January 10, 2011
Who Killed The Electric Car?
George Christodoulou asked:
Ever watch this movie; “Who Killed the Electric Car?” starring Ed Begley Jr. and Phyllis Diller; directed by Chris Paine. It’s an awful site for anyone who loves the environment. We **** to see the smog when we look out over a cities horizon, but we do. Cars are known to cause the most pollution out of any culprit. After learning this why are we still driving in those gas guzzling polluting machines? Well, this movie sheds a little bit of light on that.
The movie’s underlying message is all about the death and return of the electric car. It goes into the history of on particular electric car the Prius; where it began, how it sold at first, how it’s doing now, and how it will do in the future.
Who killed the electric car picture one
The film talks about why we have entered an age where we are almost completely dependent on foreign oil. Instead of buying cars that are energy efficient, people are more likely to buy huge SUV’s that **** down more gas than necessary. Obviously, if you walk around and look at the cars driving, you can see this in action. People are driving huge cars; why? Commercials will say that they are safe and insurance companies lower your premiums. If you are in the business world, you know that large cars sell for higher prices even if there is only a little more production cost. Companies have to stay competitive in the market. GM, in recent years, has had problems and need to make more money; thus, they need to sell the high marked items, not electric vehicles.
Although, the movie does shoe the bad side of the car companies and how they destroy the image of the electric car, there are others who see that the movie is not truthful. Like any documentary of this sort ( Like “Supersizeme”) some of the facts are very one sided. For example, one fact not mentioned is;10 years ago, electric cars were less effective because the batteries they ran on held less power. In addition, the price of the cars were about, $299 to over $574 per month which is pretty steep compared to other cars leaving it only to a small minority of car purchasers. Also, there are no numbers shown in the movie that coheres with there accusations. Finally, they never mention the fact that electric cars are powered by power plants which cause harm to the environment in the end anyway (the only difference is this is easier to control rather than 100k cars)
If you are interested in electric power and electric cars, I assume you will go off and watch this film. It is one side of the story that should be supplemented by other research. There are two sides to this conspiracy so you do need to see both sides. Read all the information including specifications of all the vehicles on the market today as well as in the past. Some of the information might get confusing like the drag coefficients and all of that but you can still learn a lot.
Filed under Uncategorized by newenergy
May 5, 2009
Hybrid Car Prius
HowStuffWorks asked:
How Hybrid Cars Work Credits: , HowStuffWorks
[nms:hybrid car,4]
April 15, 2009
Plug-in Hybrid Car!
cromi7 asked:
Plug-in Hybrid Car toyota prius. Fantastic! So when can we buy them
[nms:hybrid car,5,1,500]
October 31, 2008
Hybrid Car FAQ #1
gmajor asked:
I get asked the same questions all the time, whenever I’m out driving my Prius, so I thought I’d clear up some confusion via the Internet, about hybrid cars and what it’s like to own one. Send in your questions via e-mail at hybridfaq@gmail.com. If I don’t know the answer, I’ll research it and post it in the next episode.
Kansieo.com
Filed under Alternative Energy by newenergy
September 8, 2008
Learn All About Hybrid Cars
Hybrid cars are here to stay. Because of the benefits it can give you, you will definitely want to get one for your own. Obviously, more and more people are now making the switch from their conventional car to purchase a hybrid car. So, what could be the reason that increasingly people prefer getting a hybrid car instead of a conventional car even if hybrid car retail prices are far more expensive?
This is because hybrid cars run on two engines. One is the conventional internal combustion engine that you will find in conventional cars and the other is the electric motor and batteries. Hybrid cars are basically cars that combine electric energy and gasoline energy. By combining these two to power your car, it will run quieter, cleaner and far more efficient than conventional cars. These are the main advantages of hybrid cars.
Another advantage is that you will be able to save more money from tax breaks imposed by the US government to hybrid car users and buyers. Also, you will be able to enjoy free parking and other incentives that the government imposed on hybrid car owners.
More on Learn All About Hybrid Cars
Filed under Hybrid by Laxmi Keshav
September 3, 2008
Solar Panels On Car Carrier Ships – In The Works
NYK of Japan is looking into building car carriers that have solar panels integrated in them to help with the ships propulsion. Toyota could end up shipping energy efficient Prius’s to the USA in car carriers that are themselves more fuel efficient.
From the press release by NYK:
As part of corporate efforts to reduce CO2 emissions from ocean-going vessels, Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK; head office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; president: Koji Miyahara) and Nippon Oil Corporation (Nippon Oil; head office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; president: Shinji Nishio) have agreed to jointly develop a system to partially utilize solar power to propel ships.
This full-scale installation of a solar power generator is a world-first, and will produce as much as 40 kilowatts of power (gross), which is expected to supplement existing power production on large vessels.
Against a backdrop of intensifying pressure on companies worldwide to combat global warming, NYK engaged in the research and development of next-generation eco-friendly ships including technologies to utilize recyclable energy for all aspects of ocean transportation.
On the other hand, Nippon Oil as a leading global total energy solutions company, has been working to cultivate the market for solar photovoltaic power generation systems, and has continued the development of related new products.
In order to work toward the mutual goal of fighting climate change, NYK and Nippon Oil have decided to establish a joint eco-project starting with the new car carrier planned to be completed on December 19, 2008.
The installation of solar power generators onto ships has been limited to use within crews’ onboard living areas due to the harsh shipboard environment, which is subject to salt-water damage and constant vibrations. However, through this project, NYK and Nippon Oil will begin testing the 40-kilowatt solar generation system by installing it onto the car-carrier and connecting it to the onboard 440V electrical network.
In addition, as a part of its corporate strategy to reduce environmental burdens caused by the life cycle of automobiles, Toyota Motor Corporation (head office; Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture: president; Katsuaki Watanabe) has agreed to support this initiative as a shipper in order to reduce CO2 emissions from the ocean transportation of finished cars.
Image of proposed solar car carrier
Filed under Solar Power by newenergy
July 8, 2008
Solar Panels On Your Toyota Prius?
Well the rumors have become news items so maybe there is truth to them now. Word had been getting around that Toyota was working on putting solar panels on the roof of the 2010 Prius that would be aimed at supplementing the power system (most likely the air conditioning system).
Today the rumors hit the newsstands as media began reporting that it was on reliable sources that Toyota was working on this solar panel idea using panels made by Kyocera. Toyota has so far refused to comment on the reports.
Now some of the reports seem a bit on the wild side as one outlet said they would generate 2-5 KW’s of power which is as much as a whole rooftop array on your house.
“It’s not going to eliminate gasoline consumption in a Prius, and it wouldn’t be on my list of energy improvements I’d make to a car,” said Mark Duvall, program manager for electric transportation studies at the Electric Power Research Institute. “But that doesn’t mean it can’t make a small but significant improvement in the amount of gasoline you’d use.”
Now I would hope this one is going to come. It think it is high time to integrate solar panels into a huge variety of moving vehicles. Imagine the day when truck fleets have solar on them powering some or all of their energy needs. There are those who pooh pooh these ideas as being too expensive and futuristic. Well look up at that friggin sign as you drive by the gas station. Look at the cost of food at the store. It is time to take oil out fo the equation and get rolling with solar in as many ways as possible.
Don’t back down Toyota!
Filed under Electric Cars, Hybrid by newenergy
