quickly, according to the rules.  (Tech testing might have a different interpretation.) Using the 4-speed saves 30-40 pounds, and let them lower the center of gravity some. 

"We are using ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene in our battery boxes, under the truck bed, which means we used less steel than otherwise.  It has the strength and characteristics of carbon fiber material, plus it go to about 500-to-600 percent elongation before it fails.  We used it instead of polypropylene, using a little bit less steel, by using an extremely strong plastic." I think he called it Trisbain 1000, by HiPoly in Illinois.  (I probably have messed up the spelling there.)

They have LED tail lights. 

Due to a mix-up in getting the tires and rims, they have 15-inch wheels on the rear, and 14-inch on the front. 

The truck is a volunteer project.  Most of the work was done at Philip's father's store, where they had access to tools and such.  They fact that they have a generator of site and are willing to share makes them popular with the other teams. 

 Vehicle Name          Spirit of Pioneering
 Vehicle Number        68
 Category              BATTERY-ELECTRIC CATEGORY
 Organization          Delta College
 Team Name             Delta College EVDP
 City                  University Center
 State                 MI
 Description           Chevy S-10 pick-up (Trojan PbA)
 new this year?        Returning team after 5yr
 No People in Project  50
 Months to Build       5
 Motor                 Advanced DC; FBI-4001A; 21kw cont/63kw peak
 Batteries             Trojan T-145/PbA; 26 cells/series/$2,600;
                       29520whr/144v/1728lbs
 Controller            DC Power Sys; Raptor 600
 Charger               Zivan WG3/2.8 kw; Input:208v/30a; High freq/ss
 Charger Offboard      none
 PV Array type amount  75 W
 Construction          1985 Chevy S-10; Steel frame; Steel/compos body
 Dimensions LxWxH      15'' 0"; 5' 6"; 5' 0"
 No of Passengers      2
 Maximum Speed mph     75
 Range miles           75
 Weight pounds         3200
 Program blurb         After a four year absence from the Tour De Sol we
                       have decided to return.  We are returning with a
                       1985 Chevrolet S-10 Pick-up.  This conversion
                       took 5 months and included 30 students from Delta
                       College, other local colleges, and high schools. 
                       We look forward to some friendly competition. 


Report #35: More on the Fisher-Tropisch Diesel Fuel

I mentioned that "E.D." (pronounced Ed) from Lawrence Technilogical University was labeled as using "FT Diesel" and that I had heard it was a diesel fuel made from natural gas.  Al Hodges of Miami Florida did some research and sent me the following ... 

 Conversion of natural gas (the burn off in oil fields) produces a high
 octane, low emission diesel.  Process dates to two Germans in 1920 who
 developed the process to convert coal gas to diesel fuel.  South Africa is
 among world's leaders in low cost plant ($300 million) and petroleum prices
 must exceed $18 per barrel for economic feasibility. 

 Shell has a plant in Malaysia producing 12,500 barrels per day.  Exxon
 working on process in Louisiana and Pittsburgh.  Texaco has a plant in
 Oklahoma. 

 System ideal for remote oil fields with natural gas being wasted (e.g.,
 burning at well site). 

 More than you wanted to know?  Oh, well... 

 OK to pass along as my research was 100% from the Internet.  In two hours,
 I had information from Norway, Germany, South Africa, Holland (Shell), and
 the U.S.A.  This has been the most impressive research I have done on the
 WWW. I started without knowing the name of the process and ended up with a
 lot of knowledge. 

 South African firm is in joint venture with Norway to build a plant on a
 ship to convert natural gas in North Sea oil fields.  Texaco is in joint
 venture with Brazil. 

 The Germans used the process to make synthetic fuel from coal slurry
 during WWII. 

	Al Hodges
	Miami, FL
	mah@globalisp.com


Report #36: "Soljourner #2" Number 21

I've always liked the idea of a Saturn as an EV, and the NESEA Tour has seen a number of them over the years done by college teams.  "Soljourner #2", by the West Philadelphia High School Electric Car Team is a beautifully clean Saturn, outside, inside and under-the-hood. 

Anesha Hunter and Anthony Smith said this is the school's second project.  They did a Jeep Wrangler in 1999 for a science fair but didn't have enough money to be able to run in the NESEA Tour.  "We started in July, planning for this race, and felt a more aerodynamic car would do better."

Most student vehicles in the NESEA Tour run battery packs of between about 90 and 200 Volts.  "This car has 27 lead-acid batteries in series giving 324 Volts." That is a lot of Jolts, if someone should get across it.  "We have a lot of safety items to protect people.  There are connectors to isolate portions of the string and a lot of rubber insulation."

I have never heard of MTS Automation, the company that makes the controller and motor.  "They make motors and controllers for electric vehicles.  We measured the transmission, and sent that to the company, and they made the adapter plate for us."

What sort of activity was the group that built the cars? "It's like a sports team of 10 students."

 Vehicle Name          Soljourner #2
 Vehicle Number        21
 Category              BATTERY-ELECTRIC CATEGORY
 Organization          West Philadelphia High School Electric Car Team
 Team Name             West Philadelphia Soljourners #2
 City                  Philadelphia
 State                 PA
 Description           Soljourner#2 (1995 Saturn SL, Deka, PbA)
 www                   www.Phila.k-12.pa
 new this year?        New car and team
 No People in Project  17
 Months to Build       8
 Motor                 MTS Automation; Brushless DC; 27kw cont/81kw peak
 Batteries             East-Penn-Deka; 27 cells/series/$2,700;
                       25000whr/324 v/1400 lbs
 Controller            MTS Automation
 Charger               none
 Charger Offboard      Zion/; Input:
 PV Array type amount  10w ; Uni-solar; Amorphous
 Construction          1993 Saturn SL-2; Steel frame; Steel body
 Dimensions LxWxH      14' 4'; 5' 6"; 4' 10"
 No of Passengers      2
 Maximum Speed mph     65
 Range miles           130
 Weight pounds         3250
 Program blurb         The West Philadelphia EV Team began last year when
                       a group of students converted a 1995 Jeep Wrangler
                       to electric power.  The Jeep was powered by 27
                       deep cycle gel lead acid batteries from Deka and a
                       324 volt brushless DC drive system from MTS
                       Automation while Michelin outfitted the Jeep with
                       low rolling resistant Proxima RR tires.  This
                       year's vehicle, a 1993 Saturn SL2 donated by
                       Saturn of Trevose, has the same set-up but now in
                       a lighter, more aerodynamic package.  The team is
                       looking forward to a successful rookie year at the
                       Tour de Sol!


Report #37: "E-Ride Gen II" Number 34

Phoenix Arizona has sent us some very interesting EVs over the years, and the group from Deer Valley High School is back with a pair of theirs.  The team is named ERAD which stands for "Environmental Responsibility in Automotive Design", said Jason Ferguson.  "E-Ride Gen II" is in the Battery-Electric Category, and they have another in the Hybrid Category.  ("The Wedge", an 1980 CitiCar which they also intended to bring, didn't make it.)

Last year, this Chevy S-10 conversion drove from Phoenix to Connecticut for the NESEA Tour using a generator bolted into the truck bed, and then ran as a pure electric in the rally.  "This year we trailered it here, but drove it during our overnight stops."

"Last year we had the batteries up in the bed." Now they are below the bed, which tilts for access, and lowers the center of gravity.  The battery boxes are aluminum-frame construction, with black ABS plastic lining.  There is also a new 1200 Amp Raptor controller and upgraded the motor from 20 to 28 horsepower.  The batteries were 144 Volts of Trojan T-125s; now they have 120 Volts of T-145s. 

They hope to get break their distance mark of 72 miles with "80-plus miles."

