Electric Vehicles in Depth, Part II: NmG, An EV for the Rest of Us
(Read part one of this article here)
George Clooney recently bought an electric vehicle for $108K. The vehicle, a Tango, is good for freeway speeds and stout 0-60 times. But what about the rest of us who dine at restaurants with signs that tout "4 billion served" rather than 4 stars? Can we only dream about owning an EV with that kind of performance? Take heart, prospective electric vehicle owners. Myers Motors of Tallmadge, Ohio has turned that dream into an EV you can afford.
The Myers Motors answer to an EV enthusiast's prayer is the NmG (No More Gas). This high-tech marvel whizzes along on three wheels, 500+ lbs. of batteries, and a torquey electric motor. Unlike the seemingly endless parade of tempting prototype electric vehicles powered by fuel cells, this little EV is being produced right now - not 5 years from now. You can pick up the phone and order one today, not mañana. Best of all, it doesn't cost $108K. I saw it, touched it, smelled it and heard it - a pleasant, space age, whiny sort of hum. Eerie. Heck, I even drove it and talked face-to-face with the president of the company.
After I concluded my interview with Dana Myers, CEO of Myers Motors, he asked me rather off-handedly if I'd like to drive one. I feigned mild interest. What I really wanted to say was "Geez, are you kidding. Here, take my first-born. Just chuck me the keys!" One minute into the test drive, I realize this ain't no golf cart. The NmG I drove that day may be titled, licensed, and insured as a motorcycle, but it accelerates like a muscle car. Or maybe it just feels that way because you're so close to ground. Regardless, it's one fun ride. Maneuverability and handling are off the charts. Parking? You could park it on your front porch if you could get up the steps. Promotional potential? Slap your company logo on an NmG and your whole town will be talking about your business. But I'm getting ahead of myself. How in the name of Alessandro Volta did a California-designed EV make its way to Akron, Ohio?
Take These Bankrupt Wings and Learn to Fly
Savvy readers may recognize the NmG as a remake of the late, lamented Corbin Motors Sparrow EV (more on that below). "Lamented" because a variety of electronic and mechanical ills in early Sparrow EVs plus financial woes forced Corbin Motors into bankruptcy in 2003 after 285 vehicles were produced. This orphaned an active, dedicated, and vocal group of Sparrow owners. Enter Dana Myers, kind of an EV version of Lee Iacocca, the guy who turned around Chrysler when it was teetering on the edge of the abyss in pre-DaimlerChrysler days. Myers saw potential in the broken and battered reputation of the little EV and resolved to buy up the remaining inventory and assets of Corbin Motors and nurse the Sparrow back into the air. The sale was completed in 2004. Myers saw his mission as not merely to resurrect the Sparrow, but to remodel it. He sagely asserted, "It's easier and cheaper to improve upon an existing design, than to start from scratch."
Unlike most movie sequels, this remake of the Sparrow is WAY better than the original. As Myers tells the story from the vantage point of May 2006, "We sold a couple of vehicles, then we needed to bring them back because we discovered things that still weren't proper. We decided to go over the vehicle from top to bottom and get it right. It took us 18 months to do it, but the NmGs we've sold since then are doing beautifully." Here's a partial list of Myers Motors' re-engineering efforts:
- Eliminated radio interference
- Modified the motor
- Switched to a "Zilla" controller (the most respected name in the industry)
- Improved the fit and finish overall, especially around doors and windshield
- Optimized the charging algorithm of Zivan charger to prevent overheating batteries
- Included a "pulse charge" at end of charge cycle to reduce sulfation of batteries
- Included a 25 mile battery break-in before leaving the factory
- Had batteries checked for equal charge to eliminate weak cells that would reduce battery life
- Limited amp draw on the road to 300 amps to improve longevity of batteries.
The NmG Prequel - Development of the Sparrow
The original concept of the Corbin Sparrow EV, the NmGs predecessor, was solid: reduce body mass, reduce rolling resistance and pare aerodynamic drag down to a bare minimum without compromising safety. Working as a team, these measures give an electric drive train a fighting chance at good performance. It's simple physics: less mass and wind resistance = quicker acceleration and better range.
The Sparrow was the brainchild of Mike Corbin, a longtime motorcycle fanatic, inventor, and designer. In 1974, Mike set a land speed record of 165.367 mph on a custom built electric motorcycle at the Bonneville Salt Flats. It is a speed record in that class that stands to this day. Corbin is a household word to anyone who owns a hog - as in Harley. The company is closely associated with Harley Davidson motorcycles, and Corbin is the largest aftermarket motorcycle seat manufacturer in the world. Corbin sponsors a program on the Speed channel, "Corbin's Ride On", and even has published a biography (for sale on the Corbin website). The first Sparrow built, a yellow Alpha Sparrow, was unveiled at the San Francisco Auto Show on April 1, 1996. It was a huge hit and orders started to come in even though production had yet to begin.
