On 20 Sep 2022 at 17:16, Richard Rowland via EV wrote: > Interesting story from the 70's
Intriguing! This seems to be the story's origin: https://www.thedrive.com/culture/we-found-motorolas-secret-chevy-corvette-ev- prototype-from-the-1990s or https://v.gd/NbYpwY The article says that it's a 1987 Corvette purchased used with 64k miles on it, and converted by Motorola Automotive. Motorola apparently started the project in 1993. One wonders why an organization with presumably deep pockets had to start with a used glider. The article's author calls this an "EV prototype," but I suspect that it's more apt to have been a test bed for a prototype EV *drive system,* maybe on a limited budget. Motorola made their name in mobile electronics over the first 2/3 or so of the 20th century - car radios, transceivers. I rode in taxicabs in the mid- 1960s, and every one of them had a Motorola radio for dispatching. So a little possibly irresponsible speculation: maybe Motorola management looked at GM's 1990 Impact prototype and the Hughes AC "Vector Drive," and wondered whether Motorola might catch some of the potential EV market. The article says that > Starting and driving the EV Vette was pretty seamless. The driver > merely had to insert the key and turn it, taking care not to press the > throttle while not in gear, since the motor would turn ... the > documentation recommended using first gear for slow speed driving up > to 30 mph. Otherwise, Motorola suggested drivers cruise around in > second gear, then allow the automatic overdrive function that the > gas-powered Vette already had to take over at higher speeds. That might suggest that it's a series DC motor. But then we see: > A paper marked "EV Power" states that at 320 volts and 1,000 amps, the > car, in theory, will output 428 hp And that sounds more like an AC induction drive of the time. The Impact, Hughes, and AC Propulsion drives all ran in the 300-400 volt range, though not at 1000 amps. But if the author interpreted the Motorola doc correctly, it doesn't specifically say that THIS drive was 1000 amps and 400 kW, just that such was POSSIBLE. I'm not an engineer, so my speculation there may be off. > the electric heater is made by a company named Russco That could be more evidence that this was a drive test bed, using as many standard conversion components as possible to keep cost down. EVDL old-timers probably remember Russco. Russ Kaufmann built those liquid heaters, and other conversion components, including a controller and a range of chargers, some of them PFC. Bummer that the article's author wasn't more knowledgeable about EVs. One of us might have figured out a LOT more, given the same opportunity to nose around it. Does anyone here live close to Gurnee, Illinois? David Roden, EVDL moderator & general lackey To reach me, don't reply to this message; I won't get it. Use my offlist address here : http://evdl.org/help/index.html#supt = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = How many spells could a spell Czech check, if a spell Czech could spell cheque? = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = _______________________________________________ Address messages to ev@lists.evdl.org No other addresses in TO and CC fields HELP: http://www.evdl.org/help/
