Would You Drive One Of These

[JohnXDoe]

Realistically? Would your family own one instead of the big hulking SUV that might be in your driveway atm?

Unveiled today for the first time...The Tesla Model S. A fully electric vehicle with a top speed of 130mph and a cruising range of 300 miles with just 45 minutes of wait time for a full recharge. Battery packs will also be coming soon which can be swapped out and traded at service stations for long distance travelers. It will become available to the general buying public in the 2010 - 2011 model year.

A small company developed this vehicle, and while not perfect, for $50,000 its a wonder why Detroit couldn't make something like it that is perfect? Or Japan, even. And while Honda has developed a viable all electric Accord, where the hell is the push to market it and other industry to accommodate it? A few models are in the pipeline at every major automaker, but why only a few? Shouldn't cars like this be the rule and not the exception?

I smell a rat. A big, fat, oil industry rat :mad:

Anyway this might be what YOU are buying in your car buying future, or when you have a family of your own to buy for. Kind of pricey right now, but Los Angeles is teemimg with $50,000 vehicles. So why not this one, too? Also a full charge with a range of 300 miles is said to cost $5. So, your savings is right there. And no engine maintenance or repair

What do you think?

http://i40.tinypic.com/qmxlc6.jpg

http://i41.tinypic.com/33wlh0i.jpg

[semi]

id ttly buy an electric car and i dont get why they havent caught on more yet
maybe it was the range thing and having no charging stations everywhere because america drive for 8 hours between cities and think nothing of it
for a normal commute here though charging at home overnight is fine and if we were to drive for 8 hours wed be in checkoslovakia

[horseypie]

those teslas are good but theyre still not completely practical as yet

the last one they brought out took 16 hours to recharge from flat to fully charged. i guess having exchangeable battery packs is going to change that, but still. the last one had shitloads of batterys, so im going to guess that theyve got less in this one to make changing easier, which would reduce driving time.

i personally think honda's nearly hit the nail on the head with their hydrogen car, the only problem is getting hydrogen production large scale at the moment. like california is the only place in the world or something they have hydrogen filling stations
once producing hydrogen comes down in price i think that is definitely the best way to go

[Crapdragoon]

alot of people don't realize how expensive (and heavy) those batteries are!!

plus,if everyone where to get one, electricity use would rise(blackouts NOOO), and oil production/use would still stay the same anyways.


unless we where to build a lot of nuclear plants, and ship all that waste out into space.... hmm!

[JohnXDoe]

but isn't true that with mass production everything goes down in price? it's said the batteries have a 100,000 mile life span and cost $10,000 to replace atm. people seldom keep cars that long today, and even if they do by the time a 15,000 mile a year driver reaches 100,000 miles they would have saved a bundle on fuel and engine maintenance cost

if reliable the car makes a lot of sense imo. but industry has to accommodate it. and the "preowned" market with fresh batteries installed could be pretty significant

[viciouscycle]

Honestly those screens are meants to kill people

[doki]

there's a doco I watched a couple of months ago about electric car, its pretty interesting.

http://tvshack.net/documentaries/Who_Killed_The_Electric_Car_/

[wartomods]

top speed of 130mph and a cruising range of 300 miles with just 45 minutes of wait time for a full recharge

seems farfetched in comparision with what other car makers are promising

[Interstate]

I'd rather eat my own dick then drive an electric powered car.

[asdf]

there's a doco I watched a couple of months ago about electric car, its pretty interesting.

http://tvshack.net/d0cumentaries/Who_Killed_The_Electric_Car_/
That d0cumentary upsets me.


I would most certainly drive an electric car, even though I hate driving.

Also I'm glad that a smaller company had finally done this. This should've been happening since the EV1 was first shut down. Bring an independent forward-thinking car company to Michigan.

[<3<3<3]

If I had money I'd get one.



I think it would be cool to have an electric bicycle. Where you charged it by pedaling, and then when you were tired, or needed help going up a steep hill, or just felt the need for speed, you could just use the electric power.

[asdf]

If I had money I'd get one.



I think it would be cool to have an electric bicycle. Where you charged it by pedaling, and then when you were tired, or needed help going up a steep hill, or just felt the need for speed, you could just use the electric power.

they had something at least sort of like this, but apparently the US government found the battery to be some sort of hazard. I'm not sure if it worked exactly how you're explaining though.

