"Who Killed the Electric Car?" TRAILER edited in part by me.

[Knepperify1]

It's just basic science, not that Americans understand such anymore.

1st Law of Thermodynamics means that you lose as much energy trucking a load of fuel as if you transmit it through a power-line.

No one who is an EV fan understands this.

Powerplant to EV wheel is about 16% efficient at best.

Modern ICE's are better than that.

EV's waste electricity, it's that simple.

Auto Engineers realised this 120 years ago.

[thinkingman07]

The answer is TESLA motors.

[Brendon00000]

There is a remaining EV1 in my area!!! for sale, the leaser took it and ran when they found out GM was taking it, I have the chance at an ev1 holy shit

[Brendon00000]

I already wanted to boycott gm for their discraceful service but now they have pushed their luck

[Brendon00000]

I know all about the EV1 and what GM did before the videos but now I will never buy a GM again, they have always been scam artists and always will be, I have been a customer of them for the last 10 years and they have screwed me over numerous times

[1BustedMyth]

Oh boy GM, did yiu stuff up this time!

[Sovarim]

1:43 what a track? guys plz write...

[alyssamarrian]

Did a company buy the patent and then terminate it? This makes me soooo mad. Do you think that when all the baby boomers die out, the next generation will actually have their companies make ethical choices?????

[mprmn340]

Who killed it? Obviously it was the stylists. These car makes a Hyandai look like fashion statements and has as much charm as soviet brick factory. If I drove something like that I would have to start taking uppers, and would probably lose the will to live..

[redmond12400]

GM got paid by Saudis and they crushed all EV1's. Why the fuck did they design Volt now and making it a big deal?

[crazysamz]

There's a Sequel!:

Go to facebook dot com slash revengeoftheelectriccar. My bad (youtube won't allow URL's)

Like it to become a fan, 10,000 fans means we get to see the trailer!

[jayjames5]

In my opinion everyone should Boycott GM for killing the Electric Car and Cheveron for blocking production of large format NiMH batteries.

[LetsFri]

What is wrong with you People. How Hard is it for you to Change!!? Shah of Iran Took all the Land from the Big Evil Landowners and Gave them back to Farmers. You!!? The Gratest Nation in the world can not stop Gen. Manipulated Sheet. That is killing everything In the Nature... Are YOU MAD!!? What is wrong with you people!?!?

[sergiowakko]

PERFECT TIME TO BRING BACK THE ELECTRIC CAR BC OF THE OIL LEAK

[Ham549]

I have an electric bike, I have met people who have a gas bike, the gas bike cost less than my electric was more powerful, faster, and could go further. That is why the electric car was killed, they didn't have the technology to make it a practical choice, also wy bike takes hours to charge a gas bike takes just a few minutes to fill.

[IntellectualAddict]

GM killed the EV1 because their forecasts showed they couldn't make money on them.

But now we have a plethora of choices for electric & hybrid cars, so what's everyone squawking about?

[Sonereal]

@IntellectualAddict

Because people like fearmongering.

[StraightOuttaDC]

The fact that Gas lobbyists pulled the plug on this thing is proof that the best interests of the people, this nation, and this fuckin' planet were not priorities.

Now we've got these fucks dickin' around with "hydrogen fuel cells", though that shit is decades off.

Suddenly, the hybrid comes along, gets phenomenally better under Japanese workmanship, and STILL the American car industry is fucked.

And they damn well desereve it.

[szeeck]

ok, I am all for finding solutions to stop using oil and to help the environment. But right now this is not the way to do it. The process to make these batteries (especially the ones in the EV1) does an enormous amount of damage to the environment, but nobody cares to ask where the batteries come from as long as the can smugly say that they "saved" a few gallons of gas and reduced their emissions...well in reality you did more damage, you just can't see it...

[sugarraygras]

@szeeck Why dont you tell us where they come from. The Military have an engine that can run on water, is that dirty aswell!

[szeeck]

first off, yes there are engines that "run" on water, the water has to be converted to hydrogen of course, but they do have them. It's not new tech, just not feasible yet.

Secondly, these batteries are usually made in foreign countries (typically china) where environmental regulations aren't as stringent. The amount of heavy metals that are leached in these areas is immense due to the mining required to get to the materials used for the batteries. there is much more,but the words are limited

[sugarraygras]

@szeeck Thanks for your answer. In my opinion I feel the electric car is feasible, its just the oil men ringing the last profits from the oil that they own, geo politics etc.

