"JohnH" wrote in message
news
On Sun, 23 Jul 2006 13:59:58 GMT, Don White
wrote:

I think most car noise is behind, not in front, of the car. Harley riders
have been trying for years to convince the public that noisy pipes are a
safety feature, so cars can hear them coming. What horsepucky.

It works. I've proved it, both to myself and Mrs.E. I am about to change
the pipes on the Ultra - going back to the next level softer - but only
because I no longer ride it in Florida, the land of a million white Lincoln
Town cars with all the windows up and driven by the hearing impaired ...
never mind. They work.

I can cite another example that occurred last weekend here in MA. Mrs.E was
on the back seat and I was putt-putting (potato, potato) down the road and
my eye caught a car approaching from an intersecting road on the right. The
driver was a young girl, one hand on the steering wheel, the other holding a
cell phone to her ear, and she was booking it up to the intersection,
chatting away and looking down the road, away from us. I could tell there
was no way she saw us nor was she intending on stopping before turning onto
the road that we were on. Pulled on the clutch, gave the throttle a quick
"Blap" and she jammed on the brakes, her head jerking around to our
direction with a surprised and shocked look on her face. I can do that a
heck of a lot faster than trying to brake and find the horn button, and it's
a heck of a lot more effective.

But, too loud is excessive, I agree. Fortunately, there are fewer hearing
impaired drivers up north.

BTW ... Harley riders are also the safest, most courteous and slowest
riders. Ever notice that?

Eisboch

On Sun, 23 Jul 2006 13:59:58 +0000, Don White wrote:

John
Bet there will be more pedestrian/auto accidents with them. No one
will hear the cars coming.. especially in noisy cities.

You can get some electic motorbikes with "Harley" MP3 sound built-in!
'struth!

Lloyd Sumpter
http://www.bcboatnet.org

On Sun, 23 Jul 2006 08:08:35 -0400, JohnH wrote:


Tesla Motors, a Silicon Valley start-up, has developed a two-seater that
goes from zero to 60 miles an hour in four seconds, leaving the days of
electric cars as glorified golf carts in the dust. The company seems to
understands what it means to love cars as well as the environment. (On its
Web site, Tesla revels in the power of the car’s acceleration pinning
passengers to their seats.)

With a range of about 250 miles, the Tesla Roadster can go much farther on
a single charge than earlier electric cars. And 150 of those miles cost
about the same as one gallon of gas. But the car itself will not be cheap,
running from $85,000 to $100,000. Rather than a stumbling block in this
case, it’s actually a selling point.

Nothing really new here. You are forgetting GM's EV1.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_EV1

Of course GM discontinued them. Oh well, just another good reason for the
company's tanking.

On Sun, 23 Jul 2006 07:46:29 -0400, "Eisboch" wrote:


"JohnH" wrote in message
.. .
could small boats be next? This thing is cute, goes a long ways, and has a
nice web site. According to today's NYTimes, it'll cost in the $80-100K
range. Who'll be the first?

http://www.teslamotors.com/


Interesting site and claims, considering they haven't built one yet.
Far be it from me to be cynical, but how, using the best of current battery
technology, can these guys get 250 miles between charges when the best
anybody else can get is 60-100 miles in a much more stripped down and basic
E car? Something does not add up.

Eisboch


Here's a little more info on the way he uses batteries:

http://wired.com/news/wiredmag/0,714...?tw=wn_index_1

This article was a referral from the Tesla site. Checking out some of the
other articles may provide more info. 6000+ batteries in the car!
--
******************************************
***** Have a Spectacular Day! *****
******************************************

John

In addition to the above comments (e.g. "up to" 250 miles...), I've
also often wondered what kind of flesh-eating chemical mess you'd be in
after a high-speed collision..

Ron M.