The Tesla is coming!

[rage777]

$109,000 for the Tesla!

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5i...igM1AD90DNFD00

Can't wait to see these things on the road.

[BlueDevilBAMF]

Interesting indeed. It's not as environmentally friendly as one-might think. The myth of "zero emissions". A few things to consider:

(1) Imagine how much coal has to be burned to produce the electricity just to charge this battery one time.

(2) Lithium-ion battery technology is becoming outdated and is extremely environmentally unfriendly as compared to batteries utilizing other metals which are slated to replace them.

But, I suppose if you can find a public outlet to recharge it in, you'd have zero gas costs! (Stick it to The Man!)

[rage777]

Lithium Ion may be coming outdated, but it is new stuff to the car market. This might be the first hybrid/electric car to have lithium ion in it. Plus you can't go wrong with 0-60 in under 4 seconds for a electric car. They should put a bumper sticker that says "My electric car just zero emissioned your a$$".

[alphamatt]

dealership is bein built a block from where i work, pretty sure i saw one rollin on santa monica blvd as well

[BlueDevilBAMF]

Originally Posted by rage777

Lithium Ion may be coming outdated, but it is new stuff to the car market. This might be the first hybrid/electric car to have lithium ion in it. Plus you can't go wrong with 0-60 in under 4 seconds for a electric car. They should put a bumper sticker that says "My electric car just zero emissioned your a$$".

True... My chief concern of this electric car business has been sacrificing performance. I guess this proves that, at least in a straight line, this sucker can move. Gives me hope for the future.

Although, truth be told, electric cars are not the answer to our energy dependence, unless we develop widespread use of alternative energy production (solar, water, wind) first. Otherwise, we're still emitting tons upon tons of CO2 and other gases, just by virtue of a factory's smokestack instead of a car's tailpipe.

Until better electricity-generating methods are implemented, electric cars are no better than ethanol (what a mess [i]that[/] has turned out to be) in terms of solving our energy-dependence problems.

[Polishthrust]

What ever happened to water powered cars? Havent heard much about them lately...

[BlueDevilBAMF]

Originally Posted by Polishthrust

What ever happened to water powered cars? Havent heard much about them lately...

Isn't there a GM commercial with the kids in a green pasture talking about how only "H2O" comes out of some new hybrid's tailpipe?

[Polishthrust]

something to consider

http://heyokamagazine.com/HEYOKA.9.JohnKanzius.htm

[anDross]

the word "TESLA" reminds me of the movie "The Prestige"

[SwivelHips]

Originally Posted by imandresing22

the word "TESLA" reminds me of the movie "The Prestige"

Great flick, interesting man.

I really really want one of these for my commute to work.

[hai109]

Originally Posted by BlueDevilBAMF

Interesting indeed. It's not as environmentally friendly as one-might think. The myth of "zero emissions". A few things to consider:

(1) Imagine how much coal has to be burned to produce the electricity just to charge this battery one time.

(2) Lithium-ion battery technology is becoming outdated and is extremely environmentally unfriendly as compared to batteries utilizing other metals which are slated to replace them.

But, I suppose if you can find a public outlet to recharge it in, you'd have zero gas costs! (Stick it to The Man!)

I see your point but that's one less direct fossil fuel user. The electricity you use to charge it can be solar if you install something like that at your house. If someone has 109k to buy the car they will have the money to go solar too...That's my opinion...I mean you can't really stop the use of fossil fuel because it be can reduce the amount. Everything we make and do requires fossil fuel...

[Sukairain]

I saw the car up close in person at the autoshow. I think it's just all hype for an immature technology. The built quality of the car is pretty bad~ panels don't fit together right, cheap plastic everywhere, dashboard looks like bargain bin quality. I wouldn't pay more than $40k for one. (no more than a Elise)

[realgone]

Originally Posted by BlueDevilBAMF

Interesting indeed. It's not as environmentally friendly as one-might think. The myth of "zero emissions". A few things to consider:

(1) Imagine how much coal has to be burned to produce the electricity just to charge this battery one time.

(2) Lithium-ion battery technology is becoming outdated and is extremely environmentally unfriendly as compared to batteries utilizing other metals which are slated to replace them.

But, I suppose if you can find a public outlet to recharge it in, you'd have zero gas costs! (Stick it to The Man!)

You are only part right on the coal part. For example take this exerpt from Mother Jones Magazine.

Even the relatively unambitious 2007 energy bill, which raises fuel-economy standards from 25 mpg to 35 mpg by 2020, would save 3.6 million barrels a day by 2030. And if we persuaded carmakers to switch to plug-in hybrids, we could cut our oil demand by a staggering 9 million barrels a day, about 70 percent of our current imports.

Such a shift would impose massive new demand on an electric grid already struggling to meet need, but plug-in hybrids actually stretch the grid's existing capacity. Charged up at night, when power demand (and thus prices) are low, plug-in hybrids exploit the grid's large volume of unused (and, until now, unusable) capacity. Such "load balancing" would let power companies run their plants around the clock (vastly more cost-effective than idling plants at night and revving them up at dawn); as important, it would substantially boost the grid's overall output. According to the Department of Energy, with such load balancing, America's existing power system could meet current power demands and generate enough additional electricity to run almost three-quarters of its car and light-truck fleet. That alone would be enough to drop oil consumption by 6.5 million barrels a day, or nearly a third of America's current demand.

