A plug for your future car

steve smyth — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 14:09:36 GMT

hey, I just realized that Gaia Two is also the perfect design for Car of the Future...WOW!
click the name...you'll see what I mean...

A plug for your future car

Brandon, Rockville, MD — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 16:46:54 GMT

There is no reason it should take 50 years to convert to hydrogen/green fuels. Infrastructure aside, oil companies are just evil. They need to understand that we are going to run out of oil, and that investing in cleaner, perpetually abundant energy sources is more important than making $43 billion in profit...in one year. This country needs to start leading by example. It can start by ratifying Kyoto.

A plug for your future car

Steve Ford, Las Vegas, Nevada — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 16:50:17 GMT

Just give me a car that never runs out of fuel, that doesn't harm the environment, that's safe and roomy and I'll be happy.

A plug for your future car

Randy, Seattle, WA — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 16:53:09 GMT

can't wait to see it. I agree with Tom. Who the hell need a car with 500 HP? and why do we need car with 500 HP? to go to grocery? America and the rest of the worl, we need to do something with our appetite for gas/oil. This global warming is for real. Just look at outside your window. If we don't cut down on our consumption of oil and gas, the one who will suffer is not just going to be us. It will be all the poor people in under develop nation who can no longer afford to buy their food because the price has been going up like 80 something percent in the past year. This is crazy.

A plug for your future car

B Harding — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 17:21:07 GMT

It's all about diversity! Most of these technologies are well worth our interest and investment. Energy for our homes & businesses can be tackled in the same way-renewables and decentralization! Solar, wind and better batteries for storage!

A plug for your future car

Missy H — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 17:28:21 GMT

How about a car that would run on all the left overs I end up throwing out because no one wants to eat the same meal twice (God forbid) in the same week!

A plug for your future car

Dale Allen, Fort Worth, TX — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 17:44:28 GMT

I don't understand how Tesla Motors is left out of so many discussions of this type. If they are mentioned, its usually "If you want to spend $100,000 on a car."
But they started with a high end sports car to show that a zero emission car doesn't have to be slow and frumpy. The Roadster is being produced and shipped from the Lotus plant now. It is total electric, goes 0 to 60 in under 4 seconds, has a top speed of 120 MPH, range of 243mi and 100,000 mile battery life.

The 2010 Whitestar sport sedan will base for $53,000 and will likely have even better battery technology.

If the Auto X Prize competition was today Tesla would win hands down.

A plug for your future car

john schmidt — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 17:48:14 GMT

The newest energy bill in Congress has mandated more ethanol usage. This will drive up prices even further for food. When will people learn not to mess with the free market. Ethanol is more inefficient than gas, uses lots of water to manufacture, and must be shipped by tanker because it is corrosive to pipelines. But because it benefits farmers, most of which are big corporations, it is a boon to those up for election. Other forms of renewables should be subsidized but not those that compete with food.Tom and Ray always put on a good show. Should be interesting.

A plug for your future car

Dennis, Richmond VA — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 17:48:40 GMT

Tesla Roadster. Bring it on!

A plug for your future car

Michelle Ruby, Nashua, NH — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 18:02:30 GMT

But what about the emissions caused by the power plants? About 50% of our electricity in the US comes from coal-fired plants (lots of CO2 and other emissions), and much of the rest from oil and natural gas plants, all of which are generally less than 30% efficient. Then some electricity is lost in transmission down the wires, then again in conversion to stored energy in the batteries. It seems like all that inefficiency would actually increase emissions (they'd just be coming from the power plant, not the tailpipe). Maybe I'm missing something...

A plug for your future car

Alan Boyle — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 19:02:08 GMT

The Tesla Roadster comes in for a good amount of screen time in the show. But what? You want me to give away the whole show??

I did ask Andy Frank about the Tesla as well, and here's why: The Tesla is an all-electric vehicle, but Frank told me that "you're not going to be able to drive on electricity alone."

So I asked Frank whether the Tesla Roadster was something of a dead end. He replied that he's been working with the folks at Tesla and added, "Those guys know that to have a viable car that's going to replace the current automobile, it's got to be a hybrid."

The implication is that the drive train design might be revised for Tesla 2.0.

A plug for your future car

Steve Johns Kaysville Utah — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 19:03:05 GMT

I would love to try a Hybrid or plugin car. Out west most of our power comes from hydroelectric power sources, so there is no worry about transfering the pollition to a smokestack. However most of those cars look to small and light to bring me to work in -10 degree weather during a blinding snowstorm. How do they deal with heat/A.C issues.

A plug for your future car

Bob, LA, CA — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 19:22:48 GMT

Tesla Motors has found the answer. If our political leaders were actually concerned about the problems, they'd provide unlimited funding to Tesla and other companies like it so we could stop filling our skies with smog and depending on Islamic militants for our oil. But I guess their ties to the oil industry limit what they can do. Too bad. I guess we need to elect leaders who aren't tied to oil.