[sugarraygras]

@szeeck I remember seeing a news report that the HHO(water) engine was already being used in some Army vehicles as they have bought the patent. I dont see why that is not feasible as the inventor was using it in his own car and just modified his existing engine with his device. He explained that he could get 100 miles on 3 ounces of water and the exhaust turns back to water..

[szeeck]

wow, I surprisingly have not heard of that yet, and why isn't there more publicity on that? I feel like that is a very important technology that people should be using.

back to batteries though, I feel like we are slowly moving in a direction to what we have with oil now, we have to import so much of these batteries because we don't have the resources, I see ourselves backing into another corner with that....

[browniephage]

This is a way better (more concise, snappier, etc) trailer than the other 'official' ones I've found... bravo! :D

[grassfibre]

NEWSFLASH (apr. 09): In the Netherlands the electrical power companies decided to install 10.000 electricity uploading points to boost the development of the electric car. If you (US) are able to put men on the moon, making electric cars and their infrastucture able is just peanuts.

[HunterXray]

Yes, I'd like to see electric cars myself. They are much more reliable then gas powered cars. They can have higher performance and with batteries they make now, electric cars can have ranges to rival gas powered cars.

But, those that would loose profits from not selling parts, gas and oil would simply step in and crush any attempt. :(

If big oil wants to push the price of gas up so high that people want electric cars then it's like big oil is playing Russian roulette with their future.

[yesturtle]

We should all drive cars that have only normal gaslines not cars that explode themselves and ruin the environment

Go green save gas only pollute if you have to because it hurts animals in the forrest

and when you take showers try to catch the water with a bucket so you save it

[Tamayo1980]

why we can't have both. 90% of our driving is less than 40 miles a day. i wish i could have both eclectic and gas not one car with both. I don't think saving my wash water is same as trying to help the recycle process. exploding cars. Sounds like the ford exploder and i know that was not electric. By the way what in normal about gasoline? do u know of an electric car that exploded? but i know that GM, Ford, even Toyota have recalled millions of car because they have explosive personalities.

[13lackside]

depending on the battery type.. battery's can explode.. Lithium is one i know off top that will explode if over charged.. so yea, to answer ur question a car that runs on battery's would probably run on lithium since its light and lasts longer.. but since its being charged over night in the example in the video.. unless theres a limiter lol allot of them would evenchually go boom.. im not a electrician pro just my .02..

[briackman]

thoughtchallenge- whats better, a dying planet or a few hundred people losing they're jobs, i would pick option b, because we will lose our jobs sometime or another, they can retrain, becoming something other than a gas plant worker.

joaquineyron is right, we should learn from europe...

[emforty2]

we wont win even if we drive electric cars

they will start taxing electic vehicles heavily as the reason you don't buy gasoline and therefore not paying gas tax to pay for road building repair.

they are even now thinking of taxing bicycles for the same reason.

there was a song that had a verse "if you use the street they will tax your feet"

every move you make a tax will take !

[Tamayo1980]

thats wat the car companies want u to believe. which is more important Clean air or just keep gasoline vehicle till it too late to turn around. I not saying get rid of gas vehicles. why cant we have more than just GAS to choose from? we bailing then out anyway. and if GM had stick with EV-1 back then,Toyota would not have had a hard time filling Prius orders in 06-08. Gas is monopoly that's just the truth, more competition is needed electric is the answer as its universal currency of energy.

[SeaLionMermaid]

this film is not about taxing vehicles. sure, its important, but its about driving a car that will not harm our enviroment. People don't think that its a big deal, but we are going to run out of oil sooner than we think.....we knew that it was a non-renewable resource from the beginning. You say that we can't win......but we can!

[sugarraygras]

@emforty2 Taxman by the beatles

[PitaUsatf]

You must watch this entire production. It is hard to find, "someone" keeps having it removed from youtube, the versions that exist have technical issues, but keep resurfacing. Look for it, accept the technical problems and learn from the message.

[PitaUsatf]

Well, I had tried to make it a direct reply: Yes it was Chevron who acquired the patent to the NiMh battery that makes EV vehicles practical NOW. Chevron will not let anybody DO anything with that patent thus placing a giant thumb on any possible progress to remove our addiction to the oil products THEY SELL.

[thegreatkoua]

we all know

[thoughtchallenge]

We can all point fingers at the car companies both foreign and domestic for killing the EV, however these companies are invested in gasoline engine plants and equipment. A switch to EV would mean shutting down those plants and laying people off. If you really want to see electric cars you need to get somebody like General Electric in the business, they make electric motors and would be able to ramp up battery production which would mean new business for them.

[joaquinveyron]

blablablaba ... I don't know how it is with shitty American car companies, but in Europe, we are technology leaders in automotive. So learn from us, if you want to change something.