[<3<3<3]

I don't even now how I'm explaining it, but it'd still be super rad sweet.

[Permanent Solution]

I would drive that.

[smith_]

no.

[Already_Taken]

electric cars are stupid, it's just a glorified golf cart. it still uses fossil fuel. and it's less powerful, among the rest of the impracticalities it has.

[<3<3<3]

not as much.

And even less depending on the type of power plant.

[Already_Taken]

it uses not as much and you can tell when you don't have a/c, lights, a radio, a cig lighter and it takes 2 minutes to get to highway speed.

[ridethelib]

electric cars are stupid, it's just a glorified golf cart. it still uses fossil fuel. and it's less powerful, among the rest of the impracticalities it has.

it's fully electric ****tard how does it use fossil fuels?

and idk what you mean by less powerful it can reach 130 idk why you would even need to go that fast its not feasible

[Already_Taken]

it's fully electric ****tard how does it use fossil fuels?

and idk what you mean by less powerful it can reach 130 idk why you would even need to go that fast its not feasible

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/In_the_us_what_percentage_of_electricity_is_derive d_from_fossil_fuels

it would take you all day to get going that fast. top speed and acceleration are completely different.

****tard

[<3<3<3]

it's fully electric ****tard how does it use fossil fuels?

and idk what you mean by less powerful it can reach 130 idk why you would even need to go that fast its not feasible

some places generate electricity by means of burning coal. And manufacturing plants use fossil fuels.

it uses not as much and you can tell when you don't have a/c, lights, a radio, a cig lighter and it takes 2 minutes to get to highway speed.
but wtf do you mean it takes two minutes.

The tesla's specs:

* - 0-60 mph in 5.6 seconds
* - 120 mph top speed


http://www.teslamotors.com/models/index.php

[Already_Taken]

whatever my family owned a golf cart for a long time and electric motors and batteries suck. seriously it wouldn't be worth it to create an infrastructure for something that doesn't even address the seed of our problem.

[ridethelib]

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/In_the_us_what_percentage_of_electricity_is_derive d_from_fossil_fuels

it would take you all day to get going that fast. top speed and acceleration are completely different.

****tard
:rolleyes:

You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about do you?

And as far as fossil fuel consumption, it would be near zero if I owned that car as the city I live in is powered by hydroelectricity.

[Permanent Solution]

whatever my family owned a golf cart for a long time and electric motors and batteries suck. seriously it wouldn't be worth it to create an infrastructure for something that doesn't even address the seed of our problem.
lol at anecdotal evidence being used as proof of scientific concepts

[ridethelib]

whatever my family owned a golf cart for a long time and electric motors and batteries suck. seriously it wouldn't be worth it to create an infrastructure for something that doesn't even address the seed of our problem.

and a car that's engineered for road use =/= a golf cart.

maybe you should be homeless you're obviously too stupid to contribute anything to society.

[<3<3<3]

whatever my family owned a golf cart for a long time and electric motors and batteries suck. seriously it wouldn't be worth it to create an infrastructure for something that doesn't even address the seed of our problem.

that's like saying,


"yeah I owned a model t and gas powered engines suck."

[Already_Taken]

haha oh man i was being slightly sarcastic guys. where i live we get our power from coal and gas. my point stands, it doesn't address the root of the problem. NEXT.

from a convenience standpoint, electric cars suck. hope you don't forget to plug it in one time, cause then you're automatically 45 minutes late... things like that

[Permanent Solution]

Also, I had to look this upjust to verify, but electric motors are what provides lots of torque (acceleration) so in a hybrid the electric motor is what provides acceleration anyways not the gas motor. =)

http://www.hybridsynergydrive.com/en/mechanism.html

As to addressing the root problem...if we got neighborhood initiatives for grid independence (solar, wind), that would be a nice start. Also dynamic energy management: http://cbs4denver.com/green/SmartGrid.Boulder.Electricity.2.950883.html

[Already_Taken]

torque is what gets you from 0-15 mph.

power is what gets you from 15-65 mph. electric cars have no power. the car might jump off the line, but i promise its 5-60 mph is waaay slower than its 0-60

[semi]

power or performance is not the problem
the original tesla is basically the new lotus elise but this is the more practical version i guess

http://www.teslamotors.com/performance/acceleration_and_torque.php

[Already_Taken]

i would not drive that.

