On Thu, 23 Jul 2009 10:24:54 -0400, Gene Kearns
wrote:

We're actually working our way towards the technology that will give
us a negative carbon footprint. The only possible negative consequence
is that the car costs 236 trillion dollars..... 'course 'ya get what
you pay for.....

ROTFL!!!

I read something the other day that, when you think about it, makes a
lot of sense.

People who drive hi-brid cars, like the Prius for example, drive
anywhere from an extra 2,000 to 3,500 miles more than a person who
owns a standard compact.

Which, thinking about it, almost negates the "fuel cost savings"
benefits that hy-brids are supposed to create.

I can testify to that in a rather odd way. One of my neighbors has a
Prius and he told me the other day that he had just turned 13,000 on
his Prius which is 4 months old, but he's saving on fuel. He works in
the next town over and it's his daily driver.

Here's the interesting part. He had a Toyota Camrey, 6 years old,
that only had 42,000 on it - I know because I was thinking of buying
it before he traded it in.

Now you tell me. :)

On Thu, 23 Jul 2009 16:58:38 -0400, Yogi of Woodstock
wrote:

On Thu, 23 Jul 2009 10:24:54 -0400, Gene Kearns
wrote:

We're actually working our way towards the technology that will give
us a negative carbon footprint. The only possible negative consequence
is that the car costs 236 trillion dollars..... 'course 'ya get what
you pay for.....

ROTFL!!!

I read something the other day that, when you think about it, makes a
lot of sense.

People who drive hi-brid cars, like the Prius for example, drive
anywhere from an extra 2,000 to 3,500 miles more than a person who
owns a standard compact.

Which, thinking about it, almost negates the "fuel cost savings"
benefits that hy-brids are supposed to create.

I can testify to that in a rather odd way. One of my neighbors has a
Prius and he told me the other day that he had just turned 13,000 on
his Prius which is 4 months old, but he's saving on fuel. He works in
the next town over and it's his daily driver.

Here's the interesting part. He had a Toyota Camrey, 6 years old,
that only had 42,000 on it - I know because I was thinking of buying
it before he traded it in.

Now you tell me. :)

They're trying hard as hell to break even before they die.

Amen.
--

John H

Eisboch wrote:
Spark plugs, patented by Robert Bosch and Nikola Tesla in 1898, are about to
be replaced by lasers.

(Credit: Sonett72)

Say goodbye to spark plugs, a 19th century technology about to be supplanted
by lasers. The U.K. paper The Telegraph reports that Ford is working with
the University of Liverpool to develop a laser ignition system for
internal-combustion engines. That's right: engines with frickin' lasers
strapped to their heads.


The laser beam is delivered by a thin, fiber-optic cable to a focusing lens
that would take up much less space than a spark plug, allowing engineers
greater flexibility in designing valves and cylinders. The laser beam can be
split to ignite the fuel mixture from multiple points deep in the cylinder,
making for a more efficient burn than a spark plug can achieve, reducing
emissions and getting better fuel economy. Another advantage to the laser
system is that part of the beam can be reflected to a receiver and used to
gather data on the fuel mixture and the quality of the burn.
And this isn't merely a research project, as there are working prototypes of
the system at the University of Liverpool laboratory. Ford, which has
eagerly been adopting fuel efficiency technology such as electric-power
steering and six-speed transmissions, reportedly will use the laser ignition
system in some of its cars over the next couple of years, then spread the
technology to the full range.


(Source: The Telegraph)



Eisboch



That's just cool as hell!