RE: [cdn-nucl-l] " Gas prices spark tinkering "

["Jaro" <jaro-10kbq@sympatico.ca>]

another one:

http://www.physorg.com/news5897.html
August 18, 2005
Struggling automaker Mitsubishi Motors will reportedly tie up with giant
Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) in its bid to create a small environmentally
friendly electric car.

TEPCO, the world's largest private power company, will provide technology on
electric charging from home outlets and batteries to help Mitsubishi develop
the car, the Yomiuri Shimbun said in its evening edition.

Mitsubishi wants to start selling the small car, called the Miev, in 2008 at
a price tag of two million yen (18,300 dollars) or less. The car will be
able to run 250 kilometers (155 miles) on a four-hour charge from home power
outlets, the report said.

A TEPCO spokesman said there was no deal as reported but said the power
company "has been exchanging information on battery-linked technologies with
various manufacturers, including Mitsubishi Motors."

Mitsubishi officials were not immediately available for comment.

The Miev would be a minivehicle, which by Japanese law means it has engine
capacity of less than 660 cc in gasoline-powered vehicles. Roughly 60
percent of vehicles sold in Japan are minivehicles.

Japanese automakers have seen a major success, particularly in the US
market, by selling environmentally friendly hybrid cars.

Mitsubishi is Japan's only money-losing automaker and is struggling to
recover after a series of scandals over cover-ups of defects.
============================




-----Original Message-----
From: cdn-nucl-l-admin@mailman1.cis.McMaster.CA
[mailto:cdn-nucl-l-admin@mailman1.cis.McMaster.CA]On Behalf Of Randal
Leavitt
Sent: Sunday, August 14, 2005 12:38 PM
Cc: multiple cdn
Subject: Re: [cdn-nucl-l] " Gas prices spark tinkering "


Jaro wrote:

> Gas prices spark tinkering

Very interesting article - thanks.

> And while the technology has existed for three decades, automakers are
> beginning to take notice, too.

AECL or CNA could make a big splash by ordering a few of these plugins
for their fleet.  Then take them around on public displays at county
fairs etc.  Hello, hello ......  Anybody there?

> for U.S. companies. But Toyota Motor Corp. officials, who initially
> frowned on people altering their cars, now say they may be able to learn
> from them.

You have to build that public pressure to get these guys to change.

> Backers of plug-in hybrids acknowledge that the electricity to boost
> their cars often comes from fossil fuels that create greenhouse gases,
> but they say that process still produces far less pollution than oil.
> They also note electricity could be generated cleanly from solar power.

Nope - solar power is impossible.  How can these smart guys be so
wrong!  Fission is the only realistic source today.

> But Toyota and other car companies say they are worried about the cost,
> convenience and safety of plug-in hybrids - and note drivers haven't
> embraced all-electric cars because of the inconvenience of recharging
> them like giant cellphones.

What a red-herring.  We are talking about hybrids here so the
inconvenience problem is solved.

Safety is a tricky issue however.  Batteries have a tendency to
explode and burn.  Ouch...

> Automakers also have spent millions of dollars telling motorists that
> hybrids don't need to be plugged in, and don't want to confuse the
message.

I think we can figure it out, and chew gum at the same time!

> Instead, Frank said, automakers promise hydrogen-powered vehicles hailed

Hydrogen does not work.  If you want to move energy around in physical
bundles you need dense, safe things like zinc or aluminum.

--
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Randal Leavitt        gnupg public key: bbbad04d
Registered User 267646 at http://counter.li.org/


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