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Socoder -> Off Topic -> Would you drive this ? |
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| Wed, 08 Apr 2009, 19:51 | |
steve_ancell
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It could do well, and even better when Hydrogen fuel cells become cheaper, and when there can be a more environment friendly way to charge it. news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7989021.stm |
| Wed, 08 Apr 2009, 23:22 | |
spinal
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You and your hydrogen... They've been pushing hydrogen cars on us since the early 70's and they've only ever got more expensive. The only cheap way to run a car is using electric-only, producing hydrogen uses up far more electricity than it takes to power an electric car, there for they will be (and are) way more expensive to run. As for the weird segway car, I can't see anyone buying it, people want to travel long distances and dont want to recharge every 35 miles, especially when it takes you an hour to get that far. I'd prefer one of these - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKUyZHTNOiY -=-=- Check out my excellent homepage! 
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| Thu, 09 Apr 2009, 03:39 | |
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steve_ancell
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Hmmm... Maybe when I'm old, bald, and famous  There is an advantage with Hydrogen though, the equipment is supposed to be alot lighter. But as you said, it does take alot of energy to produce pure Hydrogen, and you cannot put HHO into a fuel cell. I remember seeing something on the news about a large stash of Lithium in some other country, so you are probably right in saying "The only cheap way to run a car is using electric-only". I suppose they could make batteries that fit inside normally unused space on the vehicle, so that they can retain luggage space. |
| Thu, 09 Apr 2009, 10:06 | |
Scherererer
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I don't think hydrogen will ever take off, because the bottom line is it takes far too much energy to extract it for it to be worth using in a car. Because ultimately, we'll have to then create a power plant that powers the hydrogen extractors. Unnecessary and wasteful expense. Instead, I think the battery powered cars are going to be what's what; especially since we can change the power infrastructure back and forth a thousand times between wind, solar, coal, nuclear, wood burning, peat moss, whatever, and the end user (car driver) will never have to know or care, as long as the power gets to them. |edit| And yes, I would totally drive the puma!  |edit|
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| Thu, 09 Apr 2009, 12:53 | |
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spinal
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...not to mention, it's very dangerous to store hydrogen.
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| Thu, 09 Apr 2009, 18:04 | |
Evil Roy Ferguso
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I would drive this. But I also wear shirts with Big Bird on them fairly regularly, so I'm really not a good model for "cool."
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| Thu, 09 Apr 2009, 19:49 | |
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steve_ancell
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 ...not to mention, it's very dangerous to store hydrogen. Erm... Come to think of it... Good point ! But at least we all agree on one thing... Electricity is the way forward. Just think of the joy of motoring, without having to endure the smell of fuel at a fill-up station ! |
| Thu, 09 Apr 2009, 21:30 | |
Stealth
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Problem right now with batteries is that they are very very expensive.
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| Thu, 09 Apr 2009, 22:45 | |
JL235
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It costs a lot of electricity to drill for, refine, store and transport oil into petrol. So the costs of hydrogen refinement should be measured against the current process, not theoretical ones. The fact is that hydrogen powered cars are a more practical solution today then electric powered cars. The recharge time is still a major issue. Talking of theoretical ideas, within 50 years commercial fusion power plants should be open. It is a cheap, effecient and environmentally friendly way to produce vast amounts of electricity. I predict that in over 50 years electricity will go the way of the telephone where it become cheap and abundant. |
| Fri, 10 Apr 2009, 05:53 | |
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spinal
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While there is still oil and coal to scoop up, there will be no electric cars or anything remotely environmentally friendly. There is far too much money to be made from fossil fuels, the cheaper option will ALWAYS be the very last resort.
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| Fri, 10 Apr 2009, 05:59 | |
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steve_ancell
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spinal While there is still oil and coal to scoop up, there will be no electric cars or anything remotely environmentally friendly. There is far too much money to be made from fossil fuels, the cheaper option will ALWAYS be the very last resort.What's needed is some kind of international shake-up to put a cap on the price of oil, then things might start to get interesting. |
| Fri, 10 Apr 2009, 07:19 | |
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JL235
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Spinal Today, fossil fuels are the cheap option! That's why it's still around. It's also hurting many third world African nations where they have abundant supplies of coal that they cannot mine or refine because much of the international community (who donate money and aid) insists they build environmentally friendly infrastructures instead, which cost more.
While there is still oil and coal to scoop up, there will be no electric cars or anything remotely environmentally friendly. There is far too much money to be made from fossil fuels, the cheaper option will ALWAYS be the very last resort. |
| Fri, 10 Apr 2009, 08:41 | |
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spinal
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The current problem is, that oil companies make $billions, so they're going to use their influence, which is HUGE, to make environmentally options less attractive. Can you imagine Shell or whoever turning around and saying "Please use less of our product and give us less money"... I don't think so. The who world runs on petroleum/gasoline, that isn't going to change while the companies are able to profit more from selling it than not selling it.
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| Fri, 10 Apr 2009, 09:00 | |
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JL235
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If environmentally friendly solutions were more profitable then oil/coal then the energy companies and oil producers would have switched further over to them a long time ago. Instead they are investing in them, but at a slower rate.
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| Fri, 10 Apr 2009, 09:17 | |
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spinal
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..and to answer the original question, I wouldn't drive one of those, who would want a segway car anyway? What's wrong with a regular 3 or 4 wheel design?
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| Sat, 11 Apr 2009, 20:20 | |
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mindstorm8191 |
You know, a small scooter like that, which can carry two people, seems like a pretty decent idea. But why make it segway-style, with the balancing act for momentum? I'm with spinal, just use a 3 or 4 wheel car design, fully electric. If it can hit 35 easily, then it would make a nice inner-city transportation system.
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| Sun, 12 Apr 2009, 07:07 | |
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steve_ancell
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Yeah... I'm also with spinal on this one, what that guy says always makes sense, and don't let anyone tell you any different  .The problem with a Segway style control system at 35 MPH, you would need to be very comitted to concentration if a child steps out in front of you, and you need to do an emergency stop. |
| Sun, 12 Apr 2009, 20:43 | |
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JL235
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Stece_Ancell There are braking limits which vehicles have to adhere too in order to be safe to drive. I would presume that this adheres to, probably with far better brakes then many old cars that are on the roads today. Plus (and I'm not saying this doesn't happen) in reality it's quite uncommon for kids to step out in front of cars.The problem with a Segway style control system at 35 MPH, you would need to be very comitted to concentration if a child steps out in front of you, and you need to do an emergency stop.What I would be more worried about would be a collission with another vehicle, which is far more common. I'd imagine it's far more likely for the vehicle to topple over as well as pass on more of the impact to the vehicles passengers. |
| Mon, 13 Apr 2009, 06:14 | |
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steve_ancell
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Kids stepping out in front of cars is more common than you think. I've lost count howmany times I have done emergency stops, especially around school kick-out times when they are all exited for being let out of their cages. The worst one is when one kid shoves into another one, and they go flying out into the road. I actually had one that ran into the front quarter of my car once, but I was only doing about 10 MPH *thank fuck*. For a frequent driver like myself, it would just be very weird to adjust to. I think you have hit the nail one the head about the danger of it toppling over though. |
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