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Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,029
7,549

a very well produced video on the Aptera. shots of the innards at around 1:33. HD video at the youtube non-embed page:

the most interesting thing about this video? it was posted by america.GOV. hmm, maybe this is a sign that DOE loans might be forthcoming for the three-wheeler company after all? one can only hope.
 

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,029
7,549
a multipartite post.

1) Zero S revealed (the street-destined big brother of the Zero X).

http://www.autobloggreen.com/2009/04/07/zero-motorcycles-unveils-the-zero-s-w-video/




22 kW (31 hp). 84.6 N-m torque (62.5 ft.-lb.). 4 kW of lithium. 225 lbs. $10k, accepting orders now for "early may" delivery. street legal. they claim 60 miles of range, and i'd wager at least 40 realistically with that battery pack.

2) GM and Segway collaborate on a giant Segway. is it April Fool's Day?

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/04/07/gm-and-segways-puma-live-reveal/


35 mph, 35 mile range, self-balancing (watch the video!). this one gets a big wtf from me. the segway tech is undeniably cool, but what advantage does this bring to the table? it's not going to be cheap. it's not safer than a motorcycle. is weather protection really the thing holding people back from riding a bike or motorcycle?

3) Automotive X Prize participants have been named:

http://stadium.weblogsinc.com/autoblog/podcasts/xprizeTeamsforPressFINAL.pdf

Total # of Registered Teams: 111 (6 remain confidential)
Total # of Vehicles: 136
Mainstream Class Entries: 80
Alternative Class Entries: 56
Total U.S. States Represented: 25 (88 U.S. teams; 107 U.S. vehicles)
U.S. States Represented: AZ, CA, CO, CT, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, NM, NY, NV, OH, OR, PA, TN, TX, VA, WA, WV
Total Countries Represented: 11 (23 international teams; 29 international vehicles)
Countries Represented: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Finland, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Switzerland, Thailand, UK, USA
Total Fuel Sources: 14
Full electric / battery 32
Hybrid (gas or diesel) / electric 36
Hybrid multi-fuel / electric 11
Hybrid CNG / electric 1
Hybrid Hydrogen / electric 3
Hybrid compressed air/electric/gas 4
Hybrid solar / electric 3
Hybrid human / gas / electric 1
Gasoline 23
Diesel 13
Urea 2
CNG 2
Other (Water, Vegetable oil, TBD) 5
 

jimmydean

The Official Meat of Ridemonkey
Sep 10, 2001
40,939
13,133
Portland, OR
I am about to finalize my latest alt.personal.transpo purchase:



There is a B99 cardlock station less than 5 miles away. 1998 and newer Powerstrokes are B100 approved based on updates rubber hoses and seals. Of course this truck will only be used for hauling/camping/shuttle purposes, so less than 2000 miles a year.
 

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,029
7,549
coolness. i had no idea super duty fords were getting that cheap. :thumb:

if only we had small (non-VW) diesels available here...
 

dan-o

Turbo Monkey
Jun 30, 2004
6,499
2,805
I am about to finalize my latest alt.personal.transpo purchase:



There is a B99 cardlock station less than 5 miles away. 1998 and newer Powerstrokes are B100 approved based on updates rubber hoses and seals. Of course this truck will only be used for hauling/camping/shuttle purposes, so less than 2000 miles a year.
Dan-o approves! 7.3 or 6.0?
 

jimmydean

The Official Meat of Ridemonkey
Sep 10, 2001
40,939
13,133
Portland, OR
Dan-o approves! 7.3 or 6.0?
7.3, of course. I was told to steer clear of the 6.0. I have never in my life considered a Ford, but this truck is very nice. 132k on it with brand new wheels and tires. I got it for $7600 and they gave me $1500 for my '94 toyota with a wicked rough body.

gonefirefightin said he put something like 300k on his last 7.3, so that was good enough for me. The only downside is it doesn't fit in the new garage (a foot too long). But I couldn't pass on it for that price.
 

buildyourown

Turbo Monkey
Feb 9, 2004
4,832
0
South Seattle
7.3, of course. I was told to steer clear of the 6.0. I have never in my life considered a Ford, but this truck is very nice. 132k on it with brand new wheels and tires. I got it for $7600 and they gave me $1500 for my '94 toyota with a wicked rough body.

