I'd always been under the impression that the energy required to split the oxygen from the Hydrogen was immense, far more than you would get from burning the resultant gases?
Yeah there's still alot to figure out there. Other ways include using some toxic chemicals (the particulars I can't remember, but it obvioiusly doesn't help), or well apparently they've been able to do it with some petrol product...well damn that doesn't help either. There's alot of grants/funding right now for figuring out a better way to get hydrogen.I'd always been under the impression that the energy required to split the oxygen from the Hydrogen was immense, far more than you would get from burning the resultant gases?
i'd think those tires would kill the efficiency, no? did you fit in it?Speaking of little sh!t boxes, I am going to see if I fit in one of these after work:
Daihatsu Hijet
1.3lt engine, 60mph and 50+mpg. A dealer in town has a few out front, I figured it would work for a 2 person shuttle.
Those are off-road tires mounted on ATV wheels (a common mod). I do fit, but unfortunately they are not street legal in Oregon. I think it's because of DEQ, but I haven't gotten any straight answers.i'd think those tires would kill the efficiency, no? did you fit in it?
i saw a Chevy Tahoe Hybrid in the flesh. it had many an acre of vinyl on the door panels, liftgate, and rear window declaring that it is a HYBRID to all who might glance in its direction. at $55k (?) no wonder they're trickling off the lots... next up on the failboat is Dodge, who released their 5.3L Hemi Hybrid Durango with a 20 mpg rating and a $45k pricetag.
SACRAMENTO - New-car shoppers in California will see an easy-to-read label revealing a vehicle's greenhouse gas emissions as soon as next month. The California Air Resources Board said Thursday the window sticker will give consumers the information they need to choose a cleaner-burning car or light truck.
"This label will arm consumers with the information they need to choose a vehicle that saves gas, reduces greenhouse gas emissions and helps fight smog all at once," board chairman Mary Nichols said in a statement. "Consumer choice is an especially powerful tool in our fight against climate change. We look forward to seeing these stickers on 2009 model cars as they start hitting the showrooms in the coming months."
Approved earlier by California lawmakers and supported by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the regulation was signed into law this week by California Secretary of State Debra Bowen.
The data for the scores is being provided by auto companies to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
"The environmental performance label will provide two scores on a scale of 1-10, a Smog Score and a Global Warming Score," the board stated. "The average new car will score five on both scales. The higher the score the less impact the car has on the environment."
For example, the Union of Concerned Scientists estimates a Toyota Corolla will score 7 points and a Dodge Caravan will score 3. The Honda Civic Hybrid will score 9 points, it figures.
All new vehicles sold in California must feature the label by Jan. 1, 2009.
The label itself incorporates a smog index label used in California on new vehicles since 1998.
The Air Resources Board noted that Californians purchase some two million new vehicles each year.
"The 25 million vehicles on our roads travel about 900 million miles each day," it stated, "Daily, this produces 2,288 tons of smog precursor emissions and 350,000 tons of global warming gas emissions."
The board also hosts a Web site, www.DriveClean.ca.gov, for consumers on the cleanest, most efficient cars on the market.
(why am i looking at kids toys? my payment for a gig i recently played was a $75 bn.com gift card, and i'm trying to decide between splurging for the above fuel cell car, a sweet-ass power house kit that's all about renewable energy and living -- i highly recommend reading the description on the linked page, an overpriced microcontroller kit, or something that reflects my mental age of 5 like a r/c car. i could get a book, sure, but that's silly when i have a huge library system for my use.)Fuel Cell Car and Experiment Kit by Thames and Kosmos. for ages 10 and up. $107 for barnes and noble members. will carry you around if you are about the size of a small mouse.
gah. all that work for nothing: one of the three Hall sensors still goes from 0.0 to 0.6V instead of from 0 to 12V as it is supposed to do.if this all doesn't work and the Hall is still bad then i'm just going to order a pedal-first (vs. immediate start) controller and sell my current one. pedal-first controllers don't rely on Hall sensors so this problem would be guaranteed to not recur.
Now where is the fun in that?remind me to not try to build my own electric car, and instead pay someone else -- like a car corporation -- to design, debug, and test it. i would go insane.
worst link ever. to which video are you attempting to make reference?
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=128047#2
LONDON — The Metropolitan Police here will soon begin testing an electric version of the Smart Fortwo as part of a larger field test of the Smart ED (electric drive). The battery-powered microcars will be deployed in central London and at Heathrow Airport.
The plug-in Smart ED is powered solely by electricity. It has a top speed of 60 mph and a range of up to 70 miles between charges. Smart says it can "achieve the equivalent of around 300 mpg." The vehicles are part of a 100-car fleet in the Smart ED market trial.
