The work continues on

Well, the research mentioned previously continues on. All of this is work, but work that I love doing, so the answers will be posted here in due time… just not immediately. I did not want unfinished research to put the blog on hold, so I thought I’d write something new. There’s lots of new information that has yet to be shared.

I have gotten great feedback from some of my friends who’ve read the blog so far. Thank you for your interest and support. I listen to every one of you and your input is greatly considered and appreciated!

One of my friends strongly suggested that I should add pictures of babes to my blog (believe it or not), so that I can get more traffic on the site. Well, I know that the success of my web site depends on my listening to you. So I took that into consideration. Then another friend of mine emailed me a link about a Mustang looking smart car with a couple of pictures of a babe in front of it. So I hope my friend will be pleased with the first set of photos of babes on my site (and will keep coming back and reading its content).

Speaking of the smart car (smart is a company founded by Swatch and Mercedes-Benz, and written with small caps), smart says that they are working on an Electric Vehicle called the smart ev. Just click on the previous link to be directed to a page on their UK site – do not expect to find any information on their American site. Their site says “It isn’t available to buy just yet, but it isn’t a million miles off.” – how is that for a promise? Hopefully market forces will allow us to see one in less than a million years, or a million miles. I don’t mean to be pessimistic, but I just don’t think smart has the right incentive to give us the EV we want in the time frame that we want (which is RIGHT NOW).

For people who do want an electric smart car, you can get one from

Hybrid Technologies. Hybrid Technologies converts smart cars (as well as a few other different models) from gasoline to electric. George Clooney is actually promoting it! George Clooney has been my hero, as he’s the buyer of a Tango.
For some time I’ve wondered why Hybrid Technologies converts the smart car for the US market rather than a bigger car that would have more public acceptance in the US (plus avoiding the hassle of importing and retrofitting a car from another country). This process didn’t make sense to me, and to my understanding, the price tag on one of those electric smart cars is $40,000. Well, my conclusion is that the smart car’s light weight (less than 1,600 pounds) and good aerodynamics makes it for a vehicle that does not require a lot of batteries to move it. And being that Hybrid Technologies is using the best kind of batteries currently available (lithium-ion), then the smart car is a model that works well for long range, short charge-time with a small battery-pack. The less weight you carry, the cheaper it costs you and the longer you can go with the same energy. While perhaps not the most cost-effective solution or ideal platform, it’s a great start with the resources we have available. BTW, while not directly promoting Hybrid Technologies I thought I’d mention that they are a public company. So EV enthusiasts can claim that there’s at least one EV company that’s already public - Tesla Motors, which is likely the most well-funded EV company, is still a startup as of today.

Presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama greets supporters at the WAMU Theater during a campaign appearance in Seattle. - (June 02, 2007)

n another note, last week I had the privilege of seeing Barak Obama in Seattle. He came to the WaMu Theater next to the Qwest Stadium, and gave a powerful speech to a crowd of people who was ready for a fresh start. Obama spoke of transforming America and addressed many different topics, and the one that I listened most closely to (naturally) was the topic of how importing foreign oil is a risk to our national security and economy. Obama said that if all cars in the US met a minimum 45 MPG fuel-efficiency, that America would not need to import foreign oil. I do not know how he reached this conclusion and what numbers he used, but I trust that his Math is right. In any case, do I need to mention that with Electric Vehicles you are running on zero gasoline or fossil fuel? That’s right! Zero emissions while driving, all the performance you want or need, and the best part: all this technology is already available! And charging is a battery pack on an EV costs a fraction of what it costs right now to fill up your car with gasoline or diesel at current prices (average gasoline price in Seattle is over $3.25 a gallon).
The only thing necessary for building an electric car is the will to build one. I’m sure that’s something George Clooney understands and why he’s doing so much to promote EVs.