[LATECH]

I see they have charging stations too. All they really need is a parking meter with a plug on it. They could put a credit card swiper on it too.It would be as easy as a plug in at wal mart with a phone line for the CC machine part. I am sure wal mart would go for it.
It could easily be done in most any place where there is electricity and a phone line.

[gow589]

With the high price of gas which seems to be by design, the taxes are high too. The government makes a lot of money on gas. Now they have the tax rate high for gas they can justify charging electrics the same to pay their fair share. It is the next hurdle for the government.

[deckofficer]

In SoCal, the best parking spaces (even better than handicap) are for EVs with free charging.

For convenience at home, charging options include induction, so all you have to do is park over the installed induction pad, no physically plugging in.

[topwrench]

Although driven by C.I. and not S.I, engines as the volt and having no electrical storage ,this same principle of propulsion has been extensivly used in Diesel electric locomotives and large Sea going vessels since we got away from the reciprocating Steam engine.
To my knowledge the volt is much like the above
And yes I think it can be plugged in an outlet and charged overnight
Which brings up another question
How many Watt hours does it take to bring the batteries up to a fully charged state
As stated it takes so much energy to make so much power, and you can never break even,nothing is fully adiabatic(evn swap) some energy is always lost in the process
All we know about the transfer of electrical energy is a theory not a law
Thats why we call it the Electron theory
Overall I think the car has its use,although I find the price very prohivitive
Remember Electricity is going up in price every day!

[deckofficer]

Originally Posted by gow589

With the high price of gas which seems to be by design, the taxes are high too. The government makes a lot of money on gas. Now they have the tax rate high for gas they can justify charging electrics the same to pay their fair share. It is the next hurdle for the government.

Boy you got that right. Road tax is added to fuel purchases, so government will have to change the way they collect this tax as we move to electrics.

[deckofficer]

Originally Posted by topwrench

Although driven by C.I. and not S.I, engines as the volt and having no electrical storage ,this same principle of propulsion has been extensivly used in Diesel electric locomotives and large Sea going vessels since we got away from the reciprocating Steam engine.
To my knowledge the volt is much like the above
And yes I think it can be plugged in an outlet and charged overnight
Which brings up another question
How many Watt hours does it take to bring the batteries up to a fully charged state
As stated it takes so much energy to make so much power, and you can never break even,nothing is fully adiabatic(evn swap) some energy is always lost in the process
All we know about the transfer of electrical energy is a theory not a law
Thats why we call it the Electron theory
Overall I think the car has its use,although I find the price very prohivitive
Remember Electricity is going up in price every day!

Yes, but you as an end user have control over the cost of electricity that you don't over the cost of gas.

I believe it is around 21 Kw/hr, so fully depleted at 0.10 per Kw/hr, it is a $2 fill up.

[LATECH]

well, it isnt a cure all, but with all the natural gas we have ,that can be used to generate electricity, it can help tip the scales in our favor away from imported oil. It wont fix the whole problem, but it is a good starting place.
Honda has built CNG cars for a few years now. they run just like a gasoline car, only cleaner emission wise. They work well in a fleet environment due to fueling locations and such.
I saw a popular mechanics article back in the 70s, where a guy retro fitted his truck to run on firewood. granted it may not have been EPA compliant, but I thought it was interesting and novel, to say the least.

[topwrench]

All green energy turns me on!
I have bout 5 K.W. of sorar power at home,2 charge controllers aand 2 inverters 3 1/2 Kw each,it is a separate and independant system from the grid n I store the power (24 volt) in a bank of 46 AGM batteries all the resistive loads in my house run off this system,exept for the kitchen oven
As far as my water heater [t runs on a recovery system(heat exchange) off my 5 ton A/C compressor,the system will automatically switch to grid power and charge the batteries when they reach low voltage set point.
In addition I have a 7 1/2 Kw generator that can be set to auto start in case I lose Grid power
The cost of this system 3 years ago was 40gs our electric bill went from an average of 600 a month to 200 a month but I did a lot of other things,like insulation,caulking,attic ventilation,relocation of condenser,kick start capacitors and a lot of other stuff
You know I just hate to give my money away to some fat cat sitting behind a desk at the power co.
They r probably drinkin cofee and smoking big cigars! (Johnies saying)
I could have probably bought a Volt with that money!
N sold it at a loss
How dumb of me!

[deckofficer]

topwrench,

You got my attention. I used to design and install off grid systems when CFs were new and cost close to $30 for each light. Even did a mini hydro, not enough fall for a pelton turbine but enough flow for a built up pond/swimming hole and a 8' water wheel driving an automotive alternator with a single agm battery and inverter to provide 120 VAC at the swimming hole, but more importantly to step up voltage for transmission to the home site 1200' away, then stepped back down to charge the house bank of batteries. Only 300 watts, but that is a 24/7 of 300 watts.

