The Cal-look Lounge

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3orXopgLNs&feature=player_embedded#!

To be honest, I love this. I've often been wondering if I should build my car like that. It's just the oh so limited independence from the grid that holds me back. Say 100 miles of careless driving and then having to charge for more than 8 hours. Where's the fun in that?

But, very important question, would this be considered Cal-Look? And what if you would add a Berg linkage  ;D I know some are racing electrical engines, with great success and low ET's!

Yes i hate to say this but i'm starting to like the idea of it to. :)

Yeah I alway's wanted a looker that sounds like a milk float  ::)

Electric cars eeeeeeek (http://smileys.emoticonsonly.com/emoticons/b/being_sick-3298.gif)

Am I the only one to hate it ?  ;D

You're not alone out there!  After ten years with Saturn, I saw all I could stand of "cordless cars" (GM EV1). Under the right circumstances a battery
powered car might be practical, the way a golf cart is practical. Otherwise the compromises outweigh the benefits with current technology.
Personally I like the GM Volt...at least in theory, time will tell if it works in the real world.

I'll pose this same question to this forum that asked my GM field service engineer. While glancing around the service dept., who among the
mechanics out there would you trust to service an alternative energy vehicle ie. fuel cell etc.?

As far as I'm concerned a battery powered car as a replacement for a conventional car is like calling a "wet dream"... Intercourse.

Feel free to chime in on this one  :)

Just look at the first movie in this link: http://www.nedra.com/ (http://www.nedra.com/) and tell me you are not impressed.


I' m not sure I get what you mean, do you mean you wouldn't let a "simple" mechanic work on an EV because they would mess up? Or rather, do you mean half of them would be out of a job as there is little maintenance to do?

Why I hate electric cars :

1. It's not "fun" to me : not enough noisy, not enough smelly, not enough "wild"  ;D

2. Thinking that all the cars in the world will be electrical on day is a dream, even if one day they manage to build a reliable and usefull car.
Can you imagine the among of electricity to produce if everyone will plug his car for charging at night ? Here in Europe they sometimes have trouble in winter when all the lights and heating are turned on. A lot of people seem to think that electricity is free and ilimitate, and that you just have to plug a wire on the wall to have plenty : add all elctrical cars in the world and we will need to cover the earth with combustion and nuclear stations.

3. I don't like the political/economical thing that hides behind all this ecological movement today : some are fooling and scaming us for some interests.

Impressive? Definitely, with maximum torque @ 0 rpm they should be. Electric propulsion has long ago proven superior to IC engines, especially where weight is not an
issue.

Regarding technicians, here in the USA we have a shortage of highly skilled "techs". Without product specific training the average mechanic would "mess up" himself
as well as the vehicle. Production EV's have very sophisticated systems that bear little resemblance to home made one-offs. Increasing the number of vehicles, at least in the
short term will only make the problem worse.

Compounding the problem is the Vocational Education system, nationally its in shambles. Coupled with unethical dealers and profit driven service managers, odds are we
the customers will suffer the most. IMHO, we should pattern our Voc Ed system after the German system. But I doubt that will ever happen given the current state of affairs. 

First thing to put me off were the colour coded cookie cutters  ::) then it was all down hill for me  ;D

I think electric/hybrid/plug-in hybrids could work for the vast majority of people. But being a car guy, I want nothing to do with them ;)

Well at the start of the 20th century electric cars outnumbered petrol/diesel cars!