A plug for your future car

Philip — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 19:25:56 GMT

A lighter car = getting blown away in strong wind gusts.

A plug for your future car

bob graham, ABQ, NM — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 19:51:25 GMT

The piston engine is a complex, bulky, dinosaur compared to future designs. Our kids will tour auto museums and laugh at the "stone-age"comparison. Shortly the Li-ion battery technology will be affordable, and future cars will be total electric, maybe with a fuel cell to help transition the infrastructure of gas service stations to recharging stations. Recharging stops with quick-charge technology will be equivalent in duration to gas fill-ups of today, but less frequent. With production increases the future car will be cheaper and more dependable. Click & Clack are my heros, also my brother's.

A plug for your future car

Susan, Alexandria, VA — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 20:07:56 GMT

Has anyone come up with the technology to convert the waste in landfills to energy/fuel for automobiles and other gas-guzzling machines?

A plug for your future car

D. Charles Shiderly — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 20:08:10 GMT

I'm not a big fan of Tom and Ray. Their advice is specious at best, and while they're relatively accurate, they leave a lot to be desired. Additionally, their complete disdain for the performance enthusiast (read: the guys that push technology and act as evangelists for the industry) bothers me to no end. Who needs 500 horsepower? Well, if the only way to avoid a collision (say a t-bone at an intersection) is to hit the throttle, the person attempting to not get hit, that's who. Plus, who cares if someone wants to spend the money for a car they enjoy? Honestly, if Clunk and Rattle had their way, we'd all be driving Volkswagen Beetles, a beer can that maybe gets to freeway speeds in fifteen seconds.
With regard to the article, and the coming revolution in electric vehicles, I'm very excited. Electric power and drive systems are far more efficient than internal combustion mechanical setups, and produce the kind of performance drivers want and need in a vehicle. Even 100 horsepower equivalent electric systems have great acceleration, and in-hub electric motors at each wheel provide near-perfect regenerative braking, all-wheel-drive, and traction/stability control essentially for free, with lower weight and better reliability, troubleshooting, and maintenance.

A plug for your future car

cheyenne,cheshire,ohio — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 20:55:43 GMT

i think this is a good idea

A plug for your future car

Lionel, Brooklyn, NY — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 21:34:56 GMT

HYBRID???!!!! I hope you guys didnt think that the hybrid was the only solution? Im quite sure the OIL companies had a role, a major role to play regarding the HYBRID...You didnt think that the OIL companies were just going to sit idly by and let the electric cars do its thing? LOL I dont think so.. its time that up and coming electric car designers such as Tesla,etc beat the OIL companies at their game and show the american people and the world that we dont need GASOLINE (OIL companies) to accelerate our cars, motorcycles, etc..a few years ago when they were designing and testing electric cars, I just knew it was going to be eventually scrapped, and surprise, surprise!!! WE HAVE THE HYBRID...go figure!!!

A plug for your future car

Dave Abernathy, decatur, AL — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 22:43:38 GMT

Please look at this when considering cars of the future
http://www.cheniere.org/misc/wankel.htm

A plug for your future car

Kayleigh — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 22:59:12 GMT

Ethanol is BAD, the most recent study says that ethanol is way bad for the enviroment in two ways; The land needed to grow all that "ethanol" would ultimatly take up to much space and kill off habitats, and ethanol has been shown to produce more carbon than gasoline. People need to stay away from this product before society makes another big oops and screws our planet more.

A plug for your future car

Mike Maxwell, Laurel MD — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 23:59:35 GMT

D. Charles Shiderly writes, "Who needs 500 horsepower? Well, if the only way to avoid a collision (say a t-bone at an intersection) is to hit the throttle, the person attempting to not get hit, that's who." I've been driving for forty years, put hundreds of thousands of miles on cars, and never once have I needed to speed up to avoid an accident. I won't say it doesn't ever happen, but in my experience it's the people who drive high powered cars who look dangerous.

Me, I'm going to get a ticket one of these days for obstructing traffic by driving only ten mph over the speed limit...

A plug for your future car

Dave BC WA — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 01:58:06 GMT

Dear Missy H,
When my wife went to the hospital for a few days, I couldn’t get my kids to eat anything I cooked, let alone left over’s.
Who knows, in years to come, maybe we can give them a choice, “Eat it or I’m putting it in the gas tank and driving you to school in front of all your friends”.

A plug for your future car

SADIE — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 02:11:07 GMT

WHO CARES! YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR GAS REGARDLESS...AND YOU KNOW YOU WILL, IF WE ALL GO IN TOGETHER JUST ONE DAY TO CONFRONT CONGRESS WE MITE GET SOMEWHERE IF ALL OF OUR VOICES ARE HEARD!!! WHY MAKE FUEL EFFICIENT CARS AND CHANGE OUR LIFESTYLES WHEN THE GOVERNMENT IS LIVING HIGH AND MIGHTY ON OUR MONEY? LETS DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT..STOP COMPLAINING AND LETS GO!!