[semi]

why

[Already_Taken]

it's not the solution and it's impractical. and nirvana is constantly playing in the radio.

[<3<3<3]

solution to what?

relying on foreign oil?

saving money?

helping the environment?

[Already_Taken]

it's not the solution to oil reliance.

not the solution to saving money. (infrastructure costs should be weighed..)

it probably would help smog in big cities if everyone drove one, but that brings us to the point of huge costs associated with the switch.

and 71% still depend on fossil fuel for our cars.

[semi]

of course its impractical its a sports car and solution to what
its not for practical its for people who buy an elise but the point is its a performance electric car and all the reviews i saw said its impressive and only quieter
except jeremy clarkston but hes impossible to please and he was amazed at the acceleration speed and the driving but then got pissy because they had to fix a brake fuse the second time

[Already_Taken]

finally an electric car that performs on average is probably what he was thinking. electric cars suck in general and that's why he was impressed.

[semi]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesla_Roadster#Reviews

Clarkson, who is known to be highly sceptical about the quality of electric vehicles, gave an otherwise positive review of the Tesla Roadster. even he didnt fault the driving or performance
he found other things to cry about but thats not the point

[Patrick O)))]

The industry to produce decent electric cars is almost certainly already available.

However, I am of the opinion (suspicion) that oil companies and car manufacturers are already fully capable of and more than willing to roll out electric vehicles. There is still far too much money in oil and gas for them to do so just yet. Give it 15 years and a ludicrously efficient electric vehicle will be magically delivered by some mad-cap technician at the Mercedes/Volkswagen/Ford/Honda plant, just in the nick of time before oil becomes too expensive to drill.

EDIT: Already_Taken, you div.

[guitarded_chuck]

whatever my family owned a golf cart for a long time and electric motors and batteries suck. seriously it wouldn't be worth it to create an infrastructure for something that doesn't even address the seed of our problem.

I'm pretty sure the little piece of **** motor in your families cute golf cart differs 110% from the motor in newly developed electric cars. That's like saying the motor in my lawnmower is the same as the one in my car because they both run on gas. jeeesh

They still use fossil fuels, but they use less, and this is progression. You can't just go from one extreme to the other. Eventually there will be technology for a viable, completely fossil fuel free car.

And yes, of course I'd drive that car. It's electric, and has a schexy interior/exterior.

[Patrick O)))]

It eases demand. No-one has ever said that this electric car is going to end fossil-fuel consumption

p.s. I live about 4 miles from Halifax West Yorkshire. It's a shithole.

[JohnXDoe]

http://i39.tinypic.com/o7u9nn.jpg

http://i44.tinypic.com/20apjco.jpg

[ridethelib]

its a sexy car dats fo sho

[Jude]

You could get mad pussy in that car both regular and environmentalist kind

[viciouscycle]

The front end needs work but it's definitely a sweet car

[NortherlyNanook]

id drive it but apparently im just a dumb libfag so w/e

[horseypie]

lol already taken is a tool

i think once they can create better efficiency batteries and quicker charge times it will definitely be a viable solution, but i seriously see hydrogen being the long term answer.

http://automobiles.honda.com/images/2008/fcx-clarity/exterior-gallery/_L4A5131a_lg.jpg

http://automobiles.honda.com/images/2008/fcx-clarity/interior-gallery/Inpane_lg.jpg

http://automobiles.honda.com/fcx-clarity/

[Already_Taken]

lol already taken is a tool

i think once they can create better efficiency batteries and quicker charge times it will definitely be a viable solution, but i seriously see hydrogen being the long term answer.

you're a towel

i see cars powered like a bicycle with extreme mechanical advantage in the future. it would be as easy to make that much hydrogen as it would be to harness nuclear fusion at this point.

[horseypie]

what

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_station
back in 2007 it was going for $5 a kilogram so it would be cheaper now, and thats only because it hasnt gone large scale

and how many nuclear fusion plants do we have these days

[Already_Taken]

like 3

there's only so much hydrogen dude.

[viciouscycle]

isn't hydrogen create able

[Already_Taken]

yeah from water cause water is h20 so all u gotta do is reduce the O off the end to get h2 yeah easy.

[horseypie]

umm electrolysis

one problem is it can take more energy to create the hydrogen than it actually produces
but hydrogen is also a byproduct of nuclear fission so there is another way, which would kill two birds with one stone in a way

[Already_Taken]

yeah if by one of those birds you're talking about biological life. yay!!

