Electric Carmaker Plans New Factory In California

[Psychoblues]

Good for the US economy and good for the planet as well. I wonder why GM, Ford and Chrysler are closing plants and moving them overseas to build cars that it seems by latest accounts that people do not want. All 3 of them are posting huge declines in sales. I don't think moving their factories overseas is going to solve their shortsightedness or any other of their problems.

Source: San Diego Union Tribune

Tesla Motors, aiming to be the first high-volume electric-car maker, will open a California factory to produce battery-powered sedans in 2010, abandoning an earlier plan to assemble the model in New Mexico.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced the project yesterday at Tesla's San Carlos headquarters. The factory will be in the San Francisco Bay Area and have capacity to make as many as 20,000 cars a year, said Darryl Siry, vice president of sales and marketing. The location and final investment amount haven't been determined, he said.

Incentives offered by California and a desire to stay close to suppliers prompted Tesla to choose its home state for production of the White Star model, Siry said. Tesla had said in February 2007 that it would make the sedan at a $35 million factory in Albuquerque, N.M.

“New Mexico made an excellent offer, but California's was better,” Siry said. “When push comes to shove, the primary thing that's driving us on this project is proximity to suppliers.”



More: http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20080701/news_1b1tesla.html

We need more manufacturers to take an example from Tesla!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Little-Acorn]

Wow, think of the money I can save on gas with that car!!! ...once I pay off the $100,000 purchase price.

[MtnBiker]

Wow, think of the money I can save on gas with that car!!! ...once I pay off the $100,000 purchase price.

Maybe you can live in it also. :D

[avatar4321]

and how much oil has to be burned to generate that electricity?

[Sitarro]

Wow, think of the money I can save on gas with that car!!! ...once I pay off the $100,000 purchase price.

No shit. That is, of course, if the batteries work as advertised(rechargeable batteries never do)...... but then how long before the batteries need to be replaced and how much will that cost and what is the environmental impact of making, using and discarding that many batteries. Then there is the little problem of collisions. If an electric car collides with a gas car and the gas car leaks some of it's fuel, aren't you SOL in the electric car that the door locks won't work because the batteries are screwed up and the same batteries ignite the fuel and you burn alive in your environmental car.........Won't the start forest fires if they go off of the road and hit a tree?

The airline I work for has replaced most of the 500 tugs at the Houston airport with electric....... they suck, aren't reliable and the charge is effected by the weather. They die early in the cold of winter and we don't even have snow.

[Psychoblues]

I've got a '97 Club Car 36 volt electric golf cart. I live in a very small and very private community. I use my golf cart everyday. I've replaced the batteries only once and it still holds a charge and runs very well. These are conventional batteries and the new battery technology is far superior. It costs about 20 cents to charge it and I can drive it for a few weeks before it needs recharging.

You don't want an electric car? Don't buy one. I love 'em and completely respect the ideology and the engineering that goes into them.

[emmett]

I've got a '97 Club Car 36 volt electric golf cart. I live in a very small and very private community. I use my golf cart everyday. I've replaced the batteries only once and it still holds a charge and runs very well. These are conventional batteries and the new battery technology is far superior. It costs about 20 cents to charge it and I can drive it for a few weeks before it needs recharging.

You don't want an electric car? Don't buy one. I love 'em and completely respect the ideology and the engineering that goes into them.

Do you have an Obama 2008 bumper sticker on the golf cart?

[Psychoblues]

:laugh2::laugh2::laugh2: I needed that, emmie!!!!!!!!!!!



Do you have an Obama 2008 bumper sticker on the golf cart?

Actually, I have a Steve Kinser decal and that's it. Have you ever been to a dirt track stock car (sprint car) race? Man, there just ain't nothin' like the smell of methanol on Saturday nights!!!!!!!!!! BTW, the World Of Outlaw Sprint Cars will be at Riverside this coming Saturday night and I am certain Steve will be there. Will I see you there?

[Psychoblues]

As is typical with you, buckwheat, you fail to understand the underlying question.




No shit. That is, of course, if the batteries work as advertised(rechargeable batteries never do)...... but then how long before the batteries need to be replaced and how much will that cost and what is the environmental impact of making, using and discarding that many batteries. Then there is the little problem of collisions. If an electric car collides with a gas car and the gas car leaks some of it's fuel, aren't you SOL in the electric car that the door locks won't work because the batteries are screwed up and the same batteries ignite the fuel and you burn alive in your environmental car.........Won't the start forest fires if they go off of the road and hit a tree?