[topwrench]

Im gonna take some pics of my system n post them in my projrct journal,Its all Outback stuff
When i installed it my wife said it looked like it came out of an alien space ship!

[unix]

General Motors Co. announced the temporary suspension of Chevrolet Volt production and the layoffs of 1300 employees, as the company is cutting Volt manufacturing to meet lower-than-expected demand for the electric cars.

"Even with sales up in February over January, we are still seeking to align our production with demand," GM spokesman Chris Lee said. The car company had hoped to sell 45,000 Chevy Volts in America this year, according to the Detroit News, but has only sold about 1,626 over the first two months of 2012.

WOW FOLKS SURE ARE SNAPPING THEM UP, another fed idea wasting money and putting people in the bread line.

So deckofficer sells out for a parking spot, your easy. Another question to you just how long do you think the free LMFAO charges will last.

Sure the charge station and the juice for the deadVolt is free, they just appear out of thin air. Another ferry tail from ferry land.

Do not have to plug them in just drive on a grid and park like a giant I Phone, wow that's another great idea. Now your garage floor is useless except to park your deadVolt on. Man new AND improved, think that will be free also, or a new building code you will have a grid or need to put one in to sell your house? They could make the whole Publix parking lot a huge grid, then the closer to the door the faster the charge up.

Electric cars next gen of transportation, reminds me of the segway taking over mans means of getting around. That was another one that was going to kill my gas hog ...... waiting. Where I live the cops us them downtown, city government/ fed government can you see a common denominator or is that above your head.

[deckofficer]

Originally Posted by unix

General Motors Co. announced the temporary suspension of Chevrolet Volt production and the layoffs of 1300 employees, as the company is cutting Volt manufacturing to meet lower-than-expected demand for the electric cars.

"Even with sales up in February over January, we are still seeking to align our production with demand," GM spokesman Chris Lee said. The car company had hoped to sell 45,000 Chevy Volts in America this year, according to the Detroit News, but has only sold about 1,626 over the first two months of 2012.

WOW FOLKS SURE ARE SNAPPING THEM UP, another fed idea wasting money and putting people in the bread line.

So deckofficer sells out for a parking spot, your easy. Another question to you just how long do you think the free LMFAO charges will last.

Sure the charge station and the juice for the deadVolt is free, they just appear out of thin air. Another ferry tail from ferry land.

Do not have to plug them in just drive on a grid and park like a giant I Phone, wow that's another great idea. Now your garage floor is useless except to park your deadVolt on. Man new AND improved, think that will be free also, or a new building code you will have a grid or need to put one in to sell your house? They could make the whole Publix parking lot a huge grid, then the closer to the door the faster the charge up.

Electric cars next gen of transportation, reminds me of the segway taking over mans means of getting around. That was another one that was going to kill my gas hog ...... waiting. Where I live the cops us them downtown, city government/ fed government can you see a common denominator or is that above your head.

No, but your syntax is rather confusing.

topwrench, looking forward to the pictures.

[topwrench]

Just went downstairs n took them as soon the camera battery charges a bit Ill post them
Im a technician not a politician
i dont know why the conversation always has turn political
There is Soooo much talent on this website!
I dont buy a Volt cause I like hotrods,but I do believe in green power!
And Im very interested in people buying all electric or hybrid cars,so i can feed my hungry motors for less money.
Some people around my neighborhood think Im half nuts!
I have a very nice Tesla coil behind my house!
Thinking about building a fuel cell generator now,i live on the water n can probly make my own Hydrogen.
Have the reverse osmosis system bout designed now!
Im sure the power company will really love me then,they told me a couple of years ago they wouldnt buy my spare power if I grid tied
So im from the 60s generation!
As far as Im concerned the suits at the power co. need to get off their behind and go to work!
No free rides from Topwrench!

[deckofficer]

That is one nice thing about California, our power companies have to buy green power from every small producer.

[66fordman]

Some people like to slam an idea on the basis that it is new..every engineering venture needs to start somewhere.Automobiles have evolved and advanced over 100 years.Many cars produced in the late 19th and early 20th century were electric..If that propulsion method continued,who knows what we would be driving now.Seems things would be pretty boring if we all had the same vision,and taste in cars.Gasoline,diesel,propane,hydrogen,solar,electr ic,hybrid. small cars,big cars,suv,pickup,moped,motorcycle,van,bus, its great to have a choice...john