 Vehicle Name          E-Ride Gen II
 Vehicle Number        34
 Category              BATTERY-ELECTRIC CATEGORY
 Organization          Deer Valley School District
 Team Name             Deer Valley ERAD
 City                  Phoenix
 State                 AZ
 Description           (1994 Chevy S-10, Trojan PbA)
 www                   dcartier@district.dvusd.k12.az.us
 new this year?        Returning car and Team
 No People in Project  50
 Months to Build       6
 Motor                 AdvancedDC FBI-4001 ; Series wound; 20.9kw
                       cont/63.41kw peak
 Batteries             Trojan T-145/PbA; 20 cells/series/$1,900;
                       23460whr/120v/1440lbs
 Controller            DC Power Sys; Raptor 1200 AMD
 Charger               none
 Charger Offboard      Lester/3 kw; Input: 230v/; Transf/rectif
 PV Array type amount  55 w; Siemans
 Construction          1994 Chevy S-10; Steel frame; Steel body
 Dimensions LxWxH      8' 9"; 4' 7"; 5' 1"
 No of Passengers      3
 Maximum Speed mph     100
 Range miles           80
 Range 99              38
 Weight pounds         3800
 Program blurb         not received


Report #38: Nancy Hazard, NESEA American Tour de Sol Director

For eleven of the NESEA Tour's twelve years, Nancy Hazard has been the director.  It takes more than a year to put this annual event on, which means that she has been working on the 2001 Tour even while pulling this one off.  Each year I try to get a few uninterrupted minutes with her, and in New York City, sitting next the entrants displayed to the public on the Saturday before the rally began, I was almost successful. 

"The most exciting thing is that for the first time we have a vehicle entered, on display, and giving test drives that anyone can buy, anywhere in the United States; the Honda Insight.  This is what we have been working for all these years.  To truly have the impact of reducing oil use and air pollution emissions, we have to get millions of vehicles like these on the road.  It's _really_ exciting to have a mass produced vehicle that's being sold. 

"It's also great that we have about 10 Insights brought here by the people who own them.  People who are really excited about them, and people who want to tell other people how great they are.  Not just the auto manufacturer is here.  We also have the consumer." Some are in the Production Category, meaning they are competing, and some are in the Demonstration Category, which means they can give ride-and- drives without worrying about how it will affect their score, and some people, unable to get away for a week, have just come for a few days to show off their Insight. 

"We also have DaimlerChrysler here, with two of their EPIC van entrants, an EPIC demonstrator, and their prototype Darango HEV.  They are also in partnership with the Lawrence Tech Team. 

"We have a Solectria Force entered, and Solectria is here in another form.  We have a Blue Bird School bus, entered by the New York Power Authority, with Solectria components in it. 

"And, for the first time, we have a General Motors EV-1.  This is a second generation EV-1, with the nickel-metal hydride batteries. 

"And Friday and today we had the Ford "Think City" on display.  It's a really neat car.  The whole concept of Ford launching a new brand name with a very different marketing focus from anything else they ever produced is fascinating.  They are marketing a vehicle that is designed to get you around your community and connect you to mass transit.  It's just a thrilling, exciting shift in the mentality of car companies.  It is already for sale in Scandinavia, and I think the date for introduction in the US is 2001."

"And then we have a wonderful array of student and individual built vehicles, a nice mix of both returning teams and new faces. 

"There are a dozen Battery-Electrics, six Hybrids, three One Person, and two Solar-Electric entrants. 

"And there is a new, Renewably Fueled Category, to encourage teams to demonstrate vehicles that are not only clean at the tail pipe, but that use renewably produced electricity or fuel.  Team New Jersey has their hydrogen fuel cell powered NJ Venturer in that category.  To meet the renewable fuel requirement, their hydrogen is being produced by hydro-electric power.  They also brought a large photovoltaic array which will recharge Venturer's batteries. 

"This year we are seeing a greater interest in the NESEA Tour from policy makers, the media, and the public because there are now cars out there to buy.  The American Honda Motor Company is running newspaper ads about the Insight that say to come see it at the NESEA Tour.  We are also doing some talk radio shows. 

"This revolution that we have been working on is beginning to pay off.  We see people taking notice and getting excited about these vehicles.  It would be tempting to say that we have done what we set out to do a dozen years ago, although the path is not the one any of us would have predicted.  In order to claim we have done it we need to see millions of cleaner cars on the road.  Hybrid Insights, electric Thinks, even the fuel celled vehicles, which are still an unknown, can all be part of the mix."

But, I said, there are places where the effects of electric transportation are being felt.  In places like Chattanooga TN, and Santa Barbera CA, and Framingham MA, and Norfolk VA, electric buses run in service, not as so much as experiments, but as production vehicles.  "Yes, and the Blue Bird/Solectria bus is very exciting because it's capability matches typical school bus needs.  Most school buses don't travel huge distances and sit idle much of the day, when they can recharge.  And they carry our children.  So an electric drive gives them not only a clean bus, but also a model of what sustainable transportation is like."

At this point, the duties of being Director meant that our interview was over.  But the 13th American Tour de Sol is already in planning, with a likely route taking us from Waterbury CT, through Albany NY, and then east to Boston MA.  By then, there will be about 6,500 Insights on the road.  The Toyota Prius hybrid is likely to be available.  The Ford Think may have been launched in the US.  Maybe other fuel cell powered entries will come. 

That _that_ is next year.  This year's ATdS has not yet begun (as far as the tape is concerned), so there is much more to see and learn. 


Report #39: "Response II E" Number 5

I spoke with Nick Brancik at South Street Seaport on Saturday, where this custom-built car was on display.  He told me it was the second vehicle Lawrence Tech ever built.  The first was "Response I", in 1990, nick-named the lead-sled, based on a Bradley kit car.  "Response II", a hybrid, followed, and was entered into the Department of Energy's 1993 Hybrid Electric Vehicle Challenge.  "We learned a lot from the first car.  This has an aluminum frame.  The body was designed in a computer, laid out in clay by the students, and a 3-axis mill formed the body.  It has a Ford Probe's running gear on it.  The windshield and A-pillars are from a Geo Storm, and the door pillars and side-impact bars are intact.  But the rest of the car is all aluminum, Lexan windows (except the windshield) and carbon-fiber body.  The engine was from a Geo Metro.  It ran in the hybrid- electric vehicle competitions for 3 years. 

When we got new batteries for `E.D.' (Number 4) and noticed that Response II had been sitting for a year and a half, we decided why not retrofit it." It now has a 16 kiloWatt-hour NiMH pack, an older, air-cooled Unique Mobility motor controller with regenerative braking, and a Geo Metro 5-speed transmission." They kept the transmission because they found the motor was most efficient at about 3600 RPM, and then use the transmission to keep it there. 

"It runs very nicely for us and has been quite reliable."

 Vehicle Name          Response II E
 Vehicle Number        5
 Category              BATTERY-ELECTRIC CATEGORY
 Organization          Lawrence Technological University
 Team Name             Response LTU
 City                  Southfield
 State                 MI
 Description           Purpose-built (Ovonic NiMH)
 new this year?        New car, returning team Katherine Beebee
 No People in Project  40
 Months to Build       12
 Motor                 Unique Mobility; Brushless DC; 32kw cont./40kw
                       peak
 Batteries             GM Ovonics/NiMH; 13 cells/series/$23,000; 16.8
                       kWhr/168v/430 lbs
 Controller            Unique Mobility; 1GBT switching
 Charger               Solectria/204-330kw; In: 230-110v/20a; High
                       freq/ss
 Charger Offboard      none
 PV Array type amount  24 w; Unisolar; Amorphous
 Construction          Purpose-built; Aluminum frame; Carbon fiber body
 Dimensions LxWxH      13' 0"; 5' 5"; 4' 8"
 No of Passengers      2
 Maximum Speed mph     95
 Range miles           100
 Weight pounds         2100
 Program blurb         The Response II was originally designed and built
                       as a contender in the 1993 Hybrid Electric Vehicle
                       (HEV) Challenge sponsored by the US Dept. of
                       Energy.  Students at Lawrence Technological
                       University computer designed and built the
                       Aluminum frame and carbon fiber body in a period
                       of 6 months.  After many competitions and displays
                       including a display on the White House lawn, the
                       vehicle was converted to all electric in 1999 and
                       2000, resulting in a much lighter and quicker
                       vehicle, now called the Response II E. 