[horseypie]

ok give me a method of creating energy thats as viable at the moment as nuclear fission on such a large scale

[JohnXDoe]

http://i41.tinypic.com/hv5gec.jpg

[Pop music sucks]

What happened to your self-exile?

[JohnXDoe]

i reserve the right to un-exile at any given moment

[ToXiCvEnOm_666]

id drive whatever

[JonG]

that driver is obviously dumb

he is listening to nirvana

[Patrick O)))]

like 3

there's only so much hydrogen dude.

lololololol most abundant element in the universe

It doesn't disappear. Whatever chemical change occurs within the vehicle there'll still be the same amount of hydrogen coming out the other end, only it'll be bonded together. So effectively the car doesn't use anything.

[semi]

the car wouldnt but its currently very inneficient and takes more energy to extract hydrogen than you get from it so you actually burn more fossil fuels or whatever
they keep saying maybe in another 15-30 years and its energy of the future but the thing is electric isnt a dream in the future it was working fine ten years ago

[guitarded_chuck]

there's only so much hydrogen dude.

lolololololololol x infinity x lol

the car wouldnt but its currently very inneficient and...

You are right. They are mastering ways of extracting hydrogen without the use of fossil fuels now, though. I visited one research facility related to the subject, and they were using a wind turbine (from a windmill, of course) to power the hydrolysis. The hydrogen molecules were then stored in some sort of storing apparatus, and were available for use as an energy source. It was very neat and promising.

[Jay Link]

Nice car but for almost 60K, I would rather have a fossil fuel burner. In another 10 years once the technology is perfected, maybe.

[semi]

why not just use the power from the wind turbine then

[guitarded_chuck]

You certainly could, but it would be an electric car obviously. At least with today's technology, hydrogen powered cars can get up to much higher speeds and accelerate faster than electric cars. Also, most electric cars, such as the one in this thread, still rely on fossil fuels, whereas the wind/hydrogen method requires none.

I'm no expert tho, and that's a good question :P I'm sure there were other pros/cons I don't remember

[Already_Taken]

lololololol most abundant element in the universe

It doesn't disappear. Whatever chemical change occurs within the vehicle there'll still be the same amount of hydrogen coming out the other end, only it'll be bonded together. So effectively the car doesn't use anything.

yeah cool it should be efficient just to go on over to jupiter and saturn and whatever planets have bunches of hydrogen and bring it back to earth, right?

you may find the fact that 0.000055% of our atmosphere on earth is composed of hydrogen equally funny.

on earth, there's not that much hydrogen in pure form, and the fact that most of our hydrogen is bonded with oxygen does not bode well for it's feasibility, because as stated it takes more power to make it than it produces, much like something else I mentioned earlier in this thread.

[Patrick O)))]

What the hell are you talking about? Have a sense of perspective you prick.

You may also find that Hydrogen makes up 75% of our planets mass. Considering the pitifully tiny proportion which was/is made up of oil, tell me again why persuing hydrogen as a fuel is the waste of time/money/effort you obviously think it is? We'd never have enough if we went around looking for pure hydrogen - it's the extraction of the necassary elements that imbides the high cost of the process. Once an effective industry emerges the cost will fall. Seriously, extracting pure hydrogen from the air/water/rocks/w/e is no more difficult than finding oil fields in the North Sea, building a durable permanent structure in the middle of the ocean and then drilling down hundreds of feet into the sea bed to extract oil.

How old are you?

[Already_Taken]

i think we should use huge solar panels tethered to the earth that harness the sun's unobstructed rays for our power. how sweet would that be.

what does my age have to do with hydrogen as a viable alternative being stupid?

[I Am a Hat]

why dont we have basically giant alternators that charge a battery with tire spinning

[Already_Taken]

because alternators require power to move which makes the engine have to work harder thus making it less efficient.

[I Am a Hat]

i disagree because it would have a computer chip in it so instead of worker harder it can work smarter

[GorgeousGabe]

alot of people don't realize how expensive (and heavy) those batteries are!!

plus,if everyone where to get one, electricity use would rise(blackouts NOOO), and oil production/use would still stay the same anyways.


unless we where to build a lot of nuclear plants, and ship all that waste out into space.... hmm!

stupid

[Already_Taken]

i disagree because it would have a computer chip in it so instead of worker harder it can work smarter

yeah good point. excellent post. it's just there's this law in physics about conservation of energy or something like that where that's impossible so yeah.

