Articles by Stephen Corby

Some time in the not-too-distant future, petrol-powered internal-combustion engines (ICE) will be something you’re more likely to find in a museum than an actual car, giving future-folk the chance to tut-tut and marvel in disbelief at how incredibly crude and environmentally unfriendly the past was.In short, our cars will seem as absurd as penny farthings do to us today.This scenario will be brought about by the eventual complete takeover of electric vehicles (EVs), whose planet-friendly motors have about half-a-dozen moving parts, as opposed to the hundreds you’ll find in an ICE. Fun fact: EVs have motors, not engines – the former refers to a machine that converts energy into mechanical energy, while the latter does the same thing, but while using thermal energy, ie combustion. So if you use a term like “electric car’s engine”, back up and change it to something more along the lines of “electric vehicle motor”. You’ll look smarter, which is always something worth aiming for. In general, motors for EVs work by converting electricity into mechanical energy through the creation of a magnetic field at the fixed part of the machine (the “stator”, which is static), whose displacement sets a rotating part (the “rotor”) in motion.EVs use both Alternating Current (AC) and Direct Current (DC) motors, and there are several variations of each. The electricity that EV batteries store is DC, so for EVs with AC motors, an inverter is required to convert the DC to AC so the energy that’s generated can do its job and power the car’s motor.Also known as a “brushed DC motor”, the advantage of this motor is its ability to produce high initial torque, while also offering easy speed control. A drawback, however, are the aforementioned brushes and the motor’s commutators, both of which require a higher degree of maintenance when compared to other motors. Another fun fact: forklift motors are DC and are usually the same as the ones you’d find in an electric car. As you’d probably guess, these do away with the brushes, as well as the commutators, making them more technologically advanced and much lower maintenance. They’re efficient and offer high starting torque, and are widely used as wheel motors or “hub motors”, meaning they’re incorporated into the hub of a wheel, which it drives directly. Similar to a BLDC, but the PMSM has – as you’d guess from the name – permanent magnets embedded in the rotor to create a constant magnetic field. They have a high power rating and can be used in high-performance applications such as sports cars. These are the motors you’ll find in the Tesla Model 3 (although Tesla uses AC motors in other models, like the Tesla Model S).There are two types of AC motors used in EVs: synchronous and asynchronous. Both types can work in reverse and convert mechanical energy into electricity that can be stored in the EV’s battery during deceleration, a nifty process commonly called “regenerative braking”. In an asynchronous motor, also called an induction motor, the electric-powered stator generates a rotating magnetic field. In a synchronous motor, the rotor acts as an electromagnet itself. Induction motors don’t have a high starting torque, but are efficient and cheaper when compared to other options. In terms of use, a synchronous motor is seen as the better option for urban driving where there can be a lot of starting and stopping at low speeds, whereas an asynchronous motor is preferable for driving at high speeds for long periods of time. AC motors are more widely used than DC motors due to the fact they are cheaper and more efficient, and are the choice of most major EV manufacturers, including Tesla and China’s largest car manufacturer, Great Wall Motors. In an EV, the motor (rotor plus stator) is part of a system called the “electric powertrain”, which makes the electric motor function. Within this powertrain you’ll also find a Power Electronic Controller (PEC), which brings together the components that manage the charging of the battery and the motor’s power supply, and a gear motor, which adjusts the torque and speed of rotation transmitted by the motor to the wheels. Electric motors are typically over 95 per cent efficient while ICEs are well behind, typically being below 50 per cent efficient. Other advantages of electric motors include the fact that they’re smaller and lighter, cheaper to produce, can provide instant and consistent torque at any speed and have far less moving parts than an ICE, meaning they require very little in the way of regular maintenance. The main advantage, though, is that they are far more environmentally friendly. EVs don’t release harmful emissions into the atmosphere and are capable of running on electricity generated by renewable sources, like wind and solar power, making them a far better option when it comes to planet-saving or, at the very least, planet-helping.

Are electric cars better for the environment?

Here's a guide to getting you car driving licence in the various states and territories of Australia

Study shows top sellers are not always the most affordable cars to own. One of Australia's cheapest cars is also the most affordable to own and operate -- even though it must use premium unleaded petrol which can cost up to 20 cents a litre more than regular fuel.   The Suzuki Alto hatchback, which starts from just

Lithium-ion batteries, which are the main batteries used in Electric Vehicles (EVs), hybrids and Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs), are recyclable.

