Jumbo Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 I'd just like to say that my previous statements in this thread were a little thoughtless and slightly inarticulate. I think I posted that at 4 am or so and with one hand covering one eye, while the other hand used one finger to poke out the response <edited quote>...My running of the mouth, after drinking, bad thing. Holding oneself accountable and making amends...good thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koolblue13 Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Thanks guys. I knew I had a little damage control to do today. I'll try keeping it to my FB. My inner squirrel loves a ****tail, but enough about me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nerm Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Check out the song above, it always makes me laugh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bang Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 I wasn't trying to make a point. I've just had arguments with people about which is cooler looking and I can't decide. They're both concept cars except the Raptor no longer technically is because it's available. I kind of like the Ford.. the Chevy has the look of plastic in the front. ~Bang Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Predicto Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 I'd just like to say that my previous statements in this thread were a little thoughtless and slightly inarticulate. I think I posted that at 4 am or so and with one hand covering one eye, while the other hand used one finger to poke out the response. Whoops.Anyway, Rush is a joke and I stand by that. Also, I do fully support electric cars and would buy one, if they weren't $40k. I posted an article yesterday about the Willis Tower putting solar windows on their building. I could imagine the same building having a parking garage with free, sustainable self created energy. It's a good thing. My running of the mouth, after drinking, bad thing. Way to man up there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FerndaleSkins Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 Which one of these beast trucks is better looking? Chevy Silverado zr2 Ford/Hennessey F-150 Velociraptor 500 They are both equally hideous. I would take a standard F150 or GMC Sierra anyday over those. Beast trucks are a great name for them though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UNC-Skins Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 nobody talking about the Tesla model S? Still not quite affordable for the avg. family, but comparable to other luxury cars.. Three battery options are offered: 160-, 230-, or 300-mile range. Model S comes standard with the 160-mile range battery at the quoted $49,900 base price (after the $7,500 Federal Tax Credit). The 230-mile range option is priced at about $10,000 more than the base and the 300-mile option at about $20,000 more than the base. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicken Fried Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 I kind of like the Ford.. the Chevy has the look of plastic in the front.~Bang I agree. That plastic look is apparently carbon fiber to make the frame as light as possible (probably because the engine is so huge). ---------- Post added March-24th-2011 at 01:06 AM ---------- Which one of these beast trucks is better looking?Chevy Silverado zr2 Ford/Hennessey F-150 Velociraptor 500 They are both equally hideous. I would take a standard F150 or GMC Sierra anyday over those. Beast trucks are a great name for them though. You don't have a pulse haha. The Silverado is my favorite production vehicle, but I'd love to get behind the wheel of a Raptor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polywog999 Posted March 24, 2011 Author Share Posted March 24, 2011 Holly crap! I forgot I even started this thread! LOL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thiebear Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 No different than a nobel prize ahead of time. They 'want' it to be the car. The Jetta TDI is my next car after the Saturn. Its fast, it gets 700 miles per trip. I can wait for the electric that is self sufficient and has 4 seats. They are also working on a compressed air motor that is self sucfficient also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lombardi's_kid_brother Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 Interesting.When I am out with my daughter helping her ride her bike down the street I always try to be aware of oncoming cars. Even so, I have at least once turned around to see a Prius slowing down or stopping waiting for us to get out of the way. I can see how making very little noise would be problematic. Is there any kind of electric whine? What about when you are reaching the top end speed of the vehicle? Which is what, by the way? In the Leaf, I believe the top speed is 100 mph. I obviously didn't take it that high but I did 65 without any issues. I didn't hear any whine inside the car. The only sound you would hear are the tires. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenspandan Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 I can wait for the electric that is self sufficient and has 4 seats.They are also working on a compressed air motor that is self sucfficient also. define "self-sufficient" please. surely you do not mean a perpetual motion device. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thiebear Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 define "self-sufficient" please. surely you do not mean a perpetual motion device. A compressed air motor that runs on compressed air. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan T. Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 define "self-sufficient" please. surely you do not mean a perpetual motion device. