range not enough
 

the range of the batteries is not enough yet for most people to fully replace their gas vehicles. their going to have to bring it up to at least 350. and how long does it take to charge? What happens if you loose charge on the side of the road?

good info on their site, including power band, etc. - if memory serves...

batteries are supposed to have a life of 100k miles.
3.5 hours to charge

good info on their site, including power band, etc. - if memory serves...

batteries are supposed to have a life of 100k miles.
3.5 hours to charge

The Lamborghihi Murcielago is listing in Motor Trend at 3.4 - 0 to 60! Oh, $293K to $350K is the price! But, you get 631 HP! The interesting part is the warrantly is for 2 years - 24,000 miles - Yikes!

Well.....Yes and No. I have the direct inside track on this; I'm married to one of GM's senior fuel cell research scientist. We had an EV1 for a short time as part of GM's research program. Not all, but some are still on the road today, but only certain GM employees drive them through the program. They get charged by home adapters or at the GM facilities that host the cars. The car was not a complete loss and taught the engineers thing they needed to know as far as the electric motor and power applications were concerned. The major shortcoming was the 100 mile range which was not always 100 miles depending on your driving habits. It was amazingly fast for its short driving time.

I'm holding out for one of the fuel cell powered cars my wife is working on. Hydrogen is the best solution for the future.....although I love dealing in cars that harkened back to a time where dead dinosaurs were king :rolleyes: . Anyway, with fuel cells the range of an average car will be in the 600-700 mile area and it will burn 100% clean. Electric motors driven by the power output of a fuel cell are very torquey. I have been for rides in some of GM's test vehicles and they are very fast. Technically the only thing holding us back is the supply infrastructure for the hydrogen.

By the way, don't anybody think that a fuel cell powered Cobra has not been discussed at my house ;) . I'm waiting for the day the FC cars hit the dealers and I start the worlds first FC hop-up parts business and have an in house development scientist.

Just my ramblin for the evening.

:D

--Mike / Turn Ten Racing, Inc.

Ask your wife if the energy required to produce the hydrogen is a justifiable amount, given that hydrocarbons were probably burned to generate the electricity to separate the hydrogen gases. Some kind of ratio would be helpful to understanding this quandry.

Good question.

Unfortunately, only a fusion/fission/positron anihilation heat source will provide enough cheap & clean electricity for the hydrogen cycle to work efficiently, particularly in fuel cells, which require particularly clean hydrogen.

As much as i appreciate W's courage and plain common sense about many things, he is not yet about to give his oil pals and father's oil pals and the Saudis the heebee-jeebees about replacing our oil economy big time and soon.

But sooner or later we need to tell the arabs to go pound that sand...

She was right next to me when I got the email notification for this post. She works on the fuel cell membrane research not hydrogen production, however this is her answer:

Hydrogen is the most abundant gas in nature and has many sources. Burning hydrocarbons such as natural gas or coal to produce hydrogen is only one source. She does not know the ratio off hand. Hydrogen is also a byproduct of some manufacturing processes in certain industries today and could be harnessed as fuel instead of waste. Solar energy and Nuclear energy can also be used to produce the gas. There are also many other viable sources. Basically, no country that had a hydrogen infrastructer for fuel cell cars would need to import hydrogen, especially the U.S..

She suggests this web site: www.hydrogen.gov

:D

--Mike & Sue / Turn Ten Racing, Inc.

Titanium is actually one of the most abundant minerals on (in the) earth, so why is it so expensive?

Titanium is very hard to cast at high quality standards and must have very tight tolerance's on temp control during the process. I use to deal with Titanium foundries in China and only certain foundries could handle the tolerance's. So that is why it is pricey! Certain Aluminum alloys aren't so cheap either. I have a titanium bike which is indestructible, i bet a titanium cobra would be sweet!
Keith

The car is cool and all, but 0 - 60 on full charge? How often is the car at full charge? One 1/4 mile pass and you can't repeat the result until you charge up again.

