Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Porsche Builds Photovoltaic Pylon, Offsetting Luddite Position On Self-Drive (thestack.com)

Posted by timothy on from the stealing-from-the-sun dept.

An anonymous reader writes: Porsche has just completed an impressive 25-meter high photovoltaic pylon. The construction, lonely in its current position and strongly resembling the monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey, comprises 7,776 solar cells and is capable of generating up to 30,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per year. From 2017 it will power the elite car manufacturer's new Berlin-Adlershof Porsche center. Porsche is keen to show a progressive stance on its new range of electric vehicles, considering that it has no intention of joining the movement towards self-driving.

10 of 213 comments (clear)

  1. APorsche Self-Drive? by NicBenjamin · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Why would any poor benighted fool pay money for a Porsche that didn't need to be driven? The entire point of their ridiculously inflated price tags is they're a joy to drive.

    1. Re:APorsche Self-Drive? by SNRatio · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Why would any poor benighted fool pay money for a Porsche that didn't need to be driven? The entire point of their ridiculously inflated price tags is they're a joy to drive.

      er, no. The point for most buyers is to own it, talk about owning it, talk about how much better it is than brand-X, and be seen in it. The actual driving is done in stop and go urban traffic where the only joy would be a self-driving car.

    2. Re:APorsche Self-Drive? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Although I once thought as you did, this is untrue. Strangely, Porsche has few posers among their owners. Sure, there are some, but they really are few and far between. Most Porsche models don't actually cost enough to be "in" with the true poser crowd. Rather, they are usually owned by people who love to drive and love to drive a good car. My daily-driver Porsche just turned 40 and has well of 220k on it. It is used in amateur motorsports and as my daily 4-season driver. It drives better than any brand-new car I've ever driven from other manufactures. It is rattle-free after all this time and all this use. I agree, occasionally you do indeed find a prick driving a Porsche. When I bought mine I fully expected to meet a lot of jerks. But I was pleasantly surprised that most Porsche owners are simply people who love motorsports and genuinely love driving a proper driver's car. Live and learn I guess.

    3. Re:APorsche Self-Drive? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I actually agree. I drive a 20 year old pickup, and porche drivers seem interested in talking about my truck because they love cars. It's the opposite of most sports cars. Now, I'm not at all sure about the porche SUV thing ... never talked to anyone driving one of those, but they seem to be all middle aged women.

    4. Re:APorsche Self-Drive? by phantomfive · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Even if Porsche invested a lot of money in self-driving research, they probably wouldn't get it first, or best. They would end up licensing the technology from Google or others.
      So might as well save their money and instead focus on their core competency, and if demand for a self-driving Porsche ever arises, license the technology.

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
  2. Take care to leave your opinions out of the title! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Just because many think self driving cars are a good idea, doesn't mean there are not valid reasons for not wanting to be a part of it.

  3. Fuck off with the Luddite comment by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    It's not being a luddite to enjoy driving a car. And guess what Porsche's pride themselves of being?

    (Hint : DRIVERS CARS)

  4. Re:Units by Irate+Engineer · · Score: 4, Insightful

    And 3.42 kW is 4.58 horsepower, so you won't be doing any meaningful car charging without a lot of these things.

    This sounds more like solar power just for the building. Somebody saw "Porsche solar" and "Porsche electric car" and assumed one must be connected to the other without checking the math.

    --

    Left MS Windows for Linux Mint and never looked back!

    Vote for Bernie in 2016!

  5. luddite? ignorant much? by sittingnut · · Score: 4, Insightful

    how is choosing one technology over another 'luddite'?
    did they threaten to destroy self driving cars? if not, they are not luddites.
    another example of typical overpriced 'education' is usa, resulting in careless ignorant exaggerated use of words, from people, journalist and editors, whose job is to use words.

    1. Re:luddite? ignorant much? by gstoddart · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Haven't you heard? Failure to champion any and all new technologies as being cool and useful makes you a luddite these days.

      That or the poster is a childish ass who felt a random need to inject a stupid opinion in the title, and Timothy went along with it.

      Tough call.

      --
      Lost at C:>. Found at C.