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Some solar power company wanted to buy Adam Opel from GM but GM didn't bight. Now it looks like the German government is going to end up owning most of Opel. If they do then Vauxhall is screwed since they're no longer an independent designer and manufacturer of cars and instead just build rebadged Opels. I doubt the German government wants to buy a sickly British car manufacturer as well.
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Try http://wordforge.net/index.php for discussion and debate. -
Air Powered engines...
Hydrogen powered engines...
electric motors...
One of the greatest things about gasoline engines is that they are pretty much a standard. I see an issue for the next several years where the replacement for this standard is in flux with several competing technologies. At some point, one of these technologies will have to emerge and become the new standard. Until then, people risk purchasing a large investment without any surety that it will be viable to continue to operate."I am sick and tired of people who say that if you debate and you disagree with this administration somehow you're not patriotic. We should stand up and say we are Americans and we have a right to debate and disagree with any administration." - Hillary Clinton, 2003Comment
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GM Europe reports they will be out of case by April and some 300,000 jobs will be lost unless the EU aranges for some sort of aid to automakers. Other European automakers are also losing money hand over fist and risk shutting down. With Saab now in bankruptcy and Opel soon to follow without state aid I just don't see how Vauxhall can survive on it's own. They only sell a couple hundred thousand units and only in the UK and Ireland plus they no longer even have any design or engineering capability because in the 1970's GM merged all of those operations with Opel.Try http://wordforge.net/index.php for discussion and debate.Comment
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bight? Do you have to spell the names of your rocks?
Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.
"Hating America is something best left to Mobius. He is an expert Yank hater.
He also hates Texans and Australians, he does diversify." ~ BraindeadComment
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FB: 2 to 3 cents a mile, depending on the car, how aggressive you drive, and the price of electricity in your location. Tesla Roadster owners in California are reporting paying about 3 cents a mile.Last edited by DanS; March 4, 2009, 02:05.I came upon a barroom full of bad Salon pictures in which men with hats on the backs of their heads were wolfing food from a counter. It was the institution of the "free lunch" I had struck. You paid for a drink and got as much as you wanted to eat. For something less than a rupee a day a man can feed himself sumptuously in San Francisco, even though he be a bankrupt. Remember this if ever you are stranded in these parts. ~ Rudyard Kipling, 1891Comment
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not bad not bad, but 6000 batteries takes up a lot of space and sounds like a waste of resources when you think about mass producing.be freeComment
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The mass production is no big deal -- the chemicals used in Li-On batteries are relatively benign and it's all recyclable anyway. Also, it doesn't take up too much space. The added weight of the battery pack is the only real special consideration, counterbalanced somewhat by a reduction in weight because of the omission of the transmission, internal combustion engine, and tons of related gear.Last edited by DanS; March 4, 2009, 11:06.I came upon a barroom full of bad Salon pictures in which men with hats on the backs of their heads were wolfing food from a counter. It was the institution of the "free lunch" I had struck. You paid for a drink and got as much as you wanted to eat. For something less than a rupee a day a man can feed himself sumptuously in San Francisco, even though he be a bankrupt. Remember this if ever you are stranded in these parts. ~ Rudyard Kipling, 1891Comment
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The latest news from the automotive world is bleak even as automakers try to over come the crash in auto sales by introducing a rash of new models (this also happened in the great depression but it didn't work then for most car companies because credit was tight and few people had pay for a whole car with).
First Toyota is asking the government of Japan for a bailout of it's financial services arm: http://rumors.automobilemag.com/6455...ans/index.html
GM is trying to off load Opel to a German Company hoping that then the German government will be more likely to cough up a bailout: http://rumors.automobilemag.com/6455...pel/index.html
Chrysler is preparing a number of small cars built on FIAT platforms: http://rumors.automobilemag.com/6455...lks/index.html
Nissan is planning a mass market electric car: http://rumors.automobilemag.com/6458...ear/index.html
Saab is flailing around hoping anyone will marry them after GM dumped them: http://rumors.automobilemag.com/6459...ers/index.html
And at the Geneva Auto Show everyone seems to be rolling out uber expensive up market plans in hopes of luring the few people who still have deep pockets and can afford to buy a car.Try http://wordforge.net/index.php for discussion and debate.Comment
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It occurs to me that even though the lithium ion batteries are very expensive, most people on Poly live in countries with very high gasoline taxes. The difference between the gasoline prices and electricity prices probably would be substantial enough to defray a large portion of the battery costs. Let's say $2,000 per annum at 30 mpg.
Of course, in the US, the difference isn't very large. Only maybe $400 per annum.Last edited by DanS; March 5, 2009, 15:01.I came upon a barroom full of bad Salon pictures in which men with hats on the backs of their heads were wolfing food from a counter. It was the institution of the "free lunch" I had struck. You paid for a drink and got as much as you wanted to eat. For something less than a rupee a day a man can feed himself sumptuously in San Francisco, even though he be a bankrupt. Remember this if ever you are stranded in these parts. ~ Rudyard Kipling, 1891Comment
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I was listening to someone on NPR saying that the materials to make lithium batteries are also scarce.I drank beer. I like beer. I still like beer. ... Do you like beer Senator?
- Justice Brett KavanaughComment
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Not that I know of. Perhaps there is a bottleneck in processing those materials, however.I came upon a barroom full of bad Salon pictures in which men with hats on the backs of their heads were wolfing food from a counter. It was the institution of the "free lunch" I had struck. You paid for a drink and got as much as you wanted to eat. For something less than a rupee a day a man can feed himself sumptuously in San Francisco, even though he be a bankrupt. Remember this if ever you are stranded in these parts. ~ Rudyard Kipling, 1891Comment
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I think he said they take cobalt and you can only mine that in certain parts of the world.I drank beer. I like beer. I still like beer. ... Do you like beer Senator?
- Justice Brett KavanaughComment
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According to Wiki, those countries are Zambia and Congo, so there is a big danger of political instability. But cobalt isn't extremely expensive (about $20 a pound), and all of these batteries will be recycled anyway.I came upon a barroom full of bad Salon pictures in which men with hats on the backs of their heads were wolfing food from a counter. It was the institution of the "free lunch" I had struck. You paid for a drink and got as much as you wanted to eat. For something less than a rupee a day a man can feed himself sumptuously in San Francisco, even though he be a bankrupt. Remember this if ever you are stranded in these parts. ~ Rudyard Kipling, 1891Comment
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Cobalt isn't expensive right now, but that could change if the demand for it increased.Originally posted by DanS View Post
Here's the NPR bit. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...oryId=97295913I drank beer. I like beer. I still like beer. ... Do you like beer Senator?
- Justice Brett KavanaughComment
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