[Patrick O)))]

i think we should use huge solar panels tethered to the earth that harness the sun's unobstructed rays for our power. how sweet would that be.

what does my age have to do with hydrogen as a viable alternative being stupid?

Nothing, but it would answer a lot of questions I have about your lack of perspective, close mindedness and sheer stupidity if it transpired that you were four years old.

[GorgeousGabe]

yeah cool it should be efficient just to go on over to jupiter and saturn and whatever planets have bunches of hydrogen and bring it back to earth, right?

you may find the fact that 0.000055% of our atmosphere on earth is composed of hydrogen equally funny.

on earth, there's not that much hydrogen in pure form, and the fact that most of our hydrogen is bonded with oxygen does not bode well for it's feasibility, because as stated it takes more power to make it than it produces, much like something else I mentioned earlier in this thread.

stupid also

[Already_Taken]

my lack of perspective? how does one coherent enough to communicate clearly, lack perspective?

you lack command of the english language, so suck one.

yeah gabe, i think that's what patrick wanted to say but he wanted to try and sound smart while doing it.

[P13]

how exactly does it seat 7?

[GorgeousGabe]

yeah but he doesn't go around spouting bullshit that he doesn't know anything about as though it is gospel

[Mr. Ron]

I'm totally ignorant of car technology, so why can't we just make a car where you can plug it into a solar panel ran station to power up? Or even have ones at your house where you can plug it in?

[Already_Taken]

yeah but he doesn't go around spouting bullpoop that he doesn't know anything about as though it is gospel

he does go around believing everything i say like it's gospel and replying like he's god. maybe there's a tinge, just a tinge, of sarcasm in my posts, but only those more well rehearsed in the english language may be able to pick up on them.

for those who can't, i'm truly sorry, and go read a book.

[GorgeousGabe]

I was talking in reference to you claiming that hydrogen is too hard to find on earth to be a viable fuel source

[viciouscycle]

I don't see how hydrogen could be better than electricity

They're probably pushing for it so you can't refuel yourself, instead needing to go the nearest hydrostation which is a huge scam

[Already_Taken]

i didn't say it's too hard to find. yeah see just... learn to read. hydrogen in pure form is hard to find, however hydrogen in water is obviously everywhere. it's just that nobody can find an efficient way to turn water in to H2 + O2.

[FattyKnee]

damn thats hot

[GorgeousGabe]

i didn't say it's too hard to find. yeah see just... learn to read. hydrogen in pure form is hard to find, however hydrogen in water is obviously everywhere. it's just that nobody can find an efficient way to turn water in to H2 + O2.

....really? I mean I think they are already doing it...?

Let's not forget that a typical gas run engine is hardly efficient in the first place

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/FEG/atv.shtml

[Already_Taken]

just because they're doing it doesn't mean it is efficient. right now [i think] what they're doing is using a huge amount of electricity (derived from where?????) to shock water and H2 is a byproduct. okay, so it's possible. however the amount of H2 this method produces won't provide enough power to create the same shock that created it.

so while your car doesn't emit any pollution, the powerplant that made your fuel creates a bunch.

GET IT???

that's how they extract aluminum from bauxite as well, and if you look at where aluminum plants are, they are often right next to powerplants. can you figure out why?

[Patrick O)))]

my lack of perspective? how does one coherent enough to communicate clearly, lack perspective?

you lack command of the english language, so suck one.

yeah gabe, i think that's what patrick wanted to say but he wanted to try and sound smart while doing it.

Communicating clearly and dismissing a possible source of fuel for millenia to come simply because there's some on Saturn and Jupiter as well as here on Earth have nothing to do with each other. You could talk for hours about how cow's hooves are difficult to digest so why does anyone bother eating beef for hours - no matter how clearly you talk you still have no sense of perspective.

But that's beside the point - you are not coherent or clearly communicative, you instead make stupid remarks about Saturn and Jupiter when we're talking about an element that's abundant on Earth. Likewise your comment about my bad English. Why the hell do you still insist that hydrogen, as an energy source, is a bad idea?

I am smart.

EDIT: Because it's still a burgeoning science. As a process H2 extraction hasn't had nearly the same amount of money thrown at it as drilling for oil or fractional distillation.

