The *major* problem with Li-Ion cells in vehicles is the "venting with flame" bit, and one of the reasons we don't see any mass produced vehicles with Li-Ion. You can crush and puncture a Ni-Cd and an NiMH with some overheating and limited possibility of venting with flame, but if you crush or puncture a Li-Ion you very frequently get a little flame thrower. They can even overheat and possibly vent when too much current is being drawn out of or charged into it. Part of this is the huge energy density, part is the chemical composition. Even a dead pack is very flammable given a heat source. Of course cost is the real overriding factor here, if they were dirt cheap then manufacturers would come up with a way to safely enclose them. The other issue is common to all electrical vehicles - how does emergency personal safely de-power the car (or verify that it is depowered after a crash sensor trips) before dealing with it at the scene of an accident? With the batteries often in back you have some huge current carrying cables going to the front. Electricity is already cheaper than gas. Once the cost of the battery pack goes down significantly, the above problems won't stop manufacturers from making it work. -Adam On 4/26/06, Peter wrote: > > Hi all, > > I saw the clip on Li-battery powered cars (normal cars) on CNN. With gas > prices etc this is an unavoidable topic. The clip shows conversions of > common (?) cars to electric/lithium power. This may be the shortest way > from what exists to what should exist, in despite of weight problems. At > the same time, hybrids are de-hyped in certain articles. A converted > (new) Smart was said to be worth $30,000. > > How far fetched is it, for the home/garage constructor to convert an > exsiting used car to electric for about $10,000. Who would insure it ? > Is it street legal ? Can he *sell* it ? (where! beware there are lots of > roads outside the US ...). Discussion ? > > Peter > -- > http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive > View/change your membership options at > http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist > -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist