Comments on: A Car That Gets 150mpg? Hell Yes We Can.

By: lift

lift — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 21:36:09 +0000

In my opinion, Barak Obama’s speech in Lansing, Michigan, this week requieres that the Unions develop an specific plan to retool factories of all car makers for :

a) electric plug-in hybrids with ethanol-biodiesel motors,
b) new cheap composite materials and glass
c) hydrogen and methanol fuel-cell cars
d) solar panels plug-ins on every surface
e) gas stations retooling with plug-ins,new pipes , new pumps and compressors, etc., etc.,

and the necessary services ,parts, repairs, training,etc.,

THE UNIONS MUST BE THERE WITH A PLAN, THE UNIONS CANNOT WAIT FOR MANAGEMENT TO DO IT,THEY WIL MESS UP EVERYTHING, UNIONS MUST GET ACTIVE WITH A PLAN and GO TO OBAMA ( AND MCCAIN) AND SEE WHAT THEY DO, IF IT’S JUST TALK OR ACTION….after all, most of the advisers in the 2 campaigns are neocons with the Hedge-Funds that are interested only in the benefit of their masters : Saudi Arabia-UAE-Kuwait-OPEC and their Hedge-Funds managers from the israeli-neocon Lobby, the usual manipulators, this time the Unions must act.

the Unions must understand that Saudi Arabia and Israel are the most interested in keeping America addicted to Oil and only from the Middle East,so that “they” and only they are totally important and necessary…that’s why the neocons have a constant conflict with Russia, Venezuela,Libya and Iran,so only the Milddle East is left to provide the USA with 40 % of its Oil needs ( the rest comes from Canada and Mexico) , a fabricated monopoly but very profitable…enough ! time to break free!….UNIONS : GIVE A PLAN TOTHE CANDIDATES !

2) the plan to develop cellulosic plants for ethanol from wood chips is a very bad idea: WE ARE HUMAN AND WE WOULD END-UP CUTTING DOWN ALL THE TREES IN AMERICA FOR ETHANOL, WE ARE HUMANS AND SO WE ARE STUPID,GREEDY AND IGNORANT, WOOD CHIPS IS A VERY BAD IDEA, when we have jathropa,castor, seaweeds -algae,pengamia, etc.,all non-edible crops that won’t affect our wonderful trees, so we need to be vigialnt or they will cut down all the trees in the Americas !!!

so the Unions must prepare a plan, a total one, and go to Obama and McCain and let’s do it !

By: victoria

victoria — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 20:58:29 +0000

I wonder what happens in case of an accident that punctures the compressed air tank of the Tata car, though? Not to be a concern troll…..but I’d hate to find myself blown to Crawford while driving in Tulsa.

By: victoria

victoria — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 20:55:21 +0000

And Big Time said the American way of life was ‘non-negotiable’. Then he ate the last GM electric car.

By: Blue Texan

Blue Texan — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 20:19:39 +0000

Perfect is the enemy of the good.

By: BargainCountertenor

BargainCountertenor — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 20:11:16 +0000

Ann,

Sugarcane and sweet sorghum appear to the warm setup for biologically-derived ethanol right now. When we get cellulosic ethanol on-line (and it is just a matter of time), they’ll likely continue to have an edge.

Corn is a loser in ethanol for two reasons:
(1) the starches must be converted into sucrose the yeasts can ferment;
(2) the amount of convertible starch is limited.

Cane and sorghum can have close to 50% of their dry weight in the form of already fermentable sucrose.

Additionally, ethanol production may not be all that friendly. Apparently nitrous oxide is a by-product of some stage of the production. NO is a much more potent greenhouse gas than CO2. So they’ll have to find a way to scrub that from the emissions.

By: oldtree

oldtree — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 19:42:45 +0000

It is far too little for an “energy plan” that doesn’t resemble the oil company’s ideas. Is it so much to ask that we provide solar power for free to all Americans so they can drive an electric car that has NO pollution?
really sorry that the candidate is so short sighted. The people with the oil and coal are still driving the energy policy, even for Obama. It is really sad.

By: Badwater

Badwater — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 18:37:57 +0000

They already are, at least gas ones. They are called “Jaguar” and “Land Rover”.

By: 1watt

1watt — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 18:20:21 +0000

What about that car that runs on compressed air. Made by Tata in India. I would like to see Tata’s on the streets of America.

By: Knut

Knut — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 18:11:15 +0000

Call me an economist, but I don’t see any practical way to get a 150 mpg car on the road using only electricity. There are still serious problems with batteries and charging times. Much easier to make light cars like they do in Europe. Losing weight is also a good way to save gas, and helps your life prospects, too.

I wouldn’t put any stupidity past our auto CEO’s, but it strikes me that their problem is that, having conditioned the American people to want big high-performance cars — what they are selling is the adrenaline rush — it’s hard to turn around and say ‘nevermind’. Everytime gas prices go down, the American heartland goes back to its first love.

By: Ann in AZ

Ann in AZ — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 17:56:06 +0000

Not as far as I know. Some local politicians (Rethugs, of course) were. It seems they were in the state legislature, but had businesses on the side that would profit from the conversions. In Indiana, we used to call that “conflict of interest”, but here I think it’s known as “Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)”.