The Dirty Little Secret about Electric Vehicles

Electric Vehicles have gotten a lot of media attention overthe last few years. The United States, with the rest of the developed world,have made a push to reduce emissions and improve air quality in our cities. Weuse things like O2 sensors and Air Fuel Ratio sensors, along with catalyticconverters, in order to reduce the impact that gasoline engines have on theenvironment. Recently, companies have been exploring ways to abandon gasolineconsumption all together and produce “zero emissions” vehicles in the form ofelectric vehicles, like the Nissan Leaf. Although people have thoughtfullyexplored the impact of producing the electricity needed to charge the battery,all of the green-enthusiasts are conveniently looking away from the real issue:the lithium ion battery itself.

Nissan Leaf

 Lithium is a soft, silver-white alkali metal with the symbolLi on the periodic table. It does not occur freely in nature; it only appearsin compounds that are usually ionic. Lithium salts are extracted from the waterof mineral springs, brine pools, and brine deposits. The metal is then producedvia electrolysis from a mixture of fused lithium chloride and potassiumchloride.

The brine is usually pumped to large pools to let the sunevaporate the salts to a high enough concentration. Then this potent solutionis pumped onto trucks and driven to processing facilities. Currently, 61% ofthe world’s lithium production occurs in Chile. Worldwide reserves of lithiumare estimated at about 13 million tonnes. Using the battery efficiency figureof 400 g of lithium per kWh, this gives a total maximum lithium batterycapacity of 52 billion kWh which, assuming it’s used exclusively for carbatteries, is enough for 2 billion cars with the same size battery as a NissanLeaf.

Lithium brine pools

 Problem is, only 25% of the world’s lithium goes into themanufacture of batteries (and that includes batteries for laptops and cellphones).  Lithium is used for processingsilica to make glass, as a major component in high temperature grease, in airpurification systems, in nuclear weapons, and even in pharmaceutical drugs totreat bi-polar disorder. The world’s supply of lithium would be exhaustedrelatively quickly if we tried to run most of the world’s vehicles onlithium-ion batteries.

In response to this claim, many bring up the fact thatLithium batteries can be recycled, and thus diminishing the problem ofdepleting this rare metal. The problem with this is that lithium is rathervolatile at room temperature, so the entire battery has to be cooled down to-345°Fbefore it can be dismantled and recycled. Cooling batteries down to suchextreme temperatures uses a tremendous amount of energy, reducing the favorableenvironmental impact lithium ion batteries are supposed to have.

In reality, with a rapidly expanding population and ballooningconsumption of energy worldwide, there is no magic solution to solve ouremissions problems and save the world. Continuing current habits of everyindividual driving and using inefficient means of transportation, along withthe host of other issues with consumer culture, leaves little doubt that ourcurrent style of living is unsustainable. Save for the unlikely invention ofcold fusion, we are going to have to re-evaluate the way in which we travel.

Bushwacker Leads the Way in Practicality and Pimping

As you will already know, ‘pimping your ride’ is big business. Lots of people just want to make their vehicle stand out a little from similar cars on the road, but for some it’s more of a practical thing. Bushwacker is considered by many to be ‘the’ US body gear company for pick-up trucks and SUV’s, having been in business for over forty years, with their products serving both practical and aesthetic functions. The company is probably best known for its fender flares, but provides other protective add-ons as well.

Affordable, Durable and Stylish

Personalizing your vehicle is affordable, but as with everything in life, you get what you pay for. You want quality, but naturally you want affordable quality. You’re happy to pay a fair price, but you want to know that the products you’re buying are going to last. If you’ve been tucking your money away into a savings account where you get the best savings rates , just so that you could get exactly what you really want, there’s no point in compromising at the last minute. Bushwacker pride themselves on all their products being made in the US, and offer substantial guarantees with regard to the durability of their products, which are made from Duraflex ABS plastic. This is a thermoplastic which is exclusive to the company and which has both high impact and low temperature properties, and is flexible yet retains its form. The company also has a strong reputation for its strength in design, not only for the look of the products themselves, but also for innovation in their commitment to ease of installation.

