Ah, yes. Wildman Rod rides again! The Ford coupe is a beauty, if a tad
impractical for most applications.
I think we need to rethink the car before we try to open source it. My
idea for a plug-in electric hybrid (biodiesel) has been picked up by
someone else with more resources and I hope to see the initial results
on Saturday. Rumour has it a book will also come from the exercise (not
by me).
However, we do need to revisit what we really need from a car today,
because I don't think the Ford Excursion fits the bill. How about
quadricycles that can travel at urban speeds (up to 50 km/h), utilizing
a combination of human and electric power? Or the Twike? Lot's of
other light-weighting options. Less resources to construct and operate,
no toxic emissions in operation (well almost; there will be some CO2
GHGs from the breathing of the operators).
By comparison, the Smart is a fuel-guzzling pig boasting excessive
performance.
I have my vintage motorcycle operational again, thanks to my son's
efforts. A 1973 Aurenthetic Charger.
(http://www.econogics.com/ev/auranthe.htm)
Factory original electric mini-motorcycle. Gets almost 50 km to the
kWh.
Much better than the road-racer 1973 electric Porsche 914 that pigs out
at 5 km to the kWh. (If I did the math right, that's about 185 mpg, so
the motorcycle is getting well over 1500 mpg. According to this article
in Grist <http://evco.ca/electrathon/index.html>, walking gets about 75
mpg equivalent. An electric-assist bicycle would get about 3000 mpg
equivalent.) Tilled the garden on the weekend with an electric tractor.
Just bought a small, cordless electric rototiller for my mother - she
loves it.
Gasoline is only expensive if you use it. Go electric and green your
electricity. Buy locally. We know the answers, the rest is
rationalizations and convenience. Yes, it does take some effort to put
it all into practice, and I'm still on the path and far from the goal.
My advice, make the shift to sustainable practices while fossil energy
is still cheap.
Darryl
Dawie Coetzee <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Hey Zeke, are you familiar with this one?
http://www.angelfire.com/ca4/renewables/wilde/sterfo1.htm -D
----- Original Message ----
From: Zeke Yewdall <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: biofuel@sustainablelists.org
Sent: Wednesday, 23 May, 2007 4:42:18 PM
Subject: Re: [Biofuel] Fwd: US Gasoline Prices Hit All Time Historical
Highest
Level - Adjusted For Inflation
Wha?????? I did have to replace the radio in my '91 VW because after
I
replaced the battery, it went into security mode and wouldn't turn on
again.
And I refused to go to the dealership to have them fix that. I
suppose I was
supposed to take it there to get the battery replaced to begin with...
This is why I am building my own electric cars. One from a 1974
pickup, and
one from a recumbent bicycle (if I lived on the flatland, the regular
bicycle
itself would be fine.... but pedling up 4,000 feet in elevation gets
tiring at
times and I'd like electric assist -- solar recharged, of course)
Z
On 5/22/07, Mike Weaver <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Maybe an open source car?
The problem with new cars is that they can't be fixed. I knew someone
who got a new BMW 540 and it was replaced by insurance after the radio
was
stolen. Wiring and electronics too messed up to fix. 80k disposable
car!
Dawie Coetzee wrote:
The problem I've got with the Smart is that it embodies the motor
industry's kind of closed-technology, capital-intensive,
disposable, owner-unfixable, economies-of-scale-sensitive approach
as
much any other new car: possibly even more. I've often wondered if
it
can be corrected by a few minor tweaks, but every time I've done
that
exercise I've found that I'd very early cast out every last vestige
of
the Smart and designed an Austin Seven instead!
Also, the Smart's brief is to do the job that ought to be done by
walking. -D
----- Original Message ----
From: Mike Weaver < [EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: biofuel@sustainablelists.org
Sent: Monday, 21 May, 2007 11:28:29 PM
Subject: Re: [Biofuel] Fwd: US Gasoline Prices Hit All Time
Historical
Highest Level - Adjusted For Inflation
Still, this morning as I went into the city in my relatively small
VW
Biodiesel Golf, I saw hundreds of single occupant SUVs
pass me. Why don't we have smart cars in the US? I don't even need
a
VW most of the time. All I need to carry is a few computers and a
tools.