That's a sweet deal. I drove the piss out of my 7.3 and really didn't do anything other that reg maintenance and fix the previous owners F-ups.
Sold it with 160k for $11k.
I still miss that truck.
 

buildyourown

Turbo Monkey
Feb 9, 2004
4,832
0
South Seattle
while it's heartening that this technology exists it angers me greatly that it's funded by the government yet isn't seeing productive use, instead offering our military another way to kill, albeit silently and with a low carbon footprint.

:twitch:


Lot's of great commercial stuff starts as a DARPA project. Internet, GPS, and I'm sure a lot more that we use everyday that wouldn't exist if our government didn't think it would help us kill people better.
 

jimmydean

The Official Meat of Ridemonkey
Sep 10, 2001
40,939
13,133
Portland, OR
That's a sweet deal. I drove the piss out of my 7.3 and really didn't do anything other that reg maintenance and fix the previous owners F-ups.
Sold it with 160k for $11k.
I still miss that truck.
A friend of mine who owns a dealership in Medford, OR said he couldn't sell me one for that price.

He also said diesels aren't moving like they used to. Ever since diesel got to $4.50 a gallon and now remains the same or more than premium, people shy away from them.

For me, this truck has 3 times the capacity of the Toyota and gets slightly better mpg. The flexibility to run bio without a conversion or special equipment made it a done deal. I loved my Toyota, but pulling a 4x8 loaded trailer and all 3 of us crammed in the cab made me realize I had to step up.

No way in hell the wife would have considered a trip to gonefirefightin's pad cramped like that. Now she can't wait to go.
 

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,029
7,549


Full list of TTXGP electric Isle o' man race bikes + participants posted. june 12 is the big day.

HTBLAUVA – TGM (AU) Martin Loicht
eROCKIT (D) Rigo Richter
eROCKIT (D) David Madsen-Mygdal
XXL (D) Thomas Schoenfelder
TORK (INDIA) Garth Woods
ManTTx Racing (IoM) Dan Kneen
Rondine Racing Team (IT) Alessio Corradi
Brunel X-team (UK) Steve Harper
EVOdesign (UK) Mick Grant
EVOdesign (UK) Olie Linsdell
EVOdesign (UK) Paul Owen
Imperial TTxGP (UK) Chris Palmer
Kingston University (UK) Maria Costello
Team Agni (UK/INDIA) Robert Barber
Barefoot Motors Racing (USA) Chris Petty
Brammo/BIKE (USA) Roy Richardson
Cool World Team (USA) Steve Macdonald
Cool World Team (USA) Antonio Maeso
Electric Motorsport (USA) Chris Heath
Electric Motorsport (USA) Marie Hodgson
KillaCycle Racing/Lightning Motorcycles (USA) Alan Connor
Mission Motors (USA) Thomas Montano
MotoCzysz (USA) Mark Miller
http://www.autobloggreen.com/2009/04/09/officially-official-ttxgp-releases-full-list-of-participants/
 

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,029
7,549
1) an interesting look at what makes a "livable street" from Good magazine.



http://awesome.goodmagazine.com/transparency/web/0904/livable-streets.html

legible flash version at the above link. bike snob nyc thinks it's missing the following :D :

- Cones of Smugness
- Self-Congratulation Stations
- Dedicated padded bike lanes for intoxicated brakeless cyclists

2) ELMOTO HR-2.

