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51 Comments
- plaguepony, on 04/17/2009, -0/+27So my car is free but it cost 87 dollars a mile to drive it?
- jboitnott, on 04/17/2009, -0/+12This is going to be a sea change for everyone. Can't wait until the new world is here.
- Jeepinator, on 04/17/2009, -1/+13Electric cars are the most efficient option we have. Hydrogen isn't nearly as efficient as electricity.
- nullcodes, on 04/17/2009, -1/+13Yeah they can .. similar to dropped calls they can have the motor shut off when going in a tunnel. Or like the phone freezes while using an app, they can have the wheels lock during a left turn.
- vsaint, on 04/17/2009, -1/+11Finally I'll be able to change my horn to lady gaga.
- shutaro, on 04/17/2009, -1/+9If they can make an electric car that'll fold up and fit in my pocket then I'm sold.
- Winkleman, on 04/17/2009, -5/+11Hell yea they could.... I wouldn't mind having a steering wheel that was controled by a touchscreen.
- kinerry, on 04/17/2009, -0/+6except the first time it doesn't register a gesture and you kill an entire family
- shutaro, on 04/17/2009, -1/+7Your mom's an electric car.
- nullcodes, on 04/17/2009, -0/+6They already copied that innovation. Actually the the cell phone guys thiefed it from the car folks.
- EGOvoruhk, on 04/17/2009, -0/+5You mean you wish you could drive via a touch screen, or you actually want a virtual steering wheel on a touchscreen that operates the real steering wheel in front of you?
- fuliginosus, on 04/17/2009, -1/+6So they want to sell us electricity as "miles" to get higher price from it? They want to distort our understanding of what car costs and what electricity costs to drive it? No thanks - even mobile phone markets are much healthier in countries, where operators are not allowed to tie phones to service plans.
Bring us electric cars with open battery design, modular batteries and freedom to install what ever batteries we want. That would bring cheap entry level electric cars with small batteries to consumers very soon. Then customers could rent bigger batteries for longer trips or upgrade to better batteries when new battery models comes available. - Bukowsky, on 04/17/2009, -0/+4Just Drive, Drive!
- kesin, on 04/17/2009, -0/+4lol nice try.
- jbella, on 04/17/2009, -0/+4Unfortunately this will have to be built into the cost of the service such as fraud is built into the cost of using credit cards... or abuse is build into the cost of renting a car. A lot of this may be mitigated by more intelligent electronics that don't allow you to abuse the battery. For example, in many of today's cars, the computer already tracks problem conditions.. such as if you over-rev the engine. (most cars wont actually allow you to over-rev the engine.. but if you have a manual shift car, it's possible for you to mis-shift and over-rev the engine)
My main point is that this is a business problem and not entirely a technology problem. - bdfariello, on 04/17/2009, -0/+4I'd rather drive by GameCube controller. It seems like that'd be easier to do than a touch screen.
- evodevo1, on 04/17/2009, -0/+4Newsom is presenting this like it's his idea. This is Better Places' idea. Yes, he mentions them, but only at the end in one sentence. Damn I hate politicians...I want to slap them in their face. They are not the innovators nor have the vision, yet hold all the control in the implementation of these game changing ideas.
- bb5999, on 04/17/2009, -0/+4ugh
watch him give this speech. If he is not being coached and groomed by the same controlers who created Clinton, I'd be shocked. Check out the hand motions, and the pattern of speech.
talking.....in.....a......paused verse......so......idiot voters....can....hang on...to....his every....word. Your mind focuses on the marinaide, not the meat.
The entire swap a battery idea is great if you live in a dense, urban space. In the plains and open west this would no work until cost per mile is lower than that of with petroleum based products. Electrics will continue to be an anomaly, gov't will drag their feet, until the politicos figure out how to make up for tax revenue, lost to the decrease in income from fuel taxes. - jasdf, on 04/17/2009, -0/+4For the record, the Honda Clarity IS an electric car.
- geodescent, on 04/17/2009, -0/+4Dugg for Al Bundy in the thumbnail
- kris2pe, on 04/18/2009, -0/+4This idea is so terrible! Charge me for the miles I travel? That's horrible! Comparing it to cell minutes. Good lord how many times have you been screwed by telcos overcharging you with minutes that you have used? I mean with gasoline you can increase mileage by changing your driving habits. This one whether you drive slow or drive fast it doesn't matter you will charge for the distance that you traveled!
- smeatish, on 04/17/2009, -0/+3I definitely agree that battery switching stations could solve the electric vehicle range problem. I don't think the cellphone-minutes/car-miles analogy holds though.
Cell phones are cheap, whereas the network (cell-towers) are expensive. With cars, the roads are already provided as a public good and the battery switching stations can just charge per switch. The car is the expensive part and should be paid for separately - otherwise it distorts the driver's behavior, encouraging people to get a car for a low upfront price, and then use it sparingly because each mile costs so much. Consumption won't be aligned with the true costs. - SolarUpNote, on 04/18/2009, -0/+3When San Francisco implements these new energy technologies it will be a great example for the rest of the country.
I'm truly relieved that there's such a gifted politician out there making the case for energy technology.
(hopefully Obama will start making speeches like this) - pcsurfer17, on 04/18/2009, -0/+3wow what a terrible idea, i love electric cars but im not buying a car that only lets me drive 100 miles/ month commitment payment plan
- eclyman, on 04/18/2009, -0/+3after watching this guy explain it,
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/shai_agassi_on_ ...
