I saw one in Pomona maybe 10 years ago. It was a 28 on 32 rails, all bare metal, full hood running 16 inch steelies on skinny bias plies, you know, traditional looking. I thought it was bitchin' and looked it all over but couldn't see the engine. Later in the day, I was walking along looking at a cool candy purple Anglia and glanced away for some reason and caught that bare metal roadster heading my way. I waited to watch it roll by, 'cause that's what I do, and as it got closer, the sound didn't seem to follow, weird. As it cruised by, I noticed the car's plate that said "VOLT". Kind of bittersweet, but definitely the best attempt I've seen, at least visually. For all I know, I could have been witnessing it's top speed, didn't speak with the owner. Anyone have a pic of it?
watch "who killed the electric car" documentery really interesting, if you havnt seen it. GM was in the forefront of electric cars now there trying to catch up on hybrids.
Camille Jenatzy was able to build a electric car that was faster than that in 1899. http://www.speedace.info/jamais.htm Top speed & range of that Roadster are really pathetic. Dont like the wheels and tires either. Electric cars might be Trad, but this thing sure isn't...
Nice enginuity, but if I go "Green" with my hotrod I want to make a high compression engine that runs on E-85. In my area E-85 is readily available, not to mention quite a bit cheaper, and at 105 octane I can really boost the compression ratio. Oh yeah, it's supposed to be better for the environment and stuff too.
GM made an electric corvair in 1966 that did 80mph with a range of 80 miles. That's not that good until you take into account that it used silver-zinc batteries. Imagine what could be done today with lithium ion batteries and a more effecient motor. Well yeah, the tesla is exactly what could be done, although it could be done for alot cheaper.
I read that the Tesla roadster is an effort to get the public acclimated to the technology. Next is a lower-performance , high-volume sedan for regular production. Their plan is to take on the auto industry. -Dave
They best do a little homework into the fate of Preston Tucker. As long as you are sellig to a Niche market, you're fine. Become a threat and.....well, you're guilty of something. I hope they can pull it off. I'm sick of corporate monsters. Rollerball is next.
Well, they're all successful Silicon Valley types, so I think they probably know business. As for securities fraud, I can't speak to that... -Dave
I found this info a while back on electric powered streamliners,,, 321 MPH,,,,thats haulin' ass! HRP http://www.megawattmotorworks.com/display.asp?dismode=article&artid=53
I can appreciate the technology and work put into it but I think like Jeem. You expect a certain rumble when you see a car like that.
Doesn't Most Of Our Electic Power Come From Burning Coal?so Are We Really Saving The Enviroment?by Driving A Electric Car?probaly Not.just My 2 Cents
That's a common argument against electric vehicles, Hailey. The counterargument is that electric motors are still more efficient, so you're getting more out of that energy conversion. Plus, power plants have to use scrubbers and things to mitigate their pollution - something a '32 Ford doesn't do (although I maintain that is not a full-scale car, but rather a disguised golf cart). Furthermore, you're relocating that pollution to an area that can handle it better (such as outside the smog bowl of Los Angeles). Finally, most electric car owners would like to see the elimination of coal-fired power plants in favor of renewable energy - but everyone acknowledges it's a long way off. -Dave
I think as long as we're relying on a fossil-fuel sorce for power, we (as in mankind and those trying to improve a car's impact on the environment) are barking up the wrong tree. It seems like electric is just a little bit worse - it still sucks coal. I mean, if it takes a 4 foot high pile of coal to power one incandescent light bulb for a year, how much does it take to power a car that's constantly in need of a recharge. I'm all for a real car sucking dino-juice (otherwise I wouldn't be here) but as long as we're specualting on the future of hot rodding and cars in general, why hasn't there been more push for solar? Sure, the arguments about performance are the same, but, if the R&D was spent on the idea of a "self sufficient" solar vehicle, we would surely see leaps and bounds in the battery storage technology, power to torque ratios, lighter alloys, etc. I mean, maybe we could take baby steps with the solar that we're taking with electrics, and at least start with a hybrid 50/50 car. Sunlight is free. And one might think that it is cloudy a lot, but I remember the experiments with solar technology we did back in highschool, and the photovoltaic cells actually performed more efficiently with a cloud cover/hazy (think L.A. smog) sky. Just something to think about.
Well, the only thing I can say is that the car designers of that era obvioulsy had a real lack of imagination. The Detroit Electric look very much like the 1910 Studebaker electric, and that was a long time before. You would think they would have changed the design.
I don't think the Detroit Electric had changed since the teens either (except for wheels, but that was more about technological changes for tires than style). It was very much a niche market car (as noted above, it was especially popular with well-to-do ladies in urban markets) and there was neither the budget nor the impetus for a restyle. Personally, I hate the "phone booth" coupe look. I wonder what that car would look like decapitated with a DuVall-style windshield? That seems a better match for the flowing hoodlines. Not to mention sportier and more masculine. There was an attempt to revive the electric car market in the late '50s with the Henney Kilowatt - an EV conversion on the Renault Dauphine, but the technology just wasn't there yet. I still think this logo would look cool on the cowl of a '40s-style electric rod. You know some 4F hot rodder considered it to get around gas rationing: -Dave
The Jalopy Journal
