| Author |
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Mr_grumpy
| | Posted on Saturday, April 07, 2012 - 03:23 am: | 
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Blake, you want ketchup with those words?  |
Blake
| | Posted on Saturday, April 07, 2012 - 02:46 pm: |
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They are too sweet already I think.  How about some Tobasco sauce?
Glitch. Sorry amigo. |
Blake
| | Posted on Wednesday, April 11, 2012 - 07:36 pm: |
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General Motors Co. said a Wednesday explosion at a battery lab in the General Motors Technical Center that (seriously) injured one person was unrelated to the Chevrolet Volt or any other production vehicle, but was related to "extreme testing on a prototype battery."
http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120411/AUTO01 03/204110389/1148/rss25
Next gen Volt battery go boom? |
Glitch
| | Posted on Wednesday, April 11, 2012 - 08:54 pm: |
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Probably just needs a transmission  |
Blake
| | Posted on Thursday, April 12, 2012 - 10:40 pm: |
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Yeah, one that can withstand an explosion up close.  |
Aesquire
| | Posted on Friday, April 13, 2012 - 08:27 pm: |
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Consider that if you want to accelerate a 2 ton vehicle to highway speed in a safe for traffic time, you need energy storage of fairly high density.
You might be able to power a Volt with Edison iron-acid batteries, at a reasonable weight, but you'd have no room left for a passenger, or anything else. Lead-acid batteries would make the car mass twice as much, I bet, and make it impractical. ( and you'd still have no room for anything else in the car )
So a semi modern 435lb Lithium-ion battery makes sense. ( though I'm waiting for the polymer-ion ones to hit widespread use )
No matter if you use gasoline, natural gas, propane, hydrogen, or batteries, you have enough power packed in a small place that it is a hazard if damaged.
So far ABC hasn't attached rocket motors to a Volt to make it burn on cue for the cameras, as they did the Chevy pickup truck, but I'd bet you they would if the same program of taxpayer subsidies was done under the previous admin. Then again, hindsight is 20/20.  |
Sifo
| | Posted on Friday, April 13, 2012 - 08:38 pm: |
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No matter if you use gasoline, natural gas, propane, hydrogen, or batteries, you have enough power packed in a small place that it is a hazard if damaged.
One important difference is that batteries are self contained with their own ignition source.  |
Aesquire
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 02, 2012 - 06:33 pm: |
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http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/297445/ask- me-about-your-volt-daniel-foster
....It’s moments like this that make you forget that the Volt is a neato car. You remember that it is also a talking point, a floundering mascot of a political worldview according to which markets can be bribed and cajoled into making premature and uneconomic decisions, innovation can be centrally planned, and the future runs on the good intentions of the present’s policymaking class. Maybe that’s why GM had to suspend Volt production in March, and temporarily lay off 1,300 workers, to “align . . . production with demand.” Or why the president of the United States stooped to telling the United Auto Workers that he’ll buy a Volt the day he leaves office.
No president ever had to endorse the Model T. Indeed, Mr. Ford’s motorcar revolutionized the lives of the middle class in a way nothing else would until the invention of the microprocessor, despite Woodrow Wilson’s calling automobiles “the picture of arrogance and wealth,” the “careless” use of which was “spread[ing] socialistic feeling in this country.”.... |
Hootowl
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 02, 2012 - 06:49 pm: |
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Great article. Loved the end.
“No, no. I’m just test-driving it,” I said. “It’s not my money.”
As I drove away, it occurred to me that it would have been impolite to add, “It’s yours.” |
Sifo
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 02, 2012 - 07:05 pm: |
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“It’s nice to meet a genuine rich person.”
“No, no. I’m just test-driving it,” I said. “It’s not my money.”
As I drove away, it occurred to me that it would have been impolite to add, “It’s yours.”
 |
Blake
| | Posted on Thursday, May 03, 2012 - 08:27 pm: |
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Excellent article. Thanks for sharing Patrick! |
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