George Clooney's daily driver. Top speed 150 MPH. 0-60 in 4.0.

Take a look..

www.commutercars.com

I don't question the claims of the electric car's performance specs. I am skeptical of the test conditions. 150 miles on a single charge. Ok, Any hills in that 150 miles? How about wind? What was the temperature during the test? The capacity of a battery to produce electrical energy is the function of a chemical reaction, which is dependent upon temperature. Also no battery fully recharges. Our car batteries only have to charge up enough to turn a starter motor for a short time.
If you read the current articles on fuel cell technology and the hope of hydrogen, there is one more obstacle besides fueling stations. The size of the fuel tank. Hydrogen fuel tanks for cars will have to be enormous to produce a range of 300 miles like contemporary cars.

regards

Hello from Michigan!

Here's my contribution to this thread:

http://www.toyota.com/vehicles/future/volta.html

Another 0-60 in 4 seconds. No sound, no shifting, and no need for side pipes! :(

0-60 in 3.9 pontiac 421 stock-car and driver mag
 

What do you think of this time? I remember this road test from years ago.No one could believe how quick this giant boat could move.(not my text below)

Comments: Catalina 2+2 sales increased 44% for 1965 as the model sported a new body riding on a new, slightly longer chassis, with a 121 inch wheelbase. The 2+2 standard engine was now the 421 V8 with a single four barrel carb rated at 338 bhp. Two other 421 engines were available, including a Tri-Power (3x2 bbl) version producing 356 bhp and the 421 HO rated at 376 bhp. Standard features of the 2+2 included heavy-duty springs and shock absorbers, a three-speed transmission with a Hurst shifter, dual exhausts, and a performance axle ratio. There were also special interior and exterior trim treatments, including bucket seats, seat belts, full carpeting, custom pinstriping, and vertical louvers on the front fenders, all standard. A new Turbo Hydramatic automatic transmission replaced the old Hydra-matic and improved performance. Car and Driver tested a Catalina 2+2 and recorded a top speed of over 130 mph and a 0-60 time of just 3.9 seconds.

The Tesla is a neat little car with a great pedigree from it's base as it is built on a modified Lotus Elise. As with all things electric, the price is slowly coming down on batteries as technology advances.
If you are interested in Hydrogen cars, check out BMW's new V-12 car that is being tested in various places.
If you are looking for 0-60 in 2.8 seconds, 300 hp, 250 lb. of torque, 1 g. cornering grip, 1325 lbs wet, two seats, 4 wheels, at about $ 40,000, check out a Made in America Ariel Atom...Brammo Motorsports of Ashland, Oregon, however, registration might be a bit of a problem in some states. Plenty of attitude and the whole 9 yards of driving "in your face" :D

what ever gas you save,Ill use it up for you!

NJBigBlock,
That Pontiac 2+2 you refer to was "professionally warmed over" by Royal Pontiac in Royal Oaks, Mich. (kind of an extreme Royal Bobcat project). It took a staff of about six "factory folks" to get those numbers but it sure ate the Ferrari 2+2's lunch in that show down at Bridgehampton. The test equipment of the day was not as accurate as what is used today so the numbers quoted are probably a little optimistic, but not by much. I think the tested 2+2 was Jim Wangers (Royal Pontiac) personal ride. Wangers new a few things about quick trips down the quarter mile. Royal built a very quick '62 Pontiac Ventura Tri Power for me back then that I wish I still had.
RB

That was in the same era as the "stock" '64 GTO that ran 12 second quarters at 106 mph plus. Amazing what a massaged 421 inch motor can do for a goat.

Shelby pulled a similar trick with the 260 Cobra that was made available to the mags for testing. That engine somehow grew about 50 extra horsepower before it found its way into the car.

Open headers (Hooker), a high numerical rear (4:56 to 1), M+H 7" cheater slicks on a well tuned 389 Tri Power four speed would get the '64 GTO sedan into the high 12's fairly easily. Felt like 200 with those 5" drum brakes!
RB