"Oh, look how much effort we're having to put in, let's not bother."

[Already_Taken]

well if it didn't take you 30 minutes to write that post, maybe you'd know.

dumby

[semi]

I'm totally ignorant of car technology, so why can't we just make a car where you can plug it into a solar panel ran station to power up? Or even have ones at your house where you can plug it in?
this car can be plugged in at home so could the ev1 and the bunch of others in the 90s
and you can put solar panels on your roof to power it or your home

and guys clam down

[Patrick O)))]

well if it didn't take you 30 minutes to write that post, maybe you'd know.

dumby

lol wtf? My point exactly.

[Already_Taken]

i'm clam bro just eager to make people who try to make people feel stupid feel stupid

what's your point?

hydrogen isn't something that just chills on it's own. it bonds with other elements. the only way we're going to get it is if we make it. the only way we're going to make it is using power generated from somewhere else.

it doesn't address the problem. we need to harness the sun or the wind or NATURAL forces for energy, not man made crap.

[GorgeousGabe]

Well I will stop trying to make you feel stupid. You have to do your part and agree to not make stupid posts and then we can work together, OK?

Now there are many ways of generating electricity.... not all of these methods create pollution. OK? So step number one is to change to nuclear power plants, underwater turbines, wind where it's viable, solar where it's viable, even geothermal where it's viable (very rare)

The second step is to make our cars run on batteries, or on engines that use a fuel source that won't create pollution. Your car already needs a big *** battery in it to run, that is a given my friend. Why not use that to power a conversion that doesn't create huge amounts of pollution, and uses a fuel source that doesn't require the killing of thousands of people in order to secure?

[Mr. Ron]

this car can be plugged in at home so could the ev1 and the bunch of others in the 90s
and you can put solar panels on your roof to power it or your home

and guys clam down
Hm, good idea.

I installed a small solar panel on my deck last month, it works great.

[GorgeousGabe]

that's pretty admirable actually. I admire that.

[Already_Taken]

Well I will stop trying to make you feel stupid. You have to do your part and agree to not make stupid posts and then we can work together, OK?

Now there are many ways of generating electricity.... not all of these methods create pollution. OK? So step number one is to change to nuclear power plants, underwater turbines, wind where it's viable, solar where it's viable, even geothermal where it's viable (very rare)

The second step is to make our cars run on batteries, or on engines that use a fuel source that won't create pollution. Your car already needs a big *** battery in it to run, that is a given my friend. Why not use that to power a conversion that doesn't create huge amounts of pollution, and uses a fuel source that doesn't require the killing of thousands of people in order to secure?

your car uses the battery to start. and it's not that big of a battery either. the battery in your car has enough power to drive your car like 20 feet at about 2 mph.

i'm not saying hydrogen isn't viable as a car fuel in the future, i am saying it's not a viable solution to the energy problem we are facing.

and i'll post w/e i want, if you can't take what i say with a grain of salt then you're an idiot. i'm not writing a fuking dissertation on here, this is my leisure time.

[GorgeousGabe]

It's granted that I'll take it with a grain of salt

My point was simply that it's not impractical to have to use a battery to power a hydrogen conversion engine. There's no real logic behind a claim like that

[Already_Taken]

batteries don't just make themselves. and the power comes from somewhere.

[GorgeousGabe]

And there are many clean ways of doing so... I've talked about a few

look at France's nuclear power program. that is something we could learn from

[semi]

mr alreadytaked do you say that renewable energy power plants + electric cars is better than hydrogen but petrol cars is best? or am i misunderstanding

[Already_Taken]

petrol is the best for now, because we don't have an efficient enough technology to warrant switching our entire infrastructure over at this point.

[semi]

ok icy

[asdf]

The fact of the matter is, energy at this point needs to be diversified more so, instead of majority coal for home power and fossil fuel transport. And it can't be an immediate shift of course, it's a process. No one form of energy is "the solution" but why would we reject steps because they're not?

I am all for development and research into electric cars, solar, wind, nuclear (to a point), biodiesel, and ethanol from sensible sources (you know, like, not corn, which is really inefficient). Why anyone would be opposed to the development and use of a variety of modes of energy generation and transport is beyond me.

[guitarded_chuck]

Yes we do. There just needs to be more market demand. And as America's car companies, which produce inefficient, poor-quality automobiles (generally), start to collapse, the demand is going to switch towards efficient vehicles. It will be a progression, but it doesn't need to be.