http://www.autobloggreen.com/2009/04/10/elmoto-hr-2-to-conquer-europe-this-summer-usa-next-spring/





blurs the line between a scooter and an electric bike. with what looks like a crystalyte x5 series hub motor out back (ie, a crystalyte 5302, 5303, 5304, or 5305) it's probably not so relevant to add 200W via pedaling, so this thing has pegs and a motorcycle style seat instead of a vestigal pedal drivetrain.

specs: 1.7 kW power, 30 mph speed, 40 mile range from unspecified amount of lithium in the frame, a marzocchi 888 up front, and a price in europe around $4500 USD (including VAT, i believe).
 

jimmydean

The Official Meat of Ridemonkey
Sep 10, 2001
40,939
13,133
Portland, OR
I just got my card for Star Oilco's cardlock station in Tigard. They offer B99, so I am headed there later to top off. I was advised to phase it in as it will flush the engine and I will go through about 2 fuel filters within a month.

But all told, the report says the engine will run a great deal smoother and with a Superchip programmer and exhaust I can get an additional 110hp and increase my mileage to 24mpg. Not sure how well it will do with these large tires, but that's 4mpg better than my Toyota got and I'll be running locally produced biodiesel made from WVO.
 

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,029
7,549
1) i passed the msf ridercourse. for a second time. :D apparently i took the instructions to look through corners and roll on the throttle to heart because the instructors really liked my line and asked me to consider instructing myself after getting about a year of street seat time!

2) my Piaggio MP3 250 should be picked up by yours truly on tuesday, assuming i like it on the test drive, er, "test ride". to recap: mpg of 60-70 in most hands, 77 mph top speed, and Euro 3-compliant emissions that are in line with pre-2004 passenger cars.

3) some of you, dan-o included, have seen the recent test results from the IIHS that shows head-on collision results between small and midsize cars. (links: article, nytimes wheels blog entry about it <-- has videos of each test.)

the intra-company pairings:


mercedes c-class (good rating), smart fortwo (poor rating)


honda accord (good), honda fit (poor)


toyota camry (acceptable), toyota yaris (poor)

i highly recommend everyone view the videos embedded at the wheels blog entry: http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/14/small-cars-rate-poorly-in-new-crash-tests/?ref=automobiles . they really illustrate well how massively violent automobile crashes are.

i don't think that a knee-jerk reaction to this study, for everyone to drive larger cars, is warranted. here's why:

a) this is a classic physics-101 conservation of momentum problem. it does not illustrate some failing within the small cars other than their being small. similarly, one would expect the same results if a large car of similar quality and construction were crashed head-on into the same midsize cars above.

b) this is a rare scenario. in the article: "Dave Schembri, president of Smart USA, said the crash type chosen, a head-on collision, was a tiny fraction of accidents". in my experience cleaning up after people in the trauma center's emergency department a true head-on collision with a closing speed of 80 mph, as in this accident, is very rare indeed. it is much more common to hit a fixed object such as a pole, tree, or barrier or to roll the vehicle. this is significant because the small cars' lack of mass, which hurt them in the head-on collision above, helps them in these single-vehicle collisions.

c) driving on a public road always involves a level of risk no matter the size of your vehicle. people don't often consciously acknowledge this, but it's true. you're more likely to be hurt on a bicycle than in a car if you are involved in an accident on the road. you're more likely to be hurt on a motorcycle than in a car should you have a skirmish. finally, you're more likely to be hurt in a small car should you have a (rare) head-on collision with a larger car, but you're more likely to roll or crash that larger car into a barrier in the first place.

what level of risk is acceptable to you is a decision you have to make. it shouldn't be a knee-jerk race to the largest cars possible because the decision is weighing factors much more complex than mere results of a head-on crash test.

