Recent Comments:
At Witz' End - Lies and Deceptions {Autoblog Green}
Jun 12th 2008 12:02PM http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2006/08/post_29.html#Register
By Gary Witzenburg
Widespread acceptance of battery-powered EVs will not happen until someone develops battery technology competitive with a tank of gas (or diesel) in every way. It must be absolutely safe, long-term durable, capable of operating reliably in extreme weather and temperatures, mass-producible at low cost, able to carry comparable energy in a package of comparable size and weight, and able to be quickly recharged. None comes remotely close.
Or said another way,
Widespread acceptance of gasoline powered cars will not happen until someone develops gas car technology competitive with the horse in every way. It must be absolutely safe, long-term durable, capable of operating reliably in extreme weather and temperatures, able to breed at low cost, able to do work comparable to its size and weight, and able to be quickly fed and watered. None comes remotely close.
Volt pricing and timing takes another twist: under $30 grand by 2010? {Autoblog Green}
May 25th 2008 10:30AM $7 gas will wring the truth out of which products/technologies are best. $12 gas will wet pants and $12 gas + gas rationing will quickly pry most everyones head out of the sand. $4 gas is waking up a lot of normal, practical thinking people who would have otherwise remained sleeping. That is a good thing because we will only begin to win this battle when the "experts" who got us into this mess have faded to the back.
What companies like Honda don't yet understand is that soon people will climb over each other to get a car able to go as little as 20 miles without burning gas.
As Old Guy states, "The main point is that we have started the journey and there is no turning back. We can do anything if we just decide to do it."
With about 99% of our transportation needs dependent on oil, the transition to non-oil transportation methods will be challenging to say the very least. This inevitable transition to truly renewable transportation fuels will be made all the more daunting by the wrenching pain of high priced and scarce oil supplies but that is apparently what is needed to get us all off of our collective asses and "just decide to do it".
EVS23: The green machine - Smith Electric Truck comes to America {Autoblog Green}
May 14th 2008 12:59PM "Each battery pack costs $16,000"
16K is OK fine for now, but something like 6K per battery would make these trucks fly.
Minnesota boy rides bike into Prius he didn't hear {Autoblog Green}
May 8th 2008 1:30PM The blind can be trained to hear electric vehicle motors. They make a distinctive E-buzzing sound. I can hear them clearly and do not have the ears of a blind person. If the car is moving very slowly then probably no one can hear it unless it's a hog or a real beater.
So why haven't the hearing impaired been complaining all along, or have they all been run over already.
Minnesota boy rides bike into Prius he didn't hear {Autoblog Green}
May 8th 2008 11:41AM We definitely need a law here. I'm not sure if we should outlaw all hybrids, and quiet high-end luxury vehicles or all little kids on bicycles, but somethings got to go. Why don't we just outlaw all cars that don't make a racket and all little kids on bicycles at the same time? The only problem is that our prisons are already full of people caught smoking pot in their backyard. Simple solution, build more prisons.
Navy gears up for unmanned combat aircraft {Engadget}
Aug 4th 2007 2:25PM This is great news... for the profits of the military-industrial complex.
A trillion here, a trillion there and pretty soon you're talking real money.
No matter this is exactly what we need to defend ourselves against oppressed Third World camel riders.
AutoblogGreen Q&A with Sherry Boschert: why plug-in hybrids will recharge America {Autoblog Green}
Oct 21st 2006 2:03PM It's completely understandable that the plug-in hybrid concept is still being met by misunderstanding, misinformation and uninformed skepticism. The public balks at change as much as the big auto manufacturers. A hundred years into building cars and we act like they're a genetic species not to be tempered with.
The plug-in hybrid addresses many pertinent and timely issues. But that doesn't mean it will be quickly or easily embraced by manufacturers or public. The histories of occupant safety and pollution controls are interesting examples of how proposed automobile changes are sometimes dealt with by both the public and manufacturers.
Safety: Forty or so years ago there was very little attention given to occupant safety. Dashboard arrangements could cause serious injuries with only minor accidents. Pedestrian safety didn't even register. Gradually, padded dashboards and better designs started showing up. But when seatbelts came around, manufacturers wanted no part of them and especially did not want to be ordered to include them in their vehicles. Airbags were also shunned and derided by manufacturers. Arguments similar to those made against plug in hybrids were voiced. Too expensive, no one will want to pay the extra premium, too complicated, subject to failure and so on. And, you can't tell us what to do!
Pollution: Another example of auto manufacturers unwillingness to embrace change can be seen in the area of pollution controls. And, as I recall, the public went along with manufacturers in their dislike of added pollution controls. All the same arguments. Too expensive, too complicated and questionable effectiveness. And,(of course)you can't tell us what to do!
But manufacturers did a 180. Manufacturers started out kicking and screaming and dragging their heels over every single safety feature that was mandated. Now, only a few years later, these same manufacturers are climbing over each other to show that they offer the most effective safety doodads on the market. Safety has quickly become a big sales feature and manufacturers have jumped on it with both feet.
Fortunately, both safety improvements and pollution improvements have moved forward in spite of stiff resistance from myopic manufacturers and public alike. Had these changes in vehicle safety not taken place, one can imagine our emergency rooms and hospitals overflowing with unnecessary injuries. Had the changes in pollution controls not come about... I don't even want to think about what the air would look like or what we would all be breathing in and out right now.
The plug-in hybrid is not perfect. Nothing ever is. The plug-in hybrid is a step in the right direction.
Jerry Flint takes on the issue of plug-in hybrids {Autoblog}
May 31st 2006 2:17PM Philosophy...?
"Toyota tells me there are Priuses that have gone more than 275,000 miles on the original batteries. The secret to such longevity? According to Toyota, the car never charges its batteries to more than 80% of their capacity nor drains them below 50% capacity.
The philosophy behind a plug-in hybrid is that it drains the battery to almost empty before the gas engine cuts in. That is how they make those 100-mpg claims. This requires a bigger battery pack and, preferably, a lithium-ion battery, which packs more power per pound than nickel metal hydride."
The above quote from Jerry seems to indicate his inability to think through the issue logically. If the secret to the longevity of the Prius battery is simply never to be charged more than 80% and never to be drained more than 50%, wouldn't that "secret" apply to larger batteries (of the same type) as well? What's the difference Jerry? How about if we just slapped two Prius batteries in one car? Wouldn't that double the car's battery power while retaining all the same longevity characteristics?
But that's just picking on Jerry. He does do a good job of pointing out that batteries are the central issue. So the question comes up, where's the fervent national determination to discover improved battery technology? Where is the national goal of producing a superior vehicular battery? Jerry makes clear that the battery is the problem but stops at that. If the battery is the problem, then fixing the battery is the answer.
Is there really a cosmic law that forever keeps the viable electric vehicle battery out of reach? Possibly, but very unlikely. Especially considering advancements in materials sciences. If a usable EV battery is truly impossible to produce, we will only find out by proceeding with the assumption that it is possible and that we can do it. If we begin with the assumption or even the hint of the assumption that it's impossible, or not really worthwhile, were starting out in reverse.