And certainly no stupid oil companies would stop us from bringing an electric car to the market if it were ready for the taste of the mass markets.

[Tamayo1980]

Right, NO stupid car/oil company should tell us or let us believe that Electric is not the way. So lets spend billion on antiquated technology ( the combustion engine) hydrogen/fuel cells that are decades if not centuries away from practical production when we already had the answer in electric vehicles. GAS is just a monopoly and when we Americans face that fact, then they will start crying " so what did my tax dollars go too". the car companies will say the oil companies lol

[shanghaikidx]

Who will ask the USA when it comes to develop good cars?? So who gives a shit about car "technology" coming from the USA?

"when we already had the answer in electric vehicles. " ???? ... What kind of weed do you smoke?? The answer was that e-cars are unpractical and not more eco-friendly than conventional cars. That's the answer??

[aja145]

i have to study this movie for a huge science test tomorrow. thanks for the helpful comments guys, i hope i get an A on this! eek!

[GoodMarilynManson]

Ah Jesus, but why nobody go kill them ALL!

With all the serial killers and maniacs here in USA no one go to kill the right people. Wasted Talent.

[thoughtchallenge]

The car companies lobbied to end the legislation without question. Had the law continued, by this point in time you would have similar pure electric vehicls with ranges of at least 60-80 mile ranges. Would this save the industry from their current debacle? Only if they had used the technology to follow Toyota's lead and built hybrids sooner.

[kostea13]

Toyota RAV EV have 100 miles range and run on NiMH batery pack watch who killed the electric car movie

[thoughtchallenge]

Was that the NiMH battery that Chevron has patent on, or am I thinking of a different battery?

[PitaUsatf]

You are absolutely correct.

[aja145]

Are you aware of how the consumers murdered the electric car and what their motives were? I am stumped on this one.

[thoughtchallenge]

aja145- How is it that the consumer killed the electric car?  Have you seen the movie? If you had watched the movie, you would have seen that the automaker marketing was not aimed at promoting the vehicle. EVs are not for everyone, but the owners liked them. Basically, it is not in the industry's interest to make high quality cars, that don't require regular maintenance.

[aja145]

No wonder I was stumped. Thanks for clearing things up.

[a1mint]

I'm also very skeptical of GM.

But I also wonder though, if it's so magical, why wouldn't the other manufacturers provide electric cars?

I think they all realized they would make much more money with petrol based cars. They wear out, are heavy, and all that metal rusts.

GM even made many of cars purposely rust - AND THAT IS A BONA FIDE CARVED IN STONE IN YOUR FACE *FACT*.

[Anzybolot]

Test

Who killed electric car:

a) Punk rockers

b) Hip-hoppers

c) General Motors

[morelltechyahoocom]

b)General motors, along with big oil, and numerous lawsuits derived from dealerships which make their money selling fluid exchange services.

[morelltechyahoocom]

oops. I meant "C"

[shanghaikidx]

Complete rubbish. The car was launched to the market because the government forced auto makers to bring a "Zero-emission"-car to the market (ZEV law). This is what happens if you are forced to launch a technology to the market which is not sufficiently developen (and can't be) to fulfill customers' demands.

[thoughtchallenge]

Shanghaikidx- The car companies did not pull the car, because the technology wasn't there. They pulled it because it had low maintenance requirements, and because they were not in the battery and electric motor business which essentially would place all of their engine works out of production.

[mar8les]

This movie makes me sad and annoyed every time i watch it. This car would've solved so many problems. GM has killed the biggest cash cow it would've ever had.

[shanghaikidx]

Why should an average American customer buy sign. more money on a soapbox car that has no redeeming performance, power, speed, comfort, safety, practicability, etc. And secondly, who said that an electric car is ecological friendly or causes less emissions, damage, etc. to the environment?? The batteries have a life time pf 2 years, e.g., and how do you think the electricity that powers the car is produced??

[mar8les]

The Prius has an 8-yr./100000-mile warranty on their batteries, far more than 2 years. Hey if you want to continue to invest money into a limited, finite resource, go ahead. Electric cars are the way of the future. Not all power has to come from power plants, advances in solar power are amazing, you could essentially charge your car at home using fully renewable solar energy. By the way current electric cars like the telsa, out accelerate many high performance car. So for your argument - fail.

[shanghaikidx]

Hahaha ... what a flawless argumentation, hihihi. Actually, I don't care how messed up you are in the US. I come from Europe where you find, without, besides Japan, the leading car technologies combined. The hybrid stupidity is mainly only in the US as "green" car (which it is not). The Japanese are laughing about you, hihi. The stupid Prius runs mainly on the ICE. And don't start with me an argument about regenerative energies. They only contribute marginally to current production of elect.

