Gas Prices \=

[Zorchenhimer]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMovXzVOzc4

[KnacK]

My wife drives a 2005 Kia Spectra. It gets 34 mpg. Great little car. 90,000 miles and still going strong.
I bought my daughter a 2001 Hyundai Tiburon. at 100,000 miles, its getting 32 mpg.

Now, with that being said, all of these compact hybrids out there that still get this same fuel economy, why put up with the added expense and maintenance of the batteries and such?

I do believe that alternative fueled vehicles will be more prevalent than hybrids, and I'm not talking about corn based ethanol. ( see my previous rant).

100% electric cars need to be more efficient to be mainstream.  But I am also interested in seeing the performance of a hybrid in which there is a combustion engine that only is used to charge the onboard batteries.

[y00tz]

100% electric cars need to be more efficient to be mainstream.

Agreed.  Has anyone heard anything about the Chevrolet Volt?  As a concept I heard it wouldn't gasoline, it would use as much electricity as a 100 watt light bulb, it could cost around $30k, etc.

I heard an interview with a guy who follows this car (from gm-volt.com) in which he discussed the true facts:
-40 mile range on electricity (My work commute is only 32
-Price will be closer to just under $40k because of the price of lithium ion batteries
-Gasoline generator charges battery, allowing for approx. 50 mpg
-Electricity to charge will be around the same as plugging in two Plasma screens.
-Batteries don't suffer from memory effect.

All in all it sounds like a neat little car, it'll be interesting what the other automakers come up with in response.  Has anyone heard anything about the Razor?

[blaa]

 I like how the US government wants to avoid electric cars, even with stupid donkey excuses as they are so silent and it would cause accidents. Dude, what?

[y00tz]

Source?

[Justinph5]

even with stupid donkey excuses as they are so silent and it would cause accidents. Dude, what?

I've heard that too, just don't remember when or where.

[y00tz]

I recall legislation suggested by a single Senator implying that electric cars need to have some sort of noise for the blind population to sense their presence, nothing more.

You refer to 'the US government' as if it's a single united body, when in contrast the ideology of it's individual members are split 50/50 on most issues.

[TinMan]

Umm...tires make noise. If I'm in a neighborhood cruising anywhere under 30mph my car engine can literally not be heard from outside the vehicle if I'm not revving it, all you hear are the wheels on the asphalt. My car is DANGEROUS...just ask Spook, idk if he's ever sat in the back seat of my car, but if he has then he's probably hit his head on the roof with my driving

I haven't seen any legislation in America against electric cars, find me some sources or I'll smack you for spreading urban legends. I have heard about legitimate tax breaks if your EV or hybrid meets certain conditions: http://www.doe.gov/taxbreaks.htm

I talked to a guy who owned a CitiCar (now renamed to "Kewet/Buddy") electric vehicle and drove it as his main vehicle in Chicago and he got a tax break because of it, and because it was 25+ years old he got to use Antique Vehicle plates on the car (I use them too) and they're cheaper than regular plates.

If I lived in an area where I only had to go 39 MPH then I'd consider owning one of those too, but the street I live on has a speed limit of 40 MPH and I'm pretty sure if he ever got into a minor accident with that CitiCar he'd be dead because of how small and unshielded it is.

[y00tz]

... he got to use Antique Vehicle plates on the car (I use them too) and they're cheaper than regular plates.

What's the restriction for those plates in your state?  They're cheaper in my state too but I could never observe the restrictions:

Vehicles displaying historic or antique license plates may be driven:

   1. To and from exhibitions and educational events without any mileage limitation;
   2. To repair facilities within a 100 mile limit; and
   3. Up to 1,000 miles per year for personal use.

Edit:  If you're in Illinois (like Spook right?) the restrictions are much more tough:

Vehicles displaying these plates may only be driven to
and from an antique auto show or exhibition, service
station or demonstration. The mechanical and physical
condition of the vehicle, including brakes, lights, glass
and appearance, must be the same or as safe as
originally equipped.

[TinMan]

The car has to be at least 25 years old in Illinois, and with an AV plate you can register to use a Y.O.M. (year of manufacture) plate on your car and just keep the AV plate in the car, I've been looking for a good Illinois plate from 1972 but haven't found any cool enough to buy for my car.

