This type of vehicle will do for this type of purpose. Time to promote EV's parallely along with Hybrids.

Gas prices are rising again.

The 4 big lead acids are good. Keep the battery #'s down & tech simple(four 12V batts in series). Just get started on EVs. The laws must be changed to let low speed(NEVS) electrics go 35MPH. 25MPH EVs only go 10 to 15MPH uphill. Is Chicago flat? The Chicago winters will be tough on the leads tho (keep the EVs warmed indoors & make short runs?).

Regardless of the 49 ft-lb torque rating, the important one is power. The motor is only rated at 4kw continuous (5.3 horsepower) and 9kw peak (11.8hp). As was mentioned, that little power means it can barely even get up hills and such. Still, I see it as one step along the way to the eventual goal of EV's replacing fossil fuel use for all the "normal" commuter purposes.

I actually attended the event they put on and had an opportunity to speak with some of the reps there. Apparently the Chicago Wastewater Facility CHOSE the 48V 9kw peak DC motor system because their facility IS flat, and they did NOT want their workers accelerating quickly because of the constricted layout of their facility. Apparently Miles also sells a 72V 26kw peak AC motor model, though I forget what it was called. I'd have to imagine that that car is their LSV bread and butter, though the less powerful model obviously fits Chicago's bill better. I agree with Max Reid's comment that if they fit the application, great. There's no need to pay more for a faster or more powerful version when this model obviously suits their needs perfectly.

Hurray!!! Hazzah!! Someone has bought a battery powered vehicle with a simple motor with brushes besides a golf cart. The electronic drives are fine for a TZERO and the copper bar induction motor that goes with them, but they cost far more than a high power engine. The electric car world needs a cheap electronic drive motor combination. Perhaps RASER has the start of one that could be produced cheaply in China, but until then, carbon-graphite-copper brushes are quite cheap and are still used in many diesel-electric and electric locomotives.

With the right gears, a one horsepower motor can move a vehicle up any hill at slow speeds. A cable winch can demonstrate this. One actual horse-power is 550 foot pounds a second. That means that a car that weighs 2000 pounds or one ton with batteries can climb straight up at a rate of more than fifteen feet a minute with a one horsepower motor at full power.

EFFPOWER seems to be making the highest power per weight lead battery prototypes. ATRAVERDA is threatening something similar. Firefly is introducing a battery for truckers in 2008 that will be the first opportunity for the public to buy any of its technology in solid form. These batteries may well be used in Chicago's vehicles for lighter weight if needed. Wired in parallel with EFFPOWER's product, they could have longer life and faster acceleration.

Actually the hydraulic hybrid concept of the EPA and UPS should be scaled down to this size and the electric motor relegated to pumping fluid from the low pressure tank to the high pressure tank in a strictly on off mode. High pressure hydraulic fluid and a hydraulic motor can give all the torque needed for any hill. INNAS-NOAX has pressure converting devices and motors for efficiency in this application and are proposing a hydraulic hybrid car. Computer assisted design of the fluid flow to give the lowest economical losses is very important.

Oh yes, put a ($99 from many auto parts stores) two cycle gasoline generator in it for emergency charging of the battery. A clever power semiconductor engineer can figure out how to make it start electronically. For charging, bypass the inverter with a current mutiplying buck regulator, nearly identical to most desktop power supplies. Or a similar engine could be connected to a DC generator that can be used as a motor for starting.

This is where I came in....HG.....

what is the most expensive part or labor and how long this 2006 miles zx40 last???