Report #40: "Spyder Juice" Number 31

For some, competition is a way of life, and "Sypder Juice" comes from that tradition.  It is a electric racing car, that comes to the Tour de Sol on even years, which have been New York City to Washington DC runs since 1996.  "We just go south.  On odd years, it goes north and we end up in Maine and cannot find our way home," said Al Simpler, head of the Team Arachnids. 

This bright yellow, open cockpit car has new East Penn batteries this year.  "They have cloned plates, so each battery is equally contributing to the propulsion of this car.  That makes the charging and discharging very even throughout the string. 

"We have a 150,000 Watt controller, that can deliver 800 Amps at 200 Volts.  That's like four houses with everything running. 

Between Tour de Sols, this car appears at the SunDay Challenges in Florida.  "We also go to parades and demonstrations for utility companies.  We have a solar charging station that goes with this.  We didn't bring it this year because we didn't have a big enough trailer. 

"The Team Arachnids does this fun.  As a business, we sell the drive system that is in this car, the motors, batteries, controllers.  We just sent two to Japan.  Another is in a beautiful pickup truck in Florida, and a guy in Connecticut who was at the Tour de Sol two years ago just bought our stuff.  On our web site we have a `DC Cobra Kit' for speed."

 Vehicle Name          Spyder Juice
 Vehicle Number        31
 Category              BATTERY-ELECTRIC CATEGORY
 Organization          Simpler Solar Systems Inc. 
 Team Name             Team Arachnids
 City                  Tallahassee
 State                 FL
 Description           1957 550 Spider (East Penn AGM PbA)
 www                   Simplersolar.com
 new this year?        Returning car and team
 Motor                 Advanced DC; XP27A; 33kw cont/150kw peak
 Batteries             East Penn AGM/PbA; 18 cells/series/$1,600; 1190
                       whr/216v/1170lbs
 Controller            Custom built
 Charger               2-VAN/2kw; Input:230v/10a; high freq/ss
 Charger Offboard      2-VAN/5kw; Input:230v/25a
 PV Array type amount  17 w; Siemans; Monocrystalline
 Construction          Porche Spyder; Tubular steel frame; Fiber glass
                       body
 Dimensions LxWxH      12' 4"; 4' 10"; 3' 2"
 No of Passengers      2
 Maximum Speed mph     120
 Range miles           150
 Weight pounds         2720
 Program blurb         Spyder Juice is an electrified Porche Spyder
                       powered with a new DEKA battery.  A full roll cage
                       was added and the rear and front suspension was
                       modified to enable the car to compete in the EVTC
                       pro race in Phoenix AZ. Undefeated in the NESEA
                       Tour accelleration and autocross categories, Team
                       Arachnid continues to pursue their goal of
                       achieving a new distance record for vehicles
                       powered with lead acid batteries.  Team Arachnid
                       has been together for over 6 years, and is known
                       for their distinctive rally hats and team spirit. 


Report #41: "Honda Insight" Number 47

Yet another in the fleet (herd? gaggle?) of Honda Insights being driven by owners is this one from Illinois.  Jack Grant told me they drove about 1500 miles to get to New York City.  "The hybrid technology is pretty special, and having it in production is a great thing if we want to have any fossil fuel around in the 50 years.  I really support the technology.  It's a great move in the right direction."

I asked if Jack had to educate his Honda dealer on the Insight.  "Actually I knew about it before he did.  I'd been following it since it was called the Honda VV, hitting the web site quiet a bit.  I wanted them to get it to market as fast as possible." Did he also follow the Toyota Prius? "I haven't really studied that.  I'm a Honda fan from way back.  They have a tendency to do things right."

What sort of fuel milage did he get coming across the plains and Appalachians? "It's telling me I'm averaging about 62 miles per gallon, with the two of us, our baggage and everything.  According to Honda specs we were slightly over weight."

How did he find out about the NESEA American Tour de Sol? "Honda invited me to come.  They sent me a letter about a month after I bought the car.  They gave us a little to cover expenses, so it turned out really great."

 Vehicle Name       Honda Insight
 Vehicle Number     47
 Category           PRODUCTION CATEGORY
 Organization       Jack C. Grant
 Team Name          Jack Grant
 City               Orion
 State              IL
 Description        Honda Insight( Gasoline-electric hybrid + NMH)
 new this year?     New car and team
 Construction       Honda Insight HEV; Aluminum body; Plastic/steel
                    frame
 Dimensions LxWxH   12' 11"; 4' 5"; 5' 7"
 No of Passengers   2
 Maximum Speed mph  80
 Range miles        100
 Weight pounds      1878


Report #42: "Honda Insight" Number 48

Nita Norman and her husband Bob are a bit older than your average Tour de Sol entrants.  He is a professor emeritus of mathematics at Dartmouth College, and interested in environmental matters for many years.  "He is one of those responsible for the Hanover NH `green belt' around it that ensures that noone has to drive 50 miles to get to a recreational area.  He also runs an environmental radio program. 

"I have been an editor of `The Russian Review' and teacher, though retired for a good many years.  Environmentally, I helped found a zero-population growth chapter."

She has called her car the "Green Flash Insight" and where as almost all the others are silver (and the Insight pace car is bright, bright red) hers is a sort of slightly yellow-green.  "I had three color choices and I chose this one because green is for the environment.  I also thought it would be the color that would attract the most attention, so I could tell people about it.  People would say, `I've seen that green car flashing by,' and so that became its name. 

"We've been energy savers for many years.  I had been waiting for a good electric vehicle for many years, but they are quite expensive and have range limitations.  When I read about this, which never needs to be plugged in and you don't have to learn anything new to drive it, I felt it was the best option for someone like me who is not mechanically minded." When Nita first asked her Honda dealer when she could get the hybrid she had heard about they said it would be years.  "It was actually about two years.  I got this in February 2000.  Our dealer sold 10 more in February and March and now you can order them but the waiting list is into next year."

"It's possible my husband will get a Toyota Prius when it comes out.  This is only a two seat car, so we'll need more seats if our grand children visit.  We are sold on the hybrid technology; it's fantastic. 

"A feature we love is the AutoStop when you come to a stop light.  Under the right conditions both the motor and engine cut out, so you are not burning anything and not polluting.  But when you put it into gear, it starts again just as smoothly as it can be.  Beautiful. 

"I've always driven stick shifts.  When we have rental cars on trips and we get automatics I hate them! So I'm delighted it's a stick shift. 

"In my home time, I drive short distances with many stops.  I usually only get in the 50 miles per gallon range.  On the trip from Hanover to New York City my husband averaged 72.3 miles per gallon."

One of the reason's I got interested in electric cars was a book titled "Solo: Life with an Electric Car" by Noel Perin, a Dartmouth professor, written in 1992.  I asked if he was still in Hanover.  Bob said, "his electric car is in repairs, and when it gets out, we are going to trade vehicles for a while and we'll drive his and he'll drive this."

 Vehicle Name       Honda Insight
 Vehicle Number     48
 Category           PRODUCTION CATEGORY
 Organization       Nita Norman
 Team Name          Nita Norman
 City               Hanover
 State              NH
 Description        Honda Insight (Gasoline-electric hybrid + NMH)
 new this year?     New car and team
 Construction       Honda Insight HEV; Aluminum body; Plastic/steel
                    frame
 Dimensions LxWxH   12' 11"; 4' 5"; 5' 7"
 No of Passengers   2
 Maximum Speed mph  80
 Range miles        100
 Weight pounds      1878


Report #43: "Solar Bolt" Number 61

During the 1994 American Tour de Sol, a high school team from Bolton Connecticut established the lead-acid range record by driving their "Solar Bolt" 141.7 miles on a single charge of their Trojan batteries, using just 196 Watt-hours of energy per mile driven.  (Said another way, the energy consumed in a 100-Watt light bulb in 2 hours could drive their car 1 mile.) Other lead-acid cars had lower measured energy use, but they went furthest.  In 1995, they pushed it to 143 miles per charge.  And there the record stood until 1999, when Team New England did 156 miles using a trailer and a second pack.  "Solar Bolt" _only_ did 150.  Bolton has returned to try to take their record back. 

