SC-Life with an Electric Car

I picked up this book from the public library shelves in 1993 on my way home from high school. Fourteen years later, I find myself making the final preparations to building my own electric vehicle. In an era of $3.30 a gallon for gasoline, electric vehicles have finally become cost effective as commuter vehicles. If you have ever been curious about EV's and how they behave in the real world, Solo is a book for you. My review of this book is not a traditional epinions review, I have made an effort to offer some counter points and give you the reader a 2007 perspective on the building and use of electric vehicles (EV's). The book is about Noel's efforts to acquire and use an electric vehicle in the early 90's, years before the big three automakers even thought of mass producing their own. Since Noel could not buy a commercially manufactured EV he had to purchase a conversion. Conversions come in extensive varieties, from pure solar vehicles to hybrids (combination of a gasoline engine and an electric motor).1 While, I feel Noel's obsession with the environmental impact of EV's a tad obsessive, he does make several other good points towards the ownership of such a vehicle. The story weaves around the attempt to drive the car, Solo, from California to his home in Vermont. Sprinkled throughout, Noel discusses his own efforts to charge the car using solar energy and provides a brief history of these vehicles in the process. As you read the book you will discover that Noel was an accomplished chatter box. He managed to hitch several rides from strangers who were interested in his car. His social gift also helped him convince business owners to let him charge his EV. The charging of the car required several kilowatts of electricity. Even though he was prepared to pay, the novelty of the car and Noel's charm seemed to give him several free charges. Predictably, gas station owners gave him the most trouble. He had to pay outrageous rates for the electricity to charge his car and once he was expelled from a gas station by the owner! Noel, by the end of his journey across America, was carrying 100ft of power cord so that he could charge his EV. He found himself throwing cord from second floor hotel rooms, plugging into bedside lamps and even using a nail to suspend his power cord on the side of a wooden building! In Louisiana, we have hot weather all the time, up north Solo and Noel did not. Solo ran into range problems in colder weather. Noel describes his hassles with working around cold weather EV driving like a seasoned veteran. I have yet to read another candid discussion about EV's in cold climates. Future Vermont EV owners, should take notice and read the book! The book does a great job of discussing the weakest point of electric vehicles today, hills and mountains. Noel's original intention was driving the car from California back to Vermont, but this dream was cut short when he tried to drive the car over Donner Pass, Calif

I first found this book in the library, and after returning it three weeks later, I was drawn back to check it out again. This is the only book of its kind, and made me want to immediately take a vacation--whether in an electric car or not! Perrin's journey takes him across America with Solo, his converted Ford Escort wagon, and he writes about a good portion of American culture, right down to his thrill to spend only $21 for a night in a hotel in Utah. He writes about all the questions posed him, the curiosities that were too irresistible to pass up, such as how expensive are the solar panels, what is the car's range, is it expensive to convert a regular car, and so on. Although Perrin's book is already over eight years old (and I was saddened to see that it is out of print), it is clear there has been some progress since the electric cars that basically had only one power source that was cheap, reliable and had a reasonable life expectancy, albeit a dangerous one: lead-acid batteries. I would feel uncomfortable sitting on top of (or near) 800 pounds of sulfuric acid. Solo has a limited range, only 150 miles a day and can only get up to about 65 MPH. The drawbacks come when accessories must be used: heater, lights, and defogger. I wouldn't have the patience to drive such a car, but maybe driving such a car would teach me patience.I loved this book! Perrin makes nonfiction as literature an art, and breathes new life into travel writing. His book is very helpful in itself about a good, consistent writing style, and I love it when the writer takes me to the places he visits: sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and so on. In that sense, "Life With an Electric Car" has no equal yet, and the author knows it. If you can find this book, buy it and keep it. Perrin's book is like a good drink that is sipped, not gulped down. Read it slowly. You may begin to think that the days of gasoline powered cars are numbered. That they are. Highly recommended for readers 14 and over.

Noel Perrin is a professor of environmental studies at Dartmouth College. He had a moment of enlightenment when a student asked him how he traveled the thirteen miles to class that morning. "I drove in, in my gas-guzzling, air polluting farm truck," he admitted. Then began his quest to find a vehicle more consistent with his beliefs and his profession. He acquired Solo, a Ford Escort converted into a battery-powered, solar-panel-assisted electric car with a range of nearly sixty miles (on level ground on a warm day). Perrin's adventures with Solo are in the best tradition of the "travelin' across America" genre. We share his frustration as he realizes that he can't make it up and over Donner Pass, and abandons his coast-to-coast drive to bring Solo home from California. (He buys a pickup truck to tow "him" - Solo is male.) We watch his chagrin as he realizes that his new truck/car caravan can't back up - not even a few feet - and he has to select motels, restaurants, and gas stops based on the shape of their parking spaces. We worry with him the first time he drives after dark; how fast will his headlights drain the batteries? Back at home, we cheer as the college gives him his own personal outlet next to a reserved parking space. Perrin's attention to detail adds to the pleasure. He doesn't just state Solo's mileage range and charging time; he spells out the cost in time, worry, and inconvenience. School is thirteen miles away, and he can recharge the car during classes. His wife has her own separate home forty-six miles away - a little too far for comfort, especially with hills and cold weather making extra demands on his seventeen batteries. Perrin gives a detailed analysis of the "cradle-to-grave" pollution costs of owning Solo vs. owning a gasoline-powered car. He contends that Solo costs society virtually nothing - especially since he started to recharge "him" from a series of solar panels. Three chapters have been added to the expanded paperback edition. These bring us up to date on the latest in electric vehicle technology and the evolution of the field. This is a most enjoyable and informative book. It left me with a rather surprising urge to rush right out and buy an electric car!