4) what are the safest and most dangerous cars out there, when looking at these multiple factors? it turns out there's an established metric: SCORE, "statistical combination of risk elements". here's a list of the 10 safest and 10 most dangerous 2009 model year cars to drive based on the below criteria:

The SCORE is proportional to the overall risk of driver fatality.
(example: A vehicle with SCORE = 50 represents 1/2 the risk vs. SCORE = 100.)
SCOREs <65 are SAFEST and represent the best 6% of all '03-'10 vehicles
Recommended vehicles meet the following criteria:
(1) SCORE is less than 65
(2) No individual front, side or rollover rating is <4 stars by NHTSA
(3) No individual front or side rating is "POOR" or "MARGINAL" by IIHS
(4) The vehicle is equipped with ESC and Side Curtain Airbags

SCOREs 65 - 100 represent MEDIUM risk
SCOREs >100 represent ABOVE AVERAGE risk and should be avoided
top 10 most safe, 1 is the safest, all from the 2009 model year:

1) Acura RL
2) Hyundai Genesis sedan
3) Audi A4
4) Audi A4 Avant
5) Acura TSX
6) Acura TL
7) Lincoln MKS
8) Cadillac CTS
9) Ford Taurus
10) Mercury Sable


top 10 most dangerous, 1 is most dangerous, all from the 2009 model year:

1) Kia Rio 5-door hatchback
2) Mazda B-series extended cab pickup
3) Ford Ranger extended cab pickup
4) Ford Ranger regular cab pickup
5) Smart ForTwo
6) Nissan Frontier extended cab pickup
7) Kia Rio sedan
8) Hyundai Accent sedan
9) Chevrolet Aveo sedan
10) Mazda B-series regular cab pickup


look at this list. of the 10 most dangerous vehicles we have 1 microcar, 4 korean subcompacts… and 5 pickup trucks. i think that speaks for itself.
 

jimmydean

The Official Meat of Ridemonkey
Sep 10, 2001
40,939
13,133
Portland, OR
The first tank of fuel in my truck was B50 because Star Oil still had the "winter blend" at the pump. On Saturday I filled up with B99 and right off the bad, the smell of filling with B99 is SO much better than traditional diesel. After moving this weekend, I have also noticed the exhaust is also much more pleasant.

I have been doing mostly in town driving during the move, but it's not as bad as I expected. I look to be getting approximately 16mpg in town not adjusting for speedo error (roughly 10%) due to larger tires.

After speaking with Peak Performance Diesel, I will install a 4" exhaust, cold air intake, and Superchips programmer. The projected gain is an additional 120hp and should put me into the low 20's on B99.

Keep in mind this is NOT my daily driver. So far the price of B99 is $2.46/gal before the Oregon biofuel tax credit of $.50/gal for B99. I am also much happier with this truck than my Toyota despite the difficulty of parking in tight spaces.

<edit> I am guessing my F350 would do quite well in a crash with a sub compact.
 
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Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,029
7,549
<edit> I am guessing my F350 would do quite well in a crash with a sub compact.
props on making the biodiesel happen vs. all the talk in this thread :D .

with regard to big trucks and crash safety you'd be ok if you crashed head-on into the subcompact. but in the more common scenario of hitting a pole or a barrier the subcompact driver might fare better:



http://bridger.us/2002/12/16/CrashTestingMINICooperVsFordF150/

offset barrier crash at 40 mph.
 

Westy

the teste
Nov 22, 2002
54,232
20,012
Sleazattle
top 10 most dangerous, 1 is most dangerous, all from the 2009 model year:

1) Kia Rio 5-door hatchback
2) Mazda B-series extended cab pickup
3) Ford Ranger extended cab pickup
4) Ford Ranger regular cab pickup
5) Smart ForTwo
6) Nissan Frontier extended cab pickup
7) Kia Rio sedan
8) Hyundai Accent sedan
9) Chevrolet Aveo sedan
10) Mazda B-series regular cab pickup


look at this list. of the 10 most dangerous vehicles we have 1 microcar, 4 korean subcompacts… and 5 pickup trucks. i think that speaks for itself.
4 of those pickups are the same truck. It bugs the hell out of me when folks can't present the data properly to the audience they are communicating to. Not to mention the 8 spot difference between the two Mazda trucks could probably be explained by variability in their testing.