Already Taken you lose this thread bud about 50 vs 1 give it up

[Already_Taken]

well electric cars does nothing for the future of energy independence from oil. it just switches where you refuel.

[guitarded_chuck]

well electric cars does nothing for the future of energy independence from oil. it just switches where you refuel.

Care to explain why not?

[Already_Taken]

because most of the electricity coming through our plugs is derived from non renewable sources.

sure it might extend how long we can rely on oil, but it does not address the main concern that oil is non renewable as far as we're concerned.

[I Am a Hat]

yeah wow im sure nobody would even think about changing that

[guitarded_chuck]

because most of the electricity coming through our plugs is derived from non renewable sources.

sure it might extend how long we can rely on oil, but it does not address the main concern that oil is non renewable as far as we're concerned.

What if the electricity was powered by solar or wind?

[Already_Taken]

then it would be fine, although it would suck. gas motors are awesome. vroooom vrooom!

[guitarded_chuck]

then it would be fine, although it would suck. gas motors are awesome. vroooom vrooom!

New hydrogen engines are just as powerful as gas engines.

u lose bud pce

[semi]

he isnt being that dumb and he has a point
if we had more renewable energy then electricity would be better though and even if they are both equal electricity is slightly better because its easier to deal with the fumes and pollution at power plants that with mini catalytic convertors on each car and you can charge at home which is more convenient
obviously its not for everyone but there should be that choice for the few that want it so this car isnt a bad idea

[Already_Taken]

but i bet they don't make the same sound. VROOM!!

peace

i mean if your house has solar panels on the roof and you don't draw from the grid, then by all means get an electric moped or something, but if everyone in america bought an electric car that would just be a big waste.

[asdf]

because most of the electricity coming through our plugs is derived from non renewable sources.

sure it might extend how long we can rely on oil, but it does not address the main concern that oil is non renewable as far as we're concerned.

This can, should, and will change though. As I said, it's a process, and it takes steps, and it has to do with a lot of bullshit with the already established companies profiting from coal mining and other fossil fuels. And there is no one solution for this either, but there are plenty of renewable technologies that are constantly being improved, there's no reason they shouldn't be the majority source of electric energy already.

[Already_Taken]

agreed, i for one think in texas we need wind farms. where i live i've seen a total of 3 turbines, all in the same place. we love oil here though.

i think windfarms are not an eye sore either. and theoretically every turbine you place has the same efficiency, meaning that just because you add one it doesn't take away from wind speed, but it creates the same amount of power that the others around it do.

[asdf]

I actually think Texas has the most wind turbines out of any state.

Michigan does not have that many great places for turbines like other states, except right on the coast of Lake Michigan. Yet we only have like 4 total. If I had lakeside property, I would probably get my own personal turbine (which you can get).

[Already_Taken]

yeah i think t boone pickens is building a bunch out in the panhandle. hardly anyone lives out there though. i live right by DFW airport and there's 3 right there at the end of one of the runways, but those are the only 3 i've ever seen around here.

today the wind's blowing at about 30 mph though, as it has been dong consistently for about 2-3 months now. sucks, but if it were powering my **** i wouldn't mind as much.

[CarnageFairy]

I'd drive an electric car if it was a decent drive, like at least as fast as the shitty car I have now.

Acceleration wise, of course, 130mph is fast enough for me. Also I'd like a longer range than 300 miles, that could make taking road trips sort of annoying.

[GorgeousGabe]

petrol is the best for now, because we don't have an efficient enough technology to warrant switching our entire infrastructure over at this point.

We have plenty reason to warrant spending lots of money to develop the technology to switch our entire infrastructure over.

We should have a manhattan project for developing clean and efficient energy sources

[Already_Taken]

yeah all secretive and stuff.

[GorgeousGabe]

I just mean in terms of the urgency of the situation

[Already_Taken]

what's more urgent making sure we all don't starve to death or saving the planet?

[asdf]

um, one is kind of contingent on the other

[Already_Taken]

nah the more co2 in the environment the more food we can grow. use ur noggin

main thing is all the cities that are gonna flood.

[GorgeousGabe]

@_@ I mean come on people don't need to starve, businesses would just have to make the shift work

[Already_Taken]

well i was referring to the current economic situation, and terms of urgency, however yeah ideally, that's what would happen