A plug for your future car

Chris Schene — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 03:16:13 GMT

Hydrogen does not exist in combustible form in nature, it exists primarily bonded in a water molecule(H20). Hydrogen use is very inefficient when compared to electric cars: The grid to motor efficiency of hydrogen is 25% while for an electric car the grid to motor efficiency is 86%. Unless we have some inexpensive way of producing and compressing combustible hydrogen, the "hydrogen economy" won't happen: it is simply too expensive from any energy consumption point of view,

A plug for your future car

larry grandy, nashua, new hampshire — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 04:59:26 GMT

It seems obvious to me that huge changes in transportation are inevitable, it's just a matter of how long it will take to happen. Corporate executives are not much different than the rest of us. With a few exceptions, they are short-sighted and greedy. People, in general, will continue to buy large, self-indulgent automobiles because they are more familiar and easier to use than exotic alternatives. Corporations have billions of dollars rapped up in tooling and infrastucture. What will probably happen is some small company that is run by a handful of pioneering auto-engineers will start to produce alternative vehicles. We can see it happening now. As the resources for the continuation of the status quo dwindle, these alternatives will become more popular. With time, more creative minds will get involved and transportation will follow a new direction. Will people suddenly become aware of the need for abrupt change? I don't think so. It will not be forced on them by government or corporations. It will come about because we will have no choice but to accept the future.

A plug for your future car

steve smyth — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 11:29:00 GMT

EARTH DAY SPECIAL...new link...click my name...Forge Ahead!!!
Enjoy Earth Day!
Drench yourselves in that pure good.
Feels nice, eh?
We can't all live in this state of mind for very long, because other forces of Nature would take over, and we'd be right back where we started.
DRAT!!!

A plug for your future car

TJ Rogers, Austin TX — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 14:01:26 GMT

And while you're at it. Why not include solar cells on the tops of these cars, and small contained wind turbines to generate more energy for the car?
In the day time, solar cells could help power some of the car's accessories, and small contained wind turbines would generate electricity when the car is moving.

A plug for your future car

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 14:22:55 GMT

What about the air car from France?

A plug for your future car

denny emerine new riegel,ohio — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 14:26:07 GMT

We will change the future away from oil. At present china has stopped exporting coal! The weather will be the contributing factor! Read Pole Shift by john white! Buy the current book. It has been revised 21 times since 1980! It is available thru the a.r.e. foundation or edgar cayce.org The last 4 books of Ruth Montgomery are also a must to read! Amateur Radio is also interesting,www.arrl.com Mother earth news.com remoteviewing.com 73's to everybody n8ppr.

A plug for your future car

Roy Fritz, Butte, Mt — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 15:43:56 GMT

Just where or when will we come up with a none poluting automobile. It is comeing but there are many thiings that can be done. If the regulations are made with certain gas or other power source requirements up where they have to make changes then it will happen.

A plug for your future car

Thomas Ashby, Calgary — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 15:56:27 GMT

The notion of widespread plug in electric rechargeable vehicles would put huge strains on an already inefficient electrical grid. I don't see this as feasible in a big way. The more you think about it, hybrid is the only real solution to pleasing the masses. Tackling the dirty diesel problem can only be dealt with through bio-diesel fuels. Is kerosene a possible fuel? I know it powers rocket ships and seemingly burns relatively cleanly. Doesn't it?

A plug for your future car

OneVoice, Frederick MD — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 16:24:04 GMT

Why doesn't anyone mention HHO systems. These promise to increase gas mileage up to %37 w/o trading fuel for food or putting %10,000 worth of solar panels on the roof of your house. Use your car's alternator to make your own hydrogen gas as you drive.

A plug for your future car

Todd, Grand Rapids, MI — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 16:42:07 GMT

TJ,
Putting a wind turbine on the car to produce more energy for the car while it is moving...it doesn't work that way. This would create "wind resistance" that would require more energy to move the car than you'd generate back...basic physics...there's no free lunch.

A plug for your future car

Roamer, Buffalo, New York — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 16:54:13 GMT

Setting the conspiracy theorists aside, there are some very intelligent points here.

As Chris Schene correctly points out, hydrogen is NOT the answer. It is too inefficient to produce and you are wasting electricity that could be used to power a vehicle just to create the fuel. There certainly is a consensus that electric powered vehicles are the future (and/or the distant past if you look at the early cars), but the problem is how you store the energy. Electric vehicles will not make significant inroads until there is substantial improvement in power storage technology (note, I did not say battery). M's note of the air car is poignant. In the air car the electrical energy is converted to mechanical energy and stored as compressed air then re-released to drive a motor (currently a modified piston engine, but it could be used to drive a generator to provide electric power). This process is realtively efficient and can easily be incorporated a fueling stations as well as at home.

