Hope he got one, Leonardo DiCaprio did:
"It's my first sports car and it's an unbelievable drive," he confessed in an interview with the Daily Mail. "It's scarily fast and it all happens with the flip of a switch, unlike a piston-driven engine that needs to build up momentum."
The government's new test is more accurate, but numbers are still off
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is updating its methods for
estimating the fuel economy of new vehicles. Starting with 2008 models,
the window stickers that all new cars carry showing the estiimated mpg
will reflect the new ratings. The good news is that the numbers on the
sticker should be closer to what you should expect to get in normal
driving. The bad news is that while the new EPA figures are a downward
adjustment and not as high as before, in many cases their numbers are
still optimistic in comparison to the results from the CONSUMER REPORTS
real-world fuel economy tests.
This one was seen by the editor in the Bahamas
(on a Nov. 2006 4 day cruise)
The new model made its debut in at European auto shows in November
2006. "Even the base 'pure' coupe gets ABS, ESP, and 4 airbags. ...
The `fortwo's` high-strength steel safety cell can effectively
dissipate energy from impacts with much larger vehicles."
Hybrid Technologies plans to sell an electric version
of the smart vehicle in the U.S. starting at US$35,000.
It is being called a
hybrid car even though the vehicle is all-electric. The electric
smart car will have a range of 120 miles (190 km) to 150 miles (240
km), a top speed of 80 mi/h (129 km/h), and charge in 5 to 6 hours
using a standard 110V AC outlet. An electric smart is currently
undergoing testing in the UK and will only be offered to commercial
clients as a trial for the time being.
The Smart Roadster went through several variations.
from 2003 to 2006. See
wikipedia
Perhaps working elbow-to-elbow with Tesla Motors
is beginning to rub off. Lotus
has just unveiled its Exige 265E, a research and development
car that runs on E85.
Lotus has also designed an electric car for ZAP. (see below)
SANTA ROSA, Calif. (February 8, 2005) - California automaker and distributor
ZAP
announced today that it has received more purchase orders for the Smart Car
Americanized by ZAP, with orders in-hand totaling over $55 million.
Zap is also taking reservations for this sports car, the
ALIAS
ZAP says that the initial concept phase for the new vehicle is
complete. The targeted price is $30,000, top speed in excess of
100 mph and range of 100 miles per charge. Many of the technologies
already specified for the ZAP-X electric car concept will be applied
to the new vehicle, but delivery is expected to be sooner than the
ZAP-X. CEO Steve Schneider said more details of the new vehicle will
be presented at the annual shareholder meeting, July 29, 2007 in
Santa Rosa, California.
It recharges in minutes (rather than Hours) and lasts a decade
(instead of a couple years) [and has twice the charge].
A123Systems batteries will be evaluated in prototype Saturn Green
Line Vue plug-in hybrid SUVs later this year.
see article
Thursday, 24 May 2007Large US imports of gasoline, mainly from
Europe, are starting to raise questions. Last weekend gasoline
in Germany went over $7 per gallon and analysts are talking about
the possibility of $8 gasoline later this summer. The Europeans
note that the US is now importing roughly 1 out of every 8
gallons of gasoline consumed and that there is no end to this
imbalance in sight.
Some Europeans are beginning to ask whether their governments
should be taking action to slow the exports to the US.
Peak Oil Has Arrived!
The 3 Largest Oil Fields in the world have peaked!
May 28, 2007
#1. Saudi oil fields overall are in decline at 2% to 8% a year:
”There are published reports that Ghawar has from 30-55% water cut.
This means that about half the fluids brought up the well are water.
#2. Kuwait: Saturday, November 12 - 2005:
It is incredible revelation that the second largest oil field
in the world is exhausted and past its peak output. Yet that is
what the Kuwait Oil Company revealed about its Burgan field.
Chairman Farouk Al Zanki said :”The peak output of the Burgan oil
field will now be around 1.7 million barrels per day, and not the
two million barrels per day forecast for the rest of the field’s
30 to 40 years of life.”
#3. Cantarell, Mexico - in decline; 5-11-2007
Cantarell has actually begun to decline. The most recent Upstream
(May 11, 2007) quotes Jesus Reyes Heroles, the Pemex leader as
saying that Cantarell would produce only 1.5 million barrels per
day in 2007. This is compared with over 2 million in 2004.
see article
March 2, 2007
Solar Cell technology & mfg. explosion in Silicon Valley
wafers that sell for $5 apiece are used by companies like General
Electric to build the most efficient solar modules on the market today.
