My high bid on a tesla roadster again wasn't enough to meet the reserve, but I got a ride in one yesterday. It was kind of funny. I was absolutely impressed with the torque as I thought I would be. The owner was evangelistic in his praise of his car and constantly told onlookers (we had a few as his roadster and my Lambo roadster replica are both bright orange) that his car was electric, no gas. He also told me that I need a muffler. I only have a turbo and a cat on the ls4. He was way more aggressive than I am during the ride and that kind of surprised me since he was constantly touting the environmental significance of the electric car. Over and over again I heard "gas bad, gas noisy". We will go on drives together though. The two cars make quite an attraction together. I found out that the reserve on the roadster was only $3,000 above my bid. I really shouldn't be bidding on another car right now. I'm also looking for property and that is much more logical. Logical just isn't as much fun. I told him that the quickest Fiero is an electric one. I'm not certain that is right. The turbo grand national Fiero might be quicker.
You shoulda informed him that unless he plugs his Tesla into an outlet powered by a nucular power plant or a Hydroelectric dam his carbon footprint is larger than your LS4's and that the company that built that Over priced lotus weighed down by lead & acid that is essentially powered by coal is going down like the titanic even though they are backed my Nissan.
Actually it weighs about the same as a Fiero although it is heavier than a lotus Elise. Tesla is installing solar powered charging stations nation wide, so there is progress in that direction. I'm aware that we can't just shut off the fossil fuel faucet. We are going to be relying on fossil fuels for the near future. That doesn't mean that we shouldn't be giving some consideration to what our policy will be when it becomes prohibitively expensive to get it out of the ground or underwater or trying to deal with the effects of co2 on our climate. Did I mention that I love my fire spewing loud engine? I've been a hot rodder my entire life, but I'm an environmentalist too. I know that the two don't make an ideal partnership.
Sooner or later nature will turn off the fossil fuel faucet. Fossil fuels will go the way of whale oil and steam. May not be in my life time but it is going to happen.
Li-on batteries, 200mi range, and restricted to 150mph. The 7pass sedan has close to the same specs, depending on battery option. The roadster is no longer in production, only the sedan. Good thing is price, the roadster was $100,000 the sedan starts at $50,000. Check the price on a Caddy Escalade.
I rode in a Model S last week in California. If it wasn't for the price tag, I'd be buying one. I could care less about the pollution aspect, the car was FAST and handled like a dream, and the interior was great. I actually wish it did make some kind of noise, it was dead silent and difficult to tell what the car was doing at any given moment unless you were staring at the speedometer.
I vote for turbo-diesel engines running on bio-diesel fuel. This would be a less dramatic change for us hot rodders.
That might be the very best idea I've heard for a transitional vehicle. They asked me if I wanted to reserve the Tesla for $63,000. I said $60,000, let me think about the $63,000. I then asked him why the roadster market is so soft right now. The prices have dropped by about $20,000 recently and no ones buying. You guys would love this car. It's like an incredibly good handling, powerful Fiero roadster with knock your socks off styling. If I get it the first thing I'm going to do is take it to an autocross track. It corners like it's tied down to rails.
I think all the electric car makers are missing the boat..
I would drive an electric car in a heartbeat if they came with an optional tow-behind trailer with a diesel generator that would enable road trips.
That way, you could commute in it, but when you wanted to take the family on a long trip, hook up the small trailer, fill it with fuel, and take off. Then, you'd arrive at your destination with a charged battery, and your range is limited only by the seat of your pants. Also, you're not hauling around a huge internal combustion engine and plumbing when not needed.
The generator could be very efficient, and would only need to be big enough to maintain an 80MPH cruise.. Batteries could be used up hills to help and recharge on the way down. Depending on the car, I could see a 15kw generator being more than enough, and it doesn't take a whole lot of fuel to make about 25HP.
When the fossil fuels run out, we can convert to run on Ethanol.
Electric cars do quite a bit of environmental damage when they are being made because of the batteries and the materials used as well as the distance the batteries travel to get created. They go all over the world. Top Gear talked about this regarding a Toyota Prius.
