Recent Comments:
Adventures in re-branding: The caption contest {Autoblog}
Aug 3rd 2008 1:06PM When I grow up I wanna be...
Garmin's Nuvifone delayed until early 2009 {Engadget}
Jul 30th 2008 1:31PM "carrier-specific requirements", eh? Wanna bet they have to figure out how to remotely disable and enable features that are already built in to the phone?
Palm's 10-K filing reveals smaller acquisitions, reads like a mystery novel {Engadget}
Jul 28th 2008 1:11PM I know one thing that's keeping Palm alive, at least for me: coverage. I really want an iPhone 3G, but my wife and daughter had to cancel their AT&T iPhone contracts when we moved to a new house where there's no usable AT&T (or T-Mobile, I tried it) coverage. Verizon is all over it, though. I don't know whether it's a lack of towers, or whether CDMA just handles hilly areas better (I'll bet the latter, but I'm biased).
Given my personal distaste for WinMo, and need for a smartphone rather than a feature phone, that brings it down to Palm and Blackberry. VZ gave me a Centro for free (new every two plus online ordering discounts) for re-upping. Maybe in two years there'll be something I like better that has adequate coverage. Meanwhile, there's still a ton of Palm software out there to play with.
Mercedes cutting production in Alabama {Autoblog}
Jul 25th 2008 10:48PM Maybe they can retool to build electric Smarts. Or at least the A-class.
Ford working on high-performance Fusion GT, EcoBoost 'Stang on hold {Autoblog}
Jul 7th 2008 1:09PM Destined to be every bit as successful as the SVT Contour, IMHO.
Using invasive species like kudzu as biofuel feedstocks {Autoblog Green}
Jun 30th 2008 11:57AM While the basic idea of consuming an invasive species for fuel is good, I think this has all the makings of an environmental disaster. Because the current locations of kudzu are not amenable to mechanical harvesting, biofuel producers will end up actually _planting_ kudzu on what may be arable land. And once the kudzu gets in there, that land will never be usable for agriculture again, even if the biofuel company goes bust. In fact, it'll likely spread to adjacent land.
First glimpse of ZAP Alias prototype revealed in video {Autoblog Green}
Jun 26th 2008 11:58AM To me, it's clearly a styling buck. There's not the slightest hint of visibility through the "glass", indicating to me that it's not glass at all. And you'll note in the low side view that you can see a brake rotor through the wheel, but there's no caliper.
Forget MPG - let's move to GPM {Autoblog Green}
Jun 21st 2008 1:17PM T2 wrote (in comment 14):
"Replacement with the metric litre is useful since there is a confusing disparity between the British and American gallon and always will be."
Yeah, but we'll still be disagreeing on how to spell it! :-)
Should we be thinking about standardized everything for plug-in vehicles? {Autoblog Green}
Jun 16th 2008 2:40PM I'm with Michael. As the article linked by Wave54 pointed out, we've already been through this back when the Saturn EV1 and Toyota RAV4 EV (and I think a Honda EV, though memory fails me) were available. Public charging stations had to have two or more different chargers to enable "quick charging" of EVs. Now imagine there are dozens of models, each with their own connector/charging method. Public charging stations become untenable.
Ideally, I like Michael's suggestion of standardized quick-change battery packs. This would actually make long-distance travel in EVs possible. Either that, or we need Iron Man's chest-mounted reactor. :-)
Gotta LUV that Brazilian-built Chevy Tornado {Autoblog}
Jun 16th 2008 2:20PM You see small utility vehicles like this all over Europe (often as panel vans). They're quite common in commercial use. For personal use, you're more likely to see a hatchback, with a roof rack or trailer as needed for cargo.
The Euro attitude toward towing is rather different than in the US. They don't mind if you can't keep up with traffic, and EU tow ratings are significantly higher for the very same vehicle than US ratings. I've seen a VW Golf towing a two-horse trailer (slowly) on the Autobahn.
My first car was a Chevy LUV, btw. 4-speed, deep-dish aluminum wheels with tires that stuck out past the fenders, tonneau cover, 8-track tape deck, bench seat so my girlfriend could sit next to me. Very cool. :-) Except for the 4-wheel drum brakes that, combined with the wide tires (and wheels that probably had the wrong offset), would pull a different direction every time you hit the pedal! =:O Safety equipment included lap belts and, um, well, that's it (IIRC. Might've been 3-point on the two outboard positions, but I don't think so. Not required on trucks in '74).
