TheEEStory.com

Watched the video. Hit the pledge button. Had heard about this issue since the early 2000's. I hope that the campaign is successful.

My opinion doesn't matter more than anyone else's, but I would like to see Tec stick around. Although I am now used to his new avatar, I think the previous Diesel from Thomas the Tank Engine photo captured his essence much better.

It is true that he posts quite extensively, but to me, he does come across as sincere in his beliefs much more than some other posters who tend to post often (and are also accused of trying to bash EEStor for profit). Whether his beliefs are accurate are another matter, but sincerity counts!

Lest we forget last summer when he did not post for several weeks (months?) because he thought he was still banned? When he reappeared, many on the forum welcomed him back with relief that he was healthy and not undergoing some sort of medical crisis.

I think many of us appreciate Tec more than we would like to admit. I am reminded of a dog and cat I had when growing up. They rarely got along, but at times when the cat had momentary wheezing spells (from a hairball or something), the dog showed genuine concern.

On the other hand, temporarily banning folks from time to time does offer a certain form of amusement, especially during these long NNNN seasons.

StephenB wrote:

Misleading headline for the article that has the eventual conclusion about people worrying about electric article safety: "They shouldn't."

Agreed. However, the article was pointing out that the Volt is a standard bearer for electric/hybrid cars, and any "flaws" might turn folks away. Of course there is also that pesky flammable gasoline issue with ICEs...

I'm not sure if this article (or one like it) was posted already. I heard an NPR story about the issue a few days ago. Lithium ion battery woes...

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/201...

This is from a PopSci photo gallery on General Electric inventions:

http://www.popsci.com/technology/gallery/2011-0...

http://www.popsci.com/cars/article/2011-06/futu...

and

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/05/automobiles/0...

Quick summary: Use capacitors for the body components of the cars, saving battery usage...

DGDanforth wrote:

How many of the rest of you have actually seen a Zenn car anywhere?

I saw one about three years ago at a dealership in Fairfax, VA. They were one of the dealerships that Zenn had as they were ramping up US sales.

I went in and said I was a Zenn stockholder, and they were happy to show me the car. I got the impression that not many folks had asked about it. The car looked nice, and was reasonably comfortable. However, the body was much flimsier than I expected. The sheet metal for the hatchback and the hood (boot and bonnet for UK) seemed pretty easy to bend. But I suppose extra bracing would have added too much weight, reducing the range.

The dealer offered me a test drive, but the family was waiting for me, so I declined, thinking I would get back another day. Unfortunately, a few months later, the car and the Zenn signs were gone.

I posted a link to a good article about test driving the volt a few months ago. However, the topic fell off the bottom of the list fairly quickly, and I don't know if most readers had a chance to see it.

http://www.theeestory.com/topics/7798?page=1#p1...

-ElectricEEL

Thanks for the great summary of the meeting and your thoughtful impressions!

Interesting question...

My take is that the design and the building of an electric Presidential limo would be too expensive, and Congress would not allow it to be budgeted. If I recall, President Obama was to get some new helicopters after he came in office, but he/Congress/someone else cut the program due to expense.

Assuming that the budget is not as much of an issue, I could see the Secret Service having opinions on whether an electric limo is good or bad. Certainly acceleration would be better than an ICE, all other things being equal. However, the current limo is probably pretty heavy due to the armor plating it has to have, and adding enough batteries that can get him from point to point for a decent range (probably 250 miles is a minimum) and motors with enough torque will add even more weight. Plus, I would imagine the presidential limo has a lot more communication electronics than an average car, and there might be RF interference with the electric motors and telematics required that would cause the Secret Service some worry. (Anyone know if the President can call a nuclear strike from the limo?)

Air Force One doesn't have the same issues, since the communication system it has is only a fraction of the total weight. Plus it generates its own power (electric and other).

I heard that there is (or is going to be) an electric Pope Mobile, but popes have a different agenda and security requirements than POTUS.

There are probably workable solutions, but not without an EESU :-)

Gene Weingarten, humorist and columnist for the Washington Post, wrote this article about test driving the Chevy Volt:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/ar...

I think this one is more likely to be B's dog. The relevant part starts at 8:00 minutes in...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYO0J3JL7rc

BTW - The dog's name is "Boy" (perhaps 'B' is short for "Boy)...

I don't know what is more interesting... The PS3 supercomputer, or that Wright-Patterson AFB was moved from Dayton, Ohio to Rome, NY. (When did *that* happen?)

The supercomputer appears very similar to what Virginia Tech did several years ago - creating a supercomputer using about a thousand Macs with PowerPCs. It is nice to see that AFRL is not above using "toys" to create something useful.

http://autos.aol.com/article/profiting-from-hyb...

An example of why patent protection is important.

It's neat, but I'm not particularly impressed. There was a lot of "human in the loop imitation" necessary to get it to its current point. Also, a lip reader would have a bit of trouble following what was being said (notice the lips never meet for B, M and P sounds).

I am more impressed by Toyota's brass playing robots:

But then again, maybe its because I am a brass player...