The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age

    Electric car gets good review

    By PeraclesPlease on Sat, 03/23/2013 - 10:25am |

    Okay, this isn't a big post, but after some electric car company called an NY Times reporter a liar last month for the road test review, it was nice to see a very positive review of a practical shipping car, the Renault Zoe (no, I don't own stock or work for the company).

    I was quite content with my 1 Renault, plus in general like their diesel engines - one hopes the quality continues over car lifetime with electric power.

    While a higher price than equivalent gas or diesel model, I assume that's made up pretty quickly in gas savings.

    As for the limitation of 75 miles, that's way more than my typical city driving, and a bit over the one-way distance to the cottage for the weekend where I presumably would recharge. Sure, there are other scenarios where that's not sufficient, but this is a great step towards electric feasibility.

    Now if someone would let me drive around Lisbon for a week in it, I'll be happy to write an even more suck-up diary....

    Comments

    some electric car company called an NY Times reporter a liar

    That electric car company was Tesla (don't you just love that name) and that was a fun story to follow since both sides kind of set the other one up.  The Times public editor's conclusions on the reporter and story are here, if you are interested. 

    Problems With Precision and Judgment, but Not Integrity, in Tesla Test - NYTimes.com

    What is of ongoing interest to me is that that story and test were not about the Tesla's electric car but of the supercharging stations it is building to service them. While I love the idea of having an electric car, I am not at all thrilled about some of the battery issues including recharging which can take a very, very long time.

    I like how some of the car companies are using flywheels and kinetic energy to somewhat recharge as they go but my absolute favorite idea is to embed contacts along major roads and highways to let cars draw electricity directly from the grid in an updated version of the old electric trolley technology. This would not only resolve most of the battery, range and speed issues of electric cars but could have side benefits as well like preparing the way for driverless cars and encouraging power companies to bury their transmission lines.

     


    by EmmaZahn on Sat, 03/23/2013 - 2:04pm

    Well the Zoe seems to have gotten the mileage advertised. Can't tell if the Tesla did, thanks to typically poor NY Times reporting {they helped get us into Iraq, of course, only few small details wrong along the way like those missing WMDs}. Couldn't this guy document his trip on his iPhone or something moderately high-tech?

    Requiring railings seems like a pretty horrid idea unless maybe if it's a small optional section of road rather than a mandatory 3rd rail.  (old electric trolley tech still exists for European trams, but these take up a lot of dedicated real estate for mass transit)

    And as Google cars have shown, we're getting where remote navigation is pretty functional - why revert to planned tracks?

    Here's something of a breakthrough using inductive charging via a metal band inside the wheel - something that doesn't require such fixed track driving:

    http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/12/121205082641.htm

    Improving time to charge for batteries will of course be the major goal, but if there's a good convenient way to charge while travelling, will be nice.


    by PeraclesPlease on Sat, 03/23/2013 - 3:11pm

    That's the updated trolley technology I was talking about i.e. the electricity only flows when the circuit is closed  I could not find the website I originally read about it but I did not really look too hard.  As your article notes:

    The steel belt collects power excited from a pair of electrodes buried beneath the road surface.

    II know Google is really promoting its driverless technology but there are problems.  Personally I would feel better about cruising driverless at interstate speeds along a track, or more accurately trail, of some kind rather than relying on the individual hardware and software of each car on the highway to avoid bumping into one another.  You just never know when Google will simply abandon one of its services -- like Reader. ;D  

     

     


    by EmmaZahn on Sat, 03/23/2013 - 4:03pm

    Good point - except they have good incentive to keep drivers occupied with reading advertisements & not looking at the road. - these other services didn't fit their core biz model ;-)


    by PeraclesPlease on Sun, 03/24/2013 - 4:04am

    Sounds nice but impractical unless they can figure out a way to keep it form radiating past the wheels. It would pretty much obliterate any communications near by.  It would have to transfer enough energy - power -  for each car. That's a lot of radiated energy at that frequency. 


    by cmaukonen on Sat, 03/23/2013 - 10:42pm

    Thanks.  I wondered about that.  It sounded like it would have to be a very strong current to do what they are suggesting.  But this particular idea is not the only one that I have seen that suggested using something embedded in roadways to provide electricity.  The first was was very much like the old-fashioned trolley but instead of overhead wires and tracks, small retractable wheels underneath the car would draw electricity from a series of contact plates placed at regular intervals across highways to keep the batteries charged.  Hokey maybe but bottom line, I like the basic idea and really hope someone will figure out how to make work.

     


    by EmmaZahn on Sun, 03/24/2013 - 9:22am

    Sleep is a wonderful thing.

    The last thing I did before going to sleep last night was write that comment (and it shows) and the first thing I thought on waking this morning was ceramics then piezoelectric plates. Weird, yes, but explainable. It is something from my boondoggles bookmark file where I keep links to new energy production ideas.  Many of the links are broken but a quick google located a really good new one: Innowattech - Energy Harvesting Systems.  My guess is that something like it is the anticipated energy source for the 'tire power' from Peracles' article. Since Innowattech is already testing the technology in highways in Israel, would drivers there not already be experiencing the disruptions you envision?  Not sure how to find out.  

    FWIW, I like boondoggles so when I use the term to describe innovative ideas, my intent is not derogatory.

     


    by EmmaZahn on Sun, 03/24/2013 - 9:54am

    Do Androids dream of Electric Sheep? Do they receive piezoelectric plates at wedding showers?


    by PeraclesPlease on Sun, 03/24/2013 - 12:16pm

      I've been meaning to read that novel for some time. Maybe this year I'll finally get around to it.


    by Aaron Carine on Sun, 03/24/2013 - 7:56pm

    Well worth your time, Aaron. The Man in the High Castle is also masterful. But be warned: Dick is addictive.


    by acanuck on Wed, 03/27/2013 - 6:37pm