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Good report and food for thought. However, I would gladly trade the dependencies (oil v. cobalt) given that oil can't be recycled.
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Last edited by DanS; March 5, 2009, 16:29.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, 1891 -
Way easier to invade the Congo, too
<Reverend> IRC is just multiplayer notepad.
I like your SNOOPY POSTER! - While you Wait quote.Comment
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Who needs to invade? We'll just send Roland, Van Owen and the rest with their Thompson guns.Originally posted by snoopy369 View PostWay easier to invade the Congo, tooSolomwi is very wise. - Imran SiddiquiComment
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Santa Monica (essentially a suburb of Los Angeles) based Coda Automotive plans on selling their new all electric mid sized sedan in California starting with the 2010 model year. The car is essentially made in China and based on a Chinese car built by Hafei Automotive though they build their own electric motor and started a new joint venture in China to build li-Io batteries.
http://www.psfk.com/2009/06/coda-aut...ric-sedan.html]
Personally I think the nose looks rather ugly and the rest of the car looks like the generic Chinese no name brand car it is.Try http://wordforge.net/index.php for discussion and debate.Comment
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Just out of curiosity I've been looking up different electric car makers and it seems like California has a number of small companies trying to get into the electric car business. It's a small niche and I doubt all of them will survive and the few who do will undoubtably end up being bought by larger makers but for now lets look at a few of them.
We've already seen Tesla and Coda so lets move on to Phoenix Motorcars of Ontario, CA (east of L.A.)
This rather homely looking vehicle is based on a South Korean Ssongyang which Phoenix retrofits with an electric motor and Li-Ion battery pack. They sell it as a coss over vehicle and a truck like version though honestly both are rather ugly. Still Phoenix is mainly targeting the car at light commercial users hoping to get fleet sales so maybe it will take off. Honestly, Tesla and Coda's offerings look far more professional and well done in my opinion.
Fisker Automotive of Irvine, CA started out as a maker of kit cars and body kits for traditional automakers but now they've established their own factory and are making a new electric sports car called the Karma. They're offering a two seater convertible and a four door sports sedan which gets about 40-50 miles on a charge but does have a small back up gasoline motor. Honestly the car still looks like a kitchy kit car but at least they're trying to work their way towards a more main stream offering. I do have to wonder about build quality and how deep the company's pockets are though. The roof top solar panels are a nice touch.
AC Propulsion of San Dimas, CA is the grizzled old warrior of the electric car business in the US. They've been in business since 1992 and they were the one who designed and made the GM/Saturn EV1 electric vehicle in the early 90's though these days they survive mostly by retrofitting cars made by other manufacturers with electric motors and battery packs. Their current offering is an electric VW Beetle though BMW tapped them to design the new Mini E electric vehicle while companies like Volvo and Telsa Motors have licensed the AC Propulsion electric drive train system. The company is currently working on a new bio-diesel hybrid drive train which it hopes to supply to other automakers.
That's all for now. There are also a few foreign makers of electric cars (Lightning Car Company of the UK, Venturi of France, BYD of China) but I'm to tired to bother detailing them right now.Last edited by Dinner; June 15, 2009, 04:39.Try http://wordforge.net/index.php for discussion and debate.Comment
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BYD is hoping to make a splash at this year's North American International Auto Show in Detroit by showing their new production ready BYD e6 electric car.
Try http://wordforge.net/index.php for discussion and debate.Comment
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All of those except the Karma are pretty ugly. But the Karma is a hybrid, rather than pure electric. I'm not enthusiastic about hybrids.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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Tesla is building a brand new car factory in Downey (part of Greater Los Angeles) dedicated to building the Tesla Model S sedan. It's the first new car factory in the state since the 1980's so even though it is small it is still good news.Try http://wordforge.net/index.php for discussion and debate.Comment
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I stopped by Tesla's New York City showroom a couple of weeks ago. They only had a museum piece Roadster there, so I couldn't take the car out for a spin. Looks like they are building out a service center next to the showroom.
The DC showroom is opening Spring-ish. I like how they are putting the showrooms in the cities.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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My understanding is that if you want a roadster you have to get on the waiting list which is thousands of orders long. That would explain why there isn't a car available for test driving. Still, I do like the idea of putting show rooms in cities rather then out in the suburbs especially since their likely buyer is in the city.Try http://wordforge.net/index.php for discussion and debate.Comment
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Source: AP
DETROIT (AP) — South Korean electric car maker CT&T said Tuesday it will begin producing electric cars in the U.S. this year.
The company makes low-speed two-seaters and golf cart-style vehicles as well as the City EV, which can reach 65 miles per hour and travel up to 70 miles on an electric charge. CT&T says the City EV is ideal for small businesses or delivery drivers or for use in retirement communities or small cities. The vehicles recharging cord can be plugged into a standard socket.
CT&T said it plans eventually to produce around 10,000 electric cars per year in the U.S. at 40 manufacturing and distribution centers, starting with centers in South Carolina and California. It didn't reveal prices.Try http://wordforge.net/index.php for discussion and debate.Comment
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I don't know about electric cars but I do have an electric vibrator.Promoting world peace one bum at a time.Comment
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The NYT is reporting that Toyota and Tesla have signed a deal where Toyota will buy $50 million worth of Tesla stock, share electric car technology, and give Tesla access to the NUMMI car plant that GM recently abandoned and Toyota is shutting down. The idea being that instead of completely shutting the factory it can be used to make Tesla's Model S Sedan and possibly have the Roadster's production moved their as well. That's good news for the bay area but bad news L.A. since Tesla was planning on locating production at an old NASA factory in the L.A. area.
The good news is Toyota is going to be sharing its engineering expertise and quality control systems to help Tesla insure the highest quality possible.Try http://wordforge.net/index.php for discussion and debate.Comment
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Apolyton's Grim Reaper 2008, 2010 & 2011
RIP lest we forget... SG (2) and LaFayette -- Civ2 Succession Games Brothers-in-ArmsComment
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