Seriously thoughtful Electric Cars : BYD

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by GeoffC

I can certainly see these kind of partnerships developing, likes of Tesco/WalMart/McDonalds/even cinema chains etc....

We're thinking on the same wavelength: A place to hang/eat/sleep/buy junk/surf the web/etc, while the car charges up. It'll be the new place to be, or to say you were whenever you're late or unaccounted for.

Originally Posted by HarryT

I know it's not electric, but I'm lusting after one of these:

I was just at a solar and wind expo, where the door prize was an electric scooter. Perfect for cruising back and forth to the train station! I also looked at a retrofit electric device for the bicycle called BionX, that's supposed to be highly lauded (though a bit pricey, starting at $1600 without the bike). With either one of these, I'd use the car a lot less.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

I'd be more interested in this one:



It claims to have similar range as its gas-powered counterpart, and as the Burgman is highway-capable, it makes it much more useful than electric scooters, few/none of which can do highway speeds.

Of course, there's still that catch about hydrogen, and all...

[GeoffC]

All we need is for someone to come up with a way to magnetise road surfaces which will then maintain a permanent charge for the car. Shorter roads will be traversed on battery alone.... sunnier climes can make use of panels;

whilst those with more rain could use hydro-electric induced by the fall of rain drops onto a dynamo ....

[Greg Anos]

Originally Posted by GeoffC

All we need is for someone to come up with a way to magnetise road surfaces which will then maintain a permanent charge for the car. Shorter roads will be traversed on battery alone.... sunnier climes can make use of panels;

whilst those with more rain could use hydro-electric induced by the fall of rain drops onto a dynamo ....

We know how to do it...But you have to rebuild the entire roadways of a nation...

[GeoffC]

Originally Posted by Ralph Sir Edward

We know how to do it...But you have to rebuild the entire roadways of a nation...

if yours' are like ours, then that's no hardship - we have pot holes with pot holes after the recent winter cold..... but point taken ....

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by GeoffC

if yours' are like ours, then that's no hardship - we have pot holes with pot holes after the recent winter cold..... but point taken ....

Well, we do have a few more miles of road in the U.S. than Scotland. Our road maintenance demands are on an order of magnitude (or two) above most other countries, nothing to sneeze at...

Placing magnetic poles in the highways to charge the batteries would likely create drag. It may extend range, but it wouldn't be enough to keep the car charged. Sooner or later, you're pulling over and recharging. A range extender such as an exchangeable trailer or battery pod would probably be a better choice. If it will allow at least 2-300 miles' range for a vehicle, it will be comparable to existing vehicles, and the public wouldn't have to adjust to much of a change.

Actually, a better option for road improvement would be installing basic devices that would allow cars to track the road with sensors, and enable fully-automatic driving. Simple reflectors or reflective paints could be put down for minimal cost, and the cars' sensors would do most of the work in tracking the roads, comparing against GPS and map data, and navigating the car. (As much as cutting down on environmental impact, we need to address the incredible number of fatalities caused by autos.)

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

Actually, a better option for road improvement would be installing basic devices that would allow cars to track the road with sensors, and enable fully-automatic driving. Simple reflectors or reflective paints could be put down for minimal cost, and the cars' sensors would do most of the work in tracking the roads, comparing against GPS and map data, and navigating the car. (As much as cutting down on environmental impact, we need to address the incredible number of fatalities caused by autos.)

Sounds like a field day for lawyers when things go wrong .

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I know it's not electric, but I'm lusting after one of these:

"20% shorter stopping distance"?

If true, that's a biggie. I've had some close calls when I had my Sportster with cars pulling out in front of me--especially late night when riding past the bars. Drunk fools would stare straight at me with that "Hmmm... nothing coming this way" look in their eyes!

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Sounds like a field day for lawyers when things go wrong .

Lawyers have a field day now, when a car hits a pedestrian... which happens far too often on America's roads. But a working hands-off driving system would remove the most unpredictable, the most distracted, and the slowest-reacting part of the driving system: The person. I'm sure fatalities would go down with such a system, and especially if the pedestrian/automobile interaction is cut down with controlled crosswalks and multi-level road/sidewalk systems.

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by GeoffC

All we need is for someone to come up with a way to magnetise road surfaces which will then maintain a permanent charge for the car. ...

"The nation that controls magnetism will control the universe."
.....-- Diet Smith, industrialist.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

"The nation that controls magnetism will control the universe."
.....-- Diet Smith, industrialist.

That wasn't Magnus Lensherr?

[Greg Anos]

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

Well, we do have a few more miles of road in the U.S. than Scotland. Our road maintenance demands are on an order of magnitude (or two) above most other countries, nothing to sneeze at...

Placing magnetic poles in the highways to charge the batteries would likely create drag. It may extend range, but it wouldn't be enough to keep the car charged. Sooner or later, you're pulling over and recharging. A range extender such as an exchangeable trailer or battery pod would probably be a better choice. If it will allow at least 2-300 miles' range for a vehicle, it will be comparable to existing vehicles, and the public wouldn't have to adjust to much of a change.

Actually, a better option for road improvement would be installing basic devices that would allow cars to track the road with sensors, and enable fully-automatic driving. Simple reflectors or reflective paints could be put down for minimal cost, and the cars' sensors would do most of the work in tracking the roads, comparing against GPS and map data, and navigating the car. (As much as cutting down on environmental impact, we need to address the incredible number of fatalities caused by autos.)

Yes, it will increase drag. So does light rail overhead electrical connectors. That doesn't stop light rail. However, a reasonably aerodynamic car with a good cruising gearing, doesn't require that much power to maintain speed (12-25 horsepower). I think you'll be able to induct enough power to keep the speed up despite the drag...

But like I said earlier, you'll need a network of around 100 nuke plants to keep up the power. And all you've heard it the chant "NO NUKES" since the early 1970's. I don't think the Sierra Club is run by Exxon....

[Greg Anos]

Here's a Toyota 2015 Hydrogen car...

http://green.autoblog.com/2010/05/07...sedan-by-2015/

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

That wasn't Magnus Lensherr?

Diet Smith said that to Dick Tracy that in the 60s. Some Internet sites claim he said that as early as 1935, when Magneto was still a child.

[GeoffC]

Originally Posted by Ralph Sir Edward

Here's a Toyota 2015 Hydrogen car...

http://green.autoblog.com/2010/05/07...sedan-by-2015/

neat, but then one has to gulp at the price as well as the hydrogen availablity/production.

i grant all these are possible, but whether there is sufficient will is debatable - but why oh why does everything have to be so expensive ...

and solar/wind generated energy is only possible because of government subsidy - so what should be free(ish) is not necessarily so.

but then we get the opposite argument, often heard - save the planet - spend £5,000 now and save £50 per year on heating costs (for instance). [ and that's a supposedly good deal !!!!????