I think Hydrogen Powered cars like the Honda FCX Clarity are the way to go, an electric car that gets refueled. It is super energy efficient too, and would incorporate a similar fueling infrastructure as to what currently exists. Not to mention hydrogen is one of the most abundant or the most abundant element. The hard part is separating the hydrogen, but that is all in the research.
I think all the electric car makers are missing the boat..
I would drive an electric car in a heartbeat if they came with an optional tow-behind trailer with a diesel generator that would enable road trips.
That way, you could commute in it, but when you wanted to take the family on a long trip, hook up the small trailer, fill it with fuel, and take off. Then, you'd arrive at your destination with a charged battery, and your range is limited only by the seat of your pants.
That's basically what a Fisker Karma is - on board Ecotec generator and electric motors in the wheel hubs.
The 15w diesel generators I've seen are pretty big even without the fuel tank. I had a 4k Kubota generator and it was really big and heavy. Maybe someone makes a light one and maybe they don't need to be that many kw
quote
Originally posted by aaronkoch:
I think all the electric car makers are missing the boat..
I would drive an electric car in a heartbeat if they came with an optional tow-behind trailer with a diesel generator that would enable road trips.
That way, you could commute in it, but when you wanted to take the family on a long trip, hook up the small trailer, fill it with fuel, and take off. Then, you'd arrive at your destination with a charged battery, and your range is limited only by the seat of your pants. Also, you're not hauling around a huge internal combustion engine and plumbing when not needed.
The generator could be very efficient, and would only need to be big enough to maintain an 80MPH cruise.. Batteries could be used up hills to help and recharge on the way down. Depending on the car, I could see a 15kw generator being more than enough, and it doesn't take a whole lot of fuel to make about 25HP.
The only reason those 15kw trailers are heavy is that they're heavy diesels designed to run for years of continuous service..
They don't NEED to be that heavy.
I know about the series hybrids, but in each of those, you're ALWAYS hauling 800+ pounds of gas tank, motor, emissions equipment, radiator, coolant, etc. The trailer idea would mean you're only hauling it when needed. As a side benefit, it would enable you to charge where there are no outlets, and provide a 110v power source too. (Think off-road electric vehicle camping, or zombie apocalypse)
Might work for some people. Not trying to argue with you, but I would not want to tow anything with a tesla roadster. That would take away all the fun. If I want to travel beyond it's range and there is no recharging facility I'll take a different vehicle.
quote
Originally posted by aaronkoch:
The only reason those 15kw trailers are heavy is that they're heavy diesels designed to run for years of continuous service..
They don't NEED to be that heavy.
I know about the series hybrids, but in each of those, you're ALWAYS hauling 800+ pounds of gas tank, motor, emissions equipment, radiator, coolant, etc. The trailer idea would mean you're only hauling it when needed. As a side benefit, it would enable you to charge where there are no outlets, and provide a 110v power source too. (Think off-road electric vehicle camping, or zombie apocalypse)
Which is what makes them a rich man's vehicle for now. You need two cars instead of one? I can't afford that.
I sure hope they make some kind of sound though. I've already been clipped by an electric scooter over here in Shanghai because they are silent and driven by idiots.
How often do you drive over 200mis. in one day? The regular production electrics suck at 40, but the Tesla can do 200. Makes you wonder why the big 3 and all the imports can't match that.
How often do you drive over 200mis. in one day? The regular production electrics suck at 40, but the Tesla can do 200. Makes you wonder why the big 3 and all the imports can't match that.
Every time I go home, which is about once a month. 300 miles though, is plenty of range. And with the supercharger stations soon dotting the landscape, charge times down to half an hour (a nice lunch or other meal), and soon battery swap-outs that only take less than two minutes, it's becoming a reality. FAST. Ten years from now will be a VERY interesting time in the car industry. I can't wait for the third gen affordable car to come out, or the Model S to hit the used market at significantly lower prices.
