And why wouldn't you want a central console between the front seats, unless you're one of those losers who likes having a shifter on the steering wheel and bench seats? Those are things I hope never to see in cars again.
Yes, I'm one of the losers that likes the column shift and bench seat in my truck. Mostly because long drives with my SO turn into quality time with my SO with a, "Hey [pet name], slide over here." And If SO is inclined and the road is sufficiently deserted, quality time can turn into sexy time during that same drive.
Does that take sports and basic social services into account? I know most other countries don't include athletics into the schools, its community based. And I've noticed that US schools provide a lot front line social services.
I remember hearing a story about "queue jumping" in Canada a while ago. There was a government inquiry into queue jumping and they found: Yes it happens, but its rare, and the vast majority of cases were family and friends of doctors. There wasn't any pay to play to speak of, more "I did my friend a favour and made a few phone calls."
This reminds me of a family my parents are friends with. Their son was diagnosed with moderate autism at about age 10. Everyone that knew the kid wasn't surprised, he always had just a general lack of social grace. So he was enrolled in classes to teach him social skills. And for the year that he was in the classes his behaviour was vastly improved. You could just tell he was observing the situation and formulating a response. The problem was as soon as he stopped going to the classes he went right back to being a little asshole. Except, when my mother was around. When she was around he was a pleasant young man, the moment she was out of earshot he transformed into a little prick. Then there was an incident where my father played a practical joke on him. The boy was red faced and emotionally laid bare in front of everyone he held dear. Then my father puts his arm around and says, "See what happens when you don't listen." Then it clicked for me. That's what dad did to my sister and I when we were being a little shits. He was the master of public humiliation as discipline device ("You need to listen to the advice I'm giving you, or else."). Which meant that mom had a "We need to talk" moment with him (My mother has this way of being so calm she's scary during those conversations). So fast forward to a couple of years ago. We're all at a 4th of July party. He's being a more of an ass than any 15 year old has a right to be. When we were away from the party for a moment, I used a couple of joint locks on him and got him pinned face down on the lawn. Then I told him point blank, "You're being a little shit. Stop it or I will get very angry." After I let him up, he behaved. Never had a problem with him since.
And the cost of insuring two cars is simply prohibitive.
I'm going to make a stab in the dark and assume you are a: single male, under 25 years of age, and live in a large metropolitan area.
Dude, I've been there and I'm here to tell you, it gets better. I know it seems unfair that you get lumped in with all the other assholes in your age bracket. I use to pay $120 a month for liability coverage on a 1984 Plymouth Reliant. I know the feeling of watching that check you wrote to the insurance co annihilate you bank account. But someday you'll be 30 and the insurance company will all but forget about you. I pay about $300 A YEAR for liability on two cars. I know it seems a long way off, but if you can just keep holding on, It Will Get Better.
This engages at highway speeds because when you go that fast, the electric motor has much less torque.
[Pedantic point] The ICE in the Volt only clutches in when the car is in charge sustain mode. On a full battery it will hit the speed limiter without powering up the ICE. [/ Pedantic point]
Volt is a petrol car with an auxilliary electric motor.
No, that's Honda's IMA hybrid set up
I'd prefer it the other way around - an electric car with a tiny (~30hp), compact and light petrol engine. The engine wouldn't even have to be efficient, it doesn't matter because I'd use it twice a year only to extend the range from 100 miles to ~300 miles. The point is to *slow down* discharging the battery, and not to drive on petrol only. And since the energy produced by the engine would go straight to the electric motor (and not to the battery and back) that alone would save some power.
You really think a 30hp ICE will triple your range? I get where your coming from, but you have to factor in a few things. The 34hp engine in my KLR650 weights about 130lbs. A small four cylinder car engine weighs about 200-250lbs and makes 100-140hp. If your going to add an ICE gen set to your EV you may as well make it big enough to do the work.
