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Rusher
7/20/2006, 04:34 PM
Cool stuff. There's also a clip in the link showcasing this baby. Now I'm gonna check out "Who Killed Electric Car" (movie).

http://www.autobloggreen.com/2006/07/20/tesla-roadster-unveiled-in-santa-monica/


Fellow bloggers from our greasemonkey brother site Jalopnik got a first peek tonight at the much-anticipated Tesla Roadster, an electric-powered road rocket that can travel from 0-60 in four seconds with a top speed of 130mph. Singing the body electric is a 182-kilowatt AC-induction motor, a rear-mounted power plant drawing its energy from 6800 lithium ion batteries. Even though that engine's barely audible, it's capable of rotating at an astonishing 13,500rpm before it even gets close to the redline.

It's packed with lots of humble off-the-shelf components, yet we're hearing the vehicle might cost in the neighborhood of $100K. It takes 3.5 hours to charge up those thousands of batteries, and on a full charge it can keep on going and going, quick like a bunny, for 250 miles. Looks like lots of fun to drive, where its two forward gears let you enjoy that flat torque curve you can only get with an electric motor. Now if you'll just lend us $99,995, we'll be on our way. – Charlie White

Skysooner
7/20/2006, 04:38 PM
And electricity comes from.......coal, natural gas, and sometimes diesel being burned.

mrowl
7/20/2006, 04:45 PM
And electricity comes from.......coal, natural gas, and sometimes diesel being burned.

If I remember the facts from the movie, if everyone in california drove an electric car, and the power was produced in california, than greenhouse gases would drop 35%

And over time would drop even more due to renewable energy sources being installed in Cali.

GottaHavePride
7/20/2006, 04:46 PM
Unless you're near a dam or a nookyular plant.

IronSooner
7/20/2006, 04:47 PM
And electricity comes from.......coal, natural gas, and sometimes diesel being burned.

Yup. Which makes me curious about that guy's statement that you could get a solar panel option to make it "energy positive". I wasn't aware that you could generate that much energy from solar panels. However, if you could find a way to charge it either overnight, or better yet on the road, that would go a long way in marketing.

mrowl
7/20/2006, 04:48 PM
(again from the movie)

The cost of operating an ev1 today, would have been $.03 cents a mile.

Vaevictis
7/20/2006, 04:57 PM
And electricity comes from.......coal, natural gas, and sometimes diesel being burned.

It ain't 100%, but the main thing about electric cars is that, compared to internal combustion engines, steam turbines are usually 2 (common) to 3 (uncommon) times more efficient in converting the heat from combustion into electricity, and because of their centralized nature, you can potentially install more effective emissions controls (if you wanted to).

I don't know about this whole "will solve global warming" claim, but it would certainly help.

jeremy885
7/20/2006, 05:11 PM
I don't know about this whole "will solve global warming" claim, but it would certainly help.

So would new nuclear power plants.

OUinFLA
7/20/2006, 06:49 PM
Yup. Which makes me curious about that guy's statement that you could get a solar panel option to make it "energy positive". I wasn't aware that you could generate that much energy from solar panels. However, if you could find a way to charge it either overnight, or better yet on the road, that would go a long way in marketing.

Paging Ike.
Ike? Ike?
we need the solar panel lecture again, as Im to lazy to search for it.

OUinFLA
7/20/2006, 06:51 PM
Tesla Motors unveiled their uber-chic Roadster, a supercharged electric vehicle that looks, feels and drives like many other high-end sports cars Wednesday night. The main difference is the noise. Powered by a 3-phase, 4-pole AC induction motor, the Roadster can go 130 mph and does 0-60 in about 4 seconds, all completely silent

I'd bet that would snap some necks.

SCOUT
7/20/2006, 07:11 PM
Make that car in a 4-door and at a relatively reasonable price and I would buy one tomorrow.

etouffee
7/20/2006, 07:13 PM
Make that car in a 4-door and at a relatively reasonable price and I would buy one tomorrow.I think I'd want to know how often those thousands of batteries have to be replaced, and what that would cost, before I committed to buying.

TedUjam
7/20/2006, 08:31 PM
I think I'd want to know how often those thousands of batteries have to be replaced, and what that would cost, before I committed to buying.

