Electric Vehicles

[WorkingOnIt]

Here's a new wrinkle - an electric/diesel turbine hybrid.  Claimed range 80 miles purely electric, 500 miles overall.  It would be something exotic for the Ariel electric, or if you want something unique in your RCR Superlite project.  That's a Factory Five GTM body on the auto show prototype.

Capstone Turbine press release:
http://www.microturbine.com/news/story.asp?id=536

Capstone demonstrates turbine compliant with 2010 EPA and CARB diesel standards
http://blog.nationwidevehiclecontracts. ... cars/9825/

LA 2009: CMT-380 packs microturbine, li-ion battery into a matte black package
http://current.com/12i2a4c


They are apparently already delivering turbine hybrid buses.
http://green.autoblog.com/2008/04/02/a- ... h-carolin/

Capstone Turbine Corporation F2Q10 (Qtr End 09/30/09) Earnings Call Transcript
"Capstone's U.S. hybrid transit bus customer DesignLine recently completed a reverse merger with a the public shell in order to take the company public and raise funds to increase manufacturing capacity of its hybrid electric vehicles...
DesignLine's backlog as of September 30th was 533 buses were very impressive $260 million in backlog. This consists of approximately 458 hybrid and alternative fuel buses in the United States.
DesignLine is currently building today buses for New York, Baltimore, Charlotte and Los Angeles and is looking to dramatically increase manufacturing capacity over the next 12 months.
...
Today, we are working with two high-volume automotive companies to analyze how to reduce the cost of our C30 dramatically. Our C30 is designed to run for 40,000 hours or more with the rebuild of 20,000 hours and thus requires more expensive longer life materials.
However, the automotive version of C30 only needs to realize about 3,000 hours. Therefore in addition to the opportunity for potential long-term licensing and royalty agreement, Capstone will be able to leverage the new high volume lower cost automotive C30 products in our traditional stationery power businesses and markets."

[silver]

that car looks pretty awesome in flat black....reminds me of the scrapped Brammo project.

[Heywood-Yablowme]

let's see where did I put that photo..ah yes...






      A recuperator..yea,right! They had turbines in the 50's..didn't work then..

[WorkingOnIt]

[quote="MadMaxAtom and company"]
...
       A recuperator..yea,right! They had turbines in the 50's..didn't work then..
[/quote]

Wow, I thought this was one alternative concept you might get behind.  BioDiesel compatible and I would say approaching extreme, as you asked for here.

Turbines worked in the 60s according to: http://www.motortrend.com/classic/featu ... index.html
in as far as it was reliable, but "didn't have the emissions and fuel-economy advantages to overcome the costs of materials and production."
Materials and production technology advance - and Capstone touts emissions that require no additional exhaust treatment

[WorkingOnIt]

[quote="MadMaxAtom and company"]
...diesel IS the answer for TODAY. 

Tossing the internal combustion engine out the window is the knee jerk mentality of a society that is currenty getting a hybrid enema.....!!

       
[/quote]

More are agreeing
German diesel power gains favor with U.S. car buyers
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2010- ... 7_ST_N.htm
"Hybrids still get more buzz, but diesels are gaining favor with car buyers."

[mikesalt]

With regard to electric vehicles, I consider hybrids to be merely a half-way hash, primarily designed to exploit lucrative, ill conceived 'green' policies of our governments. Don't kid yourselves, just because your Lexus R400 has that tiny 'h' suffix, it is not an environmentally friendly car, yet the UK government will let your drive through London for free in it.

Companies I admire are those that have done it properly. And by 'properly' I don't mean a G-Wiz, because no-one of sane mind would ever buy one. I mean companies like Tesla, with the fantastic Roadster and especially the Model S. These are desirable cars, and a proper electric implementation. In fact, if I could have a perfect three-car garage right now, it would be an Ariel Atom 3, Audi RS4 Avant and Tesla Model S with 400 mile battery. It's a clever little feature on the Model S that you can change the battery in about the same time as filling up with fuel. Work more than 200 miles away? No problem, leave your other battery pack at work to charge.

Short term though, diesel is the way forward for larger cars, tiny petrol turbo engines for the smaller cars, extending out oil supplies until we can find a sensible solution. It's an interesting fact that Fiat has the lowest average emissions in Europe, yet they don't have a single half-baked hybrid in production. They simply make small cars, with small conventional engines, and just keep it simple.