The Volt only drives the wheels from the ICE when its traveling 70+ mph in charge sustain mode i.e. when your already running the the ICE. The ICE only has a single fixed ratio to the wheels, so your only adding a couple a gears and an electronically controlled clutch. It adds less complexity than a single speed AWD transfer case and increases the vehicles overall efficiency.
And no, you can not have the ECU reduce power at all. Ever. It is a modern automotive sin to in any way inconvenience The Driver, or expect The Driver to conform to the vehicle. That's why the Volt has the same ICE as its platform mates, because when you're in charge sustain mode the ICE is powering the car. Only instead of torque converter its spinning a generator. What do you thing the average driver would do if their new car suddenly slowed to the speed limit or below and refused to go any faster? They would pull into the first dealership they saw and Pitch-a-fit (tm). Their next stop would be the class action trial lawyer's office.
The GM engineers basically said the Volt will perform the same no matter what, you'll just use gas sometimes.
Hell, shitty construction contractors have been doing that for years. Hank's Construction becomes Hank & Sons after a botched kitchen. Same ass hole, new business cards.
You might want to look at the "Abandoned Property" statutes. Those are the ones that say if you leave a car in my yard, after a while I can keep it.
Yes, but, you generality are required to make a good faith effort to locate the owner within a certain time frame (check your local listings, Your mileage may very, open to residents of the continental United States only).
Someone leaves an item at your home. You go, "it's mine now bitch". Original Owner comes to reclaim item within the prescribed time frame. If you don't return it, you are committing a crime.
You post the item in Craigslist lost & found on a regular basis until the time frame has elapsed and the OO comes to claim it a day late, "Suck it, it's mine now bitch."
I can testify to that. I've the old PD I worked for used unencrypted radios. I'd run someone, and the moment I unkeyed my mic their phone would blowup. You try taking a crash report from an already shaken up 16 y/o while everyone she knows is trying to call her. I made the mistake of asking her to turn off her phone till we were done. That backfired, everyone started to call 911 because she wasn't answering her phone.
A 747 from 1969 and a 747 form today are very different aircraft. Sure they share the same basic airframe, but that's where the similarities end. Yes they fly the same route, at the same altitude, in the same time However a modern 747 does it requiring less maintenance, less flight crew, and using less fuel.
Aircraft manufactures are hyper conservative when it comes to materials and processes. Their product is very expensive to develop and if it fails has the potential to kill hundreds if not thousands in a single shot, only to then be the lead story on every news outlet worldwide. Boeing is only now starting to use composite construction in the 787. Yeah, they're 40 years late to the parity but last thing they want is the 787 to be the new DC10.
The part of your post I thought was asinine was the statement about GM management deliberately sabotaging the car. Yes, the marketing has been off the mark, but its a fundamentally new product to the modern automotive marketplace so there's a learning curve to the marketing. I also doubt they're going to sink massive marketing money into a car they know has limited market appeal.
Yes, the math is variable with the Volt & Pruis. The sad fact is people don't buy those cars because of logic or math, they buy them because they fill an emotional need.
It's not bait and switch, it's a loss leader. GM doesn't make any profit on the Volt (or the Corvette for that matter), GM has said they don't expect the Volt to be profitable until generation 2 or 3. The Cruise on the other hand makes a profit for every unit sold.
The point of a halo car is to drive brand awareness and dealer foot traffic. The Volt (like the Prius) is not going to be a major player in Chevy's sales figures, 1-2% tops. The Cruise will likely out sell the Volt 5 to 1.
Wow, that is the most asinine statement I've seen in a while.
Yeah, they're deliberately fucking up on a car that they spent few billion on to get out to market in near record time. It's not like they had the perfect opportunity to drop it when they were, I don't know, going though bankruptcy (like they did with the diesel engine for light duty trucks).
The Volt is a halo car like the Corvette. The car itself is the marketing. Its job is to get people into showrooms so the sales force can sell costumers another Chevy product.
"Wow, Volt is nifty little car. I think the only time I'd have to use gas is when we visit the cabin." "Even then it will deliver mileage in the high 30's" "Wow, but forty large is steep." "Well for about eighteen five you can get into a Cruise Eco, that'll deliver 40 plus on the highway." "Oh, so its a hybrid?" "Nope, they just tweaked the regular Cruise for maximum mileage." "I see, so it doesn't have A/C or air bags. It's a stripper." "Nope, its got the same amenities as every other Cruise, its actually nicely equipped. If you have time for a test drive I'll show you." "Sure, why not."
Spoken like a man that has never had a gay friend dress him for a hot date.
"You're not wearing that are you?" "Yeah." "Let me rephrase, YOU ARE NOT WEARING THAT!" "Why? I look good." "For a hillbilly child molester, yeah you look great. Ditch the pants and jacket, wear these instead with this belt." "Stop being so dramatic." "I assume your goal is to put your penis in her vagina at some point this evening?" "Yes....." "Not going to happen dressed like that. Wear this watch too."
Next morning, text message: GGGGGGGGGOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!
I worked for an armored car co. Pay in dimes, they're heavier by volume. A Federal Reserve bag of pennies ($50) weighs between 25 & 30 pounds (I forget the exact number), same bag filled with dimes ($1000) 50.3 pounds.
Or pay in half dollars, I still have night terrors about those disks forged of hate and pain.
Also, given reverse psychology and all that, denying kids something because it's "for adults" makes it more likely that kids will go out and buy ASAP. So this is marketing on MULTIPLE levels. DEVIOUS.
See, that was my first thought.
corp drone 1: How can we convince adults to buy this pudding? corp drone 2: Easy, get their 5 to 9 year-olds bother them unceasingly about it till they cave. corp drone 1: Yeah, but that would require a marketing campaign aimed at the kids. We want the parents to buy it for them selves in addition to the pudding cups they buy the kids. corp drone 2: Just sell it to the kids the way we sell cigarettes and malt liquor to teens, tell them they can't have any because they're not old enough. corp drone 1: Right! Crap my soul must be growing back because I should have seen that one staring me in the face. corp drone 2: I keep telling you, every other month get that shit cut out. It grows fast and costs you money.
Slashdot Mirror
And why wouldn't you want a central console between the front seats, unless you're one of those losers who likes having a shifter on the steering wheel and bench seats? Those are things I hope never to see in cars again.
Yes, I'm one of the losers that likes the column shift and bench seat in my truck. Mostly because long drives with my SO turn into quality time with my SO with a, "Hey [pet name], slide over here."
And
If SO is inclined and the road is sufficiently deserted, quality time can turn into sexy time during that same drive.
Can you do something like this for every post on Slashdot?
Does that take sports and basic social services into account? I know most other countries don't include athletics into the schools, its community based. And I've noticed that US schools provide a lot front line social services.
I remember hearing a story about "queue jumping" in Canada a while ago. There was a government inquiry into queue jumping and they found: Yes it happens, but its rare, and the vast majority of cases were family and friends of doctors. There wasn't any pay to play to speak of, more "I did my friend a favour and made a few phone calls."
This reminds me of a family my parents are friends with.
Their son was diagnosed with moderate autism at about age 10. Everyone that knew the kid wasn't surprised, he always had just a general lack of social grace. So he was enrolled in classes to teach him social skills. And for the year that he was in the classes his behaviour was vastly improved. You could just tell he was observing the situation and formulating a response.
The problem was as soon as he stopped going to the classes he went right back to being a little asshole. Except, when my mother was around. When she was around he was a pleasant young man, the moment she was out of earshot he transformed into a little prick.
Then there was an incident where my father played a practical joke on him. The boy was red faced and emotionally laid bare in front of everyone he held dear. Then my father puts his arm around and says, "See what happens when you don't listen."
Then it clicked for me. That's what dad did to my sister and I when we were being a little shits. He was the master of public humiliation as discipline device ("You need to listen to the advice I'm giving you, or else.").