"We are going to be a touch competitor this year," said Mike Moynihan.  They have a new battery pack and are "hoping to drive 157-to-160.  We are running US 145s.  We are experimenting to see if they can give us that extra edge.  Not much else is different.  We rewired the 12 Volt system, and cleaned up some things.  That was basicly it."

Between NESEA Tours "we drive it around for fun after school.  My Tech teacher takes it out to breakfast every once in a while to put some miles on it."

 Vehicle Name          Solar Bolt
 Vehicle Number        61
 Category              BATTERY-ELECTRIC CATEGORY
 Organization          Bolton High School
 Team Name             Solar Bolt Team
 City                  Bolton
 State                 CT
 Description           1974 Fiat (Trojan T-145 PbA)
 new this year?        Returning car and Team
 No People in Project  50
 Months to Build       1 year
 Motor                 Advanced DC; FB1-4001; 20 kw cont/30 kw peak
 Batteries             Trojan T-145/PbA; 20 cells/series/$2,000;
                       22000whr/120v/1450lbs
 Controller            Curtis; 1231C-8601
 Charger               none
 Charger Offboard      Solar CarCorp/; Input:208v/60a; Ferro reson
 PV Array type amount  11 w; Uni-solar; Amorphous
 Construction          1974 Fiat; Steel frame; Steel/fibergl body
 Dimensions LxWxH      12' 0";  5' 4";  4' 0"
 No of Passengers      2
 Maximum Speed mph     70
 Range miles           150
 Range 99              150
 Weight pounds         2892
 Prize 99              3rd place
 Program blurb         The Solar Bolt  Team of Bolton H.S. began in May
                       1992 with two donated Fiats.  Lead by Roger Titus,
                       the Industrial Technology teacher, and Tino
                       Bertolini, the curriculum coordinator, the team
                       researched the various aspects of the car,
                       including the tires, motor, and battery selection. 
                       A new aerodynamic exterior was also designed.  A
                       core group of about 25 students and teachers
                       worked throughout the year on the project.  Support
                       from various departments and from  the local
                       community has been essential to the success of
                       this ongoing project.  The Solar Bolt has set
                       several range records at the NESEA Tour over the
                       years. 


Report #44: "Sunpacer" Number 92

The first American Tour de Sol was in 1989.  In 1991, the students at Cato- Meridian High School built a 3-wheeled, one person vehicle that looked like an over-grown aluminum door stop, two wheels in front with the thin part of the wedge to the rear.  In 1992 "Sunpacer" won the 1-person category.  And it has been back every year since them. 

Its appearance doesn't change much, year to year, but it does improve.  David Wright told me that this year "we've changed the seat belt, had a few problems with the brakes so we fixed them to have less drag, changed the utility battery from a flooded electrolyte to a gel to make it a lot safer.  That's about it this year."

It runs a 36 Volt traction system and carries a 300 Watt solar panel which is the slopping part of the wedge. 

Between Tours it sits in storage, but "about 3 months ahead of time we take it out, test it, taking it for test drives, doing the slalom course and brake tests.  It used to go to parades, but not any more."

 Vehicle Name          Sunpacer
 Vehicle Number        92
 Category              ONE PERSON CATEGORY
 Organization          Cato-Meridian Sunpacer Tech Team
 Team Name             C-M Sunpacer Tech Team
 City                  Cato
 State                 NY
 Description           Purpose-built,  3 wheel (Deka Dominator PbA)
 new this year?        Returning car and team
 No People in Project  5
 Motor                 Advanced D.C. 6 Hp; Series wound brush; 2500kw
                       ct/4476kw pk
 Batteries             East Penn Mfg./PbA; 6 cells/series/$1,200; 6
                       whrs/35v/480 lbs
 Controller            Sevcon; Ss
 Charger               none
 Charger Offboard      Marquette/1 kw; Input:120v/10 a; Trans/rectif
 PV Array type amount  300 w; Hoxan; Monocrystalline
 Construction          Purpose-built; Steel tubing frame; Aluminum body
 Dimensions LxWxH      15' 6"; 4' 10"; 3' 6"
 No of Passengers      1
 Maximum Speed mph     45
 Range miles           75
 Range 99              71
 Weight pounds         1080
 Prize 99              3rd place green12
 Program blurb         The Sunpacer has been an ongoing engineering
                       activity for Earl Billing's high school technology
                       students at Cato-Meridian High School.  Sunpacer
                       has been in the NESEA Tour for 7 straight years in
                       the 1-person commuter class and has finished first
                       in 92,95,96,97 and 98. This year's team has five
                       members: Tonya Buddie, Lucas Lunkienheimer, Tim
                       Soine, David Wright, and Cynthia Malda. 


Report #45: "Blue Bird/Solectria School Bus" Number 60

A bunch of us have climbed on board the electric bus built by Blue Bird using Solectria's motors and electronics.  With Patrick Centolanzi at the wheel and Kerry-Jane King riding shotgun, both with New York Power Authority, we went for a tour of all the streets closed due to road construction in the lower end of Manhattan. 

Patrick is the electric transportation systems engineer.  "I have all the manuals and will probably be training the drivers and maintenance people.  I'll also be a liaison between the user of the bus and the manufacturer, giving feed back.  Should there be more creep (slight forward motion when the foot is not on the brake or accelerator pedal) or less creep; more or less regenerative braking, different top speed. 

"The vehicle charges with an AVCON electric vehicle connector, which is a connector designed to be used safely by the public.  That was a big deal.  Earlier electric vehicles had industrial connectors that sparked if disconnected under load.  If you were charging in a garage with gasoline and natural gas fueled vehicles that could be a problem.  The bus is designed to carry children safely, and has diesel-fired heat, for comfort in the winter time."

Kerry-Jane is the project manager.  This is NYPA's second electric bus, which has been in service for four years and is viewed as a successful vehicle from the standpoint that drivers, school administrators, parents and children all like it.  "Kids especially like the fact that it is quiet, so they can talk with their friends.  They also like the fact that it is clean and environmental." The problem with that bus came from the original manufacturer being bought out by another company and then disagreements over just what the contractual obligations were between the operator and manufacturer. 

Kerry-Jane spoke of the financial side of electric vehicles.  This bus will be operated by a contractor who will be watching the cost-of-operation very closely.  The down side of an electric bus is the relatively high purchase price (which NYPA pays; they still own the bus) and the periodic cost of replacing the batteries.  The up side is the lack of consumable maintenance items (in diesel buses, primarily engine oils, filters, injectors) and the costs associated with the environmental impacts of the those considered pollutants.  "If the bus is reliable, it may well prove viable for them because they will have a lot of environmental concerns, which impose a huge expense on them, eliminated.  For example, disposal of oil." A lot less maintenance could mean fewer maintenance people. 

Patrick pointed out that this bus _is_ in the Tour de Sol, and as such had to pass all the tests imposed on all the entrants.  "Some of those tests were not expecting a 35 foot long, 33000 pound vehicle.  It couldn't be weighed; it was too heavy for their scales.  It couldn't do the hill climbing test because the hill was too small.  The slolam did get the bus to lean a little bit.  It had to back up for the second run at the slolam; it was too long to turn around.  What I want to do is collect as much data as we can so we can use it in the marketing of this bus as a viable electric vehicle." Are you going to try to put this through the Autocross? "Yes!" _That_ will be something to see!