It would be better to show the 11-14 most dangerous vehicle than to show that a ford badge makes a truck slightly safer but more consistantly dangerous than the same truck with a Mazda badge.
 

syadasti

i heart mac
Apr 15, 2002
12,690
290
VT
4 of those pickups are the same truck. It bugs the hell out of me when folks can't present the data properly to the audience they are communicating to. Not to mention the 8 spot difference between the two Mazda trucks could probably be explained by variability in their testing.

It would be better to show the 11-14 most dangerous vehicle than to show that a ford badge makes a truck slightly safer but more consistantly dangerous than the same truck with a Mazda badge.
The Kia/Hyundai are all the same platform too so they are tied with the Japanese in top ten winners. Someone who points out country of origin all the time is blatantly showing their inferiority complex :busted:
 

jimmydean

The Official Meat of Ridemonkey
Sep 10, 2001
40,939
13,133
Portland, OR
props on making the biodiesel happen vs. all the talk in this thread :D .
As much as I hate having a truck payment, the reality was I needed the larger truck. Now that I am moved to the new digs, I will ride my bike to work every day and the truck will sit until the weekend. My wife will also be riding to school 3 days a week, so the sustainability of the new location has already made a large dent in our footprint.

I would have gotten the bio beast before, but it wasn't financially feasible until the house purchase went through. Being a block from the MAX will also make downtown trips for soccer games a lot nicer as well.

The new location is awesome.
 

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,029
7,549

and, for kicks:


(with regard to the above video) honda VFRs are relatively low emissions, no? heh. plus linked braking, ABS, hard luggage from the factory, and VTEC are all interesting features.
 
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Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,029
7,549
my Piaggio MP3 250 should be picked up by yours truly on tuesday, assuming i like it on the test drive, er, "test ride". to recap: mpg of 60-70 in most hands, 77 mph top speed, and Euro 3-compliant emissions that are in line with pre-2004 passenger cars.
Test driving is done. Now I'm hanging out at a diner nearby to the dealer waiting for them to figure out the 0%/6 month financing paperwork. I test rode a 2007 MP3 250ie, which was the personal scooter of one of the dealer's employees, and a Vectrix electric maxiscooter.

MP3 riding impressions:

- feels heavy but not ponderous, easy to catch from an angle
- sprightly off the line and to 30 mph, good response
- easy to maneuver on tight streets: I spent quite a while doing u turns :D
- tilt lock will require some practice, so I stopped all but one time by putting my left foot down
- the test bike (and my bike) had the short, stock windscreen, which was ok around town
- had plenty of grunt to climb a steep grade that was probably about 8%
- overall I quite like it. I was worried it would feel ponderous but it didn't
- with the mirrors it might not fit through my doorway...

Vectrix riding impressions:

- looks slick and comes stock with a mid-height windscreen
- no starter button! and electric reverse, ooh
- very quiet operation
- cool dashboard layout: realtome range estimate on left, speedo in center, and a bar graph of battery capacity in right. Separate right and left turn signal indicators, too
- feels very heavy underfoot, and I couldn't flatfoot it on both sides, either
- good zip off the line and great throttle modulation: doing figures of eight was ridiculously easy with the instant throttle response
- after the first 10 mph pulls more like a 150cc than a 250, and recall how much it weighs...
- struggled to maintain 30 mph flat out up that same 8ish% grade
- regenerative braking was awesome: down that same grade I could regen all the way to a stop, basically
- range would be an issue: with 2/10 battery I showed 11 km estimated to be remaining

Verdict: you don't see me buying a Vectrix, and that's before Vectrix's financial woes are even mentioned, and this from the biggest EV fanboi around.
 
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dan-o

Turbo Monkey
Jun 30, 2004
6,499
2,805
After speaking with Peak Performance Diesel, I will install a 4" exhaust, cold air intake, and Superchips programmer. The projected gain is an additional 120hp and should put me into the low 20's on B99.

