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"  Californians first experimented with all-electric vehicles 10 years ago. As a young technology, the system was riddled with quirks. Among Richard Lowenthal&amp;#039;s frustrations: He didn&amp;#039;t know whether a charge station could connect to his Toyota Rav-4 EV until he looked at its cord. Imagine a gas-station pump suited for a Chevy but not a Honda. &amp;quot;There were four different [cord] standards,&amp;quot; Lowenthal recalls. &amp;quot;It was a complete mess.&amp;quot; Toyota&amp;#039;s first plug-in hybrid-electric Prius will be unveiled next month, and electric vehicles are poised to spread across the country. To avoid the mistakes of the past, the Society of Automotive Engineers will release standards for charger cords next year that should ensure all automakers and charge stations offer compatible devices. This will by no means be a simple extension cord. The plug is getting a fresh look.  Sleeker  The vehicle cord of the future, now being developed by Yazaki, is about one-fourth the size of previous models. About 45 millimeters in diameter, it will handle 80 amps of energy. Although earlier, direct-current (DC) models handled more than twice the energy--600 volts DC, 400 amps--the modern, alternating-current (AC) cords should still provide enough juice for even luxury electronic vehicles such as the Tesla Roadster.  As automakers continue to expand battery ranges, however, the new standard eventually may not be enough. &amp;quot;For certain electric vehicles anticipated in the future, higher power will be essential,&amp;quot; says Marcus Alexander, manager of vehicle systems analysis at the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). If automakers do not provide a more powerful charge cord, owners of future luxury electric vehicles may need to purchase additional, costly adapters to gain the extra power--or recharge stations may have to keep a specialized charger on-hand. Safer  With car batteries capable of drawing as much power as an average-size home, safety is an important concern. The cord is powerless unless it is connected to a vehicle, so idle charging stations should pose no harm. &amp;quot;Essentially, it&amp;#039;s not on until it&amp;#039;s locked on,&amp;quot; says Craig Childers, a California Air Resources Board engineer. The cord is also equipped with a ground fault circuit interrupter to stop a flowing current if a rain-drenched driver is at risk of electrocution. Drivers will have to actively disengage the cord, known formally as the J1772, if they want to remove it. Even if drivers attempt, for whatever reason, to drive away while charging, vehicles such as the Chevy Volt will be equipped with a circuit that automatically shuts off the engine. &amp;quot;This thing won&amp;#039;t pop out on its own at all,&amp;quot; says Gery Kissel, a General Motors lead charger engineer. Smarter  The most noticeable difference in the new model is at the end of the cord: the prongs. The traditional three-prong plug will be replaced with a five-prong plug, so current electric vehicles will need a converter or owners will have to replace their car&amp;#039;s socket entirely. The two additional prongs allow charging stations and vehicles to communicate with each other--a capability that common electronics now lack. &amp;quot;The devices on both sides of the connector are not just dumb things like a light bulb,&amp;quot; EPRI&amp;#039;s Alexander says. &amp;quot;Both sides have intelligence.&amp;quot;  The cord gains its intelligence through &amp;quot;smart-grid&amp;quot; technology that monitors energy efficiency, now being installed by utilities nationwide. Car batteries will negotiate how much electricity a local grid should flow its way. That grid, meanwhile, will recognize the batteries&amp;#039; power limit to prevent overloading the circuit. It can also divide its power appropriately between multiple cars if they all plug in at once. With thousands of new electric vehicles expected on the roads in the coming decade, the conversation between car and plug is essential to avoid overwhelming the nation&amp;#039;s electricity infrastructure. Next, a &amp;quot;smart-grid&amp;quot; standard is needed between charging stations and the country&amp;#039;s hundreds of utility companies--not an easy feat. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/hybrid-electric/a3802/4296274/>