[shanghaikidx]

But after so much laughing, please enlighten and contribute to my delight, by explaining to me how this stupid EV1 would have solved so many problems??? hihihi, you surely will say something zero emissions and shit, right??

[mar8les]

Emissions are important,however,electric cars also offer a bit of security economically, they would protect the market from oil shocks. Research the effects oil shocks have had. Peak oil is also a real threat. Once the worlds oil supplies hit their peak production, the price will soar, considering the worlds growing demand for oil, with industrialising countries like China and India and using more oil than before. Please enlighten me on what you would offer as alternative fuel source to petrol?

[flyer892007]

the electric car will be back

look into the tesla that's coming out... and that's considered a sports car too

[a1mint]

The Tesla is too niche. I think the closest thing to a car that a family can actually use is the "Think Ox".

[coleblind]

you know we had full electric cars 100 hundred years ago you drive it to where ever you need to go and plug it in at your house then drive it the next day but presedent bush said all electric cars must be crushed the reason he wasnt making money from the taxes from oil companys and car companys and they were alot faster then the regular cars we have today so if they werent crushed then the world would be differnt today

[He101A]

Our dollars are tied to oil; therefore, we have the petro dollar. Oil is traded in dollars, and the more oil that the world demands the bigger credit card the US gets. The world is changing, most OPEC nations want a more stable currency than the dollar.

[shanghaikidx]

- Completely ignore that so far none of these "free-Energy-crooks" allowed their "inventions" to be neutrally evaluated nor have they performed a public demonstration successfully. A claim alone is sufficient evidence.

- Of course there are evil, evil oil companies to prevent such "inventions" (hihi, they couldn't care less about this shit). Sure, oil companies want to stay in business, but who could stop a car company to launch a "free energy" car to the market, when they would make trillions!

[6onquistador07]

electric cars are soo good that car campanys don't wan them ,they need to sell the car to you and continue making money in parts every year ,+ oil companys don't wan them nither and we all know the reason.

[shanghaikidx]

- Conspiracy theories are invented, hihihi to explain why this baloney does not work

- they like seeing themselves as "Out-of-the-box thinkers" because Einstein has also done something that science could not predict (ignoring the fact that Einstein applied intuitively a scientific methodology that has guided him through observation, problem, explanation with existing theory, extension/ modification of the theory, experiment/attempt)

[jaykayses]

reminds me of 3 liter Lupo from Volkswagen ... nobody wants a Low-energy vehicle hm

[moji34]

I know how you feel. I am also a researcher and an advocate of electric/hybrid vehicles. Well, best wishes. May our wishes come true one day; I hope it is not too late though!

[jvmalum]

Honda has introduced a fuel cell car in California

[milofonbil]

I saw that. Now ask yourself a couple of questions. 1) How will you make hydrogen? Can you do this efficiently? Does it waste heat? 2) Hydrogen is very bulky as a gas. How will you get it in a small space? Does it waste heat? How efficient is that? 3) How do you use hydrogen to produce mechanical energy more efficient than an electric motor. Does it waste heat?

[jvmalum]

you seem to have concluded that I think hydrogen is the way, infact I do not. I BELEIVE ELECTRIC MOTORS ARE BY FAR THE BEST WAY TO GO, FOR THE FUTTURE OF PERSONAL TRANSPORTATION!

[milofonbil]

Hydrogen is a clean fuel useful for rockets. But you have to make the hydrogen. So in a sense, it's a battery, and not a very good one at that.

[jvmalum]

But like everyone else, I am just giving an opinion

[milofonbil]

I hope you don't feel like I attacked you. I enjoy a healthy discourse.

[jvmalum]

It's hard to tell from a note sometimes, but it's cool. And yeah I too like to hear and share dialog. Good to hear from you. And I hope someone can convince BIG MONEY to do the right thing and start producing Electric cars.

[milofonbil]

Big money seems to be behind hydrogen. However, it's not a solution currently because of excess heat being created at each of those three steps I pointed out (above). I fully believe that renewable energy (wind, solar, geothermal, bio waste, ...) coupled with conservation and increases of efficiency will work.

[jvmalum]

I and most people who have looked hard at this issue seem to agree w/ you.

[tubamaxima]

Each time I watch "who killed the electric car" my blood pressure goes up another ten points !!! But, the "plug-in hybrid" has better potential. If I limit my milage to less than 60 miles per day, I may never need to buy gas at all except when a I take an occasional long trip.

