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What Is the EVDL? |
The Electric Vehicle Discussion List (EVDL), founded in 1991 by EV enthusiast Clyde Visser PE, is the Internet's oldest and most comprehensive resource supporting EV hobbyists. It's ad-free, non-commercial, and volunteer-operated.* If you'd like to build your own electric vehicle, convert a gasoline (petrol) or Diesel vehicle to electric drive, or just get the most from your production EV, the EVDL is for you. We have hundreds of members all over the world, many with dozens of years of EV experience. Some have built (or are building!) EVs for a living. Others sell, design, and even manufacture such EV components as motor controllers and battery chargers. It's very possible that you'll find one or more of our members living near you.In recent years, fuel costs have soared, dipped, and weaved. At their peak they approached $5 per gallon in parts of the US and $10 per gallon in Europe. Prices are much lower now, but don't be fooled. It won't last forever. Having an EV in the garage is good preparation for the next big run-up in fuel prices - and, more importantly, for a possible future when gasoline and Diesel fuel might be scarce. Just so you're not disappointed, though, remember that fuel isn't the only cost of operating a vehicle. Whether you actually save money overall by driving electric really depends on many factors. They include where you live; your area's cost of liquid fuel, electricity, and batteries; what kind of EV you build or buy; how you drive it; and how you maintain it. But even if you don't save any money at all, there's still a huge satisfaction in driving your EV past the filling stations, and keeping your wallet closed to the petroleum companies. We call that the EV grin. And if we should ever see a repeat of the gas lines and quasi-rationing the US had in the 1970s, well, you'll be ready for it.
If you're more interested in helping the environment than in going fast, not to worry. You'll find plenty of company on the EVDL - our main focus is on practical, everyday electric transportation. And you should know that regardless of what the PR machine says, EVs really are cleaner, even when you consider powerplant emissions. If you put PV panels on your house's roof, you can even fuel up your EV with 100% renewable, carbon-neutral, pollution-free energy harvested directly from the sun with photovoltaics. Try that with a gas-burner. Whether your interest is energy independence, smooth, quiet performance, or ultimate greenness, why not get your own EV grin? Join us! We talk about nearly anything and everything directly related to EVs. All we ask is that you to stick to the list's conventions. Discussion is great and it's always welcome, but what we really want to do is put people into EVs. Sure, you can buy an EV. For a lot of folks that's the right answer. But it can be deeply satisfying to build your own. If you do, you'll probably use an ordinary ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicle as a base (the glider). If you're really ambitious, you might join the brave EVDL souls -- and not just professionals -- who've actually designed and built electric vehicles from the ground up. The EVDL's charter, written by the founder, says:
1(Just to be clear here, we call the EVDL a forum, but that's in the traditional sense of the word. It's not an Internet forum or bulletin board, but rather an email discussion list.) This is what the EVDL can do for you:
If you'd like to see what sorts of issues are discussed on the list, check out our archive before you subscribe. We hope we'll see you online!
*The EVDL's listserver doesn't insert advertising into the messages it distributes, but some messages may contain ads from the senders' ad-supported mail services. The archive / forum front end is a separate, ad-supported service. We allow announcements of new EV products and private EV-related offers, as long as you follow our guidelines and don't overdo it. Spam us, though, and we'll show you the door.
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