230 MPG Hybrid

I don't mind the look of this car. I think all things futuristic are pretty interesting. It'll definitely turn some heads.

This car would never work in the midwest, though, cuz the majority of our electricity is still from coal...so, what's the point. Gas / electric is sort of all the same.
 
Anhar Miah said:
This really bugs me, that car could have been designed to look like a normal car, bu they have to make it look "different" just to make a point that it is different.
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Not everybody does that.

www.teslamotors.com

And, while that's very tempting, I think I'd probably go for this one instead:
http://www.gizmag.com/go/7021/

644 horsepower, same mileage and performance categories as the Tesla, but it's all-wheel drive and has some cargo capacity and is probably a little bit less "steal me"...
 
Don't forget this company: http://www.commutercars.com/
Albeit not the prettiest thing to look at but its performance and safety speak for themselves.
Quote from manufacturers: "Because safety is such a concern for small cars in particular, we have designed the Tango around a roll cage that meets or exceeds both SCCA and NHRA regulations. These are racing organizations that specify cage design to protect the occupants of cars crashing at over 200 mph. "
George Clooney bought the first one of these I think.

I'm not sure it could be made into a grip truck though...:)
 
Mattykins said:
I would not want to get in an accident in that. Looks like its a death trap. And eco-friendly death trap.

At least when you die, you know you helped the world.
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It'll always be a death trap as long as soccer moms feel they have to drive those gigantic SUV's with 7 liter engines.
 
There is a documentary called "Who Killed the Electric Car?' that goes through all the various reasons why the electric car failed a few years ago. For me the big reason why it failed was the technology itself. You could only travel between 50 and 100 miles before having to recharge which took a couple of hours. In the film they blame that short coming on the customers habits which is complete bull. You can't blame your customer for the short comings of your technology.

In order for an electric car to be successful it will have to match what people are use to today. Which is between 200 - 300 miles of travel per fill-up as well as filling up in 5 to 10 minutes. Also there must be a strong distribution network like there is today with gas. If those 3 issues are not addressed electric cars will continue to fail.
 
mjjason said:
You could only travel between 50 and 100 miles before having to recharge which took a couple of hours.
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Time to clear some facts:

(1) Old Battery technology such as the Lead Acid Battery found in every car is a technology that is over 100 years old, it has really bad weight/power/sizer ratio. [1]

(2) Newer Ni-Cadium are far better [2]

(3) Even Never Ni Metal Hydrate are better than Ni-Cads [3]

(4) The latest Li-Ions (as in your latest laptop and cell phone) are far far superior. [4]

Cars with litium Ions have easy reached in excess of 400 miles per charge (see Solectra, I actually had an email exchange with the makers of that car) [5]

(5) Toshiba has demonstraded Li-Ions can actually be charged to 85% in under 60 seconds using Nano techonology. [6]

So its very easy to build electric Cars that do in excess of 400 miles per charge and charge in 60 seconds, the technology is there But the downsides:

(1) Li-Ions require battery management, more electronics, overcharging etc

(2) VERY expensive, for a battery pack to run an EV can be in the range of £5,000-£10,000

(3) Short life cycle, only maybe 5 -10 years.

Of course mass manufacture can overcome the economics, that requires the will of goverments to demand it.

-----

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead-acid_battery
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickel-Cadmium_battery
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickel-metal_hydride_battery
[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium-ion_battery
[5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solectria_Sunrise
[6] http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/gadgets/toshibas-60second-charge-battery-037558.php

mjjason said:
Also there must be a strong distribution network like there is today with gas
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For an EV, all you need is a charging socket, every petrol pump in the whole world could simply add a plug socket with ease, this is not even a problem! (assuming that country does have an electricity)
 
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Barry_Green said:
40 miles on all-electric. If you have a gas engine on-board, that extends your range to 600 miles, but then it's a hybrid and not an all-electric at that point.
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Still, having a mixed mode car wouldn't be a bad thing. All electric for short < 40 miles trips and gas for long trips. That would offer the best of both worlds.

Bob Diaz
 
ConspiracyPenguin said:
. . . Excellent, working on resoring my bird too at the moment . . . My T/A is 6.6L, ouch!
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Good to hear. :) Project cars are fun. A welcome money pit! :thumbsup: So you have, what, a 400cu engine in your 6.6L TA?

SonicStates said:
Don't forget this company: http://www.commutercars.com/
Albeit not the prettiest thing to look at but its performance and safety speak for themselves . . .
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Yikes, the Tango 600 series is $108,000USD!

Anhar Miah said:
. . . The latest Li-Ions (as in your latest laptop and cell phone) are far far superior . . . Cars with litium Ions have easy reached in excess of 400 miles per charge . . . Toshiba has demonstraded Li-Ions can actually be charged to 85% in under 60 seconds using Nano techonology . . . So its very easy to build electric Cars that do in excess of 400 miles per charge and charge in 60 seconds, the technology is there . . . For an EV, all you need is a charging socket, every petrol pump in the whole world could simply add a plug socket with ease, this is not even a problem! (assuming that country does have an electricity)
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That sounds attractive. Now, all I need is for my Panny camera batteries to recharge that fast . . .
 
Anhar Miah said:
Time to clear some facts:
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Yeah, technology has definitely moved on from when that documentary was made though at the time the major hang-up of the electric car was its usability. There are still major hurdles to overcome and if they overcome those three plus making it affordable than the electric car will be a viable option.
 
filthrich said:
The Chevy Volt comes out this year. electric car. Gets 100mpg equivalent. 80 cents to charge. Can go 40 miles per charge.
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I am pretty sure it comes out in 2010, check the site. Also, you are right it goes 40 miles on a charge but then the gas kicks in, Barry already covered this. They say it gets like 150 MPG equivilent if my memory serves me correctly.

DC said:
Good to hear. :) Project cars are fun. A welcome money pit! :thumbsup: So you have, what, a 400cu engine in your 6.6L TA?...
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A 403cu, actually, but close enough. :grin: It's a beast.
 
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