From the Tesla website:

Tesla Roadster Specifications*
Style 2-seat, open-top, rear-drive roadster
Drivetrain Electric motor with 2-speed electric-shift manual transmission with integral differential
Motor 3-phase, 4-pole electric motor, 248hp peak (185kW), redline 13,500 rpm, regenerative "engine braking"
Chassis Bonded extruded aluminum with 4-wheel wishbone suspension
Brakes 4-wheel disc brakes with ABS
Acceleration 0 to 60 in about 4 seconds
Top Speed Over 130 mph
Range 250 miles EPA highway
Battery Life Useful battery life in excess of 100,000 miles
Energy Storage System Custom microprocessor-controlled lithium-ion battery pack
Full Charge As short as 3.5 hours

sooner_born_1960
7/20/2006, 09:23 PM
I don't see towing capacity listed anywhere.

Norm In Norman
7/20/2006, 10:31 PM
I kinda like this technology in the meantime:

http://www.epa.gov/otaq/technology/recentdevelopments.htm

Vaevictis
7/20/2006, 10:40 PM
So would new nuclear power plants.

Heh, nuclear power plants might help less than you would think. Water vapor is a greenhouse gas too. :/ (seriously) On the plus side, water vapor doesn't stay in the atmosphere nearly as long as methane, carbon dioxide, etc.

OUinFLA
7/20/2006, 10:45 PM
I kinda like this technology in the meantime:

http://www.epa.gov/otaq/technology/recentdevelopments.htm


Wow, I would go for one of those as my company's delivery vehicle.
Seems by the links that they have been developing that for a few years.
Wonder why the holdup getting them into SUVs and Vans?

Ive been looking at a Dodge Sprinter, but this sounds even better !

IronSooner
7/20/2006, 10:53 PM
I wonder how long it'll take before they convert post office jeeps, UPS/DHL/etc trucks and buses to hybrids. As much as they stop and go you'd think that'd make a dent.

It seems like Tulsa played up their using CNG in buses years ago but I don't remember whatever happened to that.

Norm In Norman
7/20/2006, 11:00 PM
Wow, I would go for one of those as my company's delivery vehicle.
Seems by the links that they have been developing that for a few years.
Wonder why the holdup getting them into SUVs and Vans?

Ive been looking at a Dodge Sprinter, but this sounds even better !
Well, in one of those pdfs they show it in an explorer or something. It's really cool technology and can be plugged into any truck replacing the transmission. Well, or so they seem to think.

hurricane'bone
7/20/2006, 11:39 PM
I wonder how long it'll take before they convert post office jeeps, UPS/DHL/etc trucks and buses to hybrids. As much as they stop and go you'd think that'd make a dent.

It seems like Tulsa played up their using CNG in buses years ago but I don't remember whatever happened to that.


They still use them..along with some diesel/electric hybrids

Rusher
7/21/2006, 12:18 AM
Electric does a better job than hybrid on low emission. I'm sick of this summer heat and it better not be 120+ degree next year cuz some ozone holes up there

Rusher
7/21/2006, 01:18 AM
BTW, they're already planning to create a sedan with similar technology:

http://wired.com/news/wiredmag/0,71414-0.html?tw=wn_index_1


That's why he's already preparing a sedan, codenamed White Star, which could hit streets as early as 2008. Of course, the sedan won't be as lightweight or aerodynamic as the Roadster, so its range is likely to drop significantly. Eberhard's response: maybe with today's tech. But battery power is improving steadily, and several companies say they may soon double battery life. By the time the sedan comes out, he says, batteries will be ready to deliver: "We're going to ride that technology curve all the way home."

This car is also over twice as efficient than full hydrogen and hybrid cars:

http://www.teslamotors.com/learn_more/white_papers.php

jeremy885
7/21/2006, 08:21 AM
Heh, nuclear power plants might help less than you would think. Water vapor is a greenhouse gas too. :/ (seriously) On the plus side, water vapor doesn't stay in the atmosphere nearly as long as methane, carbon dioxide, etc.


That's what i don't understand. Nuclear is an improvement on our existing viable and large scale options. If water vapor is the only greenhouse gas it produces, which don't lakes, rivers, and oceans produce naturally through evaporation, I'll take it. It's a short-term solution, but it's better than doing nothing.

mrowl
7/21/2006, 09:01 AM
That's what i don't understand. Nuclear is an improvement on our existing viable and large scale options. If water vapor is the only greenhouse gas it produces, which don't lakes, rivers, and oceans produce naturally through evaporation, I'll take it. It's a short-term solution, but it's better than doing nothing.

what do you do with the radioactive waste? Can't keep burying it in the desert, and "try" to forget about it.

jeremy885
7/21/2006, 09:06 AM
what do you do with the radioactive waste? Can't keep burying it in the desert, and "try" to forget about it.


