Some Kind of Art School ([info]darkdisney) wrote,
@ 2008-09-18 13:32:00
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The Chevy Volt. GM's second production electric vehicle. Hopefully they don't pull these off the market and compact them too.

CNN articles here and here.


I know i was all about the hydrogen fuel cell car that's available for lease now. That was up until i watch a little film called Who Killed The Electric Car.

Double You Tee Eff isnt a strong enough exasperation. Long story very short. We've had/HAVE the technology power ability whatever to make zero emissions, more than reasonably efficient cars that you can "gas up" in your own garage for PENNIES to the "gallon." We did it, they were on the market and then destroyed. A little car called the EV1

I used to think that we needed some kind of government crack down. A real Manhattan Project of scientist working around the clock to solve our oil dependency problem. Now i realize the only problem is too many powerful people rather LIKE us being dependent on oil. HAHA duuuuuuuuh!

I've come to learn that hydrogen fuel cell vehicals are a freakin joke. Even if we DID get our electricity from yucky coal, we'll still be volumes better off than gasoline or hydrogen.

Electric is the way to go and we'll see how this turns out...again.



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[info]absinthetic
2008-09-18 07:04 pm UTC (link)
The latest issue of Wired has a great cover article about Shai Agassi's plan for a nationwide electric grid system for cars.

http://www.wired.com/cars/futuretransport/magazine/16-09/ff_agassi

Interestingly enough, Agassi used to be Head of Products for SAP, the company I (sort of) work for. We don't TECHNICALLY work for SAP, but if there was no SAP, we pretty much wouldn't have a company. Imagine if SAP was Adobe...my company does magazines, newsletters, and conferences for Adobe products (like "Photoshop Tips Monthly" or "10 Essential Tools You Never Use in Illustrator", things like that). So while we're not officially OWNED by them, we work very closely with them, much like one of those cleaner fish that latch onto the bottoms of large sharks and clean them for food.

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[info]absinthetic
2008-09-18 07:05 pm UTC (link)
ha ha, and one of the comments on that page also requests a Manhattan Project style initiative...I think we're on to something!

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[info]spracker
2008-09-18 07:31 pm UTC (link)
How long ago did you see that film? I saw it probably a couple years ago by now and it really did affect me too. I might have posted about it at some point after viewing. I simply cannot believe they would have pulled that car off the market - but then again, I could. They didn't want some of the biggest industries going out of business. Oh, no, even though the car was AMAZING for the environment and just in general. Selfishness, really, is what it boils down to. The rich want to stay rich. Lots of big industries would go down if we all had electric cars.

I'm still pro-electric car. There's a company around here that converts Prius's. They make them solar powered, as well as electric (plug-in capable.) Good people. I especially am intrigued by the solar powered aspect, at least out here in California. It's sunny practically all the time so it's useful.

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[info]lightningsparks
2008-09-18 07:46 pm UTC (link)
Sooooo when I interviewed with Brown Paper Tickets, this guy came up to us and told us to watch his documentary at the RI Film Festival that night, "Who killed the electric car?" I didn't actually see it until a couple weeks ago and yes it was jaw dropping. My favorite part about companies like Saturn and/or GM advertising on tv now about how they're developing these new, first ever electric cars is that they aren't new and THEY did it before and THEY canned it. dummyheads.

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[info]lightningsparks
2008-09-18 07:51 pm UTC (link)
Alsooooo this car looks exactly like a Scion tc. this photo doesn't really show how similar they really are.

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[info]jemm
2008-09-19 01:09 am UTC (link)
What I'm interested in is a car that generates it's own power. I'm not sure how I would plug in my car when I live in a second story apartment. I wonder if there is an outlet in the carport... haha.

http://www.hybridtechnologies.com/products

There are lots of choices, yet so very poorly marketed.

What frustrates me is, seriously, how long have people used wheels of some sort to create electricity? The water wheel has been around for a LONG time. Visit any "green" fair or event lately and you can sit on a bicycle, pedal, and turn on a light bulb (twice I've seen displays where you can power the lights on a police car this way, just for fun!) So when a vehicle comes out that uses the kinetic energy while driving to charge the batteries, therefore reducing or eliminating the need to plug in (and also greatly extending the driving distance of the vehicle) will someone let me know so I can save up and purchase it? Or maybe I should just go into electrical engineering and make one myself, darn it!

I wish I had a house and more money though, because I would totally convert it to solar (and perhaps wind) power. I'm all about things like this, if not so much to help keep the planet clean, but also to save money in the long run. My grandpa has a solar panel out in the backyard that he built years ago. I don't know if it's still fully operating or not, but I really think my parents should get one. Even if it is cloudy a lot here, there is still enough light to make some sort of a difference.

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[info]eviltypo
2008-09-21 05:12 am UTC (link)
no machine is completely efficient. I think in an electric car it would take more energy to recharge the batteries than would be produced by the rotating wheels.

the thing to do is outfit your house with solar panels, collect sunlight each day, sell the excess to the grid, then buy back grid power when you charge your electric car. then you are driving around for free.

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[info]jemm
2008-09-23 06:40 pm UTC (link)
mm but i live in an apartment. if i had a house and the money to do so, i would have installed solar panels the day i moved out (i'm still trying to convince my dad to install them at their house, then i would charge my [future] electric car over there, haha.) plus i live in washington, we don't get a very steady stream of sunlight. i'd assume solar panels on the electric vehicles would be a bit more efficient than having to create a whole additional system in the car to charge by motion.

i just have a slight fear of running out of electricity while driving, not that i'd be stupid and never check how much i have left, but that i'd need to go somewhere unexpected and miscalculate and end up with a dead car miles away from home.

or.. maybe i'm just weird and tired?

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[info]eviltypo
2008-09-23 07:58 pm UTC (link)
the thing with the volt is that it's a hybrid. the gas engine kicks in after 40 miles, so mostly you aren't using it. when you are it recharges your battery with a generator and increases its range.

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[info]ink_puddle
2008-09-19 02:41 pm UTC (link)
Thanks for the link :)
I've always rooted for an electric car, and seen ton's of articles about "do-it-yourself" mechanic/farmer type people making their own (somewht inefficient) electric powered cars. It's great that Chevy is making this product finally!!!!
And I agree that we need to cross our fingers and pray that this makes it onto the market.... The higher powers that be wouldn't want their power through gasoline control to be taken away from them now ;)

my husband just brought that movie home a few days ago, and It's been sitting on our coffee table collecting dust. I think we'll have to watch it finally tonight :)

And also, a little bit off topic:
My computer illustration teacher at ringling (Eric Chapman.... I think he was in your graduating class...perhaps???) showed one of your art pieces you did when you guys took computer illo. It was of a vector portrait of a girl with short hair and glasses... I can't remember the color scheme off hand though. He said your name and I was like: "Oh, I know who that is :) "

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[info]eviltypo
2008-09-21 05:14 am UTC (link)
shame that the front of the thing looks so shabby. oh and that it's going to cost 40k

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