However, as D. Charles Shiderly and Larry Grandy point out, change is not being restricted by some grand conspiracy, but rather, the demands of the marketplace. There are far too few consumers (myself included) willing to accept significant concessions in the capabilities of their transporation just to go 'green'. Since (contrary to what some apparently believe) we are not at a precipice of disaster, we should use the time we have left with fossil fuels to develop the best possible replacements so that the conversion is both seamless and a preferred alternative. If you make a better vehicle, people will be likely to purchase it regardless of what the power source is.

A plug for your future car

S.B. Stein E.B. NJ — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:16:16 GMT

I would hope that Tesla Motors does well. I would like to be able to afford to drive their roadster. If it does as adverstised and go 240 miles on a charge, that would go most of one week for me driving back and forth to work.

There was mention on the blog previously about micro sized batteries and a commenter mentioned quantum dot solar cells. That would make electric cars go farther than currently available. I can't wait for that! I would love my Russian limo driver (Pickup Andropov) to get me in a Tesla or something similar.

There also needs to be a change in our attitude about vehicles; milage ratings should be the new macho thing rather than horsepower. I see far too many SUV's driving around with one person... A sedan like mine (2004 Honda Civic) is okay. There are too many Hummers and other vehicles of that size. There should be a size limit to vehicles that are available to the public. That would reduce the consumption of fuel and making of CO2 among other things. Who really needs a Hummer?

A plug for your future car

Kevin Nash, Detroit — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:25:00 GMT

Look, there is no general scientific consensus that global warming is a reality or that the oil/ automotive industries should begin to look for an alternative to the abundant supply of oil currently avaliable.

A plug for your future car

Mike Esposito — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 18:00:36 GMT

I have a '96 Windstar with a water pump leak, $1800-$2000 to repair--more than what the car is worth! I'd like to find a sponsor to retrofit to all-electric or hybrid or alternative fuel, whatever, as a conversion demonstration/test vehicle. For electric, I can foresee a home roof-top solar array used for charging the batteries, and solar/wind generation on the car itself. Do the same thing on a large scale and we could reduce our oil imports to nothing. Take that, you OPEC villians!

A plug for your future car

HybridPlugs.com — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 18:09:05 GMT

When gas hit $2.00 I started thinking about doing something. When gas hit $2.50 I acted. For the past year I have driven a Plug-In Hybrid that gets over 100mpg. I charge up each night using 60 cents of Clean Domestic Wind Energy to offset the amount of Dirty Foreign Oil I use. What price does gas have to get to for you to act?

A plug for your future car

Roger, Seattle WA — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 18:24:42 GMT

Plug in Cars with on-board generators could be just the ticket.. When the batteries run dry, a small engine powers the generator to keep the machine running. The efficiencies allow a small (say 250cc engine to run a generator powerful enough to keep the batteries charged if you have gone past your 100 miles. Popular mechanics describes it at popularmechanics.com/automotive/new_cars/4258709.html

A plug for your future car

Dave Sheehy — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 19:43:49 GMT

So explain to me why you can't drive on electricity alone - Tesla does, with a 240 mile range and performance to match or even beat those guys with 500 hp!
Ethanol is a complete boondoggle and any "environmentalist" that says it's the answer is a quack (read Al Gore). Growing corn for ethanol is already causing food riots in third world countries that have seen the price of rice and wheat skyrocket because of lands converted to growing this new cash crop - corn. And don't think subsidized big farming isn't behind our legislators pushing ethanol. Using corn to produce ethanol is extremely inefficent and wastes enormous amounts of water. If you really want ethanol, use sugar cane which can produce eight times more ethanol with the same amount of energy used to produce it from corn sugar. But wait, we don't grow sugar cane in the US. Which brings us back to the real solution - electricity, which can be produced from wind, water, etc.

A plug for your future car

Paula Moore — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 21:14:37 GMT

Why not an ALL electric now, that 80% of the population can use NOW!
Check us out at www.ampmobiles.com
We are doing DC conversions right now, and starting an AC conversion with a Saturn, to bring the EV1 back to life! Sure, EVs have limitations due to the battery technology, but you have to fill up your Internal combustion engine vehicle. We also have workshops to teach others to do conversions themselves.

A plug for your future car

Kevin Veon ,Lexington , NC — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 21:24:38 GMT

When you see a Hybrid for $2,000 dollars let me know , because that is when I will be a able to afford the next generation car . It is not always what you want it is sometimes all you can afford.

A plug for your future car

Shelby, Denver, CO — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:45:51 GMT

Im just so frustrated that with all the technology we have we waited so long to look into economical and envirometal automobiles.

Seems like with all the brains in the owrld we should be looking at much higher MPG ratios than the year 2015 standards of 28 and 32 MPG.
Especially if these guys at UC-Davis have already produced vehicles getting 50 and up MPG.