I first heard about the Corbin Sparrow in a February 1997 issue of "Current Events" (catchy title), the newsletter of the Electric Auto Association. Mike Corbin was quoted in that issue as saying, "The Sparrow is a niche vehicle designed for commuters. We're not trying to replace the family car". At that time, I owned an electric vehicle. No, not that swoopy, EV1 from General Motors (now the E85 people). I drove a (wait for it) Lectric Leopard. How geek squad can you get? That's a story for another time. Suffice it to say for now, it was a Renault "LeCar" (an "R5" in Europe) that had its internal combustion engine guts unceremoniously yanked out and replaced with a Baldor electric motor and Exide batteries. With 1980's electronics, it performed like a 1920's model T. I measured 0-60 times in minutes rather than seconds. I never got a speeding ticket although I did get a ticket for ignoring a stop sign once. The performance specs of the Sparrow were Ferrari-like in comparison. I lusted in my heart for one so I sent in my $1,000 deposit for vehicle number 25 of the yet-to-be-manufactured Sparrow's first production run. I have the VISA receipt to prove I ain't just blowing smoke up your electrode. I talked several times with Mike's son, Tom, while patiently waiting for my Sparrow to arrive. After waiting patiently for a year and wading patiently through a string of broken promises (e.g. "They'll be rolling out next month."), I got my deposit back. The first Sparrows touched down about a year after that. Talk about a long gestation period. If you're interested, there is a private website, CorbinSparrow, (not affiliated or sanctioned by the company) with more details about the history of the Sparrow.
Fast Forward to Myers Motors
So the NmG (No More Gas) is a much-improved Sparrow. I guess the NmG moniker had more appeal than BTS (Better Than Sparrow). The Myers Motors product benefits from all the Corbin research and development plus real road experience gained by owners of the Sparrow EV. Corbin reputedly spent $10-$15 million on development. Myers Motors has certainly upped the ante by several million more. In the end, it's the NmG owner who reaps the benefits. The NmG is a mature and well-developed electric vehicle since this is essentially the fourth year of production. I won't bore you with too much detail, but here are a few key points:
• All-weather driving, fully enclosed and heated interior • heater, power windows, CD player • Single passenger • 3 wheels • disc brakes • 30 mile range • Built-in charger for pack of 13 Optima Blue Top batteries • 6 cubic feet of luggage space (about 1 grocery cart's worth) • 112 inches long, 52 inches wide, 57 inches high • 70-75 mph top speed • 0-30 in less than 3.5 seconds • weighs 1,400 lbs. • cost $24,900
Here is the most interesting specification. A gasoline vehicle that gets 40 mpg (think Toyota Corolla or Honda Civic Hybrid) costs 7.5 cents per mile in fuel when gas is $3 a gallon. The NmGs charging costs are an unbelievable penny per mile at typical utility rates (6 cents per kilowatt hour)! Take that, hybrid hypesters. Even a so-called plug-in hybrid getting an effective 120 mpg would still be more than twice as costly as the NmG to fuel. Impressive.How About You?
Would you be happy with an NmG? If you want to: promote your business, stick it to the evil petroleum empire, like the convenience of home "refueling", need to commute about 20 miles or less to work (and you have access to a 110V outlet at work to recharge), want to use the HOV lane on the freeway, already own a second car suitable for long trips or heavy hauling, value the environmental benefits of a zero-emissions vehicle, travel alone for most of your local driving, would enjoy the fun and adventure of a unique niche vehicle, then the NmG from Myers Motors is your electronic ticket. Plug-and-play, baby. It will put a smile on your face, a patriotic flag in your hand and breathing room in your fuel budget.
Reader Comments (Page 2 of 5)
Mike W. 8:45PM (7/09/2006)
Living in SoCal the recharching problem can be solved(at least in part) with the instalation of solar panels in an electric vehicle. And, at zero cost - sunlight is free remember. I don't know how much the solar panels would add to the cost of the vehicle. Anybody got any idea?
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William Bowers 8:46PM (7/09/2006)
I was wondering if if one has converted a triumph spitfire to EV. The little car doesn't have A/c so thats not an issue. Just a thought!
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KA 8:47PM (7/09/2006)
My first car (a 1966 Renault Dauphine, purchased in 1972 for $300) got over 40 MPG without huffing and puffing. 45 MPG was not uncommon. My next car (1971 Plymouth Duster) got between 20 and 25 MPG and it could fit the Dauphine in the trunk. How is it that in 2006, cars are still being sold that get half the mileage of the Pre-Iacocca Chrysler Corp and no conventional gasoline cars are being sold that can match that little French Fryer. Something ain't right here.