[Heywood-Yablowme]

" They simply make small cars, with small conventional engines, and just keep it simple."

  What a novel idea. 

[mikesalt]

It does make me laugh when I see Prius owners doing about 90 MPH down the motorway. As the Top Gear Prius -vs- M3 test showed, at these speeds, you're not saving the planet at all; an Audi diesel would have made much more sense.

Actually, thinking about it, 90MPH in a Prius is the definition of bravery. Awful handling, so you cannot avoid the accident, brake pedal feel controlled by some regenerative algorithm and a recent spate of fatal Toyota flaws, of which there may be many more to come. I salute you!

And wouldn't diesel hybrds make more sense?

[MonsieurX]

MikeSalt,

Not that i like the Prius, but i was amazed at my girlfriend's Prius handling... And it does more than 90mph! 

[Bruce Fielding]

Prius handling is fine. Especially in the wet!

But I get what you mean about doing high speeds in a hybrid.

The way forward has to be all electric. There is no viable alternative. Not even range extenders or exotic gasses.

If all my cars could be electric, I'd swap in a flash (sic). Sadly, there isn't a classic car younger than about 90 years old that has an electric engine; there isn't a trackday car that's electric which would last a day; and I can't get from home to home in less than three days (including charging stops) in any current (sic) electric car.

But one day, the trackday and the long journey will be possible. It's only a matter of time, and of less pressure from the petrochemical industry lobbyists.

[mikesalt]

[quote="Bruce Fielding"]
Prius handling is fine. Especially in the wet![/quote]

I should imagine it is pretty good in the wet actually, those narrower tyres cutting through the surface water rather than skating over it.

Glad to hear that someone else thinks that if you're going to go electric, don't just half-bake it.

[Heywood-Yablowme]

Prius handling is fine? Compared to what!!? Maybe a dump truck..or something similar. To say a Prius "handles" is an oxymoron.Sure,anything can stay on its wheels driven at reasonable speeds,doing common street maneuvers,  but try running a Prius at an autocross,hillclimb or road track and you will see just how poorly they do connect to the road.

The Pruis is a feel good car for people who have a sense of responsibility for the future of the planet,but really have NO fuucking clue what to do about it but spend money.

I hope to see the day e-lectric cars are even viable. But I won't be holding my breath any time soon.

[Bruce Fielding]

[quote="MadMaxAtom and company"]
...try running a Prius at an autocross,hillclimb or road track and you will see just how poorly they do connect to the road.
[/quote]

Err... and why on earth would you want to do that with a Prius?

That's like saying that the Atom is a useless car because it doesn't handle motorways or long journeys very well.

The Prius is built to do a job, and it does it (and more). If you throw it around, it will understeer just like every other front wheel drive commuter car. Which is exacty how it's meant to handle. And if you play with it in the wet, it will do quite well for what it is, thank you. 

Actually, you don't happen to write for a car magazine do you? It's just that this is the same pointless criticism that they levy at cars whose purpose is to get from A to B. They throw them around race tracks and then complain when they don't hang onto the road. THEY'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO! They're road cars, used for transporting families, or dogs, or samples, or whatever. Not Formula One specials.

[Heywood-Yablowme]

Hey Bruce,you said the shitbox "handled".

I gues our definition of handling is different. Unless I am hauling something other than people,the vehicle should handle the road at any speed I care to drive,without wallowing like a fat pig awaiting to give birth. The Prius is the WORST "handling" auto I have ever had the discomfort to drive..and I use the the term "drive" lightly.

If you are willing to compromise how your car "handles"  that is your business.

I sure hope e-lectric cars handle better than the Prius.. because they sure won't be able to haul dirt...

[Bruce Fielding]

[quote="MadMaxAtom and company"]
Hey Bruce,you said the shitbox "handled".

I gues our definition of handling is different. Unless I am hauling something other than people,the vehicle should handle the road at any speed I care to drive,without wallowing like a fat pig awaiting to give birth.
[/quote]

I assume you think that nothing but track and race cars (and bikes) 'handle' then?

Well, it's a point of view.

It's crackers, but it is a point of view...