Let's hope this worl dis decent for my kids who are now 8 yers old. Hopefully I didnt make a mistake bringing them into such a poorly cared for world.

A plug for your future car

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 23:13:53 GMT

oh no! no scientific consensus on global warming! boo hoo! i just dont think that means we can stop caring. if it aint real, great. if it is, we got it covered. yeah it costs money and time we could redirect, but why risk it? with such a grand dilemma at (possible) hand, why wait to kick ourselves later? besides, even without warming and climate change, the good for the environment is good in general. so yay fer electric and yay for hybrids! something, anything is better than what we've got. either new tech is needed for gas or new tech for somethin else.

A plug for your future car

Sheldon, hedgesville wv — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 23:57:46 GMT

I beleive that consumers need to focus on converting their homes into solar efficient homes,Use wind power in areas that have it, then if you have extra power a month in ur storage batteries from your home,then use that for the better in your vehicle, NO emissions guys, come on, how easier can it be said? The avg cost for a solar/wind powered home is less than a lifetime of purchasing power and gas, so why not?

A plug for your future car

Will Beckett, Aptos, CA — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 00:48:32 GMT

I hope the Electric Auto Association (EAAEV.org) grows in a big way as a result of this broadcast. I am the membership chair so I expect I will notice. There has already been an up tick due to Earth Day. I have been driving electric for over 12 years. It would be nice to have others join me.

A plug for your future car

KA Stevens Dallas, TX — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 01:03:30 GMT

#1 - Coal is not "dirty" anymore. Coal power plants have 90% less emissions than they did in the 1960's. There is nothing wrong with coal. We have the reserves of coal that equals Saudi Arabia's oil reserves. If the nutjob environmentalists would quit yapping, we could use coal to liquid fuel (gas) and lower energy prices until we figure out the switch to...? Electric...or whatever.

#2- Susan in Alexandria - Yes - it is called Thermal-depolymerization. It works.

#3 - Global warming may be happening - but the temperatures haven't risen since 1998. (Oh, yes, before you tell me I am a neanderthal, do a little research for yourself - that DOESN"T include reading or watching the "mainstream media clowns") CO2 meanwhile has risen. Guess Al Gore needs to give his Nobel Prize back. Climate Change is a cycle. It happened before man and it will happen after man. The effect all this "Go green" baloney is going to have is less than 2% - that is if we all lived in caves again. Do not get me wrong - I absolutely think that cleaner environments and cutting pollution is great. Just don't let the UN reach into your pockets to do it - because the US is one BIG pocketbook to the world.

In 20 years we are all going to be rollong on the floor laughing at the Al Gore's of the world.

#4 - Ethanol is a lie. The world is having food riots because our stupid government had the bright idea of burning our FOOD. It is a waste of energy - taking 1.3 units of energy to make 1 unit of ethanol energy. (which runs at 85% of the power) Europe is sick of the US's big ethanol lie - and you will see it die the death it should have had years ago, in a short time.

#5 - Plug in cars are awesome! Battery technology is getting better all the time. Here's another great idea - why not power those cars with clean nuclear powere - you know the kind France has been using for decades with NO pollution problems....Oh yeah, it's those doggone environmentalists again...you remember "no nuke power" and all that crud. Wake up. We could be off oil, have great electric cars (more torque and power than combustion engines - have your hotrod and clean too) and never worry about foreign oil again. Until the rabid liberal environmentalists wake up...we are going to be in for a lot of shortages and high prices.

A plug for your future car

Dan Jones, Portland, Oregon — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 02:07:28 GMT

It's kind of funny how we got where we are. The horse less carriage was a god send in the city where animal dung was everywhere. Now we the masses are being exploited every day by the oil and big motor companies in the same way tobacco has been doing us since the beginning. Out of those tail pipes comes a poisonous concoction of chemicals that we breathe in for the pleasure of going from point A to point B. What alternative do we have? It is hard to get away form the toxic smokers. The oil/automotive industry sells us the machines and then sells us the fuel to make them go. Nice and neat. No real competition with any other technologies and it is in their best interest to keep it that way.

A plug for your future car

:),:),:) — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 12:01:56 GMT

Go carbon fiber

A plug for your future car

Buster, Charlotte, NC — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 13:35:28 GMT

"But wait, we don't grow sugar cane in the US."
What??? WRONG. Louisiana grows Sugar cane, lots of it.