The airline I work for has replaced most of the 500 tugs at the Houston airport with electric....... they suck, aren't reliable and the charge is effected by the weather. They die early in the cold of winter and we don't even have snow.

What do we do about the cost and dependence on simple energy? Do you have a solution or a complaint? Never mind, buckwheat, I've heard your complaints. What is your solution?

[Sitarro]

As is typical with you, buckwheat, you fail to understand the underlying question.

What do we do about the cost and dependence on simple energy? Do you have a solution or a complaint? Never mind, buckwheat, I've heard your complaints. What is your solution?

We kick the idiot Democrats out of Congress for voting against the American public. They are the imbeciles that have prevented us from building more refining capabilities, prevented us from drilling in our own country, building more nuclear power plants, they are the ones mandating stupid additives to fuel in each state and not rewarding people with tax breaks to do the right thing.

As for the big three auto makers, blame the stinking unions for making it impossible for them to build good cars that are competitive on the world stage. You could blame the American public for not supporting their country's industry if they hadn't been burned by pathetic excuses for cars built here....... cars built to die every three years.

But GM is getting off their ass, sort of, with the Volt project.


http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/420/


The Chevy Volt: Somewhere Between Sixty and One Million Miles per Gallon
Written by Hank Green
Saturday, 06 January 2007

Have I been hinting enough? Have I been saying that GM is going to do something that, while not healing the hurt they’ve dealt out over the last few decades, will at least get their foot in the door of the gasoline rehab clinic?
Well here it is, and it’s beautiful.

The Chevrolet Volt is a hybrid hatchback that can get anywhere from a sixty to a million miles per gallon.

OK, so you all trusted me until I said that, and now you’re checking to see if it’s April already. But I’m for real.

The Volt contains two engines, like any hybrid car, a gasoline engine and an electric engine. However, the gasoline engine never actually propels the car.
All propulsion is accomplished by the electric engine which, in turn, is powered by the lithium ion batteries. The batteries are charged by plugging them into the wall. For the first forty or so miles of driving, the batteries have enough power to move the car from zero to sixty in 8 seconds and hit a top speed of 120 mph.

Then, after all that aerodynamic, electric, regenerative-brake-using driving, an ultra-efficient, small, inexpensive gasoline engine kicks on and recharges the battery. Using only power generated by the gas generator, the car gets about 60 mpg.

[actsnoblemartin]

innovation is nothing to sneeze at people..

:dance:

I bet when the first light bulb or air plane was made their were people saying similar things to what you're saying

[PostmodernProphet]

No shit. That is, of course, if the batteries work as advertised(rechargeable batteries never do)...... but then how long before the batteries need to be replaced and how much will that cost and what is the environmental impact of making, using and discarding that many batteries. Then there is the little problem of collisions. If an electric car collides with a gas car and the gas car leaks some of it's fuel, aren't you SOL in the electric car that the door locks won't work because the batteries are screwed up and the same batteries ignite the fuel and you burn alive in your environmental car.........Won't the start forest fires if they go off of the road and hit a tree?


uh, Sit?....isn't that a good argument FOR electric cars and AGAINST gas?.....if the fuel wasn't there, there wouldn't BE an explosion......

[Joe Steel]

I've got a '97 Club Car 36 volt electric golf cart. I live in a very small and very private community. I use my golf cart everyday. I've replaced the batteries only once and it still holds a charge and runs very well. These are conventional batteries and the new battery technology is far superior. It costs about 20 cents to charge it and I can drive it for a few weeks before it needs recharging.

You don't want an electric car? Don't buy one. I love 'em and completely respect the ideology and the engineering that goes into them.

They've put quite a lot of engineering into the battery pack: The Tesla Roadster Battery System (http://www.teslamotors.com/display_data/TeslaRoadsterBatterySystem.pdf). The car doesn't look any more dangerous than the typical gasoline-powered car. In fact, it looks less dangerous.

[5stringJeff]

We kick the idiot Democrats out of Congress for voting against the American public. They are the imbeciles that have prevented us from building more refining capabilities, prevented us from drilling in our own country, building more nuclear power plants, they are the ones mandating stupid additives to fuel in each state and not rewarding people with tax breaks to do the right thing.