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deejaydana Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 The domestic car mags in this country have long been carrying water for domestic car makers. This is nothing new. With that said, the Volt is incredibly over-rated. It's supposed to be a car for the common man and yet its price point, when all is said and done, is close to 50K. Really, unless you're trying to make some statement for the Earth (which is not unreasonable) that price point in a major deterrant. Toyota ate Detroit's lunch when it came it hybrid vehicles and once again Detroit came late to the party. Like I said, nothing new here to see. The fact that this car has been subsidized via the taxpayers probably doesn't help its cause any either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The 12th Commandment Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 The domestic car mags in this country have long been carrying water for domestic car makers. This is nothing new. With that said, the Volt is incredibly over-rated. It's supposed to be a car for the common man and yet its price point, when all is said and done, is close to 50K. Really, unless you're trying to make some statement for the Earth (which is not unreasonable) that price point in a major deterrant. Toyota ate Detroit's lunch when it came it hybrid vehicles and once again Detroit came late to the party. Like I said, nothing new here to see. The fact that this car has been subsidized via the taxpayers probably doesn't help its cause any either. Prius' are overpriced compared to what you get for the same money if you leave aside efficiency IMO. It was more so when they first came and I think the price has grown closer between the two options. You have to start somewhere when your changing drastically on something as basic as a car there are going to be problems at the beginning. Have you read about the electrified elephant involved in the AC DC war back - talk about failed publicity stunt. If not, look it up it was a fairly interesting war between Edison and Tesla. Edison pulled out all the stops and he was a powerful man by that point but still lost to the better option though it had a major risk. But my point is how subject to hysteria a change in technology like gas to electric be it in cars or lights is, and it's going to have rough spots in it's initial development. Things are all over the place and parts are specific to maker, though that's getting better. That said the Volt is still, obviously, considered a major achievement and a change in the way they're looking at the problems (by some of the most influential minds in the Auto industry. I'll give their opinion some weight and I think that's fair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nerm Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 The domestic car mags in this country have long been carrying water for domestic car makers. This is nothing new. With that said, the Volt is incredibly over-rated. It's supposed to be a car for the common man and yet its price point, when all is said and done, is close to 50K. Really, unless you're trying to make some statement for the Earth (which is not unreasonable) that price point in a major deterrant. Toyota ate Detroit's lunch when it came it hybrid vehicles and once again Detroit came late to the party. Like I said, nothing new here to see. The fact that this car has been subsidized via the taxpayers probably doesn't help its cause any either. I agree somewhat. From a cost perspective these hybrids don't make sense yet. You really have to be willing to give up thousands of dollars in an effort to reduce your own carbon footprint. Also, as popular as the Prius has been, I think Toyota is still losing money on it. Not sure if that is true, but that is what I have heard. I hope that continued research and development make these cars a better option, but I can’t say I’m ready to buy yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan T. Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 I don't know, with gas at $4.00 a gallon with no signs of dropping anytime soon, the Volt might become a bargain for its intended audience. You pretty much need to be a single family homeowner to own the thing - people in garden apartments or condos won't have a practical place to plug it in even if they could afford it. So for the upper middle class, $40K plus isn't that steep for a new car. And if dad can drive it all year to his job without using a drop of gas, those savings start to add up. And as others have said, the price will come down in time. Home video cameras cost a couple thousand bucks when they first came out, and people bought them. Now video cameras are an afterthought built in to your $99 flip phone. And deejaydayna, the Volt IS something new. The Volt, the Leaf, and the Tesla are much different than the hybrids out now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjah Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 Gas prices will continue to go up; battery costs and lb-per-kWh ratios will continue to come down. Eventually all-electric or and hybrid vehicles will be price-viable alternatives for virtually all family cruiser vehicles and many small trucks. If not for the very difficult and ongoing process of improving battery technology, we might be there now. The rest of the car is ready to go. The biggest issue then will become how to support the nation's greater thirst for electricity without generating it from dirty fuels like coal. Supposed panaceas like "clean coal" are anything but, and the Japanese disaster will make nuclear plant construction even more difficult in this country than it already was. Larry, this would be a great time to plug (ha!) your space-power concept. Talk about a great mission for NASA to undertake, if there's any chance that the technology would be viable -- far more reasonable than goofball Helium-3 fantasies. (I'd put the complexes in space instead of on the Moon, but that's for another thread.) As a side note, I don't understand why any reasonable person would care what Rush Limbaugh thinks about the Volt. He knows as much about car technology as I know about drug addiction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenspandan Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 A compressed air motor that runs on compressed air. i know what a compressed air motor is. i don't know what "self-sufficient" means in this context, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