It's not a greenhouse gas, which is what the discussion is about. Until they figure out fusion or solar power becomes more efficient, in my opinion, nuclear is the only viable option to decrease our greenhouse gases and "stop" global warming. It's not perfect, but it's better than what we are doing now.

What's wrong with burying it in the desert, if the site is secure and can handle the waste?

1stTimeCaller
7/21/2006, 09:09 AM
what do you do with the radioactive waste? Can't keep burying it in the desert, and "try" to forget about it.

yes.

IronSooner
7/21/2006, 09:09 AM
What's wrong with burying it in the desert, if the site is secure and can handle the waste?

I think we just need to work on finding somebody else's desert to bury it in.

mrowl
7/21/2006, 09:11 AM
I think we just need to work on finding somebody else's desert to bury it in.

genius.

Vaevictis
7/21/2006, 09:20 AM
what do you do with the radioactive waste? Can't keep burying it in the desert, and "try" to forget about it.

Personally, I think you stick it on a solid rocket booster set for an exit trajectory from the solar system.

(yeah, there are some possible wrinkles there, like what happens if the rocket malfunctions, but those can be worked around).

Mjcpr
7/21/2006, 09:22 AM
Personally, I think you stick it on a solid rocket booster set for an exit trajectory from the solar system.

(yeah, there are some possible wrinkles there, like what happens if the rocket malfunctions, but those can be worked around).

Not to mention the cost.....how many hundreds of millions of dollars does it run these days to fire something off into space?

FaninAma
7/21/2006, 09:31 AM
It only travels 250 miles on one charge? You couldn't even make it from Amarillo to OKC without having to recharge for 3 hours.

soonerjoker
7/21/2006, 09:55 AM
looks good for fartin around town.

who's gonna pay 100 large, for a glorified golf cart.

how much torque produced @ 13.5 k rpm ??

Tear Down This Wall
7/21/2006, 10:17 AM
what do you do with the radioactive waste? Can't keep burying it in the desert, and "try" to forget about it.

Bury it in the former Iran and Syria after we nuke 'em :eek:




:D

Vaevictis
7/21/2006, 10:41 AM
Not to mention the cost.....how many hundreds of millions of dollars does it run these days to fire something off into space?

Depends on how you launch it. If you use the shuttle, it's bloody expensive,something like $25k/kg.

If you strap it on the tip of a solid rocket booster, it's not so bad. I don't know what it is now, but various people seem to think you could get it down to a couple hundred dollars a kilo using Saturn-style rocketry.

GottaHavePride
7/21/2006, 11:13 AM
Or we could build one of those ginormous magnetic cannons to fling something into orbit. Then it would only take a very small rocket to get stuff from orbit to the sun.

SoonerInKCMO
7/21/2006, 11:27 AM
From a review of 'Who Killed The Electric Car'


Yet explaining why few people bought the electric car in the beginning doesn't completely explain why it disappeared. Anyone who has been around long enough has seen the pattern repeated with VCRs, computers, video cameras and DVD players and recorders: The first entries onto the market are expensive, imperfect and not always easy to use. But over time, usually over a fairly short time, the bugs are worked out, the technology becomes more practical and the prices plummet. This is exactly what did not happen with electric cars, and the fact that it didn't happen -- that little effort was expended to make it happen -- is where the film's investigation proves fruitful.

I'd like to see if the film makes the most notable distinction between the electric car and all those other technologies - those other items can be used to look at porn.

Ike
7/21/2006, 12:26 PM
Or we could build one of those ginormous magnetic cannons to fling something into orbit. Then it would only take a very small rocket to get stuff from orbit to the sun.


I always thought something like that would be the best disposal method...


but in my mind, a giant trebuchet is much cooler than a giant rail-gun.

Vaevictis
7/21/2006, 12:29 PM
but in my mind, a giant trebuchet is much cooler than a giant rail-gun.

I could be wrong, but I expect that the physics of a trebuchet are such that it would be impossible to achieve orbit with one (unless it was so big that it put things in orbit by virtue of the fact that the swing arm would literally exit the atmosphere).

EDIT: well, assuming that you were using a standard gravity powered trebuchet anyway. All bets are off if you are using a pocket nuke to swing the arm ;)

royalfan5
7/21/2006, 12:31 PM
My question is why the hell the company is named after a late 80's/Early 90's metal band?

Vaevictis
7/21/2006, 03:40 PM
If I remember the facts from the movie, if everyone in california drove an electric car, and the power was produced in california, than greenhouse gases would drop 35%

Just FWIW, the number as reported is 67% (http://www.sonyclassics.com/whokilledtheelectriccar/pages/footnotes.html)