The best plug-in hybrid would be one teamed up with a bio-diesel engine, not gasoline. Then, I wouldn't have to spend a single penny to support extremist terrorism like I have to do right now.

[punchthedog]

The law of conservation of energy states that; energy cannot be created or destroyed, only converted from one form to another. Charging an electric car uses power from a power station that more than likely burns oil. If everyone in the world overnight switched to an electric car, it would require thousands of new power stations, and unless these stations were either solar, wind, tidal or nuclear, electric cars would actually make the situation worse.

[jvmalum]

Well your partly right, we would have to use alternative fuels, but don't forget we don't have to quit using oil to accomplish our goals, we just have to quit using so much of it. All the trucks could continue gas for now as long as all the car quit it. this would almost eliminate our need for foreign oil and reduce our carbon footprint enormously. Would be a great start.

[punchthedog]

Even if a law was passed that all cars had to be electric by the end of 2015, with the condition that all the [tens of thousands of] new power stations required had to be non-fossil fueled, there would huge opposition to building them. Solar & wind take up to much room for their power output and many say are "a blot on the landscape". Hydroelectric & tidal destroys wildlife habitat and I can't see environmentalists endorsing 25,000 new nuclear stations. Hybrids are the way to go for now.

[punchthedog]

After some research I realise it's actually much worse than I first thought:

Total annual energy consumption in the United States in 2005 = 29000 terawatt hours (TW/h)

28% of that was used for transport = 8120 TW/h

61% of that was gasoline powered vehicles = 4953.2 TW/h

Annual energy output of the Hoover dam = 0.00208 TW/h

Number of Hoover dams required to replace gasoline = 4953.2 ¸ 0.00208

= 2,381,346

[punchthedog]

What I meant in the second last line was:

4953.2 divided by 0.00208

[jvmalum]

I'm not going to question your research but, according to what I've read, the Telsa for example will go 200+ miles on a $3.00 charge, doesnt that mean that most people would only have to cut back about 12.00 a month on their electric bill to make room on the current power plant usage, for going to work and around town average daily usage. Think about it. There are solutions to our problems, we just need to be willing to sacrifice, and adjust. I welcome your feedback.

[punchthedog]

I would suggest to you that energy sourced from the national grid is cheaper that energy sourced from the gas pump. So if a few people bought Tesla cars, it may make economic sense, but if everyone started doing it, the price of home energy would skyrocket, and in a very short space of time the national grid would become fatally overloaded and nothing would work. I'm not some crazed Hummer-driving petrol head, I'm all for alternatives, I just don't think electric cars is a viable one.

[milofonbil]

Why not plug-in hybrids? It's the best of both worlds. You can drive a long distance on gasoline if you need to and utilize electric-only mode at low-speeds in town where you drive about 30 miles at the most. Electric motors are 4-5 times more efficient than internal combustion engines.

[jvmalum]

The only way car companies will start utilizing elec. cars/motors is if they are forced to. there's not much after market work/money in elec. motors. Trust me Ive worked w/ them all my life and rarely do they have problems that aren't easily fixed. It is their interest they are interested in, not ours ;-)

[jvmalum]

No radiators, no oil pumps, no fuel injectors, no plugs, no belts, no exhaust systems, no emissions, no timing issues, you get the picture. The car companies might never get around to making the switch. So I'm thinking about an electric conversion on my C.R.V. TTFN

[milofonbil]

Here in Seattle, there is a group doing conversions of gas cars to electric and hybrids to plug-in hybrids. Check out what the Seattle Electric Vehicle Association is doing: w w w (dot) seattleeva (dot) org for some good information. Maybe you can find an EVA in your town.

[milofonbil]

There is a huge opposition to public transit even here in Seattle created by right-wing radio stations. They preach bad government. OK ... Single occupant passenger vehicles are not very efficient. This will stop soon when gasoline gets to $10 per gallon.

250,000,000 vehicles driving an average of 12,000 miles per year = 3 trillion miles of highway travel. At $10 per gal and 20 mpg, this is 1.5 trillion dollars, which is more than 10% the GDP of the US.

[tubamaxima]

Bill Reinert should be awarded the "Moron of the Century" prize for deciding to kill the electric car. He must have oil stocks. No sane individual would make us more dependent on a dwindling supply of gasoline.

[milofonbil]

Bill Reinert is now the head of advanced technology at Toyota. The same bunch that does not want to see Prius plug-ins on the road even though it's a no-brainer. Hmmmm.

