I can explain Amps and Amp-hours, to get you started.
TL;DR: Amps is basically how much torque the car is producing. The more amps it can draw, the more tourque it can produce. Amp Hours is range--the more AH, the further you go.
Now for a more detailed explanation.
Power is measured in Watts (W). When you get large numbers of watts, (like over 1 horsepower's worth), it's measured in Kilowatts (KW). For example, the motor in the 6HP ComutaCar is rated for 6000W, or 6KW. That's actually 8HP, but it probably isn't 100% efficient--thus the 6HP rating.
Watts is volts times amps. The ComutaCar uses a 48V battery system, but the number of amps it draws varies a lot depending on if you're accelerating, coasting, or going up a hill.
To understand voltage and amperage a little better, let's imagine power (in watts) as a river. The speed of the water in the river is like the voltage--how fast it's going. The amperage is how wide the river is, or how much volume of water there is flowing.
Thus, a large, slow river is like a low-voltage, high amperage. A small waterfall would be more high-voltage, low amperage.
This explanation is in no way scientific, but it seems to help.
Another way to look at volts and amps, specifically relating to motors:
Volts is how fast the motor can go: The more volts, the faster it goes.
Amps is how strong the motor is (how much torque it has): The more amps it can draw, the stronger it is.
One thing to know: The motor can only draw as many volts as the batteries supply--but the number of amps is usually completely variable. If the car is rolling down a hill, expect very few amps drawn. If you're going up the next hill, expect hundreds of amps drawn. The motor will (try to) draw as many amps as it needs to keep up to speed.
Now that that's all out of the way, we can look at Amp Hours (AH).
AH is a rating for batteries, and it means how many amps the battery can supply for an hour.
For example, let's say I have a 10AH battery.
If I connect it to a motor that draws exactly 10A, it will run for an hour before needing recharged. If my motor only draws 5A, it will run for two hours--and so on.
Note that the AH rating is not how many amps the battery can output--so, despite my battery being rated for 10AH, I could probably pull 30A from it--it would just last only 1/3 of an hour.
Hopefully that helps clear up the mystery around Watts, Volts, Amps, and Amp-Hours!
- Jacob Field
1980 Gold ComutaCar