A plug for your future car

Wayne, Alamogordo, NM — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 13:53:55 GMT

I watched the show last night. No new insights there, but I did come away with a deeper respect for those small companies pushing the envelope. The large car manufacturers are dragging their feet due to their extensive ties to the oil companies. But they see the end in nearing. It won't be long now until one of the large companies teams up with Tesla (Toyota would be my bet). Let's not kid ourselves, electric is the way to go. Every home, business, and gas station in America has electricity running to it. The basic infrastucture is in place for recharging vehicles at any time or any place. Wal-Mart will probably be a leader in this arena by setting up charging stations at their stores. Hydrogen technology will be left behind because of the enormous infrastructure problems associated with getting fuel it to the public. But no matter how you slice it, the truth of the matter is, we are at the mercy of the large oil companies. They're still running the show and setting the timelines. I just hope an affordable, comfortable, and safe car is available for me to purchase in my lifetime.

A plug for your future car

William Crow,Yakima,Wash — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 15:26:47 GMT

HYbrid? those cars are really expensive .However I didnt know you could charge them overnight and drive about 50 miles before using any gas at all. If im understanding correctly than if i bought a hybrid and charged it regularly I would never have to pay for gas ever again? Amazing. Gas is getting more and more expensive something needs to be done about it. You know I heard Japan runs off of all electric and hybrid cars, why cant we, our economy isnt flourishing by paying trillions for gas from foriegn countries. We need to become more independant, we need to make our own gas or make our own electric self chargeable cars to make our society more efficient. With the money saved from not buying gas I guarentee that fewer americans would be in debt.

A plug for your future car

Thomas Ashby, Calgary — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 16:34:04 GMT

K A Stevens..now that you have vented, take a look at the real situation since 1998 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7329799.stm
I do trust these sources and not anti-Gore or 'greenie-wackjob" sites as indicators of what is.
I could point to more too. Here is a disturbing implication about the arctic

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24259159/

You make a lot of statements with no references. Just a lot of "anti-Gore" hot air.

A plug for your future car

=/, =/, =/ — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 19:05:38 GMT

Some of you should stop spouting off your founts of ignorance. Read and research a little more. Ethanol is a good solution, as long as it isn't made from corn. Ethanol made from sugarcane actually DOES deliver on the promise, requiring less energy to produce than can be gained from burning it and producing lower emissions over its entire lifecycle than gasoline. Ethanol from corn is not able to do this because a lot of energy goes into growing the massive ears of corn, most of which cannot be fermented into ethanol. Ethanol from cellulose would work well too. Improvements in some of the technologies that accompany IC engines can be improved to vastly improve the gas efficiency. Better spark plugs can deliver huge performance gains, including better fuel/air ratio and lower emissions. Even a better designed water pump can increase gas efficiency.

Some of you think that electric motors are vastly more efficient than IC. They aren't, they are just much cleaner. Converting electrical energy to mechanical or vice-versa results in a lot of losses. This knowledge has led some people to investigate other useful systems, such as storing braking energy as mechanical pressure, which can then be used to accelerate the car with far less loss than electrical regenerative braking.

Any of you ever hear about the bacteria that can digest oil? Have you heard about the ones that can produce oil? Less complex, energy dense ones than refined gasoline, but they can actually produce ones that don't need refining, and can probably produce less polluting fuels.

And don't forget biodiesel. Lots of opportunity there. There are many oils produced by plants and microbes that can be burned without refining (for dirtier burning, it's still cleaner to refine it). And not just from food crops. Check out jatropha. It's an African weed that can grow in marginal territory. The oil from its seeds can be combusted.

But, very simply, the most effective thing we can do is lower vehicle weight and power. Mass is the enemy of dynamic driving and of safety. That's right, we'd all be safer if people could abandon the viewpoint of "I want to be as safe as I can so I need a huge vehicle." While this greedy strategy makes some intuitive sense, greed kills. The system as a whole gets less safe, and continuing the same pattern in the search of better safety is a dead end.

A plug for your future car

Tim Boles Angels CAmp, CA — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 22:20:36 GMT

so how many of you are paying over $4 a gallon for gas yet? Think that is going to go down? LOL
The electric car's day is coming. The Hybrid is a good stepping stone though. I wish I could afford a hybrid or build a pure electric right now. Some of the fastest ground vehicals are powered by electricicty and have been for years. They are called trains and get up to 240mph, who was balking about electrical high performance?
Btw anyone need a cad drafter to help design thier electric car?

A plug for your future car

CM, Modesto, CA — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 22:30:12 GMT

Saw the show last night, it was interesting.

With the high cost of H2 storage and H2 fuel cells and H2 fuel, even the H2 proponents admit it would take decades, perhaps 50 years, before we could afford to drive H2 cars. Trouble is, plug-ins are already becoming affordable and will be commonplace long before H2 cars can reach affordable price. Since electricity will always be cheaper than H2, that means H2 cars will never catch on.

The future is electric.

A plug for your future car

Chuck Waikoloa HI — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 00:34:00 GMT

RAY MAGLIOZZI: "If you can tell us without killing us, when can we expect this car?"

ANTHONY POSAWATZ (Vehicle Line Director, General Motors): "We will be ready when that battery is ready, there's no question in my mind."

