General Motors announces G6!

I just want them to get on with the affordable hydrogen-powered cars. cheap, clean, efficient. Goodbye oil!

[ahh, well, I think 'goodbye oil' is about 10 yrs premature. ]

Oh. For a sec there I thought Apple had bypassed the Motorola G5 and gone to General Motors for a petrol powered processor.

Just in case u didnt no buddy.... Potiac is also Makeing a Grand Prix G8

That's impossible. The Republicans said so.

You're an idiot. Tell you what:

YES, auto manufacturers DO have the means to produce fuel cell vehicles and hydrogen powered vehicles.

Know why they don't? NOBODY WOULD F*CKING BUY THEM. Why?! They'd be ludicrously expensive, they wouldn't have anywhere NEAR the performance of a regular car, and its a new untested technology. Hydrogen?! Compressed hydrogen? Oooo I betcha accidents are exciting. Shut your trap unless you know what you are talking about.

- Ca$h

Shutup dumbass. Are you driving an EV1? Or even a hybrid? Why not? They're AVAILABLE. But you don't drive one? Hypocritical poser.

- Ca$h

Nah. With the current trend in hybrids, we are not going going to say goodbye oil for a long time. Toyota and Honda hybrids still get their energy by exploding gasoline against pistons. If that method picks up in the market, we'll be using 50% of the same'ol Saudi oil.

But I foresee that there will be chaos in the hybrid/electric car market. Now there are hybrids only, but soon (when economics say so) there will be an affordable fuel cell car running on gasoline (not hydrogen) and then one with batteries that recharge in 2 minutes. There will be no standard, but as long as they do not step on each others' feet (like trying to impose several new kinds of fuel in gas stations), they will find their way in.

Betcha that China will get their head-out-of-there before the US about electric cars and will develop a kickass electric with whatever technology. They'll be making billions by selling it to the rest of the world!

Who cares about car performance? If it drives at the speed limit, it is good enough for me. (sounds like the G4 apologetics)

Quote:

"Shutup dumbass. "

"You're an idiot. Tell you what:"


Yeah, you�re��n polite guy, ca$h

No, I'm not polite to STUPID people talking about a subject they know almost NOTHING about. Hell, I don't know a lot about them myself, but I know enough to realize they aren't practical. And yes, performance DOES matter to some people, myself included. If you really think performance doesn't matter, go purchase yourself an EV1 and be part of the 'revolution', until then, you're a freaking whining poser.

- Ca$h

When I am able to pay 20-thousand for a car, I'll buy electric. Right now, let me be with my $2000 gas chugger.

Performance matters to you, your ricer buddies and some other people

AHA. Thats what I'm talking about. You JUST proved my point. Fuel cell vehicles, electric vehicles, and hydrogen vehicles all have one HUGE weakpoint: PRICE. The price has to be VERY HIGH because NOT MANY PEOPLE WILL BUY THEM. You yourself can't even buy one, so what are you doing? DRIVING A GASOLINE CAR, just like 95% of the car buying public.

- Ca$h

WTF, you little dipshit? I've never said one word to you, kind or no, and you go off like that. My interests include things like nuclear physics (fission and fusion), linguistics, and chemistry--I think I can speak articulately and hypothetically about hydrogen-powered cars.

To date, there are many problems with hydrogen-powered cars, and fuel-cell vehicles are the interim technology. If you kept your head out of your ass, flamed a bit less, and kept up with the research, you'd know that GM has a big program working on miniturizing the batteries and improving the technology. I based my comments (and wishes) around their program.

you, of course, already knew all about this, and I expect you to post as much.

I won't argue that hybrids and electrics are disadvantaged now. I just despise your closemindedness about said cars.

.

Bah. We've had the G8 in Canada twice in the past 2 years.

Slow down everyone! Ca$h wants the world to stay flat, so let's just drop this whole discrimination against internal combustion, ok?

While both extremes are being argued here, I think that in a logical frame of mind, everyone can agree that at some point in the future, cars that use gasoline as fuel will no longer be the mainstream. And the new alternative will offer as much performance, if not more, than current vehicles. It's inevitable, and it's only a question of time. And in that respect, Ca$h is right: the time is not now.

However, I for one wouldn't want gasoline cars to completely disappear. For example, I really admire people who on their spare time maintain steam engines and such. It's an obsolete form of locomotion for the most part, but its great to look at a piece of engineering history in the face, and to see people maintain it with a passion. And when the eventual, and perhaps gradual demise of the gas engine comes about, I sure will miss the roar of a meaty V8, and would love to see even a select few maintaining and keeping alive a piece of history.

Yep, and I already know about the fuel cell program Chrysler is doing. So eat me.