 Vehicle Name          Blue Bird School Bus
 Vehicle Number        60
 Category              PRODUCTION CATEGORY
 Organization          New York Power Authority
 Team Name             New York Power Authority
 City                  New York
 State                 NY
 Description           Electric School Bus (East Penn PbA)
 www                   www.nypa.gov
 new this year?        New bus, returning team
 No People in Project  4
 Months to Build       NA
 Motor                 Solectria; NA; 114kw cont/220kw pk
 Batteries             E Penn/; 112 cell/par-ser/$3,400; /336v/8000 lbs
 Controller            Solectria; UMOC 640
 Charger               Solectria/14 kw; Input: 240v/60a; high freq/ss
 Charger Offboard      none
 PV Array type amount  none
 Construction          1999 Blue Bird School Bus; Steel frame; Steel body
 Dimensions LxWxH      35' 0"; 8' 0"; 10' 0"
 No of Passengers      60
 Maximum Speed mph     65
 Range miles           60
 Weight pounds         NA
 Program blurb         The New York Power Authority will be driving a
                       pre-production prototype Blue Bird Electric School
                       Bus equipped with a drive train manufactured by
                       Solectria Corporation.  The bus is sponsored buy
                       the New York Power Authority and the New York City
                       Dept of Transportation. 


Report #46: "Ovonic Scooter" Number 3

Al Harbille, Director of Marketing, is here with a cute little green electric scooter.  Ovonic Battery has entered scooters in past NESEA Tours and they tend to do quite well.  The batteries are physically very small, but the nickel metal hydride chemistry tends to store more than enough energy to take the scooter and driver the 60-to-70 miles of each tour leg with no problems.  The fact that they are quiet and smoke-free tends to attract public interest.  The scooter in the 1998 ATdS was smaller.  The one that was supposed to run in 1999 was stolen, along with the support van, before it got to the starting line.  "We expect it to set a range record in excess of 100 kilometers (62 miles) on a single charge." The chassis is something called a "City Bike" which Ovonic has converted to electric drive. 

"This vehicle continues to demonstrate the feasibility of this nickel metal hydride battery technology to offer to a consumer acceptable range, performance and life for everyday use.  We continue to get higher energy density and better power performance each year, and continue to get our cost down.  Over the past 3 years we have seen over 50% reduction in the manufacturing cost of NiMH batteries at very low manufacturing volume.  Ovonic has about 18 licensees around the world and those licensees manufacture probably 99% of the NiMH batteries used in the consumer market." The major applications right now are cellular telephones and portable computers.  "Our target is to get the USABC (United States Advanced Battery Consortium) target of $150 per kiloWatt-hour.  Today, we are at about $1000 to $1200 per kWhr, because of the very, very low manufacturing volumes we have today.  With medium volume sizes, such as in this scooter, we can see getting to the $250 range fairly quickly.  But it is not just volume.  For example, the modules we produced just 5 years ago they would look like they were essentially hand-made.  Through the manufacturing expertise we have developed with General Motors/Ovonic we have done things like simplifying the parts and reducing the parts count and thereby reducing the costs.  Our next generation product, unlike the traditional metal-can battery, will be all plastic and the part count will be maybe 16 parts for a 12 Volt battery system.  Today that would be well over 200 parts.  We already know that we can get there."

In the past, there NiMH batteries have had to be aggressively cooled, especially as the charge was finishing.  "With our new plastic battery we have an integrated, active water cooling system available.  It makes it basicly a no-brainer." The temperature differences between cells are very small with this new cooling system.  Because all the blocks in a battery string are thermally managed together, the blocks themselves do not need to be physically close together.  That means their placement in a vehicle can be determined by other factors. 

 Vehicle Name          Ovonic Scooter
 Vehicle Number        3
 Category              ONE PERSON CATEGORY
 Organization          Ovonic Battery Company
 Team Name             Ovonic Battery Company
 City                  Troy
 State                 MI
 Description           Scooter (1999 Ovonic NiMH)
 www                   www.ovonic.com
 new this year?        New scooter, ret. team
 No People in Project  5-7
 Months to Build       3
 Motor                 Cupex Permanent Magnet; DC brush
 Batteries             Ovonic NiMH; 5 cells/series/; 2.8 kwhrs/24v/75 lbs
 Charger               OBC UTCOM/.6 kw; Input: 120v/5a; Tranform/rect
 Charger Offboard      none
 PV Array type amount  none
 Construction          Ovonic Scooter; Steel frame; Fiberglass body
 Dimensions LxWxH      5" 3"; 2' 3; 3' 5"
 No of Passengers      2
 Maximum Speed mph     35
 Range miles           70
 Weight pounds         240


Report #47: Driving a Ford "Th!nk"

Here, near the South Street Seaport Museum where the Tour de Sol vehicles are on display before they leave on Sunday, the New York Power Authority is showing the Ford "Th!nk" (yes, that's a ! where the i should be).  NYPA (pronounced "neye pa" by some) is evaluating this vehicle as a potential addition to their fleet of company cars.  "We are looking to see if we can put into a commuter system, within New York State.  We have one in North White Plains NY with Toyota RAV4-EVs where four people come into the train station, pick up a car and go to IBM.  In the evening, they drive back to the train station, plug it in, and take the train back home." Since the Th!nk only seats two people and takes up half the parking space of a RAV4-EV, it should be easier to find two people who would be able to keep the same schedule and share a ride.  "We have over 95 electric vehicles, and I normally drive a RAV4-EV." Currently, this car "lives" at the NYPA headquarters at 50th and Broadway, where it is plugged in.  It is being driven every day by NYPA people as part of their evaluation.  I asked Sobeida Cruz if I could drive. 

"It goes pretty fast," Sobeida said.  The Norwegian-built "Th!nk" has a speedometer labeled from 0 to 120 kilometers per hour.  A wide paddle-like switch in the low-center dash board, reminiscent of a throttle quadrant on a large airplane, is labeled "Park-Reverse-Neutral-Drive".  There are running headlights, lit whenever the car is in Drive. 

There is no transmission, so it drives like an electric with a brushless motor, meaning that the acceleration is smooth and continuous, without steps.  The car has regenerative brakes, and the brakes are nicely sensitive.  The acceleration was nice and snappy, not at all sluggish as we drove around the lower end of Manhattan.  "It goes about 60 miles per hour." I didn't test that claim.  Because the wheel base is very short, it does bob a bit over bumps, but it doesn't feel unstable.  I attribute that to the center of gravity being very low and the car being heavy enough to keep all four wheels in firm contact with the pavement.  Unlike some "plastic" cars I've driven, this one did not have rattle or creak.  It didn't really have an "body sound" at all that I can recall or hear on the tape.  The electric motor whine is there when accelerating hard, but imperceptible the rest of the time.  Because the car is so quiet, I can hear comments of people we past; "Look at that!"

Someone had taken our original parking space, so we had to make do in another corner of the display area.  The smallness of the car, it's narrow width and short length, let me drive it between traffic cones and park in spaces where other cars could not go. 

(Specifications below taken from www.thinkmobility.com)

     Seating capacity: 2 passengers
     Size: (L)-9.8 feet
     (W)-5.25 feet
     (H)-5.1 feet
     Curb weight: 2075 lbs
     Max weight: 2490 lbs
     Luggage Capacity: 12.4 cubic feet
     High strength lower steel frame
     Aluminum space frame
     Thermoplastic body panels
     ABS plastic roof

     Front wheel drive
     Three phase AC induction motor
     Water cooled
     Max power output: 27 kW
     NiCd Batteries (19 modules, 114V)
     Top speed: 56 mph
     Acceleration: 0-30 mph in 7 seconds
     Range: 53 miles
     Power storage: 11.5kWh, 100 Ah
     Charge time: 4-6 hours to 80%
     Front disc, rear drum brakes

     Heated front and rear windshields
     Tinted Glass
     Passenger compartment pre-heat capability

     Avcon type battery charger
     Radio/CD player
     Aluminum wheel rims

     Exterior Colors:  Blue, Black, Red, Green, Burgandy
     Interior Colors:  Royal Blue

     TH!NK city will be available for sale in 2002. 