Fender Flares

Fender Flares are intended not only to look good but also to give greater wheel protection from mud and stones. Bushwacker offers factory look ‘OE’ style and a street style version, that are both suitable for stock wheel and tyre packages, whilst their Extend-a, Pocket and Cut-out styles are particularly useful on models that can accommodate wider wheel and tyre alternatives, giving a wide range of options according to your vehicle type. The company provides all the hardware and instructions needed to fit their fender flares, and so most competent enthusiasts should be able to handle the installation process on their own.

Protection made easy

Bushwacker also produces bed rail and tailgate caps for your pickup. Fitted around the vulnerable edges of the business end of your pick-up, they are designed to prevent the dings, scrapes and chips that almost inevitably occur from loading and unloading, but can of course also be used to disguise any unsightly indications of wear and tear that are already there. Offered for different vehicle types in factory look ‘OE’ style, diamond black and smooth finishes, the caps require no drilling to attach them. Instead Bushwacker has developed a screw-fix mounting system, which means you need nothing more complicated than a screwdriver to fix them in place. That makes them only slightly more time consuming to install than the bumper protectors that Bushwacker has now developed, and which are fitted using nothing more than lifetime adhesive. Unfortunately, the protectors are currently only available for most Toyota and Scion vehicle types.

The company’s mission to innovate has continued with the introduction of trail armor for the Jeep Wrangler. Kit is available for both the 97-06 Jeep Wrangler TJ, and the 07-12 Jeep Wrangler JK. Items included in the range include front and rear corners, tailgate and hood protectors, rocker panels and door sill plates, hood stone guards and front accent pieces, and air scoops, although not all are available on both models. The kit designed for the Wrangler JK won Bushwacker a SEMA award for Best New Exterior Accessory in 2009.

Staying Ahead of the competition

With their long history, Bushwacker are generally able to meet the needs of customers over a wide range of vehicle makes, not only for newer models but older ones as well. At the leading edge in their business, Bushwacker have done much to promote not only their innovative designs but also their commitment to manufacturing in the US. They have also won praise for their efforts to improve the environmental reputation of the industry, primarily through the recycling of materials, and in particular regrinding and re-using waste plastics from their manufacturing process. However, despite their strengths Bushwacker will continue to face stiff competition from other manufacturers such as Prestige and Bestops in this specialist market place, as well as the on-going threat from foreign imports.

Love/Hate Relationship with Concept Cars

Concept cars are awesome. Automakers get to showcase thelatest and greatest features, while at the same time innovating the nextgeneration of vehicle specifications. As cool as concept cars are though, the versionthat eventually makes it to production is usually a watered down shell of whatcould have been the greatest thing ever. An epic concept with a revolutionarycar navigation system that integrates with your smartphone turns into a base production model  that you feel lucky they included a car CD playerin. Lame.

 

Lamorghini Spiga concept

 Still, even getting to set eyes on some of these is worthit. Just look at this Lambo Spiga concept. Its wheels look like a revolverchamber. The world is a cooler place because this exists, even if no one willget to drive it. Hopefully they will take feedback from what people like aboutthese cars, and incorporate it into later production models. Even if theydon’t, making concepts allows automakers free reign to design new crazyfeatures and innovate the most cutting edge technology for automobiles today.

 Even better,occasionally a company will sell a concept car so at least a tiny handful oflucky people get to drive it around. This was the case with the FerrariAvendator J we wrote about the other day. They only sold the one unit they made–to the tune of 2.8 million dollars – but someone gets to take it home and putit in their garage. Same with FAB Design’s take on the McLaren MP4-12C Terso ondisplay at Geneva this year – they’re making and selling five units, so ahandful of people can create an extra-exclusive cool kids club of vehicles thatstorm troopers drive.

These are not the concepts you're looking for.

 All in all, even with the frustration of knowing they won’tmake it to production, concepts are an interesting and necessary fixture in theauto industry to push the limits and discover new technologies. Even if we don’tget the chance to drive these ourselves, at least we can admire them and hopethe features we fall in love with will make it to production someday. How doyou feel about concept cars?