RAY MAGLIOZZI: "So, five to seven years?"

ANTHONY POSAWATZ: "But, most importantly, when General Motors brings a product out like the Chevrolet Volt, it has to be a product that the battery will last 10 years, that'll be safe for the customers, and will meet all their needs. They don't want any compromises."

So because he does not deny it, he is basically acknowledging the 5 to 7 year timeframe. Even though GM's official production date
is late 2010. Sounds like we've caught them in a bit of greenwashing.

A plug for your future car

paul, tucson AZ — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 04:06:08 GMT

All electric vehicles are (wil be) appropriate for smaller personal use cars. Heavy industry and construction vehicles will need the power that currently diesels provide. The ability to refocuse use between the two will be essential until electric can provide both.

A plug for your future car

Paul Ryan, Ottawa, ON, Canada — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 16:25:19 GMT

There's also the http://www.citycataircar.com that will be made by Zero Pollution Motors, the official representative of MDI (France).

I made this fan site to help promote these vehicles because of their ability to clean the air as they drive, and use zero fuel for 37 miles while driving under 35mph in urban areas.

A plug for your future car

Chris Schene — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 21:25:32 GMT

One of the problems with hydrogen verses electricity is that hydrogen must be burned to create mechanical and when you create mechanical energy from a heat cycle, you lose 60+ of that energy in heat released to the out side environment. (The theoretical minimum heat loss is 50% for theoretical but impossibly efficient heat engine: The is called the Carnot heat cycle, a basic thermodynamic law).

If you generate electricity from heat (Hydroelectric is an exception to this rule) , you will typically lose 65- 70% of the total energy before it can be used in your home but it converts fairly efficiently to mechanical energy in an electric motor. If you perform hydrolysis on Water (H20) you first have to apply the energy to break the hydrogen away from the water molecule and the you have to compress and then burn the hydrogen to convert it to mechanical energy.

Although I am not expert (I am an engineer, not a physicist), I think your efficiency from hydrogen produced from electrolysis will be something less than 8%, where as the mechanical energy from an electric motor is closer to 25 (This is measuring from the fuel used to generate the electricity).

Here is my rough estimate of the efficiency (experts please chime in and correct me if I am off)

Electrical motor: 70% loss at the power plant and line loss, less than 10% loss to run the motor: so, overall = -.9 * 30 = 27%

Hydrogen created from electrolysis – 70% loss at the power plant and line loss, 25% loss to compression and another 65% loss burning the hydrogen and converting to mechanical energy: 0.3* .75*.35 = 8%

Just from the basic math, hydrogen will have to be at least 2.5x as costly in terms of energy efficiency, since a gas engine = 20% efficient on average and can be as high as the mid 30% at optimum operating points.

A plug for your future car

Bill Hensley, Houston, TX — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 23:30:50 GMT

The conspiracy theories are really tiresome. Do you think the big oil and car companies are ripping off the consumer by continuing to sell the same old nasty, dirty, expensive products? Ok, here's what you need to do: start your own company and compete with them! In a free market, if you think of a product you want and it's not available that usually means one of four things:

1. Nobody has thought of it.
2. Nobody knows how to make it.
3. Consumers don't want it.
4. You can't make a profit on it.

The fact is, until recently oil has been cheap enough to out-compete alternative energy sources. That doesn't mean people haven't been trying to improve the technologies to lower costs. They have, and they're making progress. And now with the spike in oil prices things are beginning to take off.

But don't count on the oil companies to lead the way. Disruptive technologies are usually introduced by small startups or companies that come into a market from another industry. That doesn't mean the oil companies are stupid. They just have a different hand to play. Disruptive technologies are risky. They often have high startup costs and long lead times. If you had billions of barrels of oil reserves and oil prices were at an all time high, would you stop selling oil and start selling solar panels? I doubt it! But someone else who's not sitting on a big pile of oil looks at the rising oil prices, the dropping solar panel prices, and decides that might be a good business to be in. And that's the right choice for them.

Look, I want the oil companies to keep selling me gasoline. But I also want other companies to start developing and marketing cheaper alternatives. Let a thousand competitors bloom, to (mischievously) misquote Chairman Mao. There's no conspiracy here. There's opportunity, for those bold enough to take it.

A plug for your future car

Louis Snyder — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 00:02:01 GMT

The plain truth is ethanol while it might contribute to less dependence on oil products it will still produce CO2 as combustion almost always produces CO2. In other words it won't help global warming. any notion ethanol will help us is very wrong! What ever it is produce from will still not help.

A plug for your future car

Paul Ottawa, ON — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 01:38:23 GMT

I made a fan website for the North American version of MDI's <a href="http://www.citycataircar.com">Citycat</a> compressed air vehicle coming in 2010 by zeropollutionmotors.us

It has the most up-to-date information regarding the specifications of the U.S. vehicle.

