New energy efficient car

Originally posted by menjo

As for the oil getting more expensive... it has nothing to do with the lack of, rather it is an indirect way for the Saudis to punish us for the on going war, they ARE symathetic to the terrorists, but will never outrightly edmit it. If the US really wanted to, we could say "OK we will pay you $10 a barrel, take it or leave it". If they turn it down, the would be back in about two months begging for for the $10 a barrel. The reason is that we are there TOP oil buyer. If we drop the Saudis, they would become a third world country with in a year.

The US is a big buyer of Saudi Oil but the Saudi's biggest export region is the Asia Pacific region.
According to OPEC, Saudi Arabia exports 3.2 million barrels per day to the Asia/Pacific region, 1.6 million per day to North America and 1.2 million to Western Europe. OPEC

They would be hurt if the US stopped buying their oil but they wouldn't go bankrupt and they wouldn't accept $10 per barrel as long as Japan and China are willing to pay more.

I do agree that a lot of alternative fuel vehicles are not ready to replace gas engines yet but I still think we may see a lot more diesel and fuel efficient gas engines soon.

BTW, the results for the Eco-Marathon don't mention the Ech2o.
I wonder if they were unable to make the show or if they just didn't get the expected performance.

Here are the winners:

itv-motoring

Microjoule travelled from France to compete, and in fact the whole event was more or less a French rout. Second and third places overall went to TIM 03, on 6913mpg, and Les Vieux de la Jol, on 5087mpg. In the University class, Team Callo's 4795mpg was enough to beat fellow French team PV3e into second place, with Energyteam Belgium adding a different nationality to the leaderboard in third.

Intercop of Twickenham won the Autocar Schools class on 1336mpg, followed by Flying Scotstown of Aberdeen and TSR 3 of Croydon.

On the face of it, 100mpg may not seem an impressive result in this company, but that's what was achieved by a Caterham sports car. The Caterham 2R (for Research and Record-breaker) was basically standard, and therefore a tank compared with the specialised vehicles which managed four-figure economy, though it had lightweight seating, some aerodynamic tweaks and tyres with low rolling resistance. Project leader Dr Steve Cousins said afterwards that "with a benchmark to aim for, we hope to return next year to produce an even more impressive performance".

Atomix, if you think those cars are great, don't miss out on this treasure too:

Interstate Traveler Project:
www.interstatetraveler.us...

6 minute video clip:
www.interstatetraveler.us...

And it's not just for transportation. The conduit clusters can move water, electricity, fiber optics, etc. The solar panels can generate enough electricity for the nearby communities, besides powering the train itself. Construction is incredibly inexpensive. And lots of other features wrapped into this neat idea. Definately something that should be included along with these new vehicles you mentioned.

Sean

[edit on 16-7-2005 by Sean Cotoz]

Some of the higher end electric cars are actually very fast.

Here are my problems with oil and car companies.

1) I think companies are holding back when it comes to fuel efficiency. We know this because there are aftermarket add ons that apparently can increase efficiency, and and even add power. And where are the better fuel efficiency numbers. Some cars years ago were getting 40 plus miles per gallon.
2) To my knowlege, there is a finite supply of oil. If there is nothing putting it back, then it will disappear.
3) It is known to pollute the air we breath. It might not be so bad if we weren't buzzing down he freakin' rain forests, and the like. Trees take care of our pollution, and many of us cut them down with even a second thought. "I didn't want to mow around it," or some othe such non-sense." Anyway.

Troy

[edit on 17-7-2005 by cybertroy]

Sean, I'm diggin' those animations!

Troy

The CNN story is pretty bad. Around the world on 25 watts? The watt is a unit of power not energy. It's like horsepower. You'd think if they are going to have a science/tech story they'd have a science editor look at.

I could drive my Chevy Geo Metro around the world on 25 watts too. It would just take a long time.

The CNN story doesn't present any real advancement in technology or knowledge. It just a story about a kind of cool looking tiny car.