Solar prices have declined steadily. In 1980 the cost of generating
solar power with a silicon cell was about $30 per watt; today it
averages $3 to $4 a watt. Applied’s goal is to bring the cost down
to $1 per watt, making it competitive with conventional power
sources. [given that $1/watt refers to 2007 oil prices, by 2009,
$2/watt may be “competitive” and anything less, cheaper! - editor]
California is also committing $3.2 billion to fund a drive to
install solar panels on a million rooftops by 2018
see article
March 2007
Last month, Toyota finally began marketing the Prius like a regular
car. The company increased availability, launched an advertising
campaign, and implemented incentives in some markets. The results
were impressive: February Prius sales hit 12,227 units,
the highest monthly tally ever. That moved the Prius to the number
nine slot in the list of top ten bestselling cars in the U.S. in
February. Those who still view the Prius as a niche vehicle with
limited appeal may want to reconsider. Ditto for those who insist
that fuel savings or government incentives are the only reasons
people buy hybrids. Last month's record Prius sales occurred in a
period of moderate gas prices, and after the reduction in federal
tax credits for Toyota hybrid vehicles as well as elimination of HOV
privileges for new hybrids in California. May 2007 sales went
over 24,000 units!
Almost 2% of the US vehicle market!
High Prius sales lifted hybrids to 1.89% of the U.S. vehicle market,
their highest penetration yet. When compared with a month earlier,
nearly every model posted gains. In general, the hybrid market looks
healthy, showing 36% growth in an overall light vehicle market
that is contracting slightly. But year-to-year sales trends reveal more
mixed performance. Comparing the first two months of 2006 with the
first two months of 2007, sales of both Toyota’s hybrid SUVs are off
almost 25%, as are sales of the Honda Civic Hybrid. The Highlander
Hybrid and Lexus 400h boast the highest take rates among hybrid vehicles
(17.5% and 19%, respectively), but their sales have fallen to roughly
half of their past peak levels. We're eager to see whether Toyota can
transfer the success of the Prius in its other hybrid offerings during
the coming months.
X Prize Foundation:
$25+ million prize for a 100 mpg car!
"People love their cars. They are vital links to our jobs,
our community, ourselves. For everything we love about them,
cars are chained to the most severe global crises of our
time: oil dependence and climate change."
- X Prize Foundation
"There's a very large industrial complex married to an old
solution," says X Prize Foundation founder Peter Diamandis.
"We fully endorse the X Prize," says Bob Lutz, vice chair of
General Motors, "but we just cannot divert ourselves from the
business at hand." That business is the Chevrolet Volt, a
plug-in hybrid electric car that Lutz hopes to have on the
streets by 2010. "We're really not that interested in technology
as a science-fair project," he says. But GM and the other major
automakers are sure to be watching carefully for interesting
technologies. If a team designs, say, a clever hybrid engine
that bolts right onto the transmission of a Dodge Neon, it could
sell the design to Chrysler and emerge a big winner regardless of
whether it does well in the race.
The scale of our dependency on fossil fuels has grown to
enormous proportions.
Trucks move most of the world's food, even though trucking is ten
times more energy-intensive than moving food by train or barge.
Refrigerated jets move a small but growing proportion of food, almost
entirely to wealthy industrial nations, at 60 times the energy cost
of sea transport.
But the single most telling gauge of our dependency is the size of
the global population. Without fossil fuels, the stupendous growth in
human numbers that has occurred over the past century would have been
impossible.
Grain production per capita: A total of 2,029 million tons
of grain were produced globally in 2004; this was a record in
absolute numbers. But for the past two decades population has grown
faster than grain production, so there is actually less available on
a per-head basis. In addition, grain stocks are being drawn down:
According to Lester Brown of the
Earth Policy Institute,
"in each of the last four . . . years production fell short of
consumption. The shortfalls of nearly 100 million tons in 2002 and
again in 2003 were the largest on record."
3
This trend suggests that the strategy of boosting food production by
the use of fossil fuels is already yielding diminishing returns.
Global climate: This is being increasingly destabilized
as a result of the famous greenhouse effect, resulting in problems
for farmers that are relatively minor now but that are likely to
grow to catastrophic proportions within the next decade or two.