- Ca$h

Look, I'm NOT AGAINST these new technologies, I just hate it when stupid freaking liberals blame republicans or oil companies for 'not allowing' alternative fueled vehicles to be produced. Its BS. The EV1 for example. Let's say I bought one. K. Its winter, so I need to turn on the heater. And its night time, so I turn on the lights. And I want to listen to the radio. Do you know how far I'd get? Like freaking NOWHERE. And how long does that beast take to recharge?! Bah.

And they are NOT fast:

Honda Insight 0-60 in 12.3 sec. ICK.

GM EV1? 9 seconds (http://www.automotive-technology.co...mev1/specs.html)

BLECH. Until alternatively fueled vehicles can COMPETE with internal combustion vehicles in PRICE, RELIABLITY, AND PERFORMANCE, screw 'em. The problem is NOT the fuel milage or emissions of the average automobile, the problem is SUVs, SEMIs, BUSES, and TWO STROKES. Did you know a lawnmower running for an hour puts out 8X the emissions of a new car?!

anyway.

- Ca$h

They talk about safety in this article.

Click me

Here is a clip from the CNN article:
What about safety?

Safety issues are a major concern for a fuel that's often perceived as more dangerous than others. While hydrogen itself played no part in either catastrophe, it was the fuel in both the Hindenburg and the Challenger.

Wagner says consumers should not fear a hydrogen-powered vehicle.

"Of course there is some risk, but it is comparable to the risk we have with conventional automotive fuels," he said.

The difference is hydrogen would have to be pressurized. That sounds like a very very bad idea.

- Ca$h

.

Why does the hydrogen need to be pressurized? Do you have a link? If it does need to be why would this be bad? The article I pointed to makes it sound as if the hydrogen only needs to be kept cold.

More Quotes from the article:
"While hydrogen is the lightest element, it has some tricky characteristics. It only becomes liquid at dramatically low temperatures -- -423 degrees Fahrenheit (-253 degrees Celsius). To keep the fuel that cold, fuel tanks in the BMW cars are made of 70 layers of fiberglass and aluminum."

" BMW conducted numerous crash tests to see what would happen if the hydrogen tank was punctured or damaged. Their engineers report the liquid hydrogen dissipated harmlessly into the air."

Originally posted by daimoni:
With an electric vehicle you don't have to wait for the engine to warm up. You want heat? Turn on the heater. Bam! You're warm. My wife loved that. And if you leave the headlamps on... it'll take a good day or so before you deplete the charge. And there's also the benefit of regenerative breaking. Often I'd arrive at my destination with more energy than when I started. Now, put that in your pipe and smoke it.

Ever wonder why houses aren't heated via electricity, kinda like a toaster? Know why? Because producing heat with electricity is HORRIBLY inefficient. It would cost a ****load. So you aren't seeing my point. The range on the Ev1 leaves something to be desired in optimal conditions. Tack on heating (uses LOTs of energy), headlights (even more) and a stereo (more still) and your range is SEVERLY shortened. And more energy than when you started? Maybe if you are always traveling downhill, but somehow I doubt it.

Regarding how fast they go... did they test the car going up a steep incline? I bet they didn't. With only one gear (on/off)... say hello to low-end torque, baby. I'd beat most cars at the light (well, at least for a few secs). But it's a moot point, because hey, electric cars weren't designed for the 'problem space' of racing.

The point is they aren't as fast as a comparable internal combustion engined car.

- Ca$h

So they use liquid hydrogen? How do you keep it cold? Also, how to you refill it?

- Ca$h

Sounds like the special fuel tank keeps it cold. I would assume you would fill it up at a place similar to today�s gas stations. They just need to be built. Europe is working on this already. The infrastructure in place now to deliver gas didn't just magically appear.

Look, nothing can keep something cold forever (exception being space). How would this liquid nitrogen be cooled in the first place, and how would it stay cold?

- Ca$h

You are right, you have NO IDEA what you are talking about! Tell me what isn't "practical" about this car.

**Maybe it is only having to fill up the gas tank once every 4-5 weeks
**Maybe it is the ability to carry three weeks worth of groceries for a couple
**Maybe it is carrying two weeks of supplies and gear for a camping trip
**Maybe it is driving down the interstate at 75MPH while getting 75MPG

If you have kids this car isn't for you as it is only a two-seater but there is both a four-door Toyota and Honda out there for those of you who want more room.

What isn't practical?

1. The stickerprice
2. The range (for ev1, NOT hybrids)
3. The use in winter climates (for ev1, NOT hybrids)
4. The size
5. Not everyone wants to advertise for "Jelly Belly" products.
6. The performance

How much did you pay for that thing?

- Ca$h

Fuel cell cars would be just as fast as Gas engines Ca$h.

Dodge made a Charger concept (fuel cell) that put out a little over 300bhp. Granted they would be damned expensive now, I'm not arguing about that, its just the power yeilds would be very similar to gas engines. Plus the fuel cells, once pefected would weigh far less than a full 20 gal tank of gasoline.