The GOP owned both the Congress and the White House from 2003-2006, and did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to fix these problems. So either they are apathetic to the issues, or they are just using them as perennial issues to attempt to maintain their political power - which is a failing strategy.

[Sitarro]

The GOP owned both the Congress and the White House from 2003-2006, and did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to fix these problems. So either they are apathetic to the issues, or they are just using them as perennial issues to attempt to maintain their political power - which is a failing strategy.

First off, there isn't the problem they claim there is, it's manufactured, there are tankers full of oil sitting in the Gulf right now waiting to download, ask anyone that knows anything about the oil field or fly out there and look. This is a ruse to get the assholes in Congress to loosen up their grip on the oil and gas business, this is the only way to get the public pissed off enough to force the jerks to listen. The oil business and all of the related businesses make up a large number of people, we are only starting to feel the reach, it's not as simple as just oil and gas...... and it certainly is not as simple as coming up with a fancy electric golf car for the masses.

Besides the Republicans didn't own the media and the media coupled with a bunch of whining liars like the democrat jerks in Congress, that have fought everything that was attempted by the Republicans since Bush kicked Algore's fat ass in 2000, make quite a formidable opponent. They realize all too well how stupid the American public is and how they might put up with 5 minute sound bites on the news while waiting to hear what their meaningless team did that day whether it was bullshit training camp garbage or boring ass games. The Dems, knowing their public so well, use the media very effectively........ check out Algore's bullshit scheme that has completely changed the way we are forced to live on this planet. After all, look how easy it was for ad agencies to take an ugly, useless thing like a truck/station wagon and make the lemmings in this country think they were cool, put a few stars driving them and call them sport utility vehicles and voila. I'm not saying the Republicans were blameless but I certainly won't place more than 50% of it on them, they just aren't as good at bullshitting.

If, by some extraordinary act of the almighty, your guy Barr would get elected, you would see that the media could do wonders to make him less effective than a 6th grader with serious acne. By the way, 3 million votes for a Libertarian candidate wouldn't scare any national politician, maybe a town councilman from a tiny community in west Texas but I doubt even one of them either, it certainly wouldn't scare a major political party. Then again, Barr is a career politician, I'm sure he has an angle to use his act to make plenty of money...... he's just so sincere....... all he wants is to help this country:laugh2::laugh2::laugh2:

[Sitarro]

uh, Sit?....isn't that a good argument FOR electric cars and AGAINST gas?.....if the fuel wasn't there, there wouldn't BE an explosion......

The reality is that there wouldn't be a magical transformation that would have electric vehicles on the road immediately, they would still be out there getting in wrecks with other cars, traditional gas cars. Batteries also have a tendency to explode at unpredictable times, especially when not taken care of by the ignorant public who would under or over charge them.

I work in a controlled environment that has over 500 electric vehicles being used during an 18 hour day. The people driving them leave the lights on, leave the key on, drive them till they die....... they just don't even come close to being reliable, certainly not like the gas vehicles. After 300 hours they just quit, they need to go to the shop to be overhauled which typically takes half a day. If I need to be somewhere I want to be on a gas tug.

As far as the danger in a crash, talk to the EMTs that have to cut people out of vehicles that have been in a crash, they have to worry about the entire body of the car being charged after a crash.

[5stringJeff]

Besides the Republicans didn't own the media and the media coupled with a bunch of whining liars like the democrat jerks in Congress, that have fought everything that was attempted by the Republicans since Bush kicked Algore's fat ass in 2000, make quite a formidable opponent. They realize all too well how stupid the American public is and how they might put up with 5 minute sound bites on the news while waiting to hear what their meaningless team did that day whether it was bullshit training camp garbage or boring ass games. The Dems, knowing their public so well, use the media very effectively........ check out Algore's bullshit scheme that has completely changed the way we are forced to live on this planet. After all, look how easy it was for ad agencies to take an ugly, useless thing like a truck/station wagon and make the lemmings in this country think they were cool, put a few stars driving them and call them sport utility vehicles and voila. I'm not saying the Republicans were blameless but I certainly won't place more than 50% of it on them, they just aren't as good at bullshitting.

The media doesn't introduce bills in Congress, hold committee hearings, or vote. If the GOP wanted to change drilling laws, it could have done so. You can't blame the media for the GOP's inaction.