Report #48: "The Olympian" Number 16

I met Chris Shaffer, Brian Perry, and Jackie Guscott from Cinnaminson High School.  "We have had this car for a couple of years, but the GNB batteries are new.  We got them a couple of weeks ago and we've been working franticly to get them in.  There are two strings of 12, for 144 Volts, wired in series.  The two strings are then wired to each other in parallel." Last time they had two strings, one of Optimas and one of Horizon batteries, and they could run on either string or both.  But they intend to run in parallel all the time. 

This year they have added a big, gold-anodized aluminum heat sink under the Curtis controller.  The charger has been changed to a Divan, carried offboard. 

Between NESEA Tours, the car goes on some educational events where the students talk about it and air pollution.  It also is used for errands around town.  "It doesn't get driven as much as it should, but ..."

 Vehicle Name          The Olympian
 Vehicle Number        16
 Category              BATTERY-ELECTRIC CATEGORY
 Organization          Cinnaminson High School
 Team Name             Pirates
 City                  Cinnaminson
 State                 NJ
 Description           1986 Ford Escort (Electrosource & Optimia PbA)
 new this year?        returning car and team
 No People in Project  20
 Months to Build       36
 Motor                 Advanced DC ; FB1-4001 (9"); 21kw cont./36kw peak
 Batteries             24 GNB/PbA; /series/; 1000whr/144v/600 lbs
 Controller            Curtiss PMC Controller; 1231C-8601
 Charger               K&W BC/ 250kw; Input: NA; Transformerless/ss
 Charger Offboard      none
 PV Array type amount  8-10 w; EPV; Amorphous silicon
 Construction          Ford Escort; Steel frame; Steel Body
 Dimensions LxWxH      13' 10"; 5' 7"; 5' 4"
 Hybrid Engine/Fuel    none
 No of Passengers      2
 Maximum Speed mph     83
 Range miles           100
 Range 99              88
 Weight pounds         3050
 Program blurb         The 1987 Electric Ford Escort, front wheel drive,
                       4 speed transmission with no clutch, was first
                       converted to an EV in our high school auto shop in
                       1996. Student Ben Fratto (class of 1998) was
                       responsible for upgrading the vehicle for the Tour
                       de Sol.  Most electrical components were purchased
                       from Bob Batson of Electric Vehicles of America. 
                       The car is powered by a 144 volt DC system with
                       the large 9" Advanced DC Motor and Curtis
                       Controller.  PSE&G performed the major electrical
                       wiring, using heavy 00 welding calbe, in their
                       facilities in Moorestown NJ.  The car has dual
                       parallel 144 volt battery packs, which can be used
                       alternatively or simultaneously.  The main pack of
                       Horizon batteries resides where the rear seat used
                       to be.  The second pack is split between front and
                       rear.  Half are under the hood and the remainder
                       are in the trunk.  Ther batteries are sealed valve
                       regulated and require no isolation from the
                       passenger compartment/  Project support has been
                       received from local businesses(including the
                       Rotary, With much support from Electric Vehicles
                       of the Americas, PSE&G, NJDOT, the Rotary, State
                       Senator Diane Allen, and advisors  Mr. Robert
                       Deats and Ollie Perry, the car is now powered by a
                       144 volt DC system with a large 9 inch Advanced DC
                       Motor and Curtis Controller.  The Electrosource
                       lead acid batteries are Sealed and require no
                       isolation from the passenger compartment.  The
                       team returns to the NESEA Tour for the third year
                       in a row. 


Report #49: "Kineticar III" Number 18

There was a "Kineticar" in the first American Tour de Sol I attended, in 1993.  The parallel hybrid "Kineticar III" first appeared in 1997, when it drove just shy of 450 miles on a single tank of propane (also know as Liquid Petroleum Gas or LPG).  I asked William Sforza and Elgin Clock what was different in "Kineticar 2000".  "We changed our carburetor.  Since propane carburetors are not meant for small engines, we had a tough time finding one to fit our 1 liter Suzuki.  But we found one intended for fork- lifts.  We had to make a fitting to make it fit on the Geo Metro engine."

It is still running a clever parallel overrunning clutch drive system that allows the propane engine, the electric motor or both to drive the truck transmission.  An innovative mechanical linkage, dating back to 1997, lets the engine idle when it isn't being used to drive the truck, but can instantly call for power to take up the load if required. 

I snickered at a golf tee stuffed in the end of a rubber hose to seal it off.  "Believe it or not, those golf tees work fantastic.  They don't rip the hose or anything, and they grab pretty well."

Unlike many Tour de Sol vehicles that only see modest or no use between these events, this one gets lots of use.  The odometer now reads well over 100,000 miles.  "We went to a Connecticut Community College reunion, and to the NESEA conference at New Hampshire Technical Institute.  We are very proud of the fact that we haven't had to tow this truck in a long while."

 Vehicle Name          Kineticar III
 Vehicle Number        18
 Category              USDOE HYBRID CATEGORY
 Organization          Naugatuck Valley Comm Tech College (NVCTC)
 Team Name             CSERT-NVCTC
 City                  Waterbury
 State                 CT
 Description           Chevy S-10 pick-up (LPG + Trojan PBA )
 www                   www.nvctc5.commnet.edu
 new this year?        New car and team
 No People in Project  10
 Months to Build       3
 Motor                 Advanced DC; Series wound; 24kw cont/48kw peak
 Batteries             Trojan/PbA; 16 cells/series/$1400; 17600whr/96
                       v/1120 lbs
 Controller            Curtis; Model 1231c
 Charger               none
 Charger Offboard      Lester; Input: 230v/19a; Ferro reson. 
 PV Array type amount  25 w; Uni-Solar; Amorphous
 Construction          1989 Chevrolet S-10; Steel frame; Steel body
 Dimensions LxWxH      15' 0"; 5' 4"; 5' 0"
 Hybrid                Suzuki; 1L  Par.; LPG/26 mpg
 No of Passengers      2
 Maximum Speed mph     70
 Range miles           450
 Range 99              456*
 Weight pounds         4000
 Prize 99              3rd place student team +Range
 Program blurb         The KINETICAR III is a parallel hybrid vehicle
                       that uses liquid propane (LPG) and an electric
                       drive system.  CSERT returns to the Tour de Sol
                       with a more experienced team and an improved
                       vehicle.  Last year NVCTC drove the Kineticar III
                       from Lake George NY to Waterbury CT after the 1999
                       Tour de Sol.  In November 1999 they drove a round
                       trip from Waterbury CT to Concord NH.  The hybrid
                       can be used as an electric vehicle in town.  It
                       has a demonstrated range of 450 miles.  This year
                       CSERT expects to increase its range with a more
                       efficient carburetor. 


Report #50: "Deer Valley HEV" Number 36

Last year the Deer Valley High School team temporarily converted their pure-electric pickup truck to a hybrid by installing portable generators in the truck bed.  They then drove that truck from Phoenix to the Waterbury CT, for the Tour de Sol, where they once again ran as a pure-electric.  I asked Allison Basche, Brent Larue, and Lee Knight if they had driven this vehicle, designed from the beginning to be and run as a hybrid-electric, the entire distance.  "They drove it part way, but I don't know how far they drove it.  We all flew out this morning."

The Arizona Power System donated the 1995 Chevy S-10, which the students in an after-school club converted.  Again, the generator is mounted on the truck bed, but this vehicle can use either methanol or ethanol based fuels.  "After the Tour, we'll take the generators out and convert it back to pure- electric operation.  It will be given back to the school district and the high schools will use it as a maintenance vehicle, because they have to use so-many alternative fuel vehicles."

