The future

[Ianab]

I agress SD, cars like that are very popular here in NZ.

My 97 Corolla only gets about 35mpg, but it's not exactly the economy model. 4 x throttle body, 8,000 rpm redline, 170 hp... From a factory standard 1600cc non-turbo engine.

So they can get resonable economy from an engine that performs like a 1970s race engine, and thats in a 12 year old car.

Safety, it has airbags, crumple zones, ABS brakes etc. If you get run over by a Semi, then you are mushed no matter what you are driving. Give me the ABS, good handling, and some decent acceleration to keep me out of trouble. 

The technolgy is there, it may cost a few more $$ than the cheapest budget car. But thats because you will want a trick engine with variable valve timing and maybe a turbo. That way you get the economy at medium RPM, but the power at higher revs with the turbo etc.

Ian

[Hilltop366]

Batteries have come a long way in the last few years, but this was one guy's take on them, I seen on TV last year talking about electric cars.....

He said there are three types of liars....          Liars
                           Da*n Liars
                     and      Battery manufactures

[moonhill]

It seem they have called the Puma a flop, or at a flopped publicity stunt. 

http://finance.yahoo.com/career-work/article/107261/dumbest-moments-in-business-2009-midyear-edition.html?mod=career-leadership

Tim

[beenthere]

moonhill
That isn't the only interesting bits of news on that liberal Yahoo's summary of events so far this year.

[moonhill]

Yeah, I get a kick out of the yahoo page, I am always thinking "what are their goals for the day", or " what perspective are they getting across", spin is one way of looking at it.  Who funds Yahoo?

Tim

[glgdiggs]

It is interesting to me that in a discussion of the future the real energy problem of depletion is not mentioned. It now appears as always in hindsight that the maximum production of conventional crude oil occured in May of 2005 at a production rate of 74.8 M/bd, while all liquid fuels production maxed out at 84 M/bd in July 2008. GM as the whole American economy felt the pressure from rising energy prices. It may be hard to remember but oil was traded in the $14 dollar/bl range only 10 years ago, that means at todays prices we are seeing a 500% increase, and last summer it was a 1000%. I have been looking at this problem for 12 years, and have concluded that there is no technological solution that will substitute on a EROEI basis for the oil depletion problem.