Transport Evolved

[Doug_G]

I had a look at a few articles from this guy, and he's rather alarmist and very opinionated.

 

[Lloyd]

I had a look at a few articles from this guy, and he's rather alarmist and very opinionated.

He lost credibility with me when he started talking about doing away with private transportation and having everyone ride the train. Just a little too left of left for me!!

 

[JRP3]

I didn't think he said we need to do away with private transportation, he just said the current number of vehicles were a result of decades of cheap abundant oil, and those days are gone. To the degree that he is correct market forces will reduce the number and size of personal vehicles on the road. At some price per gallon all but the most efficient of vehicles will not be sustainable, and if the price per gallon begins to rise quickly enough we will not be able to compensate fast enough. He may be extreme but he may not be wrong.

 

[Lloyd]

I have to go and listen again, but I believe he was advocating the change sort of pre-emptively. Thats what I took home anyway.

 

[JRP3]

I see it as a combination, intelligent choices now can mitigate how it all unfolds but ultimately the market will force us if we fail to take aggressive pre-emptive measures. I didn't get the idea that he was suggesting that all personal transportation must end but that alternatives need to be developed where possible, starting now. I'm inclined less towards passenger rail for the US and more towards smaller more efficient vehicles, coupled with more people living closer to work and doing far fewer long distance trips.

 

[Mycroft]

JRP, that was the gist I was getting as well. I believe his view is that we need to start developing an electrified light rail system sooner, rather than later.

This probably belongs in the Rail thread, but...

They just installed two light rail systems in the Seattle area. One, in Tacoma goes a whopping 2 miles. The other in Seattle cost billions and only goes between Seattle and the airport, completely bypassing a huge shopping mall.

It boggles my mind that they don't use the right-of-way that already exists right down the middle of the freeways for light rail.

 

[dpeilow]

They just installed two light rail systems in the Seattle area. One, in Tacoma goes a whopping 2 miles. The other in Seattle cost billions and only goes between Seattle and the airport, completely bypassing a huge shopping mall.

Sometimes you have to wonder who the transport planners are working for.

 

[jcstp]

Sometimes you have to wonder who the transport planners are working for.

Unless they will do the exploitation themselves, the builders do only what they are told to and do it as cheap as possible! Passengers are not their concern! That's the concern of the people who will exploitate the line!

Planners can sometimes come with a nice plan, but when the commissioner has only a certain budget "compromises" are due! Not alway the most intelligent are chosen!

It's all about the money! (And the people in charge!)

 

[VolkerP]

I didn't think he said we need to do away with private transportation, he just said the current number of vehicles were a result of decades of cheap abundant oil, and those days are gone. To the degree that he is correct market forces will reduce the number and size of personal vehicles on the road. At some price per gallon all but the most efficient of vehicles will not be sustainable, and if the price per gallon begins to rise quickly enough we will not be able to compensate fast enough. He may be extreme but he may not be wrong.

I am pretty sure that the very same people that today claim "kill the tax credit, let market forces decide if EVs should be introduced" will call for the government to step in (subsidies?) when market forces drive up the gas price faster than Joe & Jane Average can adopt.

 

[mpt]

Transport Evolved 87 - Fox's Big Problem

Join Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield, Michael Thwaite, and Chelsea Sexton as they discuss the weeks' news in the world of green transport, including the woman who won a court battle with Honda, the politics of electric car sales, the Muppets, and much more.

{Oh, between you and I, we should have saved the chatroom transcript; at least one member had the hots for Chelsea this week}

 

[mpt]

Transport Evolved is shifting to Friday noon London, 7am EST for this week; we have Robert Llewelyn joining us to talk about the Model X amongst other things.

 

[Bud]

In a recent episode of Transport Evolved one of the participants was trying to remember a situation that involved EV batteries, patents, and an oil company. None of the three very prominent people in EV news could think of what it might be.

Here are two Wiki articles (more are on the Doug Korthof RIP thread in this site), in case this was the subject:

Patent encumbrance of large automotive NiMH batteries - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Toyota RAV4 EV - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

An excerpt from the latter:

“Whether or not Toyota wanted to continue production, it was unlikely to be able to do so because the EV-95 battery was no longer available. Chevron had inherited control of the worldwide patent rights for the NiMH EV-95 battery when it merged with Texaco, which had purchased them from General Motors. Chevron's unit won aUS$30,000,000 settlement from Toyota and Panasonic, and the production line for the large NiMH batteries was closed down and dismantled. This case was settled in the ICC International Court of Arbitration, and not publicised due to a gag order placed on all parties involved.[11][12] Only smaller NiMH batteries, incapable of powering an electric vehicle or plugging in, are currently allowed by Chevron-Texaco.[13]

In July 2009, Cobasys NiMH division (Chevron-Texaco), was sold to a Bosch and Sanyo consortium, but still retained the patent rights and collect royalties on the batteries.”

 

[mpt]

There you go; thanks Bud.

 

[mpt]

Transport Evolved Episode 88 - X Marks The Spot

Join Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield from Green Car Reports, Michael Thwaite from TeslaMotorsClub, and guest Robert Llewellyn as they discuss the week's news in the world of electric cars, including Fisker's Financial woes, which car is cheapest to run over 5 years, and the 2014 Tesla Model X.

 

[dpeilow]

They talk about Volt/Ampera running costs and Nikki then talks about her Plug-in Prius trip to Scotland and says she got "err about 70 - 80 MPG".

Actually it was 63... (doesn't say if that is UK or US gallons, I'm presuming UK)

Bobbyllew then goes on about his time with the PiP getting over 100MPG on trips to the shops and school - but that's the point, those would be infinity MPG with the Volt/Ampera...


However, I totally find myself agreeing with Nikki and Robert on the X.


P.S. MPT a child of the 80s? Pull the other one... :wink:

 

[dpeilow]

I'm now watching the previous episode (87).

Nikki says she was driving the LEAF on the 'freeway' (we have motorways in the UK by the way) for 80 miles at 50mph, with no heating on, to make the range.

I was driving home the other night and someone was doing 50mph and forcing several articulated (semi-) trucks out around them. There was a huge gaggle of traffic building up behind them and it was then causing problems for people coming around a corner and trying to get across for the exit.

I've said it before but this was just another illustration. Driving at that speed on the motorway is at best, not helpful. I really think that sends out a bad message for EVs and especially to the people who see them doing it.

 

[JRP3]

Probably true but it's better than being stopped on the side of the road because you didn't make it.

 

[ElSupreme]

I'm now watching the previous episode (87).

Nikki says she was driving the LEAF on the 'freeway' (we have motorways in the UK by the way) for 80 miles at 50mph, with no heating on, to make the range.

I was driving home the other night and someone was doing 50mph and forcing several articulated (semi-) trucks out around them. There was a huge gaggle of traffic building up behind them and it was then causing problems for people coming around a corner and trying to get across for the exit.

I've said it before but this was just another illustration. Driving at that speed on the motorway is at best, not helpful. I really think that sends out a bad message for EVs and especially to the people who see them doing it.

I frequently complain about Priuses/Prii doing this all the time. Sadly they wander out into the left lanes.

 

[dpeilow]

I watched #86 too.

Well done for revisiting the UK Govt spending money on hydrogen story.

I thought Chris Nelder was on the money both on that and in general about public transport. You may not like the message, but don't shoot the messenger.

 

[Kevin Sharpe]

I've said it before but this was just another illustration. Driving at that speed on the motorway is at best, not helpful. I really think that sends out a bad message for EVs and especially to the people who see them doing it.

absolutely!