Electrical car too good to be true??

Mon Sep 25, 2006 4:57 pm

http://money.cnn.com/2006/09/15/technology/disruptors_eestor.biz2/index.htm

CNN has this story about a company in Texas that claims they have some suped up capacitor that can charge up in 5 minutes and power a car for 500 miles...using an electrical equivalent of 45 cents per gallon of gasoline.
Sounds like some crazy bullsh*t, but if they're not lying...well, they'll all start dying mysteriously real soon.

Mon Sep 25, 2006 5:19 pm

Or one of he big car companies will buy the poatent and then bury it in their basement under 5 tonned of concrete...

Mon Sep 25, 2006 6:10 pm

Or 5 tonnes of SUV's which ever is cheaper

Mon Sep 25, 2006 6:25 pm

they claim they have it... where's the proof?

Mon Sep 25, 2006 7:18 pm

Have they even built a prototype or is it theoretical?

Mon Sep 25, 2006 8:21 pm

There are plenty of designs and prototypes out there like that, but like Parrot said, the big car companies buy them out for much much more than they are guaranteed, then rationalize burying the project due to some contrived error in calculations or so... It seems immoral how its done... but thats business for ya...

Mon Sep 25, 2006 8:24 pm

They received the patent for it in April, which (I believe) means it works. They have a contract with a canadian car company that makes zero emission cars. IMHO using this technology (if it pans out) in any sort of weird european mini is going to doom it. If it's everything they say, get it into a GM or Ford.
It sounds real in some aspects, but sounds like bullshit in others.

Mon Sep 25, 2006 8:34 pm

Awesome and watch the downside be something like the capacitor can only be charged a few times before you need to replace it with another $8,000 one.

One thing about electric cars, if everyone is plugging in to drive won't we have to supply more power on our already stressed power grid? That and if we don't build emission-free power plants burning more coal to produce this power will pollute about the same as gasoline cars.

Mon Sep 25, 2006 8:45 pm

actually i've seen all the reports on these things. i get a newsletter everymonth about new cars entering the canadian car market. im a automotive tech so i need the info for my work. and they sound really cool. i can't find the article which said when they where planning to reslease it but i seem to remember it being in the near future.

Mon Sep 25, 2006 9:13 pm

wouldnt this be all over?

Mon Sep 25, 2006 9:14 pm

Originally posted by Darknut
Awesome and watch the downside be something like the capacitor can only be charged a few times before you need to replace it with another $8,000 one.

One thing about electric cars, if everyone is plugging in to drive won't we have to supply more power on our already stressed power grid? That and if we don't build emission-free power plants burning more coal to produce this power will pollute about the same as gasoline cars.

The capacitor can be charged thousand and thousands of times, and adds about $3200 in costs, about 400 lbs in weight.

As for increased electrical supply...hell yeah! But the upside is electricity can be generated in many way, in combinations. Coal, oil, nuclear, solar,hydro etc. We can handle that.
Right now for car, oil is the only thing, which of course puts us in a crappy position.

Tue Sep 26, 2006 12:05 am

Originally posted by Buliwyf
wouldnt this be all over?

yeah right...what do you think GM and Ford have been trying to keep quite for all these years. and alittle hush, hush money in the pockets of the media goes along way.

plus it wouldnt suprise me if the people designing these types of things might want to keep them out of the main stream until they can hold there own against the big 3. once there are enough of these things around they cant just disappere and the big 3 will just have to compete with it, or say fuck you to the oil companys that line there pockets and build there own.

Tue Sep 26, 2006 10:44 am

Originally posted by SavageParrot
Or one of he big car companies will buy the poatent and then bury it in their basement under 5 tonned of concrete...

Uh no, this is the sort of technology that could save GM. If they where the only company in the world to offer it for however long on the patent, it would mean $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ lest we forget, the reason GM canned their other electric car is due to lack of interest and a huge bank of chem. batteries, however with gas prices like they are today perhaps they could see a more profitable margin immediately rather then long term.

I think it's the oil companies that would be threatened not car companies, GM is big enough to absorb them like SAAB and all the other pies they have their finger in, or Chevrolet with Jeep exc, I think it's big oil and all who come in contact with black gold are the ones who are shaking in their cowboy boots.
Oh yea and the technology has been around for decades in how to run your diesel off of old frying oil. God knows we have plenty of that in America! But who here has taken the time to look into this alternative fuel?

Tue Sep 26, 2006 12:16 pm

Originally posted by ferret963
Uh no, this is the sort of technology that could save GM. If they where the only company in the world to offer it for however long on the patent, it would mean $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ lest we forget, the reason GM canned their other electric car is due to lack of interest and a huge bank of chem. batteries, however with gas prices like they are today perhaps they could see a more profitable margin immediately rather then long term.

I think it's the oil companies that would be threatened not car companies, GM is big enough to absorb them like SAAB and all the other pies they have their finger in, or Chevrolet with Jeep exc, I think it's big oil and all who come in contact with black gold are the ones who are shaking in their cowboy boots.
Oh yea and the technology has been around for decades in how to run your diesel off of old frying oil. God knows we have plenty of that in America! But who here has taken the time to look into this alternative fuel?

1) Patents don't mean something works

2) There are countless thousands of patents for things that don't work

3) There is no 100 mpg "secret carb" suppressed from the public (been there, done that).

4) Bio-diesel is fine for the few that use it. For the other 99.99% out there, once it becomes a marketable commodity, kiss the 70 cent/gallon diesel fuel goodbye.

5) Conspiracy kook theories and urban legends are for KOOKS.

6) New inventions are often overstated as to it's claims. If the EEstor is viable, it will be a reality.

7) GM already tried and failed miserably with an electric car. If the EEstor works as claimed and isn't a portable bomb, it will revive those efforts.

8) Going into production doesn't happen overnight. Federal regulations doesn't help the matter.

I not only have looked into alternative fuels, I heat our home with it.

Tue Sep 26, 2006 2:29 pm

Originally posted by ferret963
Uh no, this is the sort of technology that could save GM. If they where the only company in the world to offer it for however long on the patent, it would mean $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ lest we forget, the reason GM canned their other electric car is due to lack of interest and a huge bank of chem. batteries, however with gas prices like they are today perhaps they could see a more profitable margin immediately rather then long term.

Yes but the cost of retooling their existing factories would be far more expensive than just buying the idea and making sure it never sees the light of day.