So you want to sell your car but have no idea whether to sell it privately or to a dealer. As with everything, there are upsides and downsides to both options, which means there is no one right answer to give you. What's best will depend on a few things. Selling privately With the private sale, you take it upon

The introduction of any kind of new technology usually brings a whole host of new jargon to learn along with it, forcing consumers to wade through the initial deluge of fresh information with a sense of head-scratching confusion. The ins and outs of petrol-powered vehicles are second nature to most drivers, but with the introduction of electric vehicles (EVs) there’s a whole new type of vehicle, and an entirely new operating system, for people to get their heads around. One obvious area to grapple with is charging speeds, and the difference between AC and DC charging. Sadly, it’s not quite as obvious as the difference between diesel and petrol.The simple version is that AC charging is slow and DC is fast, but there’s a bit more to it than that. The two types of electricity an EV can use are Alternating Current (AC) and Direct Current (DC). What makes things a little tricky is that most power that comes from the electricity grid we’re all plugged into is AC, whereas batteries - like the one in your smartphone, or the one in your EV - can only store power as DC. This is why a lot of devices have an AC to DC converter built-in to the plug. EVs have their own in-built convertor (or ‘onboard charger’, as they’re confusingly called) that changes AC power to DC and then transfers it to the EV’s battery. There are larger, faster chargers that convert the AC power to DC internally, meaning you can transfer the power directly to the EV’s battery, thus bypassing the vehicle’s in-built convertor.  The easiest way to understand the different ways to charge your EV and the time it will take is to break charging down intro three levels. Level one is AC trickle charging, where the EV is plugged into a standard 240-volt AC socket - the kind that you’ll find on the wall at home (and hopefully in your garage - if not, you’ll be needing yourself a lengthy extension cord). While this is the easiest form of charging - these types of sockets are everywhere - it’s also the slowest. A typical 10-amp socket offers about 2.0kW of charging power, and the time it takes to give your EV’s battery a full charge from empty will depend on its size, but will almost always be slow. Like a couple of days slow.A good rule of thumb: dividing your battery’s capacity by two should give you an approximate time that this method will take (e.g. an 80kW battery will take around 36-40 hours to charge). Using a slightly more powerful 15-amp, 3.6kW socket should halve these times again, although it’s worth remembering that most charging is topping up, not replenishing a fully drained battery, so the likelihood you’ll be up for a 48-hour wait for a full charge is slim. Level two is AC fast-charging, best exemplified by a wall-box charger that you can get installed at home. These deliver 7.2kW with 240-volt AC single-phase power, reducing charging time considerably: a 13.8kW battery will only take a couple of hours to fully charge from empty, and a larger 80kW battery will fully charge after about 10 hours. Wall-box chargers are often seen as a good option for Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs), which have both an internal-combustion engine and an electric motor, because their smaller batteries take less time to charge. While it’s important to note that a lot of EV batteries will only charge at a maximum of 7.6kW - most likely in PHEVs due to the aforementioned smaller batteries - there is an option to get a 22kW charger if you have 415-volt three-phase power at your disposal. Level two AC fast-charging is also what you can typically expect to find at public charging stations. There are a number of apps that will help you locate charging stations and offer you detailed information on them, which is useful for finding out which ones offer 7.2kW and which have 22kW. Level three is DC rapid-charging, offered via public 480-volt DC rapid-chargers that can deliver charging power starting at a very impressive 50kW. These type of chargers are important in relation to drivers who have longer distances to travel and want relatively short charging times, although charging can be sped up further with certain ultra-rapid chargers that can deliver up to 350kW of power (kind of pointless, currently, since no EV can accept a 350kW charge, but they are effectively future proofing themselves for the battery tech that’s coming). If you have a PHEV, keep in mind that they are not compatible with DC fast-chargers or ultra-rapid chargers - they only work with AC charging.As for charging time, DC fast-chargers will match the kW the charger is delivering to kilometres for every 10 minutes charged, meaning 10 minutes at 50kW will give you 50km of range, 10 minutes at 175kW will give you 175km of range, and so on.Again, your best friend here will be one of the many smartphone apps that will help you locate the appropriate charger for your type of vehicle, so long as you’re aware what the maximum charge your vehicle can handle is. Good luck, and happy charging! 

Maserati's Trofeo badge represents its most extreme, track-focused vehicles, which makes it a bit of a surprise for a company generally known for building luxurious and beautiful cruisers (and the odd SUV these days). The Trofeo Ghibli is Maserati turned up to 11, then. Let's have a listen.

If you’re after a definition of electric cars, the simple version is that they are vehicles with an electric motor powered by a lithium-ion battery that requires external charging. 

Both hydrogen-powered cars and electric vehicles (EVs) have motors powered by electricity, with the major difference being where that electricity is generated from. EVs get theirs from a lithium-ion battery, while hydrogen-powered cars are powered by a hydrogen fuel cell that converts hydrogen to electricity while the car is running.