Good video on small garage shop that builds EVs (NBC News)

Good video on small garage shop that builds EVs (NBC News)

Tesla Roadster Getting Reviews

The Tesla Roadster has started getting some reviews by journalists; this likely in an effort by Tesla Motors to promote the car. Of all the people who could take the one model available for a test drive/ride, why not use the journalists who will then write about the car and the company making it? A smart move if you ask me, and I'd have done the same.

Here's a nice review of the Roadster that lets you know what you can expect from this new car:

This Electric Sports Car Is the Real Thing

Tesla Roadster Getting Reviews

The Tesla Roadster has started getting some reviews by journalists; this likely in an effort by Tesla Motors to promote the car. Of all the people who could take the one model available for a test drive/ride, why not use the journalists who will then write about the car and the company making it? A smart move if you ask me, and I'd have done the same.

Here's a nice review of the Roadster that lets you know what you can expect from this new car:

This Electric Sports Car Is the Real Thing

Subaru R1

Subaru has shown an all-electric vehicle to the public: the Subaru R1.

It's reported that the Japanese creator of the Eliica met with Subaru executives years ago in his pursuit to develop and produce EVs in large scale. So maybe this car is a result of their partnership?

This car as shown is obviously underpowered though, and not a heavy contender against any conventional vehicle that runs on gasoline.

It is hard to beat the energy density contained in gasoline. I believe that if humans apply their mind to developing EV technology, that eventually we will have available batteries that are cheaper and have higher energy density than gasoline. As Professor Shimizu, the creator of the Eliica, once stated, "EVs have to be superior to ICEVs in regards to performance and cost in order for people to switch to EVs." (paraphrasing)

So Tesla Motors is showing up from the top with a sports car that costs amost 100 grand while other companies are showing up from the bottom with smaller and economic cars that can take advantage of current EV technology. I trust that EVs will catch on and become mainstream, and that maybe the general population will follow a trend of switching to small cars from the big cars we now drive. It may not seem like people would want to do this, but I believe Peak Oil will not leave us much choice. When it costs more for some people to commute to work than the money they earn in one day at work, I think people will stop driving their cars because they simply can't afford gasoline at ever increasing prices. This scenario is not far-fetched.


Trivia: R1 is the name of a popular Yamaha sportbike - I wonder why Subaru didn't apply more creativity when coming up with a name for this electric car.
The 2008 Yamaha R1 engine technically has more than 3 times the power output of the motor used on the Subaru R1 (horsepower number comparison). Yes, the astounding power of gasoline with technology that has been developed in over 100 years. Dedicate 100 years to developing battery technology for EVs and we'll have cars that not only charge while driving, but never need to make a stop for fueling!

Subaru R1

Subaru has shown an all-electric vehicle to the public: the Subaru R1.

It's reported that the Japanese creator of the Eliica met with Subaru executives years ago in his pursuit to develop and produce EVs in large scale. So maybe this car is a result of their partnership?

This car as shown is obviously underpowered though, and not a heavy contender against any conventional vehicle that runs on gasoline.

It is hard to beat the energy density contained in gasoline. I believe that if humans apply their mind to developing EV technology, that eventually we will have available batteries that are cheaper and have higher energy density than gasoline. As Professor Shimizu, the creator of the Eliica, once stated, "EVs have to be superior to ICEVs in regards to performance and cost in order for people to switch to EVs." (paraphrasing)

So Tesla Motors is showing up from the top with a sports car that costs amost 100 grand while other companies are showing up from the bottom with smaller and economic cars that can take advantage of current EV technology. I trust that EVs will catch on and become mainstream, and that maybe the general population will follow a trend of switching to small cars from the big cars we now drive. It may not seem like people would want to do this, but I believe Peak Oil will not leave us much choice. When it costs more for some people to commute to work than the money they earn in one day at work, I think people will stop driving their cars because they simply can't afford gasoline at ever increasing prices. This scenario is not far-fetched.


Trivia: R1 is the name of a popular Yamaha sportbike - I wonder why Subaru didn't apply more creativity when coming up with a name for this electric car.
The 2008 Yamaha R1 engine technically has more than 3 times the power output of the motor used on the Subaru R1 (horsepower number comparison). Yes, the astounding power of gasoline with technology that has been developed in over 100 years. Dedicate 100 years to developing battery technology for EVs and we'll have cars that not only charge while driving, but never need to make a stop for fueling!

General Motors

There are so many developments in the Electric Vehicle arena currently going on that it's become hard to keep track of it all. An explosion of small shops and garages has taken place with Electric Vehicle projects, although these are mostly "small guys". That said, it may be the grassroots movement necessary to topple General Motors from its pedestal - a monolithic institution that keeps pumping out the Internal Combustion Engines that are poisoning life on our planet, and tried to kill the electric car.

Speaking of General Motors, the company has reported their biggest loss ever: a whopping $38.7 billion in year 2007, an amount that is hard to imagine. At this rate it's fair to say that General Motors is quickly disappearing: they'll likely stay around for a long time, but they will be just another company and no longer a major component in the engine that moves the American economy. Their direct response seems to be to replace assembly workers with people who are willing to work for half the standard wages they were paying. How this will affect the quality of their products has yet to be measured.

GM loss largest ever in industry

If you ask me, I think GM should have produced the EV1 and made the switch to EV technology when they were at the forefront (developing it with the brightest minds) with the EV1 prototype. Developing and offering EVs might have compromised their main line of cars, but as we can see that is an inevitable outcome. And that is because developing and offering EVs was the right thing to do for customers, for society and for the world.



The point here is not so much to blame GM for not doing the right thing when they were (and still are) in a powerful position to develop, produce and deliver products - cars and trucks - that are part of a solution and not part of the problem. It seems that the whole automobile industry is already being affected by the phenomena of Peak Oil and Global Warming. If Peak Oil is real (and I believe it is), then the rapid decline of oil production combined with the constant increase in worldwide demand for oil will cause major economic slowdown worldwide (in all countries that depend on oil, that is, virtually all countries in the world).

General Motors

There are so many developments in the Electric Vehicle arena currently going on that it's become hard to keep track of it all. An explosion of small shops and garages has taken place with Electric Vehicle projects, although these are mostly "small guys". That said, it may be the grassroots movement necessary to topple General Motors from its pedestal - a monolithic institution that keeps pumping out the Internal Combustion Engines that are poisoning life on our planet, and tried to kill the electric car.

Speaking of General Motors, the company has reported their biggest loss ever: a whopping $38.7 billion in year 2007, an amount that is hard to imagine. At this rate it's fair to say that General Motors is quickly disappearing: they'll likely stay around for a long time, but they will be just another company and no longer a major component in the engine that moves the American economy. Their direct response seems to be to replace assembly workers with people who are willing to work for half the standard wages they were paying. How this will affect the quality of their products has yet to be measured.

GM loss largest ever in industry

If you ask me, I think GM should have produced the EV1 and made the switch to EV technology when they were at the forefront (developing it with the brightest minds) with the EV1 prototype. Developing and offering EVs might have compromised their main line of cars, but as we can see that is an inevitable outcome. And that is because developing and offering EVs was the right thing to do for customers, for society and for the world.



The point here is not so much to blame GM for not doing the right thing when they were (and still are) in a powerful position to develop, produce and deliver products - cars and trucks - that are part of a solution and not part of the problem. It seems that the whole automobile industry is already being affected by the phenomena of Peak Oil and Global Warming. If Peak Oil is real (and I believe it is), then the rapid decline of oil production combined with the constant increase in worldwide demand for oil will cause major economic slowdown worldwide (in all countries that depend on oil, that is, virtually all countries in the world).