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Re: Phoenix SUT I think the question I have is whether the price will come down enough. Lithium costs quite a bit, and the market for that is too big to ignore. The first batch of 10 doesn't count, in my opinion, as far as the actual price/cost. Being the first one to get these with all the...

That's fascinating, and such a respected name to lead it all. I hope someone does step forward and start this off. I wish I knew more about the way this all works. I kind of have a vague understanding of the Tokamak, but not as much as I'd like.

The government requires that a car has brakes to get certification. There's no way around that right now. I believe that regenerative braking isn't good at very low speeds, putting a lot of strain on the motor and also draining the battery. I'm no expert on this, but I read it on the web so it...

I consider big auto industry entering the electric vehicle arena to be the biggest threat to Tesla's success. This article in auto week isn't a good sign for that. http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061107/FREE/61106014/1024/STATIC I think the threat comes in many...

I'm not an electrical engineer so I may have this totally messed up. I believe that there's some kind of problem with scaling up ultracapacitors. The numbers on the Honda were 2 grams/watt I think. Like I said, I don't know what I'm talking about on this, but the factor that doesn't scale is...

I never liked Orange, but it would be an orange roadster in my garage. There really aren't any colors that I dislike except I don't care for the gray.

I think money is part of the problem, but I also think they probably wanted to gain some experience while building the roadster. When you think what goes in to the manufacture of one car model it's astounding. I'm in manufacturing, but I wouldn't have a clue where to start. I'd have no clue...

I think it's fair to include the pollution and energy cost from making the batteries if all of the pollution that's put into the competing technologies is also included. Internal combustion engines have alot of manufacturing and every step has wastes that aren't included in their pollution...

Not a hopeful article for Tesla or the electric car in general. I hope this lights a fire under the people that want to prove the analysts wrong.

I think I understand this resentment, not to get all amateur Phsychologist. People see the environmental problems and they get all frustrated that nothing is being done, so they hook onto any new idea coming up the track. The problem is when they think they know the solution they latch onto...

I understand a bit better now, but this could be all wrong. Part of the problem is that the hub motors aren't the variable voltage AC motors of the type the single center mounted motor is. That's a new engineering challenge to give the same type of freedom to the wheel mounted motors that the...

I would rank Tesla at number one. The rest are difficult because most would fall lower on my list than many home-built re-fits. I don't believe there are any other electric's that are going to 2007 production. I'm n ot an expert on anything so this should be taken with a grain of salt. These...

I think Feel Good will have a new model to put the EESTOR batteries in for 2008 sale that looks better. I'd hope so in any case, they'd be foolish to throw away the opportunity. Quick charging is going to take some engineering, but it's not a huge road block. The military standards in place...

I'm not someone that can help you, but I wish you the best of luck. I think they hit the right market at the right time, and they did it in the right way. They went for high end sports car, which I think is the right choice because it's a unique niche that hits the people most interested and...

I understand why they went with the single centrally located motor on the roadster. I wonder if they'll go the same way on the Sedan. On the roadster performance was key. The in-wheel motors added un-sprung weight. Unsprung weight being any weight on the car that doesn't go through suspension...

I think they're going to have trouble competing, but I think they have a couple advantages as well. 1.Tesla is ahead of the others having a model already being sold. 2. The older car companies will try to incorporate steel (cheap) frames to lower cost where Tesla will go with bonded frames to...

I thought of an idea to modify this a bit. If you search for downdraft towers there's a concept that was first patented in the U.S. and revitalized by an Israeli student. It's almost the exact opposite of this tower. Basically you take a tall tower and spray water at the top into hot dry air...

That car looks pretty fun to drive. The more electric, the merrier.

I'm not against increasing motor efficiency but it seems like a limited potential. Tesla's hitting 90+% the difference between this and 100% can't be worth even a few pounds or a hit in longevity.

I don't see that as an awful thing, Tesla being bought out I mean. If you look at it closely there's just not very much in the Tesla that's proprietary. If a big auto company wanted to they could build a car that looked just like the Tesla, same speed and range and style. They've got the money...

I think he was speaking tongue in cheek, but who knows. I don't think this car or even Tesla will change the world alone, but what I think they've done is change thousands, and perhaps millions of individuals perception of the electric car. If you mention electric around anyone not intimately...

I like the idea of more power and always loved tinkering with cars, but the thought of people tweaking the Tesla makes me cringe. I can just see some huge Lith explosion because someone threw some extra batteries in the trunk space and hooked it up, to get a few more miles. No matter if it was...

I thought this was a cool bit of technology. It's a big Tower surrounded by green houses that slope upward toward the center tower. It's been tested in Spain for 8 years with a lot of variables thrown at it and produced steady power for 8 years. Now they're going to build this in Australia and...

Even if the storage was much less, say 80% of the Tesla's, and the car only got 150-200 miles it would be worth it to have the ability to recharge in a couple minutes. 150 miles would handle almost all commuting needs, and if it didn't then you charge it up. Zero maintenance and a near infinite...

I'm not sure I know what I'm talking about in regards to the specific batteries and system in the Tesla, but the way I understand it is that Lith-ion batteries charge faster up to 60-80% of capacity. I'm wondering if the above poster could charge for a couple of hours, if they had a charging...

I think you'll still hear the car coming, the electric motor is quiet, but not silent and the tires still make noise. I don't know if any of you have done this but coming from a hilly area we used to ride down hills in neutral with the windows open and there's just nothing like that fast quiet...