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After getting my HOV permit, I was wondering how much the Maryland police knew about electric cars and their right to use the HOV lanes. Today I found out. It was during the trip home this afternoon. He had a marked car and was stuck in among the great unwashed, and I felt perfectly justified...

Carney, Glad you're still hanging in there. Here are some more talking points… 1) I just got my Maryland rebate. $2,375. Works for lessees, too. At $139 per month, the state will make your first 17 payments. How much mechanical maintenance and repairs will you make to your gas car in that...

ReddyKilowatt, Welcome to the forum! You might want to contact Bosch about this. I just received one of their 30 amp units without even a hint towards getting them to install it. Their sales rep was Bill Mroue at 877-400-7603. I think you only need their installers if you want the extended...

What about using the decal as a stencil? Then you could paint it any color you wanted. And it would probably last longer.

Hey Mitch, I'm assuming you have the same kind of decal as mine. If so, it's a 3-layer laminate: heavy, non-stick paper on the inside; clear, safe-release tape on the outside; and the decal in between. This is a dry installation but you should clean the car first. Be sure to clean around...

I heard back from 3M. According to their service rep my decal was a printer mistake. Evidently at some stage in the process, after the decal is cut, someone manually "weeds" the unwanted parts before the whole assembly is covered in safe-release tape. In my case, the wrong parts were weeded out...

I've modified mine, too, with this decal: Don't ask me how to get that decal - according to the manufacturer it was a mistake. About driving in L, I'm also a big fan. The whole process dovetails nicely with my past experience using engine compression to decelerate a vehicle with a manual...

I agree with all of the above, especially about replacing the outlet. Most outlets today have both push-in and screw connectors. The problem with push-ins is the poor connection between the wire and the retaining barb which bites into the wire. The surface contact between the two can be so small...

I finished work early, so had time to poke around the web. I know a lot more than I did before but maybe not nearly enough. These decals are made by Original Wraps, a Golden, Colorado sign company bought by 3M back in 2011. I found two toll-free numbers, called them and left a message. About an...

That sucks! Wish I knew what to tell you. Maybe GM decided the decals made the Spark EV look too cool, and they feared the demand would snowball. ;) Sorry for my part in this, unwitting as it was. :(

I ordered a set of these decals from http://www.chevroletonlineparts.com/oe-gm/19299185 and they came the inverse graphic of those pictured in this thread. At first I was going to send them back, but decided they looked better over the white color (IMHO). The box even included a picture of the...

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that if you don't use the brake peddle, what you call "1 Foot Driving", then you can't put wear on your brakes. Exactly when regeneration is supplanted by friction, while in D mode, might not be as plain to some, but you know it for sure when driving in L...

A lot depends on how you drive, your past experience, and congestion. Some people are oscillators with the accelerator, depressing until they attain the desired speed and then coasting until they slow enough for more acceleration. Kind of a see-saw effect. Others have cruise control built into...

Our house has a long, single-lane driveway which can accommodate three cars. My wife and daughter gripe about having to park on the street so "Li'l Sparky" can be close to the level 1 charger. The solution is to put the Level 2 charger on a post halfway down the driveway. That way, no matter...

Thanks, I appreciate it! :) I actually found a pretty good Wiki on the subject titled… you guessed it - regenerative braking. It mostly refers to locomotives but the principles are so similar, much of it pertains to the Spark EV from what I could see. It talks about re-configuring the field...

OK, let me ask this another way. Forget about braking. We're just letting our collective foot off the accelerator. What is the mechanism which slows the car in L, that doesn't activate in D?

OK, if I understand you correctly, you're saying that hitting the brake pedal in D is the same as letting off the accelerator in L, except eventually the hydraulic brakes are activated? But something activates to slow the car when you let off the accelerator in L but doesn't activate when you...

Something slows the car down when you lift your foot off the accelerator while in L, but doesn't when you lift it off in D. Are you saying it's the brakes or not the brakes? I'm more confused than ever.

Yeah, I see that now. Thanks for the link. It's pretty cool, actually, except the need for the differential escapes me. So, if there is no mechanical explanation for the increased drag in L, is there an electrical one? Something must account for the rapid slowing of the car. I don't think the...

OK, let's see if I got this right. The motor does the regenerating and not any separate generators connected to the drive wheels. When you shift into L, the connection between the motor and drive wheels is direct, but when in D, the drive wheels are allowed to slip which results in longer...