[the5thdominion]

The EV1 was the closest thing to an everyday electric car - sure there are others, like the Corbin Sparrow and the expensive Lotus Tesla, among others, but they are expensive and by and large not "normal" cars that are ideal for everyday family-type use. Such a shame this program was killed *cough* by big oil *cough.*

[jvmalum]

Question? Does the mileage being reported for the all electric "protocars" that are being developed, Include the use of air conditioning and head lights and such, all running simultaneously? Thank You!

[tttthephantom]

Electric cars are alive and well, just visit EVtransPortal (dot com) there are over 300 electric vehicle company websites linked there. You can now buy an all electric conversion smart car, Mini Cooper, PT Cruiser, Crossfire, EV Porsche, or order an Aptera that comes in either all electric or hybrid, the hybrid gets over 200mpg!

[kamikrazi123]

... I dont see anything about electric cars actually being available

[tribluered]

Checkout my vids. Lionev is selling EVs at about $30-40K. Lionev got a Sedan SUV, and Truck. Max tested range 456 miles on the high end core.

[Beamshipcaptain]

ZAPand Lotus are coming out with a really sexy car that takes ten-minutes to fully charge, goes 350miles per charge, top speed of 155 mph, and has power windows, doors, AC, entertainment system, GPS, etc. Very cool. Look for it in '08.

[matthias2986]

AND... 0-60 times that beat ne production car on the road =O

[tribluered]

Don't expect much from ZAP. They have a lot of models that aren't even being made. Go to Lionev website. They got a Sedan, SUV, and Truck. Cost about $30-40K.  Max tested range 456 miles with high end battery core.

[Beamshipcaptain]

That is more milage than you would get with a ten-gallon tank of petrol.

[NerdyMercy]

Does anyone know what the song is that plays right at then end of the trailer?

[canice123]

That should spell documentary.

[canice123]

Amazing documantary...made me mad.COPORATE GREED killed the electric car.PLEASE SEE THIS MOVIE.

[Donelop]

go hummer

[formula1fan07]

I am putting my money on diesel-electric engines. Diesel electric technology has been proven already in trains and submarines. When oil production peaks in the near future, diesel electrics will out-preform traditional gas powered engines.

[formula1fan07]

And Global Warming is bullshit. People who think that environmentalism and economy are totally opposite ideas need to read a book and stop watching CNN.

[formula1fan07]

Electric motors do not work well for cars. They do however work better for just about everything else, like elevators, hair dryers, blenders, dildos etc. The facts are that in automobiles, gas powered engines out-preform electric motors in almost every meaningful way. Horsepower, torque- band, reliability, travel distance, energy usage.

[greyflcn]

re:

--The facts are that in automobiles, gas powered engines out-preform electric motors in almost every meaningful way. Horsepower, torque- band, reliability, travel distance, energy usage. --

The facts are, thats just not true.

Electric cars can smoke gasoline cars at the drag strip, and have 100% torque nearly all time time.

greyfalcon. net/ tesla

greyfalcon. net/ electriccars2.png

greyfalcon. net/ electriccars.png

greyfalcon. net/ raser

greyfalcon. net/ quickcharge

[formula1fan07]

I suppose it is debatable wether or not how a car preforms at the drag strip is truly a meaningful measurement of how good it is.

I have seen an electric vintage mail truck smoke a corvette at a drag strip. Its no lie, electric cars are towque monsters!

[formula1fan07]

but whereas an electric motor produces its maximun torque at zero Rpm, a gas motor will produce its max torque usually somewhere in the thousands of rpms. So the electric car will beat the gas car in a 0-60 race and own a drag strip, but it will struggle to gain a top speed of 100 mph.

[formula1fan07]

The torque v. horsepower debate is always an interesting one. My friend raced a dodge ram 5.6 liter diesel is his little SRT-4 and that truck beat him by a mile. I would like to mention the Audi R10 TDI, Audi's diesel-electric le mans racecar that has dominated the league since its conception and has forced other designers to make new diesel racecars.

[greyflcn]

It isn't really a debate.

greyfalcon. net/ horsepower.png

greyfalcon. net/ torque.png

Also the Tesla gets a topspeed of 130mph

However it's not like thats a barrier.

The 1994 GM EV1 prototype got 183mph, and that was using tech thats 13 years old.

wikipedia. org/ wiki/ General_Motors_EV1#Technology

Electric cars with AC motors, their horsepower is merely a factor of how much juice you supply it. (Which is why weak battery EVs used to be golf carts)

[formula1fan07]

Alright, to be fair, the EV-1 that set the land speed record for production vehicles was extremely modified and could not have been a feasible street car. The gearing on the production EV-1 only allowed for a top speed of about 80 mph. That fact that a super modified EV-1 went 183 is more a testimate to how aerodynamic and lightweight it was than to its electric engine.