Of course, the London police aren't the first law-enforcement officials to get their hands on the Smart Fortwo. In the recent remake of the Pink Panther, actor Steve Martin as French Inspector Jacques Clouseau used a Fortwo to chase criminals.
In an unrelated event, visitors to the Smart Destination Brooklands event at Mercedes-Benz World in the U.K. participated in a "Smart-packing challenge." The event was designed to figure out how many people could be crammed into a Smart Fortwo. A group of so-called "Smart car-tortionists" (a.k.a. gymnasts) took on the challenge and managed to fit 13 people in the microcar.
Summary: Ah, the Fortwo in its various iterations — both silly and smart. — Anita Lienert, Correspondent
http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=4958
48V 20 Ah LiFePO4 running a nominally 36V Golden Motor hub motor. based off of a Giant Stiletto.
Specs:
Top speed on flats, no wind in the face, no pedalling: 44 km/h
Top speed downhill ever recorded: 50 km/h
Speed up moderate hills (10%-15% grade), no pedalling: 30 km/h
Range with everything on, additional 15 kg load in my backpack, front/rear lights on, full-throttle all the way, absolutely no pedalling: ~45 km
Wheel size rear: 24 inch, 3 inch tire (same total circumference as 26 inch MTB wheel)
Wheel size front: 20 inch, 3 inch tire
150 kg! i'd rock it.Topia HUVO prototype
http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20080627/154014/
[DMS] Topia Prototypes 150kg One-seater Electric Vehicle
Jun 27, 2008 18:42
Chikara Nakayama, Nikkei Monozukuri
Topia Corp, a company engaged in designing and prototyping automobiles, prototyped a single-seater electric vehicle "HUVO," which weighs only about 150kg (330 lb).
The vehicle was exhibited at the booth of Marubeni Information Systems Co Ltd in the 19th Design Engineering & Manufacturing Solutions Expo (DMS), which is an IT solution exhibition for manufacturers and runs from June 25-27, 2008, at Tokyo Big Sight.
The HUVO was developed by using Topia's proprietary design and production technologies, the company said.
If a vehicle of the same size as HUVO is made with existing technologies, it would weigh about 300kg, said Hideki Sasaki, president & CEO of Topia.
The body frame is made of high-tensile steel plate, the doors on both sides and the back panel are made of aluminum alloy, the roof is made of carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP), the windshield is made of polycarbonate, and the interior parts and the wheel covers are made of ABS resin.
For pressed parts such as the body frame and the doors, Topia not only designed and manufactured the press molds but also pressed and welded the parts in house. Using the press simulation and 3D measurement, the company enabled to form high-tensile steel plates into parts with high precision.
After the press molding, those parts are trimmed by 3D laser processing, and the body-in-white is manufactured by MIG welding, spot welding and self pierce riveting.
ABS resin parts were manufactured by Stratasys Inc's RP system. Topia has reportedly introduced two units of this RP system (including a 3D printer), and selectively used them according to the part size and the required precision. Topia also decided to introduce "FDM 900mc," Stratasys' large RP system released in April 2008, and will be the first FDM 900mc user in Japan, the company said.
my verdict: still not ready for prime time but each effort comes closer!Electric GPR-S http://www.electricmotorsport.com/store/ems_electric_motorcycle_gpr-s.php
drawing of production spec with full fairing:
prototype with a bit less bodywork:
$8000. based on the based on the Cagiva F4 chassis. production goal of 300 per year so i'm not sure how good local support will be (if any).
Etek-RT motor, "14.2 kW". quoted 35-60 mile range whether going for power or economy. 4h charge time, 1.5h charger optional. no word on actual Wh on the battery (although it's LiFePO4, and reportedly sourced from Thundersky), which controller, etc. 72V by report, unconfirmed.
the nice thing is this: "Motor options: The Electric GPR-S comes stock with a heavy duty PM motor called the Etek-RT. The Electric GPR-S uses an industry standard Nema C-face motor mounting system that is compatible with not only the Etek type motors but almost every 6.7 or 8" motor on the market today. This means upgrading to an AC Induction system, or a SepEx regen system is as easy as bolting in a after-market motor and controller kit."
a new, tiny vehicle from japan-land!
150 kg! i'd rock it.
but 150 kg of weight presumably down low along with 75 kg of passenger is not insubstantial. it may look like a stiff breeze would set it on two wheels but this might not actually be the case.That looks seriously unstable in any sort of a crosswind!
Driving one of those here in wellington would be a deathwish! lthumbsdown:
The GPR-S looks very promising and has some good test results.i think this may be the same bike of which jimmydean has posted "passing on the inside" shots previously. here's its info. note commercial availability "this summer". like much of the industry i bet they're waiting on chinese LiFePO4 to become more available after the Olympics.
actually, on second look it appears to be an updated version of the one that jimmydean posted. the GPR is the old version, the GPR-S the new.
