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And there's a great summary of electric vehicles in the US 100+ years ago on his page.

http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/...

If more people were to take the bus, more frequent stops would be installed and more busses would run on more routes.

The people in their cars just haven't realized yet that public transport only gets better and better when more and more people use it.

Public transport is not a "highly inefficient use of public resources". By getting more people to use public transport, you cut down on pollution, reduce congestion and drastically reduce the needed number of parking spaces. That space can be put to other, better uses.

Watch this: http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/video/proterra-ecoliner-electric-bus/1361158/

It's the future of local transportation. Western civilization has had an unhealthy obsession with the automobile since the model T Ford. There needs to be a balance, and currently it's skewed way too far towards personal transportation.

He actually owns several steam cars, so I wouldn't be surprised if he is interested.

The 1920s Doble steam car at least approached practicality:

http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/at-the-garage/steam-cars/1925-doble-series-e-steam-car/

(but maybe that 1500 mile range comes with a 30 mph average speed...)

I happen to think the Aptera (both electric and hybrid) are good cars. Jay Leno drove the electric on on his garage website:
http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/video/aptera-electric-car/1104622/

I think the hybrid (electric motors powered by motor when battery gets low, similiar to diesel electric trains, not like most hybrids today which couple an electric and gas motor together) is even better because of those cross country trips without plugin, plus the hybrid should get 100+ mpg.

I don't understand purists. It's easier to get to their perceived utopia by making some temporary compromises on the way, to help build the infrastructure and gain acceptance rather than demand perfection all at once.

Perhaps they've made 100 years worth of improvements to the car from a reliability and usability point of view.

TFA is wrong in saying that 100 years ago steam cars were easier than petrol ICE cars, but that's not to say petrol ICE was easy. The management lingo term "turn-key" was invented a long time AFTER cars were invented that's for sure. Cause cars back then weren't exactly "turn-key" regardless of the engine under the bonnet.

This video of Jay Leno's sort of shows what steam cars were like, though this one is 1925.

http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/video/video_player.shtml?vid=213453

I can't believe no one has mentioned this car (at least that I saw). Give this a look, it is not only faster it costs a lot less.

http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/video/video_player.shtml?vid=275184

I don't know the economics of these for the average person, but right now America is consuming a big chunk of the energy the world produces and is way far ahead per capita than most other countries, even other 1st world countries with similiar standards of living (maybe except Canada), something like Germany. Some of it due to our car oriented culture (which no product will fix, but an infrastructure issue - go by a European high school vs American suburban high school and check out ratio of cars to bicycles in the parking lot). Another is just poor construction practices like inadequate insulation or outdated heaters. Etc.

Looking at this car, the profile doesn't seem any more efficient than a regular car, which is way something like the Aptera. It's electric, which is a good start, especially considering the possible modular nature of the energy source, and coupled with a tiny hybrid petroleum engine which only has to produce constant energy instead of big enough for a "peak" performance need.

But it doesn't push air out of the way more efficiently, the other side of the equation. Because electricity isn't "clean" right now, just a bit better. And the chemicals for batteries need to be mined, itself a dirty process, as well as being processed at the end of its life - so it makes a difference if a car can get a 300 mile range on X amount of units instead of 2X or 3X or more.

That's why I woud always support something like the Aptera
http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/video/video_player.shtml?vid=1104622

This model Tesla looks pretty sexy like it's bigger brother so it will have an easy time selling, but beyond the gas vs electric issue, I wonder really how efficient it truly is.

FTFA:

Riversimple predicts the car will achieve the energy equivelent of more than 300 miles to the gallon.

"In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. But, in practice, there is."

I have wished for open standard products for a long time, things like riding mowers where parts could be reasonably modular - like plugging in a video card into a PC, it doesn't care if it's nvidia, ati, or other. If nothing else than to keep the manufacturers honest when it comes time to repair things but also for cheaper ugrades/accessories as well as just less overlap in redundant but uninterchangeable parts.

OTOH, this car seems like vaporware, while produts like the Aptera are going to be unaffordable (unlike the Tesla) and which will have hybrid and electric available seem much more closer to market and probably could use a push to get it there. The car exists too and isn't just on the drawing board:

http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/video/video_player.shtml?vid=1104622

It is a tandem. There is a cover over the rear seat on a lot of photos on the web, but this image shows it without the cover and this page, among others, mentions the tandem seating.

On the subject of links, here's one to a video review of the car by Jay Leno http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/video/video_player.shtml?vid=229378

In case you havent noticed, bascially all large markets are regulated by governments. Oh yeah, i forgot about crackheads ..

If Microsoft would state that they cant unbundle IE or Media Player from their products because they would not "make it" would anyone feel sorry ? Or RIAA complaining that without DRM sanctions, they cant make it on the music markets ?
Who gives a rats ass, there are better technology solutions waiting take over.

Its not a US vs Japanese automakers thing either. Both sides are scrambling to get electric-dominant drivetrains in their vehicles, look at GM Volt, Saab and Volvo plugin plans, even Ford plugs their SUVs in now.
Mitsubishi, Subaru, Nissan and Renault have stated that they will have none of this hybrid nonsense, they all have full battery electrics in the pipeline.
So if some sorry ass german automakers cant make it, because they have sat on their arses for too long, who will cry ?

Not exactly a TV show, but it was linked from the NBC site, and doesn't suck - videos of Jay Leno's car collection :

http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/video/index.shtml

Gotta be nice to be a multi-millionaire!