Archive for the 'Cars' category

Aptera – Car, Spaceship, or Golf Cart

Aug 14 2009 Published by under Cars, Changing scene, Future things

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Well, what is this thing?  The Aptera will go from zero to 60 in under 10 seconds. You will get more than 100 miles-per-charge. The thing is the most aerodynamic looking  vehicle on the road.  It is legal on the freeway but only hasthree wheels.

So I think we can  eliminate the Aptera being and expensive golf cart, as it goes too fast to be a golf cart and is freeway legal.  So what about a spaceship. Aptera sure looks like a spaceship, with the blugey front windshield and the extream aerodynamic styling. But since it has three wheels and is earth bound we can rule out the Aptera being a spaceship.

What the Aptera is a very light, very strong, 100% electric vehicle.

4 responses so far

All Electric car with Net connection

May 02 2009 Published by under American Consumer, Cars, Changing scene, Future things

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So will the Tesla Model S be a car of firsts?

- First all electric car with 160 mile range standard.
 - First with option to go 300 miles on a single battery pack.
 - First to offer a five minuet battery pack swap.
 - First 3G network connected car.
 - First with a 17″ information display.
 - First all electric that looks fantastic.
 - First with real world performance 0-60 in 5.6 seconds.
 - First all electric passenger the will go 120 mph

As electric car go, the Telsa Model S goes and goes and goes. More than any other all electrical car that is currently being discussed. With a top range of 300 miles the Tesla S is more than a commuter car. It can be used for trips, and with a 5 minuet battery swap the range is endless. Imagine, if fully charged battery packs were available on the highway at places like gas stations. But instead of filling up with gasoline you swap your spent battery pack for a fully charged battery pack. Then you just keep driving, for anothe 300 miles.

For the negative crowd out there, that argue power plants pollute too, I will be recharging my all electric car, with renewable power, solar and wind. So when I start driving an all electric vehicle it will truly be green. Plus I will not be dependent on the oil companies.

Tesla Model S is a truly network connected car. Reports are the information center will run Google’s Android operating system and the Google Chrome web browser. You will have access to Google maps in real time along with YouTube for entertainment. You will also be able to check the charging status of the, Tesla Model S, on your cell phone.

Now will this car ever get to the masses? I hope so. Tesla Motors plans to build 20,000 a year, in a plant in sothern California. Current estimates are the car will be on the street late 2011 or early 2012. Tesla is still looking to the government for cash and their are several big investors, like the founder of Google. So the future looks bright for the $49,000 Tesla Model S.

15 responses so far

Ford BEV beats out Chev Volt

Apr 11 2009 Published by under American Consumer, Cars, Changing scene, Future things

ford_bev1-300x151Here is another all electric vehicles to get excited about, The Ford Focus BEV. More so then the products from Phoenix Motor Company.  Why? Because it will be distributed by a nation wide network of Ford dealerships. Plus the Ford BEV ( battery electric vehicle) is not a extend range or hybrid vehicle. It is a pure plug-in.

The Chevrolet Volt is an extended range vehicle that will only go 40 mile before the on-board diesel charger kicks in. The Ford Focus BEV has a 100 mile range. A hundred mile does not sound like a lot but the majority of Americans drive less then 100 mile round trip to work every day.

Ford is also shelding  itself of the high cost and risk of vehicle development.  Magna International Inc. bought their own Ford Focus and converted it to an all electric vehicle. The conversion was on Magna Internationals dime, then they delivered it to Fords door step. Where as General Motors has been spending millions and years developing the Chev Volt.

Who has the better solution? In my opinion it will be the Ford Fusion BEV. My one wish would be that the cars looked a bit more cutting edge, like the original Volt concept. The Production version always seams to get dumbed down and look like just another car.

One response so far

Foreign Cars made in America

Feb 10 2009 Published by under American Consumer, Cars, Changing scene, Corporate America

I was having a discussion about cars with a fellow colleague. We were talking about buying a new car and what to buy. The age old question of foreign vs. American made came up. The long standing assumption was made that a foreign built car was built better and would have less problems. I then pointed out that Honda and Toyotas have been built in the United States for years. This was quite a surprise to the new car buyer.

america

I then did a quick search on the internet to see which foreign auto makers are manufacturing or assembling motor vehicles with in the United States. And even I was surprised at the number of foreign auto makers that now have plants in the United States and the volume they are producing. Some 5 million cars a year.

  • Toyota, Texas and Mississippi, 1.3 Million cas per year
  • Honda, Ohio and Indiana, 1.0 million car per year
  • Nissan, Tennessee
  • BMW, South Carolina, 150 thousand cars per year
  • Kia, Georgia, Plant under construction
  • Hyundai, Alabama
  • Volkswangon, in the planning stages

So the question is are foreign cars that are made in America “Foreign”? Or are they American?

No responses yet

Personal airbags

Dec 12 2008 Published by under American Consumer, Cars, Corporate America, Geek stuff

When I was watching the “Speed Racer Movie” they had these very cleaver devices that formed around the driver and filled with foam when the driver was in imminent danger. This would happen when the driver was involved in a crash. So the race drivers bounce to safety encased in giant foam filed orbs that put Detroit’s airbags to shame. I understand that these device are not real and it was just a movie but the concept does have some merit.

