Cars That Think

OCTOBER 19, 2021

While some of these fires started from human carelessness—or arson—far too many were sparked and spread by the electrical power infrastructure and power lines. Until these recent disasters, most people, even those living in vulnerable areas, didn't give much thought to the fire risk from the electrical infrastructure.

EPRI 109

EPRI Power Powered Maintenance 109

Plugs and Cars

JULY 19, 2007

The basic question addressed, which appears on the study homepage (epri-reports.org) is this: How would air quality and greenhouse gas emissions be affected if significant numbers of Americans drove cars that were fueled by the power grid? And the grid is getting cleaner and more renewable every year.

Plug-in 100

Plug-in EPRI Plug Sierra 100

Tony Karrer Delicious EVdriven

APRIL 21, 2009

You can fill it up at the gas station, and you can plug it in to any 120-volt outlet. Its like having a second fuel tank that you always use first -- only you fill up at home, from a regular outlet, at an equivalent cost of under $1/gallon. But when you do, your car essentially becomes an electric vehicle with a gas-tank backup.

Plug-in 61

Plug-in Plugin Plug Hybrid 61

Tony Karrer Delicious EVdriven

APRIL 21, 2009

Despite this, a 2003 EPRI study , assuming only $2/gallon gas , zero buying incentives, and a PHEV premium of $3-$5,000 more than standard hybrids, shows that the total lifetime cost of ownership for a PHEV will be lower than that of any other vehicle type -- so the payback will be there. See our Global Warming page.

PHEV 37

PHEV Nickel Metal Hydride Prius EPRI 37

Tony Karrer Delicious EVdriven

APRIL 21, 2009

GM has announced plans for public sales in 2010, and almost every carmaker now says it will sell PHEVs or highway-speed battery electric vehicles (BEVs) sometime after 2010. Shifted earlier focus to all-electric Focus in 2011 with Magna. Focusing on all-electric, Nissan-Renault partnership with Better Place for EVs.

Plug-in 45

Plug-in Plug Hybrid PHEV 45