Fully Electric Car available soon

..Lord Hall wears a top hat, this is clearly so ..Lord Hall thinks the top hat is trendy and the go ..Lord Hall wears the top hat all through the week ..and the dead mouse upon his lip don't half reak ..he doesn't know it's there, as dead mice don't squeak

I wonder if Makita have a mussie removal attachment.

Hmmm, you seem to have a rather bipolar view. Maybe you should rethink where the lithium is best used.

Looks like it is abput 8 months away Tesla Motors unveiled their uber-chic Roadster, a supercharged electric vehicle that looks, feels and drives like many other high-end sports cars Wednesday night. The main difference is the noise. Powered by a 3-phase,

Tonight was the grand unveiling of the Roadster in a decorated airport hanger in Santa Monica, CA. I don't ride in many sports cars, and I certainly have never been in one that zips across an airport's tarmac without so much as a whisper. But tonight I got a quick ride in the Roadster and all I could hear from the passenger's seat (not even Gov. Schwarzenegger, who flew in for a brief look at the car, was allowed to drive it) was wind noise. And myself saying "Wow" under my breath.

The car is low to the ground, and smooth in all possible ways. But this vehicle isn't just a sports car. It's also a green car. There are zero tailpipe emissions. There isn't even a tailpipe. Tesla Motors is working to provide purchasers with a photovoltaic panel that will turn the driving experience into an actual net producer of energy, according to Tesla Motors chairman Elon Musk. (cont'd after jump)

Check out the exclusive video of the unveiling that features interviews with Tesla Motors CEO Martin Eberhard and the company's chairman Elon Musk, as well as footage of the car in motion from both inside and outside the cockpit - after the jump!

Check out the rest of my report, a gallery of LIVE and OFFICIAL pics, and Tesla's press release with full specs after the jump.

Tonight's unveiling was also an invitation to purchase the Roadster when it is released in mid-2007 (for about $80,000-$120,000). The company is offering the first 100 Tesla Roadsters as Signature models. Musk said that the people who buy the Signature cars will not only be getting an incredible sports car, but will be helping to pay the R&D costs for future Tesla Motor vehicles. And that's what tonight was really about: the future. Gadget, an L.A.-based mechanic who converts ICE cars to EV and was seen in the ovie "Who Killed The Electric Car?", and that film's director Chris Paine, were right behind me in line for the test ride. Paine filmed the promo video for the Roadster that was projected onto the walls. Earlier in the evening, Tesla Motors CEO Martin Eberhard said that, "An electric sports car was the way to fundamentally change the way we drive in the USA." Gadget and Paine agreed - although Gadget is convinced his conversion process is going to be more effective than $100,000 sports cars in getting EVs onto the streets - and after seeing what is possible with an EV, I have to admit there is pretty much endless possibility out there in electric motor land.

Lastly, there have been a lot of rumors floating around about the Roadster's specs, and tonight Tesla Motors finally let us know exactly what the deal is. Some of the rumors are true: the car can go 250 miles or so on a single charge (thanks in part to regenerative breaking that charges the AC motor) and will have all of the crash test ratings and safety features (airbags, GPS) when it is released. You can read the entire spec sheet and press release after the jump and at the Tesla Motor's website.

Wow!

It was based on an average IC saloon car compared to an average electric car which, as electric cars were then squarely aimed at the small car market, probably produced a bias in favour of the electric car.

You appear to be talking about efficiency of energy conversion, which is not the same as the type or amount of pollution produced in converting that energy.

Perhaps you should read more.

Current petrol engine efficiency averages 32%, not the 25% you seem to think. If compression ratios were raised to around 12:1, the efficiency could exceed 50%. OTOH best power station efficiency today is about 60%, although most generating plant in use is nearer 40% efficient. Transmission losses in the UK average around 7.4% and the non-zero charge recharging efficiency of traction batteries is around 80-85%, although that can drop off dramatically as the charge level approaches 90%. Thus, assuming that people do not fully charge their batteries, but only top up to around 90% (i.e the best case), the energy efficiency of an electric vehicle is around

Colin Bignell

In article , Doctor Drivel writes

You really don't have a clue, do you?

Perhaps this is the answer to the RedBus HEX power issues. We should have our servers co-located at the Fort Knox site.

Untill a small chap with a sharp-rimmed bowler hat comes along, I suppose.

I wonder what they charge for rackspace?

( Alongside 'the' ( singular ) internet DNS server... )

"nightjar .uk.com>" > Modern generating equipment, transmissions, localised power stations,

Energy used to propel n amount of cars of same size x number of miles.

1. Using electric
2. Using petrol.

Also factor in the energy sued in the refining and distribution process for car fuel too.

That is what it is about. EVs win. They also don't ruin millions of lungs in towns and cities too.

Your idea of improving cars is another sunroof.

Nope. 25% You are on about peak.

In your dreams. External combustion Stirlings can only just reach 50%

The old stuff.

Not with the Tesla. Read what they have done to make it viable and double range.

How is that grotty town you live in?

I've just come back from Denver. The main pedestrianised street has hybrid buses with LPG engines running at a continuous speed charging batteries which then drive electric motors. Very smooth and quiet, but, I suspect, peculiarly suited to a low speed frequent stop-start application.

Do you *ever* understand the technical terms you use? Perhaps you'd ask your nurse to explain supercharged...

They are indeed - which is where the Prius scores, stop and start town driving. Unfortunately it has poor open road performance and economy which isn't much use for a 20,000 quid car in the UK. Fine as a town car for US film stars to try and prove they aren't just conspicuous consumers. ;-)

Has anyone considered the effect of the silent road vehicle on the accident rate for collisions with pedestrains, cyclists and horse riders ?

Sad isn't it. I have a Prius the open road economy is very good. I wonder if Richard's loafers are good economically.

It is sad you know. The snipping has to be done.

There has been a suggestion of a proximity buzzer.

Clear for all to see poking out of his forehead...