Allison said, "I'm thinking about going into chemical engineering.  This is really good experience for me whatever I do.  There is electrical stuff, mechanical stuff.  Plus, being female, I can get scholarships for it because there are not that many females that do that." Is she the only woman in the club? "There is actually another girl, and she is navigator in the other car." ("E-Ride Gen II", number 34)

 Vehicle Name          DVHEV
 Vehicle Number        36
 Category              USDOE HYBRID CATEGORY
 Organization          Deer Valley School District
 Team Name             Deer Valley ERAD
 City                  Phoenix
 State                 AZ
 Description           DVHEV (1985 Chevy S-10, Biodeisel +Trojan PbA)
 new this year?        Returning car, new team
 No People in Project  50
 Months to Build       6
 Motor                 AdvancedDC FBI-4001; Series wound ; 20.9 kw
                       ct/63.4 kw pk
 Batteries             Trojan/T-125; 20 cells/series/$1,600;
                       19320whr/120v/1320lbs
 Controller            DC Power sys; Raptor 1200 AMP
 Charger               none
 Charger Offboard      Lester/3 kw; Input:230v; Transf/rectif
 PV Array type amount  50 w
 Construction          1995 Chevy S-10; Steel frame; Steel body
 Dimensions LxWxH      9' 10"; 4' 7"; 5' 1"
 Hybrid                Deutz; Biodiesel; 30 mpg est
 No of Passengers      2
 Maximum Speed mph     90
 Range miles           150
 Range 99              38
 Weight pounds         4400
 Program blurb         not received


Report #51: "Polytech Ranger-Electric", Number 65

Nikolaus Rogzinger told me that the Tour de Sol stopped at his school in Woodside Delaware his junior year at Polytech High School.  "We have to do a senior project, so at first I thought I'd build an electric vehicle.  But over the summer I used the NESEA web page to learn about conversions.  I found this truck, which was $700, and converted it as my senior project.  The original engine was blowing oil, but the transmission and body were in great condition.  I used a couple of books.  One was Mike Brown's `Convet It', and the other has a picture of a truck on it; I cannot remember the title." (He might mean "From Gasoline to Electric Power: A Conversion Experience" by Gary Powers.  ISBN 0-9660953-0-8) "It's easier to convert a truck than a car.  It's designed for the weight."

"I finished last year in June, just before I graduated, and they have been running it ever since.  My plan was to run in Tour de Sol last year, but didn't make it.  The high school invited me back this year to drive it in the Tour." The other guys on the team are current students, from electronics and auto technology, and one is a member of the camera crew from the radio/TV.  He'll be taping the whole way."

Immanuel Johnson, a team member, said, "we are installing a pair of Handi- Loggers to collect data to see how the car is doing.  We are collecting battery Amperage and Voltage data."

 Vehicle Name          Polytech Ranger-Electric
 Vehicle Number        65
 Category              BATTERY-ELECTRIC CATEGORY
 Organization          Polytech High School
 Team Name             Team Polytech
 City                  Woodside
 State                 DE
 Description           1988 Ford Ranger (Trojan PbA)
 www                   www.polytech.kiz.de.us/index.htm
 new this year?        New car and team
 No People in Project  120
 Months to Build       6
 Motor                 Advanced DC; FBI-4001; 20.9kw cont/55.9 peak
 Batteries             Trojan t-145/ PbA; 20 cells/series/$1,700; series/
                       700lbs
 Controller            Curtis-PMC 123IC-7701; Transistor
 Charger               KEW BC-20/ 2 kw; Input:120v/20a; Transformerless
                       w/booster
 Charger Offboard      none
 PV Array type amount  none
 Construction          1988 Ford Ranger; Steel frame; Steel body
 Dimensions LxWxH      16' 0"; 6' 0"; 5' 0"
 No of Passengers      2
 Maximum Speed mph     65
 Range miles           65
 Weight pounds         3000
 Program blurb         Our 1988 Ford Ranger was converted to an electric
                       vehicle, using a KTA Services Electric Vehicle
                       Retrofit Kit No 4 with an Advanced DC Motor (KTA
                       Services, Inc.  Upland, CA.)  The retrofit was
                       completed by Polytech High School students in
                       order to demonstrate the concept of an emissions-
                       free vehicle as the focus for a Masters of
                       Technology Senior Project last year.  This project
                       was an integrated project that furthered the
                       students' knowledge in science, math, social
                       studies, and English, along with auto-technology,
                       autobody and welding.  The project included a
                       formal research paper, grant writing, and a formal
                       presentation before a committee of teachers,
                       administrators and students. 


Report #52: "Hopper EV" Number 94

The first year I attended the American Tour de Sol, 1993, was the first year that the "Hopper EV" showed up.  Each year since then it has been different.  It has transmorgified from a one-person, 3-wheel pure-electric running on bicycle tires, to a more conventional automotive-like front-end, single rear wheel EV, to a hybrid with a trailer burning bio-diesel and smelling like french-fries, to a two-person hybrid with trailer, to a two person hybrid without trailer.  It is still a two-person hybrid without a trailer, but heavily reworked.  So, once again I asked Tom Hopper, so what have you done to it _this_ year?

"It is still the same two-seater chassis, but I finally admitted that this is a fair-weather car.  So I cut the top, get in the light, and enjoy the evening cruises in the summer in New Hampshire." The top, which used to have a relatively large, wing-like shape over the passengers, has been cut away to an open T shape, with a snap-in cover for rain.  "That gave the car a wonderfully new spirit.  I don't like to drive it that much in the winter, or in the rain, and we have a lot of fair weather. 

"One of the new innovations this year is a small, water-cooled motor inverter (3-phase controller) made by PreMag (www.PreMag.com), called the Palmverter.  It is 9 by 9 by 2-and-a-half inches.  It can handle 400 Amps because the water jacket takes away the heat when you need to.  A water circulator goes to a very small radiator with a thermostatic electric fan that seldom comes on.  Water cooling means I can climb major hills and get all the current I want and longer life for that inverter.  I've known the inventor for some time. 

"This is the M85 methanol powered 90cc Honda engine that is the hybrid part of this series HEV.  It is tied directly to the charger." (M85 is 85% methanol, 15% gasoline) Two years ago Tom had a similar arrangement, but only got about 3 horsepower of electric energy out of it, good for about 30 miles per hour, steady state.  That meant he was always in a battery deficit situation over the long haul.  Now the engine is dedicated to M85, with the higher RPM and higher compression ratio that methanol prefers.  That brings the electric output to about 5 horsepower, good for 45 miles per hour steady state.  "But when you increase the horsepower, you create more heat and that demands more cooling.  Mike Seal (of Western Washington University) said `if you can put a little heat exchanger right here you could increase the horsepower.' So I've added a donut water cooling jacket that surrounds the exhaust pipe, intimately connected to the cylinder head right at the exhaust valve.  It sucks the heat away from the valves that see the most heat.  Because of the good conductivity there, it pulls away the heat very nicely." A centrifical water pump keeps the 50/50 glycol/water solution moving between the donut and the little radiator that dumps the heat to the air.  And a new muffler has cut the exhaust noise by half from 2 years ago. 

The methanol engine, generator, frame and mounts only weigh 125 pounds, and only has a few connections that are easily separated.  "I can remove the APU (Auxiliary Power Unit) myself.  For most of the year this is a plug in car.  For the Tour, I intend to be battery-dominant, which means most of the time the APU will be off.  I'll deplete the batteries 80% before I'll turn the APU on.  For the range test, I'll run it full time."

The battery pack is brand new; about 7 kiloWatt-hours of yellow-top Optimas. 

 Vehicle Name          Hopper EV
 Vehicle Number        94
 Category              USDOE HYBRID CATEGORY
 Organization          SEV Club of NHTI
 Team Name             NHTI
 City                  Concord
 State                 NH
 Description           Purpose-built (Methanol 85 +PbA)
 new this year?        Updated car, ret. team
 No People in Project  2
 Months to Build       15
 Motor                 Solectria; AC GTX20 Induction; 21 kw cont/28 kw
                       peak
 Batteries             Optima/PbA; 12 cells/series/$2,200; 7700
                       whrs/144v/516 lbs
 Controller            Premag; Palmverter
 Charger               Solectria BC/1kw; Input:110v/10a; Transf/rectif
 Charger Offboard      none
 PV Array type amount  100 w; Astropower; Monocrystalline
 Construction          Purpose built; Aluminum frame; FRP body
 Dimensions LxWxH      11' 6"; 5' 4"; 4' 8"
 Hybrid                Honda; Methanol M85; 70-80 mpg (gas equiv)
 No of Passengers      2
 Maximum Speed mph     80
 Range miles           250
 Weight pounds         1300
 Program blurb         The Hopper EV is a purpose-built vehicle designed
                       and built by Tom Hopper, advisor of the New
                       Hampshire Technical Institute Team, to provide
                       personal sustainable transportation.  Over the
                       years, the vehicle has been run as one-person EV,
                       as a two-person HEV with a trailer, and as a two-
                       person "everything on board" HEV. Since it last
                       participated in the event, Tom has installed a new
                       motor and done some major re-engineering.  Tom is
                       known for driviing to and from the NESEA Tour in
                       his Hopper EV. 

