Wednesday, May 30, 2007

SIGNS, SIGNS, EVERYWHERE SIGNS

It's ON, beotches! Hell yeah!

Check out this ABC News Nightline report on Tesla Motors. If successful, they would be the first American automobile start-up company in over 50 years - and their vehicles don't burn an ounce of oil because they run on batteries. And they run very well, going 0-60 in 4 seconds.

But the best part isn't how they run, it's how they LOOK. Instead of all those frumpy looking Thomas the Train designs pushed on the eco-conscious public by today's major manufacturers, these guys proved you can design an electric car that actually looks as good as it is good for the environment. Nevermind the fact that we'd finally be able to tell Exxon the relationship isn't working for us anymore.

I smell progress. Or is it chili farts? Either way - smells good to me.

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And if an oil-less future interests you, you may enjoy this speech which was delivered in person to the California Air Resources Board when they held hearings on the future of the Zero Emissions Vehicle (ZEV) mandate. While the usual suspects all hemmed and hawed, requested more time, and basically complained about their lack of progress - this guy administered an amusing dose of sarcasm.

The fact is, technology exists TODAY that could substantially reduce our dependence on foreign energy - but the companies best equipped to deliver this technology to the masses remain steadfastly in the past. They provide expensive, ugly-ass energy-efficient alternatives to turn off consumers when they could be working toward the mass production of truly efficient motor vehicles. Hopefully the folks at Tesla will keep this ball rolling....

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I hope they keep the ball rolling, too, because at this point, the car is financially out of reach for 99.9% of Americans at $98K. Apparently only the rich can afford to care about the environment. :)

Contact me! said...

Yeah - I suppose I left out that wee detail. Little pricy. But this was by design. Because they hadn't the means to mass produce it, they knew they needed to find a way to penetrate the market with such a small volume. In this way they hope to establish a market presence and financial viability so they can sell their technology to one of the major manufacturers - who would be better suited for mass production. So, at least for now, they're on the high end. But shouldn't be long before that price starts creeping down.

I SEE YOU!