Enter The Exciting World Of Rc Car Racing





The Nissan Leaf is a battery-powered car. But don't let that put you off! Nissan have spent a lot of time and money on the development of this plug-in electric vehicle. It may have cost the company billions and it's now going into mass production in the UK and at Nissan plants around the world.

Electric Vehicles do not have a lot of extra power, and no waste heat. Your power brakes, steering, heater, lights, stereo, AC and other electrical gear needs to be powered off the same battery pack (usually) as the one that powers the rig.

"That's quite a range," you say. Well, there are a lot of factors that can affect the cost, not the least of which is what kind of vehicle you are converting. Yes, there are some specialty shops that will convert your car for upwards of $15,000. By this time, you are getting into new (or good-used) car pricing territory, so you'd better be sure you really like your car or find one that you like with high mileage or a blown engine that the owner is willing to part with for next to nothing. But even at that cost, the longevity of the vehicle will more than pay for itself.

The last promising car then out of a big bunch of expected plug-in hybrids is the Chevy Volt. It's being talked about as if it's going to save Detroit and America's car industry and it's going to be available in the US in 2011. It should also be available as the Opel Ampera in Europe around the same time. To be honest though for an 18 year old like me 2011 seems like an extremely long time away!

But electric cars are generally more expensive than gasoline powered cars. The primary reason is the cost of the batteries used. But seeing the savings in fuel costs would more than pay up for the up-front cost of owning an electric vehicle though.

I pause here on a mental trip in that imaginary Roadster -- black, by the way -- down Highway 99 to Bakersfield. Make that past Bakersfield and up the Grapevine to Vallejo and Magic Mountain, stomping the guts of BMWs and Mercedes that electric vehicles attempt to be fast. Ah...

Lithium-ion technology battery life is undetermined, however, the eight year 100,000 mile warranty on the Chevrolet Volt and the Nissan Leaf do give some piece of mind.

I also had a ball with the "cool" twist grip throttle. Naturally, I "twisted" it all the way to full speed- 15 mph! That was plenty fast enough for me, however I felt plenty safe, as braking was crisp and precise. The Razor E200 electric scooter has good sized, 8 inch pneumatic tires, which allow for a surprisingly smooth ride. My nephew tells me that he even can jump small ramps with it, but I'll leave that to him!

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