A plug for your future car

Hoody Ho in Blahtown — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 20:26:11 GMT

I read once about a chemical process that could use Gasoline fossil fuel in a fuel cell that was under development. That way the evil Gas Empire can still keep selling gas at it's establishments with the infrastructure for delivery already in place & it would be hundreds of times more effecient. I haven't been able to successfully "google" it lately. Seems like it was in Popular Science or Scientific American

A plug for your future car

Dave Bloomington, Illinois — Thu, 01 May 2008 14:10:45 GMT

I'll worry about my vehicle's carbon emmissions when 3rd world countries like China quit spewing tons of chemical junk into the air everyday from their factories. This won't happen because we buy their stuff - it's cheaper since they don't play by the same rules we do. If that ever happens, maybe I'll consider putting cat converters on my car again.

A plug for your future car

John in Seattle — Fri, 02 May 2008 00:52:06 GMT

In reply to Bill in Houston, number 4 is the big one when you considder major corporations. Major corporations will never do much with biodiesel for one simple reason, the fuel is everywhere. If I was determined enough and had a couple acres I could grow my own. Because it is easy for anyone to make the profit margin for biodiesel will always be very slim.

A plug for your future car

Delmar Fairchild, Barron, WI — Thu, 29 May 2008 22:28:12 GMT

Light cars makes for better gas milage, but will make for more deaths on the highway.
From:
1. Too many 18 wheeler trucks
2. Other heavier vehicles traveling too fast (gunners like me)
3. Wind shear factor. Probably couldn't be driven on a windy day out west in the Dakotas.
4. No protection or support for occupants.
To remedy this, you would need:
1. More Rail service, cheaper but slower to reduce truck traffic.
2. Roads with high medians and high side walls to prevent head ons and animal accidents. (Deer get their own runways under the roads.
3. All first and secondary roads with turn out lanes for both directions (left and right).
4. Controlled driving using inroad and onboard sensors.
Why it won't happen, CHANGE, COST, CONSTRUCTION, CHAMPION.
Industry won't want slowing of their service, government won't spend the money or if they did, would only waste it, takes too long to get it built and we don't have anyone that can take the lead.

This whole business of change has to come slowly and through the entrepreneural spirit and the consumer. We can't rely on the government to enact or decree anything. They would just screw it up worse than it was.

A plug for your future car

Tom Buffalo ny — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 22:47:34 GMT

the high gas prices suck and hurt me as much as anyone else.I bitched and complained like everyone else,then i began to see news reports about companies working on elec cars,new advance solar.I now hope they go to 6 bucks a gallon.I know it is very hard on families(including my own)but i truly believe its the only way we will get off friggin oil.
whatever is cheaper is what we wil use.Even if oil goes to 10 bucks a barrel we would go through all this shot again and again.Well my friends I turly think within ten years most cars will be off gasoline.

A plug for your future car

Jonathan Damico, Ontario, CA — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 09:19:30 GMT

I started thinking and looking at oil from an outside viewpoint and from everyones view. First i looked at the Oil Companys in foreign countries (imports) they drill oil for alot cheaper than anywhere else, yet they raise the price. The reason behind this is because they are selfish and want more money. But, have you noticed that gas prices are slowly dropping. Thats because we have scared those foreign countries by inventing a hybrid that doesn't require as much gas. They are now slowly dropping the prices hoping that we would "re-consider" an alternate fuel source. See if we create an alternate fuel source, america will slow its purchasing of oil almost to nothing. imagine it being like a VCR, the VCR is oil and the people who create the VCR are the foreign countries. A DVD player comes out and immediatly people buy the DVD player and stop using a VCR. Thus, we don't need a VCR or oil anymore. Over time after creating a alternate fuel, gas prices will slowly drop until gas stations convert into whatever the new technology of fuel requires. (or in electric cars, go out of buisness) I wish it was that easy, but over time it can be. We just have to be patient and understand that it takes time to make a huge advancement in technology. I believe what these gentleman are doing is creating a possible alternate source. If you don't like their ideas then come up with your own. I know im no Mechanic or engineer. I'm 18 years old was layed off from my job this past week and im stuck paying money for gas to go to college on top of all my other expenses. I'm feeling the crunch, but i comprehend that it will take time. The best we can do is wait for a new technology that will lower the expence of driving.

A plug for your future car

David Mattison — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 03:27:28 GMT

I bought an all electric vehicle and I love it. It just needs a little design advancement it cold weather driving for power. I think it is the way to go in the future. Is there any rebates on the vehicle for 2008.

A plug for your future car

Andrew Fink, Pittsburg, PA — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 16:02:41 GMT

Electric cars are a great idea, a much better idea than hydrogen cars. They are SAFE, clean, efficient, and they will only improve and develop over time. For an inspiring and groundbreaking book on electric cars, check out http://www.twocentspermile.com