da#1skinsfan Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 What is wrong with the critics here??? People are doing something to fundamentally change the way transportation impacts the environment, while positively impacting our bank account and opening up a whole new world of progressive innovation to someday get us to the point where the ongoing costs of transportation are cut exponentially. This paves the way not just for cars but other forms of transportation that can benefit. Our resources will be invested in more productive & less harmful ways of generating energy........there is no logical, non-emotional downside to this. Coming from someone who drives a gas guzzler, and someone who values performance/spirited driving as one of his favorite hobbies.....Im all for innovation, and this is huge. Kudos to Chevy, Nissan, and others that are taking this step. Our kids and our kids kids' will be better off because of it, and I hope everyone who can afford it will support this monumental drive to improve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan T. Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 What is wrong with the critics here???People are doing something to fundamentally change the way transportation impacts the environment, while positively impacting our bank account and opening up a whole new world of progressive innovation to someday get us to the point where the ongoing costs of transportation are cut exponentially. This paves the way not just for cars but other forms of transportation that can benefit. Our resources will be invested in more productive & less harmful ways of generating energy........there is no logical, non-emotional downside to this. Coming from someone who drives a gas guzzler, and someone who values performance/spirited driving as one of his favorite hobbies.....Im all for innovation, and this is huge. Kudos to Chevy, Nissan, and others that are taking this step. Our kids and our kids kids' will be better off because of it, and I hope everyone who can afford it will support this monumental drive to improve. Remember way back when the goal of eliminating our dependence on foreign oil was noble and patriotic? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polywog999 Posted March 25, 2011 Author Share Posted March 25, 2011 Very proud of everyone who posted in this thread for how you have handled this very touchy subject. I don't mean to be condescending when I say that, I just think back to the days when I thread like this would have gotten closed before ever getting this far along. I have stayed mostly out of the discussion, because I have learned that this is your thread, not mine. I'm just the first post. There is some very good stuff in here, great job and thank you for participating! Polywog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NavyDave Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 Remember way back when the goal of eliminating our dependence on foreign oil was noble and patriotic? Yeah before the current administration undermined US Oil companies by preventing them from drilling domestically and exploring areas where we can have Saudia Arabia type reserves of Natural Gas and multiple places to tap new oil, then sent billions to help another country drill in the Gulf of Mexico which indirectly helps stockholders who contributed to his campaign cough Soros. Now the bright ideas of liberals / progressive is having people ride trains and use windmills for power. Very 19th century of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nerm Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 What is wrong with the critics here???People are doing something to fundamentally change the way transportation impacts the environment, while positively impacting our bank account and opening up a whole new world of progressive innovation to someday get us to the point where the ongoing costs of transportation are cut exponentially. This paves the way not just for cars but other forms of transportation that can benefit. Our resources will be invested in more productive & less harmful ways of generating energy........there is no logical, non-emotional downside to this. Coming from someone who drives a gas guzzler, and someone who values performance/spirited driving as one of his favorite hobbies.....Im all for innovation, and this is huge. Kudos to Chevy, Nissan, and others that are taking this step. Our kids and our kids kids' will be better off because of it, and I hope everyone who can afford it will support this monumental drive to improve. I wouldn't agree that there is no downside. There are several arguments that are reasonable to oppose some of the green energy initiatives. I don't find all of these arguments convincing, but I also don't simply dismiss them: 1. The government isn’t very good at picking winners, and if the upside is as huge as proponents suggest, private money would be flowing into these technologies to a degree that there would not need to be government funding. 2. The taxpayers should not be forced to help other people buy cars. 3. When people don't like the newer technology, instead of letting consumers decide, the government occasionally decides to force the product on them. 4. The influence that companies have over lawmakers tends to corrupt the process of identifying the most promising alternatives. Ethanol comes to mind. Because of the money flowing to the Ethanol producing states, a bad technology is going to continue to be supported by a lot of senators. Here are a couple of links that identify some of the problems that can occur when it comes to these issues. The one on the washing machine is anything but balanced, but it shows some of the concerns about what might happen to the car industry if there is too much of a push for green energy. Ten years from now, I don’t want to pay more for a car that isn’t as good as what I have today. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703572404575634753486416076.html http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704662604576202212717670514.html Again, I don't buy into these arguments completely, but I dont see the green energy plans being used as having no downside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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