Global warming is now almost universally acknowledged as resulting
from CO2 emissions from the burning of fossil fuels.
Available fresh water: In the US, 85 percent of fresh
water use goes toward agricultural production, requiring the drawing
down of ancient aquifers at far above their recharge rates.
Globally, as water tables fall, ever more powerful pumps must be
used to lift irrigation water, requiring ever more energy usage. By
2020, according to the Worldwatch Institute and the UN, virtually
every country will face shortages of fresh water.
The effectiveness of pesticides and herbicides: In the
US, over the past two decades pesticide use has increased 33-fold,
yet, each year a greater amount of crops is lost to pests, which are
evolving immunities faster than chemists can invent new poisons.
Like falling grain production per capita, this trend suggests a
declining return from injecting the process of agricultural
production with still more fossil fuels.
A motor run solely by magnets was originally suggested by
Nikola Tesla in 1905.
Today:
"Engineers of Hitachi Magnetics Corp. of California
have stated that a motor run solely by magnets is
feasible and logical but the politics of the matter
make it impossible for them to pursue developing a magnet motor
or any device that would compete with the energy cartels."
On April 24, 1979
Howard R. Johnson
was issued patent
No. 4,151,431 on one design. (more compilicated)
google: TDI diesel engines
2004 Volkswagen Passat TDI
Date posted: 07-22-2004
Thanks to a new fuel-injection technology codeveloped by Bosch, the new 2.0L TDI is
the cleanest-burning and most environmentally sound diesel engine ever built by VW.
Called "Pumpe Duse," which roughly translates to "Unit Injector," the new fuel
delivery system utilizes cam-driven injectors to spray diesel into each cylinder
multiple times per engine revolution and at such high pressure that it
instantly atomizes, thereby creating a cleaner and more efficient burn. Adapted
to work with VW's outstanding Motronic sequential multipoint direct injection, the
Pumpe Duse system was initially designed to help meet stricter European emissions
standards (!). A by-product of the more efficient fuel burn is that power has
increased as well.
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/FirstDrives/articleId=102425
Date Posted 05-17-2006
http://www.edmunds.com/advice/fueleconomy/articles/93338/article.html
Buying a New Car? Get Stability Control!
June 13, 2006
Stability We've known for decades about the benefits of antilock brakes and traction
control, but consumers are still relatively unaware of the precise benefits of the
latest application of those technologies: stability control. A new study by the
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety suggests that up to 10,000 fatal accidents can
be prevented every year if the system were on all vehicles, instead of the current 25
percent. That's a huge number, given that there are 34,000 car-crash deaths a year.
Read this article for a good explanation of how the systems work, and don't let dealers
convince you that stability control isn't necessary just so you'll drive out with a car
that isn't equipped with it. According to David Champion, head of auto testing for
Consumer Reports, "a big part of the problem is that, since many customers are unaware
of the technology or don't fully understand it, it's easier for car dealers to tell
consumers they don't need it." ?Eric Adams
And here's a list, by Consumer Reports, of all the brand names for what are actually
virtually identical systems:
Active Handling: Chevrolet
AdvanceTrac: Ford, Lincoln, Mercury
Dynamic Stability Control (DSC):
Saab, Hyundai, Land Rover, Jaguar, Mazda, Jeep, Kia, BMW, Mini
Dynamic Stability Traction Control (DSTC): Volvo
Electronic Stability Program (ESP):
Audi, Volkswagen, Mercedes, Chrysler, Dodge, Suzuki
Mitsubishi Active Skid and Traction Control System (M-ASTC):
Mitsubishi
Porsche Stability Management (PSM): Porsche
StabiliTrak: Buick, Pontiac, Cadillac, GMC, Saturn, Hummer
Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC): Nissan, Infiniti
Vehicle Dynamics Control (VDC): Subaru
Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA): Acura, Honda
Vehicle Stability Control (VSC): Lexus, Scion, Toyota
54th Annual Mobil 1® Twelve Hours of Sebring
March 15-18, 2006
Sebring, Fla. - Audi Sport North America made history Saturday as the diesel-powered
Audi R10 TDI of Tom Kristensen, Allan McNish and Rinaldo Capello won the Mobil 1
Twelve Hours of Sebring. The new prototype is the first diesel car in the world to win
a major sports car race.