Keep in mind this is NOT my daily driver. So far the price of B99 is $2.46/gal before the Oregon biofuel tax credit of $.50/gal for B99. I am also much happier with this truck than my Toyota despite the difficulty of parking in tight spaces.
You're lucky to have readily available bio. All I can get commercially is B20 but it's not close (and out of the way, to boot). I get lower MPG than dino on it too. Go figure. Plus I would never run bio during our winters.

I'll curious to see how your MPG improves with those mods. 4" exhausts are great for lower EGTs and faster turbo spool but, at least on duramaxes which have 3.5" stock pipes, power gain in nominal. I've got a 100rwhp EFI live tune and 4" turbo back slated to go on by summer. I expect zero mpg gains, at best.:busted:

Backing into spaces is key, fyi.
Let me know if/when you sell that truck, it would make a killer plow truck.
 

jimmydean

The Official Meat of Ridemonkey
Sep 10, 2001
40,939
13,133
Portland, OR
You're lucky to have readily available bio. All I can get commercially is B20 but it's not close (and out of the way, to boot). I get lower MPG than dino on it too. Go figure. Plus I would never run bio during our winters.

I'll curious to see how your MPG improves with those mods. 4" exhausts are great for lower EGTs and faster turbo spool but, at least on duramaxes which have 3.5" stock pipes, power gain in nominal. I've got a 100rwhp EFI live tune and 4" turbo back slated to go on by summer. I expect zero mpg gains, at best.:busted:

Backing into spaces is key, fyi.
Let me know if/when you sell that truck, it would make a killer plow truck.
Portland has a mandatory minimum of B5 for all retail sites in the metro area that I think is set in increase to B20 soon. The commercial site I have been using is www.staroilco.net. Personal accounts for bio/dino diesel only.

Should be interesting heading out to gonefirefighin's place on Friday. I will fill up with B99, but it doesn't look like there is much out that way, so I will drive back on dino.

Even if the bio is 1 or 2 mpg less, I still feel better running 99% renewable and the truck smells WAY better, too.

<edit> I wanted a Duramax so bad, but wasn't willing to pay an addition $4k for it.
 

jimmydean

The Official Meat of Ridemonkey
Sep 10, 2001
40,939
13,133
Portland, OR
MP3 riding impressions:

- feels heavy but not ponderous, easy to catch from an angle
- sprightly off the line and to 30 mph, good response
- easy to maneuver on tight streets: I spent quite a while doing u turns :D
- tilt lock will require some practice, so I stopped all but one time by putting my left foot down
- the test bike (and my bike) had the short, stock windscreen, which was ok around town
- had plenty of grunt to climb a steep grade that was probably about 8%
- overall I quite like it. I was worried it would feel ponderous but it didn't
- with the mirrors it might not fit through my doorway...
$6k used, not too bad:
http://seattle.kijiji.com/c-Cars-vehicles-Motorcycles-scooters-Piaggio-MP3-250ie-W0QQAdIdZ120949500

I would like to try one, just to see what it feels like in the corners. I'm so used to hanging a knee, it might look funny.
 

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,029
7,549
first day thoughts after 20 miles on the freeway in rush hour—yeah, i jumped right in :twitch:—and lots of tooling around in parking lots:

- being able to legally use the HOV lane as a solo motorcyclist is really nice!
- i came really close to dropping it when doing a figure 8 on a very off-camber piece of road. whoops. caught it but barely and now have my first scrape, a tiny 3mm ditzel on the muffler.
- lots more wind noise, pressure, and buffeting at freeway speeds than i thought. mid-height windscreen may be in my future in a month
- cruising at 65 mph isn't a problem at all (top speed is 77 mph nominally)
- the centerstand scrapes on tight left turns :pirate2:
- even in day-glo on a big scooter i still get waves and nods from other two-wheeled motorists. excellent.

tomorrow may bring the chance to try it out in the rain as opposed to today's 70 degree, blue sky goodness