Granted, this switch to electric-powered cars wouldn't be free. Seventy percent of America's electricity is made from high-carbon fuels like natural gas and especially coal, which is why the power sector emits 40 percent of all U.S. carbon emissions. Just 8.4 percent comes from renewable sources, and most of that is environmentally dubious hydroelectric; wind, solar, geothermal, and biomass together supply 2.4 percent, and despite rapid growth, their share of the power market will remain small for decades. Even so, an electric or plug-in hybrid fleet is still probably the most environmentally plausible path away from oil. Why? Because kilowatt for kilowatt, turning fossil fuels into electricity in massive centralized power plants and then putting that juice into car batteries is more efficient than burning fossil fuels directly in internal combustion engines, and thus generates fewer CO2 emissions per mile traveled. (Our existing fleet generates a third of America's CO2 emissions.) The doe found that replacing three-quarters of the U.S. fleet with plug-in hybrids would cut vehicle CO2 emissions by 27 percent nationwide—40 percent or more if the country's power system were upgraded to match California's low-carbon grid. And once the new fleet is in place, there is nothing stopping us from upgrading our power sources to truly renewable systems.

For the whole article click the link below, A lot of information and very intriguing.

The Seven Myths of Energy Independence.

[realgone]

Originally Posted by BlueDevilBAMF

Although, truth be told, electric cars are not the answer to our energy dependence, unless we develop widespread use of alternative energy production (solar, water, wind) first. Otherwise, we're still emitting tons upon tons of CO2 and other gases, just by virtue of a factory's smokestack instead of a car's tailpipe.

Until better electricity-generating methods are implemented, electric cars are no better than ethanol (what a mess [i]that[/] has turned out to be) in terms of solving our energy-dependence problems.

Originally Posted by BlueDevilBAMF

Interesting indeed. It's not as environmentally friendly as one-might think. The myth of "zero emissions". A few things to consider:

(1) Imagine how much coal has to be burned to produce the electricity just to charge this battery one time.

(2) Lithium-ion battery technology is becoming outdated and is extremely environmentally unfriendly as compared to batteries utilizing other metals which are slated to replace them.

But, I suppose if you can find a public outlet to recharge it in, you'd have zero gas costs! (Stick it to The Man!)

You are only part right, for example take this exerpt from Mother Jones Magazine.

Even the relatively unambitious 2007 energy bill, which raises fuel-economy standards from 25 mpg to 35 mpg by 2020, would save 3.6 million barrels a day by 2030. And if we persuaded carmakers to switch to plug-in hybrids, we could cut our oil demand by a staggering 9 million barrels a day, about 70 percent of our current imports.

Such a shift would impose massive new demand on an electric grid already struggling to meet need, but plug-in hybrids actually stretch the grid's existing capacity. Charged up at night, when power demand (and thus prices) are low, plug-in hybrids exploit the grid's large volume of unused (and, until now, unusable) capacity. Such "load balancing" would let power companies run their plants around the clock (vastly more cost-effective than idling plants at night and revving them up at dawn); as important, it would substantially boost the grid's overall output. According to the Department of Energy, with such load balancing, America's existing power system could meet current power demands and generate enough additional electricity to run almost three-quarters of its car and light-truck fleet. That alone would be enough to drop oil consumption by 6.5 million barrels a day, or nearly a third of America's current demand.

Granted, this switch to electric-powered cars wouldn't be free. Seventy percent of America's electricity is made from high-carbon fuels like natural gas and especially coal, which is why the power sector emits 40 percent of all U.S. carbon emissions. Just 8.4 percent comes from renewable sources, and most of that is environmentally dubious hydroelectric; wind, solar, geothermal, and biomass together supply 2.4 percent, and despite rapid growth, their share of the power market will remain small for decades. Even so, an electric or plug-in hybrid fleet is still probably the most environmentally plausible path away from oil. Why? Because kilowatt for kilowatt, turning fossil fuels into electricity in massive centralized power plants and then putting that juice into car batteries is more efficient than burning fossil fuels directly in internal combustion engines, and thus generates fewer CO2 emissions per mile traveled. (Our existing fleet generates a third of America's CO2 emissions.) The doe found that replacing three-quarters of the U.S. fleet with plug-in hybrids would cut vehicle CO2 emissions by 27 percent nationwide—40 percent or more if the country's power system were upgraded to match California's low-carbon grid. And once the new fleet is in place, there is nothing stopping us from upgrading our power sources to truly renewable systems.

For the whole article click the link below, A lot of information and very intriguing.

The Seven Myths of Energy Independence.

[jaspergtr]

Originally Posted by BlueDevilBAMF

True... My chief concern of this electric car business has been sacrificing performance. I guess this proves that, at least in a straight line, this sucker can move. Gives me hope for the future.

it's built on a lotus chassis, so i imagine that it will be an all around sports car.

from what i recall, i think the first production run is already spoken for (by the investors who made this project possible).