Gavin Newsom just seems like a trainreck - billricardi, on 04/17/2009, -1/+4I like the IDEA of car battery switch stations, but the problem is accountability. People who abuse their battery are paying the same amount as people who don't abuse it. Cause undue strain, physical damage in the form of micro stress fracturing, chemical damage... just switch it out and you'll never see it again. It might not fail for 5 or 10 charges, so who knows who'll get the blame, if anyone? In the mean time, people who think they've paid for a full charge are getting 80 percent, maybe 60 percent of their full charge and losing the rest to amp leakage.
I have real issues, as an EE, and I know that just skims the surface. Sabotage, hacking, and tracking issues are myriad in this kind of setup. When you return a beer keg, physical damage is easily noted and functional damage will be caught before the next customer uses it (usually). That isn't the case with car battery switch stations. So many subtle things can go wrong that will get past cursory testing. - pinchduck, on 04/17/2009, -0/+3Gavin Newsom couldn't wait. He just had to marry all the gays instead of waiting a year. That handed Rove a wedge issue on a silver platter and guaranteed 4 more years of W. Newsome is an idiot. He could have married them all on inauguration day, welcoming in President Kerry. Instead he pandered to his own base, screwing the rest of the country in the process. If he says that electric cars are the future, I'm putting my money on wind up rubber band cars.
- Skull0Inc, on 04/18/2009, -0/+3Yea....Now this is something good we can talk about. New ways of looking at how we use things... want to get miles...just go to a rechargeable energy cell outpost and get one. or better yet recharge from home....however i i don't know how the idea's gonna go down with the swapping of parts...people tend to like to keep things intact.
- evodevo1, on 04/17/2009, -0/+3How do you abuse a battery without taking a hammer to it? Charging or discharging too quickly? I think for physical abuse you can seal the battery with a tamper-proof casing. As for charge discharge cycles, can't you just have a chip inside the case that keeps track of stuff like this?
- jbella, on 04/17/2009, -0/+3You're right. It's too hard. Too complex.
Not even worth trying.
Besides, it's much easier to make douchey comments about a person's personal failings. - replaysMike, on 04/17/2009, -0/+3No. Cell phones are for talking, cars are for driving.
- jbella, on 04/17/2009, -0/+2Take a look at betterplace.com which is what Mayor Newsom is talking about. They are proposing a totally open infrastructure that doesn't allow 1 company to lock in their customers.
- outsourceevil, on 04/17/2009, -1/+3So what is this going to do to carpooling? I guess maybe you could put in the ability to trade miles with your friends if they drive you someplace?
- Keegsta, on 04/18/2009, -0/+2This was all mapped out in an issue of Wired Magazine about a year ago. It is such an amazing idea.
- OEMHumanoid, on 04/17/2009, -0/+2I can't wait until I have any time miles were I can go anywhere for free but only a few places during the week.. No thanks!
- ngmcs8203, on 04/17/2009, -0/+2http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3jBxwHIk9k
- jbella, on 04/17/2009, -0/+2I think you guys are taking the metaphor too far.
- inactive, on 04/18/2009, -0/+2Gavin Newsom can discuss only one thing - how to make sweet love to his friend and campaign manager's wife.
- eee333, on 04/18/2009, -0/+2Not for every one, there is not enough cooper in the world to make electric motors that replace each combustion engine in every car in the world.
- SolarUpNote, on 04/18/2009, -0/+2Is it so horrible that a politician is a good public speaker?
At the beginning of the speech he said "if I sound exhausted it's because I got up at 2:30am to catch a plane". - emecks, on 04/17/2009, -6/+7I can haz iCar?
- PReitz, on 04/17/2009, -1/+2And you can only use one feature at a time. you have to stop the car every time you want to use the windshield wipers. Also, to shut the car off, you have to hold the ignition key down for five seconds.
- YellowSnow, on 04/18/2009, -1/+2But it doesn't matter if you are paying for "miles" instead of a full charge. No one will be cheated because they paid for 137 miles. They won't be paying for a fully charged battery that goes an infinitely variable number of miles. They got their miles for the agreed upon price.
The charging stations will be able to test the condition of the batteries and only send out batteries that meet a minimum criteria so getting stuck with a poor battery will be unlikely. - billricardi, on 04/18/2009, -1/+2Oh there are a dozen ways. :) Heat and cold shifting, chemical exposure, violent vibration, unsafe discharge, impact, just to name a few. In a nutshell, people who don't give a crap will tax the batteries a lot more than people who do.
There are all sorts of things you can do to attempt to crack down on abusers, sure. But they're expensive as they require auditing at some level. So either way, the cost is going to get passed on the the consumer. Either everyone will pay more or some poor random people will end up paying a lot more as they break down at the side of the road or get charged by P.O.'ed stations. - jasdf, on 04/17/2009, -0/+1Thanks for the link. I just started a company based on the information in that directory.
- zbeast, on 11/15/2009, -0/+1NO, because every time you blow your horn the RIAA will try to sue you for a public music performance.
- inactive, on 04/17/2009, -0/+1If I was a dictator...send him to the goooooooooolog.
- inactive, on 04/17/2009, -4/+4Newsom should go back to banging his campaign manager's wife. Of course you want to look to innovative solutions from other fields, but it is much much easier to make advancements in the cell phone space because its not a multi-thousand pound device that has a million more complexities.
- EGOvoruhk, on 04/17/2009, -2/+2Electric cars may be efficient, but until you can charge it in a few minutes, they will not be widely accepted. With a hydrogen car, you don't have to worrry about charging it. It fills up in just as much time as everyone's gasoline powered car. As the Top Gear video said, a hydrogen car fits the life we already have
"The reason it's the car of the future, is because it's just like the car of today" -
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