VW's reliability is good as long as you do the recommended maintenance. I'm at 20,000 miles and have yet had any problems that kept my car from driving or anything. I did burn out a taillight bulb though. $5 and I was done.Does it come with the same crappy reliability and high maintenance expense as the rest of VW's line?
My ex-wifes car is 100% lemon. '93 Passat GLX (bought new in '93) that we got a 100k mile extended warranty (thank GOD). By the time the warranty was up, it was on its 2nd engine, 3rd transmission, 3rd radiator, it pops a 5amp fuse if you use the remote key lock (has since it was new, they never could figure it out), 2nd ac pump, and the sunroof leaked.VW's reliability is good as long as you do the recommended maintenance. I'm at 20,000 miles and have yet had any problems that kept my car from driving or anything. I did burn out a taillight bulb though. $5 and I was done.
Bernie (who owns Trail Head Cycles) just bought a ZapCar. 3 wheeled EV that he uses to make beer runs at the shop. I like the truck, myself.so i'm in portland for a day or three, catching some tasty trumpet playing at the summertime annual, free concerts at Monette. in the time not spent listening to music i headed down sandy blvd to ecomotion.
www.eco-motion.com, since someone apparently snagged the domain without the hyphen beforehand
Try one of the MKV series or a new passat. My family has 2 MKV GTI's [2007 and 2008] and have not had any problems. VW has greatly stepped up their game when it comes to reliability with their new cars. Nothing like they used to be.My ex-wifes car is 100% lemon. '93 Passat GLX (bought new in '93) that we got a 100k mile extended warranty (thank GOD). By the time the warranty was up, it was on its 2nd engine, 3rd transmission, 3rd radiator, it pops a 5amp fuse if you use the remote key lock (has since it was new, they never could figure it out), 2nd ac pump, and the sunroof leaked.
The warranty covered all scheduled maintenance that was done on time and was free of charge.
The only VW I will ever own from then on is air cooled.
Talk to me when your car hits 100k. You can't talk reliability on a car that has 20k miles. At any rate, I doubt they can get any worse.Try one of the MKV series or a new passat. My family has 2 MKV GTI's [2007 and 2008] and have not had any problems. VW has greatly stepped up their game when it comes to reliability with their new cars. Nothing like they used to be.
I'll take reliability numbers from CR over family anecdote from a dude with VW in his screenname...
Of the 45 least reliable models, 19 were European, 20 were from U.S. manufacturers, 5 were Japanese, and 1 was South Korean. General Motors had 12, Mercedes-Benz had 8, Ford and Nissan each had 5, Chrysler and Volkswagen each had 3, BMW and Jaguar each had 2, while Kia, Land Rover, Porsche, Saab, and Volvo each had 1.
Why, might this help?I'll take reliability numbers from CR over family anecdote from a dude with VW in his screenname...
I'm pretty sure they can't say *anything* about the reliability of a brand new model car...Why, might this help?
CR June 2008 report. Rates VW Rabbit #1 hatch....
<snip>
Now, let me guess, Consumer Reports judging system must not be correct....
~Matt
P, I can look it up if you want, but I believe the 2.0TFSI Motor recieved the same ratings.
Ummm... it was *always* just an expensive toy.<snip> This relegates the BMW to a rather expensive toy
It's transportation first, toy second.Ummm... it was *always* just an expensive toy.
Its been out since late 2005. Its not a brand new 2008 model. Thats why some are not rated, and labled as *New*. And see, I'm not the only one that thinks the MKV is reliable.I'm pretty sure they can't say *anything* about the reliability of a brand new model car...
We'll only know in about 10 years if VW has actually gotten any better.
As we have all learned the Blue is clearly an expert in vehicle reliance. Just don't ask him to recommend a place to have your VW "fixed"Its been out seince late 2005. Its not a brand new 2008 model. Thats why some are not rated, and labled as *New*. And see, I'm not the only one that thinks the MKV is reliable.
Haha, I read about that. There's a good reason to by new - 6yr/60,000 mile warente [sp?]As we have all learned the Blue is clearly an expert in vehicle reliance. Just don't ask him to recommend a place to have your VW "fixed"
<edit> I guess owning a VW does belong in this thread as you will quickly learn how to use public transportation to get to and from the repair shop.
sell it! i've used all of $87 worth of Zipcar since i sold my RX-8 in may, and that was one day's worth of minivan rental to move my bedframe, mattress, 150 lb electric piano (which is 17 years old, and which i sold on craigslist for $200!), etc.I think I'll sell the car and see how just a bicycle and bus will do for me...