It was the type of debut Audi was hoping for in preparation for the 24 Hours of Le
Mans. The German manufacturer used Sebring as a test for the most prestigious sports
car race in the world, set for June 17-18
The new Audi R10 TDI is powered by a completely new 5.5-litre, twelve-cylinder
bi-turbo TDI engine which is extremely economical and quiet.
The Le Mans Prototype, with over 650 hp and more than 1100 Newton metres of torque,
significantly exceeds the power produced by the majority of previous Audi racing
cars – including that of its victorious R8 predecessor.
The main target of the Audi technicians is to reach the reliability level of the R8,
which never recorded a single engine failure in the 77 races it has contested to date.
Audi ventures into previously unexplored diesel-engine terrain with the V12 power plant
manufactured completely from aluminium. The enormous torque of over 1100 Newton metres
not only makes extreme demands of the R10 TDI transmission system – as even the
Formula 1 specification engine dynamometers at Audi Sport had to be reequipped with
special gearboxes capable of withstanding the unusual forces.
TDI (Turbo Direct Injection Diesel)
While TDI's are available in many countries around the world, Volkswagen (and Audi)
has been the only manufacturer selling diesels cars in Canada or the US since 1999.
The VE engine found in the A3 Jettas and B4 Passats were rated at 90hp and 149ft.lbs of
torque (1.9 liter and 50 mpg). The A4 Jetta, New Beetle, and A4 Golf were rated at 90hp
and 155ft.lbs.
The B5 Passat with it's 2.0l TDI pumped out 134 hp and 247 ft.lbs of torque. The king
of power is the 5.0l 310HP V10 Touareg (until the Audi R10 came out) that puts out 553
ft.lbs of torque.
The high-pressure pump-injection system achieves the highest injection pressures currently
available in any direct-injection process. The associated fine atomisation of the fuel
ensures that a high degree of thermodynamic efficiency is attained and the highest specific
torque per litre is at the driver's disposal. This system also permits controlled pilot
injection as a means of ensuring low engine noise levels and minimum emissions.
Ethanol
1933 Corn-alcohol fuel pump, (in Nebraska)
Make it today at about $1.oo/gal.
Ethanol, which can be produced with corn, soy, mustard seed, and even some grasses,
is considered a renewable resource. Mixtures of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline, called
E85, can be used in many vehicles currently available. Biodiesel, which may be used
in regular diesel engines, can be made from recycled cooking grease or vegetable oil.
According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, for each gallon of
gasoline burned in a vehicle, 20 pounds of CO2 are emmitted.
Feb. 03, 2004
Chevy Underscorring the extreme [if not backward] attempts being made to gain just
a little in fuel economy:
"To improve fuel efficiency, Chevy has integrated technology that automatically
shuts off four of the truck's eight cylinders when not required, reducing fuel
consumption by 8 percent, said Chevy spokeswoman Jolie Jackson."
"Gear Splitting performance and overdrive economy" Focusing on performance but admitting an increase in fuel economy, Gear Vendors
has announced a new model gear splitter for the C5 Corvette. Their focus is on
trucks, RVs, and high performance cars but, the clear message is not only that higher
gears save gas but, high performance people can appreciate fuel economy also.
(www.GearVendors.com)
Electricity vs. Hydrogen
"Fuel cells are not used in any of the most expensive phones or laptop
computers. Even satellites which might cost $100m to build use lithium
ion [Li-ion] batteries. Now surely you'd use the best option in a $100m
satellite wouldn't you? There are also some basic energy equations that
show that [using fuel cells] is quite stupid."
says Elan Musk, billionaire co-founder of Pay-Pal, who also funded the
start-up of SpaceX (a low-cost space craft manufacturer that's now
selling ships to NASA) and a solar power company, SolarCity.
Date: Fri Jul 30, 2004 12:12 pm
Subject: Electricity Beats Hydrogen Fuel, New Study Indicates
From:
"Patrick Mazza"
patrick@ ilea.org
Institute for Lifecycle Environmental Assessment
P.O. Box 22437 Seattle, WA 98122-0437
http://www.ilea.org
ELECTRICITY BEATS HYDROGEN FOR FUELING CARS AND
FOR STORING AND DELIVERING ENERGY, NEW STUDY FINDS
"In key roles envisioned for Hydrogen as an energy carrier, transmission
of remote renewable resources, storage of intermittent renewables and
vehicle fuel,
electricity offers more energy efficient options that might
preclude mass-scale emergence of H2 technologies," concludes the study
issued by the Institute for Lifecycle Environmental Assessment and funded
by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
The study compares the actual energy available when hydrogen and electricity
carriers are employed ...