I think Hydrogen Powered cars like the Honda FCX Clarity are the way to go, an electric car that gets refueled. It is super energy efficient too, and would incorporate a similar fueling infrastructure as to what currently exists. Not to mention hydrogen is one of the most abundant or the most abundant element. The hard part is separating the hydrogen, but that is all in the research.
Also there are no batteries to go flat.
I agree with the Clarity / Hydrogen concept. Honda has had the Hydrogen Home Refueling Station technology for TEN years now. Kinda makes you wonder who's keeping them from taking it into the marketplace... The Hydrogen generator actually runs on natural gas. However it creates way more energy from the Hydrogen that is separated from the atmosphere han it uses in natural gas. The generators also produce heated water and electric power for the household.
Read up. My opinion is that THIS is the answer to our dependence on foreign fuels. It may not quite be ready but this is way better than anything else out there at the moment. http://automobiles.honda.co...-energy-station.aspx
Imagine a house with solar panels, hydrogen generator and a garage full of electric cars, completely off the power grid. I can't wait.
*** EDIT *** And I have a huge man crush on ANY Tesla. They are all sexy cars.
[This message has been edited by 2002z28ssconv (edited 07-16-2013).]
I'd be all about a net-zero house, but being off the grid doesn't really make sense. Solar photovoltaics make most of their power on a sunny afternoon in the summer time. You want to charge your electric car at night. Cooling demands are when you're home, mostly evening hours. Heating is in the winter when there's a lot less sun. Staying grid connected means you can diversify your energy sources and ride out the variations in demand and production. PV, hydro, wind, geothermal, whatever makes sense locally. From an individual's perspective, net-metering makes sense because you're not depending on a very expensive and large bank of batteries to tide you over, no power goes to waste, you never have to go without, and you don't have to fall back on things like generators. You get to sell excess and buy it when you need it.
The problems with hydrogen are: 1) They're potentially quite dangerous in a crash situation, and 2) you need a power source to extract the hydrogen. The 'hydrogen is the most common element...' story is not exactly true. It needs to be extracted, and this takes power. Doable? Sure, but you need to do this with a renewable source.
The problem with full electric is the range and charging time. A Leaf is doing what, 100 miles at best? I regularly drive longer distances than that. If I have to own 2 vehicles, it doesn't really make sense. Put your foot into it, or really do anything short of hyper-mile it and watch the range go down. I'm curious how far I'd make it in the hilly terrain of VT. Likely couldn't even see the 100 mile range.
Battery technology is making huge leaps and bounds, along with an increasingly renewable grid. As a stop gap measure, I don't see what's wrong with a lightweight turbo diesel. VW is about to release a bluemotion TDI Golf in Europe that anticipated to get nearly 90 mpg. They've had Lupo's for a decade that do 75 mpg. If we could effectively triple the fuel efficiency of the vehicles on the road right now, it would buy us a lot of time to develop and improve alternative technologies.
[This message has been edited by onesexyfiero (edited 07-17-2013).]
You shoulda informed him that unless he plugs his Tesla into an outlet powered by a nucular power plant or a Hydroelectric dam his carbon footprint is larger than your LS4's and that the company that built that Over priced lotus weighed down by lead & acid that is essentially powered by coal is going down like the titanic even though they are backed my Nissan.
The tesla uses Lithium Ion batteries, not lead-acid. And a coal-fired electric plant, because of it's size and efficiency, produces power with a lower carbon footprint per kilowatt hour (or horsepower) than any gas powered car, even a hybrid.
[This message has been edited by TopNotch (edited 07-17-2013).]
Solar tied to fuel cells, the Swedes have been doing it for years. Excess power from solar converts water to hydrogen then powers a fuel cell at night. In Iceland you can fuel up your hydrogen powered vehicle at numerous solar powered stations. All they need is some sun and water. We are 50yrs behind other countries in fuel tech. The main reason is they set energy goals 50yrs at a time. With our political system our energy policies are set 4yrs at a time, and change every 4yrs.