Also, weight and features do not necessarily a gas guzzler make. My tank-like Saab gets a relatively respectable 28 - 32 MPG, while going over every possible speed limit and with the AC blasting my sun drenched body (it's a convertible (also supposedly not good for MPG)).
Point is, this whole thing could be managed if we were mandated to manage it, from the fuel companies to the car manufacturers and, oh yeah, the most difficult part of the puzzle, the consumer.
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Jim 8:52PM (7/09/2006)
This is on top of the brownouts just think if we embraced this and everyone plugged in. do we have the capacity if not guess what will happen to the electric rates. Did I hear you won't be able to run your computer to get on the net to complain!~ LOL
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keith 9:30PM (7/09/2006)
Very interesting.since the feasability of true electric cars seems to lie in the batteries perhaps our government might want to make that a focus and add incentives for that in the private sector.
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kimberly 9:35PM (7/09/2006)
This is all real nice but has anyone looked at the cost of electricity lately? Where I live, our electric company just arbitrarily raised their rates by 39%; that's right, 39% all in one blow. Also, if I need to drive 250 miles; which happens, an electric car is a totally useless item for me. I can't afford to fill my garage with various vehicles for various needs.
Hybrids are also useless for making any sort of a change soon. With a waiting period for most of 1 to 2 years; this isn't going to fix anything.
Also, corn oil fuel. I am not about to pour the rough equivalent of Wesson oil into a $45,000 vehicle and "hope" it doesn't destroy the engine. Additionally, this is yet another option that is not even viable at this point because the vehicles aren't even available in mass quantities.
The primary reason for the current crisis in gasoline rates is that a great number of people in our Congress; and some in "closely related" positions to that, are benefiting greatly from their close relationships with oil companies.
The other primary reason is that these same people refuse to take oil temporarily off the stock market as was done in prior years with gold when it reached ridiculous prices. The speculators are causing the price to rise out of control and its hurting all of us.
In a nutshell, there is nothing out there that will help us at this time or in the near future (near future being 5-10 years). Even 300,000 people buying a hybrid or an electric car or a corn oil driven car is not going to make it affordable to drive again. At best, these solutions might begin to show an improvement in energy costs in 20 to 30 years when a sizeable percentage of the American public might be making use of them.
There is only one thing that could help right now and that is to take oil off of the stock market until all this settles back down again and only Congress and the President; working in tandem, can make that happen. I'm betting they won't.
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GERHARD K. FRENZEL 9:59PM (7/09/2006)
GREAT PRODUCT. DID NOT NOTICE AIR CONDITIONING IN IT.
KURT
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Jack Casto 10:11PM (7/09/2006)
I live in a community of 60,000 in Florida where practically every household owns an LSV vehicle, and everything is accessible by these vehicles. Folks can drive to 100 restaurants, a hospital, two bustling downtowns, sporting events, a lifelong college, 28 golf courses and so much more. This community is about 40 square miles and growing and would be an ideal place to observe electric amd gasoline LSV vehicles driving on streets and downtown, and maybe even test drive them. Currently, most of the electric vehicles are modified golf cars, but there are some GEM cars, Lidos, Thinks, and a few other EV brands. If anyone is looking for a great place to test drive one of their electric vehicles, this might be a very interesting place to do it.
One of the problems I observe in our town is that a lot of folks opt for a smelly gasoline driven golf car because of range and power. I would love to see someone give those folks a better alternative. i.e. an electric golf car with better range and more power. I would like to buy a GEM car because it is more like a real car, but it only has about a 30 mile range and I can easily do that and more putting around town to different events and carting my visitors around.
The community is called The Villages and it is located by Wildwood, FL about where the Florida Turnpike meets I-75. There is definitely a market here for electric cars! Best thing is there will be 40,000 more people moving in in the next five years and they'll all be looking for an LSV.
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Andrew V. Varriale 10:39PM (7/09/2006)
I just can't understand why they can't recharge the batteries while the electric motor is running.In a gas engine they charge the battery with an altinator why can't the engineers figure a way to keep the battries charging while the electric motor is running?
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Vijayachandran 11:25PM (7/09/2006)
Check this out.. here is a very successful electric car made in India.. exported to Japan, which can seat 2 adults + 2 kids (yes it is a car not a bike), has a range of 50 miles (80km) in a single charge and costs?? Rs. 2,20,000/- ( ~$5000). It is a pure urban vehicle with a top speed of 59 Kmph (~30mph).
http://revaindia.com
Once more Reva is a car.. not a three wheeler.. or motorbike...
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Curtis Lee 12:09AM (7/10/2006)
After reading the pros and cons of EV's, although I am in favor of them, I ain't selling my horse. Until the big money boys see a way to make more money you will not have a viable pure electric car let alone an 18 wheeler to deliver them as well as the food we buy at the super market. Weak links in a chain just waiting to break.