Tom said he is very happy with the flurry of Honda "Insight" cars that are at the Tour de Sol this year.  "They will be able to really show that this is the way we are going.  Hybrids are certainly on the way we are going.  They are the most practical configuration for us and we are going to see lots of iterations of them.  This first iteration is extremely practical because it hard couples the electric motor to a very small, efficient internal combustion engine (ICE).  They have made a very simple configuration there.  It is ICE-dominant, not battery dominant, with less than 1 kiloWatt hour of battery capacity.  But they recapture energy with regenerative braking; the world needs regenerative braking very badly.  We have to stop wasting that kinetic energy.  That will equal a gigantic amount of fuel to be saved over the world's vehicles.  We need it now, and they are doing it. 

"They have been able to combine the power curves very sweetly.  The power curve of the ICE is wimpy on acceleration and reaches peak power only at high RPMs.  The electric motor is just the opposite.  It has all the kick at the low end.  So now you have a fast little car with a wimpy, fuel stingy, clean engine.  And it's nicely aerodynamic.  And isn't that red paint job just wonderful?

"I expect as hybrid-electric vehicles develop, and the reliability improves and the batteries increase in energy density and reduce in cost, then we can move towards electric-dominant hybrids that can drive in pure- electric mode.  I want to see, and I'm sure we will see, signs in lower Manhattan that say `NO INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE OPERATION BEYOND THIS POINT; $10,000 FINE'.  We proved years ago in the Tour de Sol that big cities are where electric vehicles shine.  With all the braking, stopping, sitting.  Why does any car run when you are sitting? The Insight turns off!"


Report #53: Interview with Topher Waring

True confessions time here at the American Tour de Sol Reports.  I've known Topher Waring since 1995 and admired him since about 15 minutes after I met him.  Readers of these missives in years past also know I have an admiration for the "Helios the Heron" teams that have shown up since 1994.  In that year, the first "Helios the Heron" was built by the 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grade students of the Riverside School in Lyndonville VT and brought to the NESEA Tour to compete.  It went about 16 feet before it suffered a unrepairable failure.  But instead of packing up and going home, the team took their creation, which looked like a large silver slipper covered with round solar cells, to each display, handed out flyers describing their project, and _pushed_ their pride-and-joy under the final FINISH banner in Philadelphia.  I have a picture of that event. 

Over the years, the successor "Helios the Herons" improved.  But success did not come easily.  16 miles was the best it could do in 1995.  32 miles in 1996.  In 1997, it actually finished several legs of the course.  A record like that would be a disaster to many teams, but these kids, not one old enough to legally drive their creation, saw each improvement as a triumph.  I distinctly remember the pride in a student's voice as she told me they drove under the starting banner, on time, for the first time!

"Helios the Heron" is not here this year.  Topher Waring has moved on to a high school teaching job, and as the kids said in an emotional good-bye last year, "You have to understand that Topher Waring is Helios' heart."

But Topher is here, serving on the event jury.  He has been given the first annual "George Bradford EV Teacher Award" for his work with the Helios teams.  We spoke at the South Street Sea Port in New York City on the Saturday before the Tour started down the road. 

"I'm working as a physics teacher at Lake Region Union High School, teaching 9th through 12th grades.  This year I got the school board to give me permission to start an electric car program at the high school.  It's going to be an academic elective, for credit, as a technology course within the science department.  It's a vehicle design course with the goal of building a vehicle and the excuse of getting the kids to learn about electronics in a hands-on way.  We'll probably start with the sports department's gas-powered go-cart and convert it.  Then we'll do a pickup truck, either as an electric or hybrid electric, to be used by the school's maintenance department.  It won't be a garage queen or a racer; it's going to be a usable vehicle.  I don't see the class being here next year, but in two years it is a possibility. 

"Two former Helios members are here today.  Emily is staffing the bookstore and Ariel is selling CDs for the band.  It's a small community and I stay in touch with a lot of them."

Topher saw the Helios project from its shaky start, through its growing pains, to a satisfying end.  I asked what lessons he drew from that. 

"Some are just stories.  Like the time I walked into the shop and found the kids wedged into the cab, pretending to drive, the way kids do.  They were humming, not making the usual BRRRRRRR car noise they normally do.  I said, `They get it!'

"Team members from the first Helios are now juniors in college.  They are beginning to make choices, and one of them wants to be an engineer.  I don't know whether I had any influence on him or not.  The next couple of teams were mostly girls.  If they make that decision I might have a stronger feeling that maybe Helios had something to do with it."

I recalled a story from 1997, when Topher gave two of his best students a $300 E-Meter, used to measure the battery pack's state of charge, and told them there was only one and if it was damaged they could not replace it, so it had to be put in right.  He had gotten them clearance to take the entire day to install it, and left them to do it.  Then, when the team got to the NESEA Tour start, one of the high school teams was just getting around to doing their E-Meter, just before they ran through technical inspection.  I found the two Helios kids, sitting in the middle of a gaggle of teenagers, saying, "the red wire goes here, and the black wire goes there.  You have to watch out for this ..."

"There was a picture of that happening," Topher said, "in the American Airlines flight magazine.  The text was all about the high school team and their car.  But in the picture, our two kids are sitting there with their backs to the photographer, "Helios the Heron" clearly visible on their shirts."

The Helios teams were remarkable because, in spite of being much younger, they often had a better understanding of what they were doing, and the technology they were using, than some high school teams or even some members of the college teams.  What did Topher attribute that to?

"I didn't let any of them not do the real work.  I've talked to some teams here today where the the boys are doing the electrical work.  The young ladies are doing the posters but cannot explain the car.  They point to the boys.  In my classes every kid had to get their hands on all parts of the vehicle.  Everyone had to do some wiring.  Everyone had to scrap the body.  Everyone had to do posters.  That really paid off." That could be a herd of kids.  "It was 70 kids towards the end.  Well, you just do it.  It was part of their shop class, or industrial arts.  I would have 8 or 10 in a class, all year long.  That's when they learned their stuff."

And they had a never seemed to give up. 

"I just wasn't going to let them get that close and then cave in.  You say, `Wow! Look how close we came,' and you can be happy with what you _did_ do.  One year we got the (unofficial) Press On Regardless Award, probably from George Bradford.  That was the key phrase for us for a long time.  That is how you learn.  You learn under pressure, and you don't give up, and you don't cave in, and you don't get mean or nasty.  You keep on going!"

The path was sometimes tortuous, but each milestone was something to be celebrated. 

"Every milestone was recorded in the school record.  Helios V and Helios VI had no break downs at all.  And it was used all last winter.  It is still operational, but not legal anymore.  The registration and insurance have expired, so it's parked behind the barn. 

"The Helios team received an award in Scotland at the International Institute for Peace Through Tourism conference in October 1999.  There are a lot of energy-use implications, and that's why we were invited.  The kids went, did a presentation, and it was just awesome, unbelievable.  And they obviously had an impact.  Afterwards one gentleman stood up and said to them, `You should go to Congress and talk to them!'"

The Helios project was also featured last winter in National Geographic World, the kids' magazine. 

"I think it takes a certain level of crazy to do a project like Helios.  Other people have that level of crazy, but their passion is down-hill skiing, or Scottish dancing.  This was my passion."