The actual restrictions for driving with an AV plate are not upheld at all. I've never been pulled over, but for people I know who have and use AV plates on daily drivers it doesn't seem that anybody has ever cared. If I do get pulled over I could claim I'm using my 1k miles if it's not locally, if it is locally where they see my car going to and from places all the time I can say that wherever I'm taking it, I'm taking it there to tinker on it. e.g. school, parts store, friend's house. If all those fail I hand over my get-out-of-jail-free card that's the card of a Captain in the state police who's family.

Anywhere I drive my car IS a demonstration.

I don't wear the 3rd piece to my safety-belt, it's the shoulder cross that snaps into the lap belt, when I took my license test last year the lady who rode with me didn't wear it either since the car didn't come with them, they were put in by the first owner.

On old cars I've seen situations where wearing a seatbelt in an accident has caused way more damage than not wearing one, but I still wear my lap belt. My grandpa's neighbor had a Chevy II and he drove his friend around in it as soon as he got it running, he didn't wear a belt but his friend did, a car pulled out in front of them and they hit it at about 40 (the speed limit there). The driver broke his jaw on the dash board and was bruised up, other than that nothing bad. The passenger had his belt on and ended up with a lot of his organs re-arranged and torn up from the belt holding his body back from sliding forward. =/

[coLa]

How does everyone feel about the gas prices?

i've honestly never payed attention to the prices when i fill up. with my old turbocharged honda i would put about $20 everyone week to week and a half. it got a good 25-30mpg depending on my driving. it wasn't even properly tuned. i was running on a generic basemap(a "guess" tune).

now with my new car, i can't really compare. i have a few things i need to fix before i can see how much gas i am saving. but i'm already ahead since i don't have to use 93 anymore. i'm still only putting $20 every trip to the station though.

either way you have to put gas, no matter how much it cost. i don't complain, but i'd like it to go back down.

[m7feettall]

Electric cars would face another possible issue if they became widespread--where are we going to get the added electricity? A few years back in California we saw how overloaded parts of the nation's grid is. 

And electricity itself has to  be generated somewhere, and could suffer higher costs with that much demand.

We could stand to do more wind based power for electricity, as has been happening in some places. But even that is challenged by some as dangerous to birds.

[jitspoe]

I don't understand the water powered cars.  First you have to split the hydrogen and oxygen, which requires energy, then whatever energy you get out of recombining them couldn't possibly be greater than what was used to split them, and you'd get water back in return.  If there were a way to get energy from that, you'd have a perpetual motion machine.

[ViciouZ]

Yeah, but just use a solar panel to do the electrolysis

[Dukky]

Could you place a small wind turbine on top of your car to generate power to run your SatNav or something? Would that work? Is it legal?

[lekky]

Yeah, but just use a solar panel to do the electrolysis

Ever been to Manchester?

[coLa]

at work we are working on some Hydro Fuel Cell kits. it runs of half gasoline and half hydrogen gas that the cell creates. what it does is tricks the engine computer in to thinking the car is running rich, which in turn backs off the fuel supply. so you're wasting less gas, but getting better gas mileage and more power depending on how well it's been tuned. this will also let you advance the timing more, which gives you more power throughout the entire band.

as of right now, we have one kit installed on an 01 Mini Van of some sort. i don't remember the exact make and model. but we went from a base 21-22mpg to about 32-36mpg after the install. each engine size is guaranteed a different percentage increase in mileage. example: 4cyl - 100%, 6cyl - 60%, 8cyl - about 50%. this is just a rough estimate seeing as how i don't know much about the whole process just yet. there are different kits on the market that offer different results. this is just the one we are working with.

there is a lot of interest among the older, wealthier folk. once we perfect the first kit, we will start offering it to the public. the mini van is going to be our "shop car" so to speak. really anxious to see the results.

[KnacK]

Got a link to those kits?

[coLa]

Sorry, I don't remember it off the top of my head. But I can get it for you soon.

If you google hydro fuel cell, im sure you'll find a lot of information. But ill get the link tomorrow hopefully.

[KnacK]

you get a lot of crap when you google it. That's why I'd like to see what you are using since it appears to work for you so far.