Detroit keeps adding more airbags too our cars. First we started with the airbag in the steering wheel. The front seat passenger airbag then side airbags, and now auto makers are putting airbags everywhere. They are even testing external airbags. Look at the photo below. This test vehicle must have ten or more airbags. Wow that is a lot of safety. In a crash it must feel like a bomb going off when the all deploy.

So why not do something like the foam filled escape orbs of the Speed Racer movie. Enclose the driver and passengers inside of some kind of personal air bag instead of putting and airbag in every nook and cranny of the vehicle. An additional benefit of the personal airbags is the airbag would continue to protect the occupant even if they are thrown from the car.

One response so far

Drive Drive Your Corvette To Work Day

Jun 27 2008 Published by under Cars

Ok I guess I’m stuck on car stuff for a while.

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But today, 6/27/2008 is the official day to drive your Corvette to work day. The “Drive Drive Your Corvette To Work Day” is in honor of the real birthday of the All American Sports car the Corvette 6/30/1953. Mid-American motorworks had sponsored this event for the past 8 years.

The tradition is, that the Friday that is closest to the real birthday of the Corvette shall be deemed “Drive Drive Your Corvette To Work Day”

So take that special car out for the day and drive it to work

One response so far

An Electric Truck to get excited about!

Jun 23 2008 Published by under American Consumer, Cars, Changing scene

They are back…the all electric vehicles. It has been almost ten years since Chevrolet produced the all electric S10 mid size truck and six years since the all electric Ford Ranger. Both Chevy and Ford finished their electric vehicles with Nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries. The best and most technically advance battery at the time, also the most expensive. BUT the trucks has limited public acceptance.

Some of the problem with these two trucks were long charging times and short driving distances. The biggest problem is you could NOT buy one. They were only leased. Some, of these electric trucks worked their way from being leased to being purchased. Only about 200 of the Rangers were sold and less than 100 of the Chevy S10 were sold. The rest were CRUSHED.

Have no fear the Phoenix MotorCars company is raising out of the oily, smoggy, soot of southern California. They are producing two all electric vehicles. The big new is they will be sold to the public. Not leased or available for fleet only. So as long as you have $45,000 you can own your very own 100% smog free truck.

PhoenixMotercars

The stats on the truck are amazing. Just the available driving range of 130 miles plus, is off the cart for an electric vehicle. And next year, 2009, ther will be and extended battery pack to increase the range to 250 miles. The brushless electric drive has no gears to cycle through and has regenerative breaking at 94% efficiency. This tinny 191 pound electric motor delivers a whooping 400 plus foot pounds of peak toque and 134 horse power. It will push this five passenger sport truck to in excess of 100 MPH and deliver 0 to 60 times around 10 seconds.

Phoenix MotorCars is using the NanoSafe™ battery. It’s a 35 kilowatts battery pack that is lithium ion based. The batteries can be charged in 10 minutes or less, but requires 480 volts. About the same time it takes to fuel a gasoline car. So you’re saying to yourself, who has 480 volts at the home. And I would say to you, who has a gas station at home. The point is, the 480 would be available at a recharging station just like gasoline is today. But with the electric vehicle you also have the option of charging it at home using your photovoltaic solar panels, for zero emissions.

People test driving the Phoenix MotorCars SUT have used words like smooth, strong, powerful, great, it is a real car. I cannot wait to get my hands on one of these little beauty and then I can tell the oil companies to stick it where the sun does not shine.

4 responses so far

Horsepower Race!

May 20 2008 Published by under American Consumer, Cars, Changing scene, Corporate America

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What a great time to be driving an American automobile. And your thinking… you got to be nuts, with the price of gas these days and low MPG ratings. Every fill up is $50.00 bucks plus.

My thoughts are baised on a trend that we have not seen in 40 years. Just look at the horsepower race that is going on. We have not seen cars being built with this much horsepower since the muscle cars of the 60’s and early 70’s. Detroit is building cars with 4 hundred, 5 hundred and even some with over 6 hundred horsepower.

The current top dogs being the Dodge Viper with 600 horsepower and Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 supercar with 630 horsepower. Ok their sports cars. So, you ask, what about the mid-size sedan 2009 Cadillac CTS-V with 550 horsepower, it is over the top! All of these cars have horsepower that years ago would have been considered exotic and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Just look at the Porsche 911 GT2, with 501 horsepower at almost 200 grand. You can buy the Corvette ZR1 for a little more than half of the Porsche and you get over 600 horsepower not the measly 501 the Porsche has. Or get your hands on the CTS-V, that will do a sub 4 second 0-60, for under $70,000.

Who knows what will happen in the next few years? With all the government regulations hitting for higher Mile Per Gallon ratings hitting. We might be seeing the auto manufactures dropping all these great horsepower numbers to achieve the average fleet MPG rates being regulated by the government. So you better run out and drive one of these power house now.

So even though Gas prices are high, and I mean sky high, it is still great to be driving an American car with all this horsepower.

5 responses so far

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