Keith Addison wrote:
If you put a bit more effort into it I'm sure you can hit $10 a
gallon soon.
http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/msg69797.html
Re: [Biofuel] Fwd: Gas Station Owner Told to Raise Prices
Best
Keith
US Gasoline Prices Hit All Time Historical Highest Level -
Adjusted
For Inflation
US average, self-serve, unleaded regular hits $3.18
This is a point we have been dreading. Before this,
the all time highest US average gasoline (regular) price
was during 1981 (March IIRC). Adjusted for inflation,
we finally topped it, and appear to be still climbing at a
steady pace. It was announced on the news yesterday
(Sunday) on PBS.
CNN verifies it, today:
http://money.cnn.com/2007/05/21/news/economy/record_gas_monday/
Here is a webpage, anticipating it, but not being able
to anticipate what the number would be, or when it
would get reached:
http://www.answers.com/topic/oil-price-increases-of-2004-2006
We got close in 2006
http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2006/07/gas_prices_allt.html
We got closer, earlier this month:
http://www.informationliberation.com/?id=21867
http://zfacts.com/p/35.html
This website that was set up to say "gasoline is cheap"
now shows that today it has gotten expensive, by their
standards.
http://www.nationalreview.com/moore/moore082803chart.asp
http://infohost.nmt.edu/~armiller/gasprices.htm
<http://infohost.nmt.edu/%7Earmiller/gasprices.htm>
This one will give you an idea of the kind of misleading
verse that we were being fed by Washington, and that
some propagandists still spout, even in the face of reality.
http://www.cted.wa.gov/energy/archive/Indicators99/Indicator24.htm
Here is a radical, George Will, trying to make fun of
the concern about gasoline prices, just last month. However,
since then, the pump price has gone up 18% (since last month)
and is now at the highest price in history, both in actual
dollars,
and also in inflation adjusted dollars.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR200
7040402251.html
http://jalopnik.com/cars/gas-prices/never-mind-the-4-per-gallon-heres
-the-summer-road-trips-61124.php This one would be funny, if it
weren't so sad: from last month: Quote: "says Tom Kloza, chief oil
analyst for the Oil Price Information Service, an energy
consulting
firm. "The reality is that we're nearing the highs of the year,
and
within 30 days there will be more gasoline on the market The
article
was dated 4/25/2007, twenty six days ago, and the quote was from
before that. Those prices better drop fast. Instead they have
climbed about 15%. Here is an other quote from the deceptive
"experts:" "The most recent Energy Dept. forecast, released
Apr.10,
predicted retail regular gasoline prices would average $2.81 per
gallon in the summer of 2007 (April-September)." We are already
nearly 40% through that time, and prices are still climbing. Here
is
another one: ""We expect to see prices flatten around where they
are
now," says Douglas MacIntyre, senior oil analyst for the f
ederal Energy Information Administration, part of the DOE. "More
refinery outages and higher crude prices could push it to $3 Since
then the price has climbed about 18%, to $3.18, the highest price
in
history. More: "experts say consumers are actually getting a
bargain
at the pump, as prices are still lower than in the early 1980s,
adjusted for inflation." Since then the price has climbed about
18%,
to $3.18, the highest pump price in history. Another: "On a
national
average, gasoline prices actually decreased for the week of Apr.
23,
falling 0.7 to $2.87 per gallon"
http://news.yahoo.com/s/bw/20070426/bs_bw/apr2007db20070426139334Since
then the price has climbed 11%, to $3.18, the highest price in
history. Also the old record year 1981 only averaged $2.64
(adjusted
to 2006 dollars) while 2006 averaged $2.81, and this year is
looking
to set a new record average, not just the highest price records. .
http://www.swivel.com/data_columns/spreadsheet/2690244 However,
gasoline is
still a lot more expensive in other countries. And another curious
fact. Adjusted for inflation, the cost of oil was around $90 a
barrel, back in 1981. It is hanging at around 2/3rds of that
today.
The difference is going to the oil companies, not for the purchase
of oil. They are currently, with two oil men in the White house,
reaping the largest profits of any companies in the history of the
human race. -Laren Corie- Solar Building Design Since 1975
www.LarenCorie.com <http://www.larencorie.com/ >
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It's your planet. If you won't look after it, who will?
The Emperor's New Hydrogen Economy (eBook and trade paper)
http://www.econogics.com/TENHE/
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