[formula1fan07]

The tesla roadster is a pretty amazing car, but the fact that its small and extremely lightweight is the reason it preforms well.

[greyflcn]

Not really.

The Lotus Exige is also a small car, and the Tesla outperforms that too.

That said the Tesla is using LAST generation of generic lithium battery tech. (Laptop batteries)

We've already moved on to NanoLithium.

For instance the ZAP-X

greyfalcon. net/ electriccars.png

And considering how fast NanoLithium can charge, that should tell you something about how fast they can discharge.

greyfalcon. net/ quickcharge

greyfalcon. net/ quickcharge3

[formula1fan07]

I agree, completely, with everything you have ever said. This world really needs more love. I love you man.

[formula1fan07]

GM took a huge risk by trying to promote the electric car. The fact that the EV-1 was so unreliable that GM couldn't sell it, they had to lease it out for a few months at a time, should be an indication that the electric car was doomed to fail.

[Cdnsociallibertarian]

Ya, the "envirowackos" want to build power plants, but they have the simple request that they not destroy the environment. Ever heard of solar and wind power? And you do have a right to choice about what you want in a car, but is it really too much to ask that what powers that car not pollute, melt the ice caps or fund terrorism?

[almightyt]

When is the last time a nuclear power plant destroyed the enviroment? So you don't want to fund terrorism? Then tell greenpeace to let us drill off our coasts! And about those ice caps. Do some research. They're not melting, and CO2 doesn't cause global warming. FACT: GLOBAL WARMING CAUSES HIGHER C02 LEVELS, NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND.

[Cdnsociallibertarian]

Umm, hate to break it to you, but ya, they are. Even according to the US Navy, the Northern Ice Cap is getting thinner. And do you not remember Chernobl? You know, that nuclear power plant that blew up and killed a bunch of people? The one around which nothing grows anymore? And fyi, you ARE drilling off the coasts. There's just NOT THAT MUCH OIL THERE. Buddy, you're the one who needs to do some research.

[almightyt]

Actually, even though the edges of the ice caps are breaking off, they are getting thicker. About Chernobyl, it was a soviet power plant whose safety measures were inadequate because socialists don't care about the people. America has an estimated 800 gigabarrels of recoverable offshore oil. That's not much?

[Cdnsociallibertarian]

Actually, the caps are getting thinner. The US Navy has recorded that the number of spots in the ice thin enough for their subs to break through has drastically risen in the last few years, ergo, the ice is getting THINNER. And my point about Chernobl was that Nuclear power IS dangerous, and incredibly harmful. Ut could have just as easily been an accident in the States. It has nothing to do with politics.

[Cdnsociallibertarian]

And just where did you get that 800 gigabarrels figure? Seeing as the amout of oil in the entirety of the middle east is somewhere around 10 trillion barrels and the middle east has the most oil... your figure seems kind of fishy.

[almightyt]

The 800 gigabarrels is a federal estimate found by wikipedia. I'm not a liberal-I don't make up my own facts. Read "State of Fear" by Micheal Crichton, he disproves melting polar ice and gives references. And the Chernobyl accident WAS because of inadiquate safety measures BECAUSE SOCIALISTS DON'T CARE ABOUT INDIVIDUALS.

[Cdnsociallibertarian]

You're actually citing wikipedia? You do know that isn't a reliable source, right? That anyone with an account can literally just make up stuff? And is Micheal Crichton a meteroligist? An expert on global climate? My point with Chernobyl is that nuclear power is dangerous. What if a disgruntled employee decided to bomb one of them? It has NOTHING TO DO WITH POLITICS.

[almightyt]

A person does not have to be a meteroligist to be able to do research, dig up facts and provide references for those facts. You are deliberately disregarding the facts regarding Chernobyl disaster. Nuclear power is safe when proper safety measures are followed. Chernobyl did not follow safety guidelines. Period. Show me a communist dictator who DID care about the people.

[almightyt]

After I found the reference on Wikipedia I found more documentation backing up the claim on Wikipedia.

[almightyt]

3 reasons people don't buy electric cars: 1- They're UGLY. 2- The sound like an cheap toys. 3- CO2 doesn't cause global warming, sunspots do.

[Cdnsociallibertarian]

Dude, it's a mode of transportation, not an extension of your dick. And even IF almost every scientist on earth is wrong and CO2 doesn't cause global warming, it and other chemicals from car exhaust cause Acid rain and smog. And we SHOULD be switching to electric anyway! Oil WILL run out, hydrogen is dangerous and WAY too expensive, and ethanol is inefficient. Seriously Jethro, time to wake up.