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William Lewis 12:30AM (7/10/2006)
I remember when I was in school in the 50's of learning of an electric car being driven from coast to coast in 1909. I just can't figure out why with all of our brains and technology we can't make an electric car that does have a generator/alternator to supply enough electricy to operate the electric motor without having to plug in to recharge.
Turn the key -the battery starts the electric motor. The alternator/generator produces enough electricy to opeate the vehicle complety including motor, lights and RECHARGE the battery.
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Nadine Johnson 12:50AM (7/10/2006)
I just happened to glance at this discussion. This all sounds very interesting and I have learned a lot. If I could afford one, I would like to get an EV - down the road when all the bugs regarding battery life have been worked out - and the price is something we can all live with.
However, if manufacturers REALLY want the EVs to make it, they MUST make them work with AC. If you live in the south (Florida) its gotta have AC!!!
I also have a problem with the size of the vehicle - I want to be the "windshield", not the "bug". A tiny car like that makes me feel VERY insecure.
This is what I believe an "average" person like me wants - and that is what will sell.
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Klag 12:54AM (7/10/2006)
Horses, thats the ticket. Slow everyone down. World in too much of a hurry to get somewhere.
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Rickey A. Lam 1:59AM (7/10/2006)
You guys all have valid opnions, but in all this rederic I did'nt read any thing about the environment. It all comes down to weather you beleave we have 10 or 20 years to start making major changes. Sure some of the costs might be higher right now to run an EV, sure Bio or hybreads might be the way things go in that 10 years. And yes batterys need improvement. So anty up america, we are the world power right now and where we choose to put our money right now will make a difference. We can keep funding a war to protect our way of life , protect our borrders to try to keep teriosts out, we can do all kinds of grate and wonderful things. but where we put our money makes a difference too. So start buying elect. or Bio or solar or have three cars one for you one for your wife, and one for short trips that you can plug in shoot, buy a wind mill and a couple of solar panels and quit paying the Electric Co. too. It's time for change now.
posted by Rickey A. Lam 9 July 2006
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Loree 2:43AM (7/10/2006)
I have no tech experience but I sure would love to see an EV that can travel town, our local state parks, hwy from off ramp to off ramp, seats a minimum of two folks with room for groceries, and is recharged when I'm driving - sunpowered. I live in sunny St. George, UT, almost everyone living here could drive one because we do not drive far to work, school or play. Will sun power ever be installed on the tops of our vehicles?
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David 4:59AM (7/10/2006)
When a major automaker gets behind electric cars like they did in the late 1990s before the California Zero Emissions Vehicle mandate was rescinded, you have EVs that are VASTLY superior to the Myers startup. The 1999-2003 Toyota RAV 4 EV is an SUV that gets 125 miles to the charge, accelartes as fast as the gas RAV4, and has battery packs that have lasted over 100,000 miles WITHOUT REPLACEMENT! That is a Toyota EV for you. Cost new? $32,000 after incentives.
For a much more in depth look at EVs, catch a showing of the new film WHO KILLED THE ELECTRIC CAR?
www.whokilledtheelecriccar.com
It's playing nationwide this summer.
.
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capecod john 6:09AM (7/10/2006)
I thik it's a great "up and coming" idea.
And just a matter of time befor it is improved on by someone.
Why not a small onboard LPG powered generator to assist in the longer drives most people have to work,or at night and when heat is needed.and/or generators that are incorperated into the drive train or wheels that turn when the vehicle is in motion (small enough that it doesnot produce any drag)to basicly,"put some juice in at the same time as it is comeing out",hey if you can perfect that part you'd have a perpetual motion vehicle..
Keep up the good work guys..
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Ray Sabb 6:14AM (7/11/2006)
Electric Car! Hybrid! Gas! Diesel! Until our government gets behind a comprehensive program to make the joy of driving less expensive and fun again we will continue to muddle through with technologies that merely touch the surface of green efficiency.
We can put a man on the moon, a robot on Mars and live in space for 6 months, why can't we get the government to say boldly," America will have non fossil fuel vehicles by 2010 ("we will place a man on the moon(c.1961 JFK) by the end of the decade.)),and restrict the use of fossil fuels in vehicles.
Now that would be a do or die, bold statement and Americans would answer the call. Why! Just because. That is why.
Respectfully...
Ray Sabb
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Jim McCabe 10:47PM (7/13/2006)
Have you hard of the Toyota RAV 4 EV.
All the power you need, runs 82 MPH, 80 plus miles on a charge, batteries are good for 100,000 miles or five years, carries four passangers and storage. The A/C works well in the California desert - we are in Palm Springs, power stering and windows, CD player with AM/FM radio. Toyota discontinued, for their own reasons.
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