DEVC member John Olson owns a 1995 Honda Civic EV powered by an AC Induction motor provided by AC Propulsion.

In 1995 AC Propulsion converted 3 or 4 brand new Honda Civics to use an AC 100 electric-drive system. One car went to the Honda Corporation, one to a California government organization (CARB or AQMD) and the last to Southern California Edison. The general intent was for these cars to demonstrate EV technology. AC Propulsion supplied the AC Induction motor, Controller, Battery Mounting System, Battery Management System, Batteries (Optima), Charger, and the conversion labor and expertise.

John Olson worked for Optima Batteries at the time and was involved in the project to provide the deep cycle prototype modules needed for the project.

After 2 years of service at Southern California Edison the car needed some of the batteries replaced and was sold back to AC Propulsion. John bought it in the fall of 1998 with 13,000 miles on the car and worked with the folks at ACP to install the replacement batteries.

John has put 27,000 miles on the car, most of which were spent commuting. He reports a typical range of 35 to 45 miles with a peak of 94 miles with about two thirds of those at highway speeds (~70 MPH). Alan Cocconi once achieved a 144 mile range babying the car on the SCE Pomona test loop (city driving).

The car features traction control and regen braking. The original Honda manual transmission is used dry as a direct gear reduction (1st gear). There is a 2 kW ceramic heater that is where the original heater core is. The front dash controls work the same. If the controls are set to outside air, the air is fed from the controller (somewhat warmed).

The 100 kW motor is not as powerful as the current generation unit from AC Propulsion has been improved since 1995, however John’s motor weighs just 90 pounds and provides 133 peak HP. This is more than enough to accelerate the Honda very quickly.

The car uses 28 Yellow Top™ Optima Batteries and provides up to 300 volts and 330 amps limited by the controller. The car weighs approximately 3200 pounds.

On the performance John reports that his car seems to have 3 to 4 times the torque of a gasoline powered vehicle when cruising at highway speeds. Acceleration from zero to 60 mph takes roughly 10 seconds and this car has clocked a 16.8 second quarter mile at Bandimere Speedway. John notes that the car reached it top speed of 80 MPH well before the end of the drag strip.

Look for John to display his EV at future DEVC events.

Dr. John Olson lives in Boulder, Colorado and is the Vice President of Technology for Boundless Technology, where he manages all lithium-ion battery electrochemical development and test activity for the company. Prior to that, John was the Manager of Technical Research and Senior Electrochemist at Optima Batteries. Dr. Olson managed a group of twelve chemists and technicians researching high-power, spiral-wound lead-acid batteries and was senior technical advisor to upper management.  He is a recognized expert in the fields of VRLA batteries and EV/HEV batteries and managed the technical activities for a three-year DOE/GM program to develop high power hybrid electric vehicle batteries. He managed an ALABC program to develop advanced charging algorithms (winner of a 2001 R&D 100 award), invented and patented a novel paste additive which doubled cycle life, and developed a highly successful dual-use (starting/traction) deep cycle battery dubbed the “Yellow Top.”

Mike Bachand is the Newsletter Editor for the DEVC and steadfast EV proponent. He lives in Highlands Ranch, Colorado.