[almightyt]

What made you think I'm talking obout my dick? Fact: People don't like ugly whiny cars. Fact: Factories pump more crap into the air than cars do.

[Cdnsociallibertarian]

Dude, it was made in the 90's. Of course it's ugly by todays standards. Second of all, electric cars don't pollute. The factories do, but it's a hell of a lot easier to decrease pollutants from a couple hundred factories than it is from a couple million tailpipes. And if you honestly have some pathological need for a car to make a cool sound, you DO have issues.

[almightyt]

It's pathological to have your own taste in automobiles? I'm sorry, I thought this was the United States of America and we had the freedom to our own whatever car we like.

[almightyt]

Another thing. Let's say everyone in California has an electric car. That means nearly every home in CA has 1 to 3 cars plugged in every night. Remember the rolling blackouts? Where is all that electricity goping to come from? The envirowackos want to tear down dams and won't let us build nuclear power plants.

[dhferr]

No one uses power at night. Power plants are built for "peak power" which occurs between 9-5. There is plenty of power avail in off peak hours for charging vehicles

[almightyt]

Then why were the rolling blackouts at night too?

[ImYourLastResort]

Sorry, not a fact.

Factories do not pump more crap into the air than cars.

[ImYourLastResort]

almightyt, if u realise that 80% of the energy contained in the gas powering your car goes on generating heat and that noise which you so cherish, don't you think it would be nice for more of that energy to go into actually MOVING your car?

When our oil runs out you may have to change your priorities.

ps Try telling anyone that the Tesla is an ugly car.

ps2 sunspots cause global warming?? *pats your head sympathetically*

[almightyt]

hey resort-So you deny that earth's heating source has fluxuations that extend thousands of miles from the sun's surface? You know, if don't want to look like a fool next time you say something you should do some reasearch first.

[ImYourLastResort]

Of course it causes "fluctuations" - but that is nothing to do with the longer term gradual changes that they are explaining away with global warming.

[almightyt]

Okay, let's go with your theory; 5% of CO2 in the atmosphere is man-made and has caused the earth's temperature to rise .5 degrees over the last 100 years. How do you explain the ocean's temperature also rising, but always before the air does? And how do you explain the medieval warm spell? It was warmer then than it is now.

[almightyt]

Oh, and since you guys appear incapable of doing your own research and rely on liars like al gore for your marching orders, here are some facts for ya: Sunspots have been unusually higher since around 1900, leading scientists to call this slightly warmer era the "modern maximum".

[ImYourLastResort]

You seem to assume that: 1) I'm a complete believer in Global Warming, when I'm not. What about the "Global Cooling" concern that some scientists were having in the 70s? as well as the medieval warm spell you bring up.

2) I rely on "liars" like Al Gore? I know little of the guy, and I have not seen his movie. So how can I be relying on him.

Amongst your other odd main reasons about why people don't like electric cars you wrote "CO2 doesn't cause global warming, sunspots do" ?? Get a grip.

[almightyt]

I never implied you were a total global warming believer, I am simply refuting global warming myths. Based on your fetish with expensive electric cars and other comments, it is logical for me to assume that you believe CO2 is at least partially responsible for global warming.

[Cdnsociallibertarian]

Well, it isn't a fetish, I just appreciate the fact that something was engineered that can do the job of a car more efficiently, with far less waste and only requiring two moving parts to do so. And I must say that you're also much more eloquent than other gas-guzzler fans and thank you for the compliment. And if more electric cars were available, the price would drop.

[almightyt]

What I DO object to is comspiracy theorists who blame others for their problems, and I object to enviromentalists who think oil is evil and is destroying the world. It's not.

[almightyt]

And about sunspots: I already informed you that sunspots have been significantly higher since around 1900, and for you to think it's impossible for sunspots make difference is astounding, since it is the sun that heats our planet.

I'll give you one thing though; your writing skills are exceptional compared to the average global warming mouthpiece.

[almightyt]

Here is another fun fact :) Mount St. Helens spews 50-250 tons of sulfur dioxide into the air daily. That's more than double the amount of pollution from all Washington's industry combined.

[bobbyb12]

THe fact is the cars had almost no repairs needed and the oil companies can not get their 2 to 3 per gallon at the pumps.

[baronempire]

If u look carefully at the ratings for anything regarding the electric cars they are all pretty much around 2.5 Star! Yet all the comments are positive. We should rate videos on their importance and significance as well as if they are well made

[skinnynerd03]

y r people trying 2 hide from the truth that we humans are about 2 destroy earth

[Jason92868]

This is such a great film..its very sad