Electrical transmission provides roughly twice the end use energy.
Hydrogen as clean vehicle fuel, as projected in President Bush's
hydrogen car initiative, leads to a dead-end. Using electricity to charge
electric vehicles (EVs) provides twice the miles per kilowatt hour than
employing electricity to make hydrogen fuel. It is a gift to the oil
co.'s with no return on the "investment".
Plug-in electricity eliminates 2.6 times more CO2 than
if it is used to displace gasoline by making hydrogen fuel for
cars. Charging EVs removes twice the CO2 of making hydrogen fuel. The study
calculates similar results for use of natural gas, which also has been
proposed as a source of hydrogen energy.
"In the conversion of electricity to hydrogen and back again, we are
forced to admit a loss of more than HALF (55%) of the original electricity
that we started with (some estimates put this loss considerably higher).
Bearing this in mind, we are confronted with a very sobering fact: Of the
number of generators needed to supply energy to this conversion process,
less than half as many would be necessary if we never made the conversion to
hydrogen in the first place!"
"... the stark reality is that an existing hybrid car seating 4
passengers gets twice the mileage of an existing fuel cell car holding the
same number of people - this is a fact, not a prediction. In all fairness,
when the dust finally settles [after x years of development], fuel cell and
hybrids cars will probably come out in a tie; this is a fair (and probably
safer) assumption upon which to base all future arguments."
"Twenty Hydrogen Myths": A physicist's review
By Dominic Crea
From one who worked on developing the necessary hydrogen fuel tanks:
Hydrogen is a sad misdirection. I worked a number of years in the
alternative fuels industry, with an enphasis in hydrogen.
The problems with hydrogen keep it from being a reasonable alternative
for so long that interim solutions would be far better for our planet.
Hydrogen infrastructure will take many years to erect.
Hydrogen can either be "cracked" from water, using vast amounts of energy
that must be gotten from some other source, or it can be extracted from
fossil fuels (so what is the point?)
In order to store hydrogen onboard a vehicle it must be compressed to about
15,000 lbs per sq inch (this produces an energy density close to that of
gasoline). Imagine the difficulty and expense inherent in these sorts of
pressures. (this is what I worked on - carbon fiber fuel tanks)
Or we could find more efficient metal "foam" or "sponge" in which to store
large amounts of hydrogen - the technology is not anywhere near mature.
Or we could simply cool the stuff. Now the temperature of liquid hydrogen
is −423.17 °F. Cryogenic bottles can maintain these temperatures for a
relatively short while. Handling these sorts of liquids is not for the
average consumer and significant amounts of energy is needed to maintain
these temperatures.
Perhaps, some day, hydrogen will be our dream fuel, but there is a fuel
that works TODAY:
Electricity drawn from batteries.
it is not exactly news but, just keep in mind
that Ford owns Mazda, Volvo, Jaguar, and more.
Also, note that General Motors ownes
Chevrolet, Buick, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Cadillac, GMC,
Hummer, Saab, Opel, Holden, and Vauxhall. (see gm.com)
Brands of Chrysler Corporation:
Chrysler, Dodge, Plymouth, & Jeep
Tow Mater from the movie Cars
Lightning and Tow Mater
July-Aug.2008
the current 100:
click above to
see an enlargement
"Due to security risks and a lack of support for web standards
this website does not support IE.
"Looking through the Windows : The Internet Explorer threat Jan 20, 2010 ... There has been a huge amount of media regarding the current
security concerns of using Internet Explorer as a browser on your machine."
Electric Cars 
Super Carburetors 
Mighty Yet Tiny engine,
NASA 1st prize 
Future Denied,
Hydrogen Generators
Hydraulic cars & info 
I.V.T. / C.V.T. 
Oil News 
ZAP says that the initial concept phase for the new vehicle is
complete. The targeted price is $30,000, top speed in excess of
100 mph and range of 100 miles per charge. Many of the technologies
already specified for the ZAP-X electric car concept will be applied
to the new vehicle, but delivery is expected to be sooner than the
ZAP-X. CEO Steve Schneider said more details of the new vehicle will
be presented at the annual shareholder meeting, July 29, 2007 in
Santa Rosa, California.
June 11, 2007
above to