Which meant that mom had a "We need to talk" moment with him (My mother has this way of being so calm she's scary during those conversations).
So fast forward to a couple of years ago. We're all at a 4th of July party. He's being a more of an ass than any 15 year old has a right to be. When we were away from the party for a moment, I used a couple of joint locks on him and got him pinned face down on the lawn. Then I told him point blank, "You're being a little shit. Stop it or I will get very angry." After I let him up, he behaved. Never had a problem with him since.
Ok, when I read your reply I see: I want something as equally complex as the Volt, but less capable.
And the cost of insuring two cars is simply prohibitive.
I'm going to make a stab in the dark and assume you are a: single male, under 25 years of age, and live in a large metropolitan area.
Dude,
I've been there and I'm here to tell you, it gets better.
I know it seems unfair that you get lumped in with all the other assholes in your age bracket.
I use to pay $120 a month for liability coverage on a 1984 Plymouth Reliant.
I know the feeling of watching that check you wrote to the insurance co annihilate you bank account.
But someday you'll be 30 and the insurance company will all but forget about you.
I pay about $300 A YEAR for liability on two cars.
I know it seems a long way off, but if you can just keep holding on,
It Will Get Better.
This engages at highway speeds because when you go that fast, the electric motor has much less torque.
[Pedantic point]
The ICE in the Volt only clutches in when the car is in charge sustain mode. On a full battery it will hit the speed limiter without powering up the ICE.
[/ Pedantic point]
Volt is a petrol car with an auxilliary electric motor.
No, that's Honda's IMA hybrid set up
I'd prefer it the other way around - an electric car with a tiny (~30hp), compact and light petrol engine. The engine wouldn't even have to be efficient, it doesn't matter because I'd use it twice a year only to extend the range from 100 miles to ~300 miles. The point is to *slow down* discharging the battery, and not to drive on petrol only. And since the energy produced by the engine would go straight to the electric motor (and not to the battery and back) that alone would save some power.
You really think a 30hp ICE will triple your range? I get where your coming from, but you have to factor in a few things. The 34hp engine in my KLR650 weights about 130lbs. A small four cylinder car engine weighs about 200-250lbs and makes 100-140hp.
If your going to add an ICE gen set to your EV you may as well make it big enough to do the work.
The Volt only drives the wheels from the ICE when its traveling 70+ mph in charge sustain mode i.e. when your already running the the ICE.
The ICE only has a single fixed ratio to the wheels, so your only adding a couple a gears and an electronically controlled clutch.
It adds less complexity than a single speed AWD transfer case and increases the vehicles overall efficiency.
And no, you can not have the ECU reduce power at all. Ever.
It is a modern automotive sin to in any way inconvenience The Driver, or expect The Driver to conform to the vehicle.
That's why the Volt has the same ICE as its platform mates, because when you're in charge sustain mode the ICE is powering the car. Only instead of torque converter its spinning a generator.
What do you thing the average driver would do if their new car suddenly slowed to the speed limit or below and refused to go any faster?
They would pull into the first dealership they saw and Pitch-a-fit (tm).
Their next stop would be the class action trial lawyer's office.
The GM engineers basically said the Volt will perform the same no matter what, you'll just use gas sometimes.
No, that would be Chrysler.
GM use to just milk the govt taxes breaks and grants, until Wall St. fucked shit up for everyone.
Hell, shitty construction contractors have been doing that for years.
Hank's Construction becomes Hank & Sons after a botched kitchen.
Same ass hole, new business cards.
Here's to the best temp in Chiswick.
(Raises a bottle of WhiteOut)
You might want to look at the "Abandoned Property" statutes. Those are the ones that say if you leave a car in my yard, after a while I can keep it.
Yes, but, you generality are required to make a good faith effort to locate the owner within a certain time frame (check your local listings, Your mileage may very, open to residents of the continental United States only).
Someone leaves an item at your home. You go, "it's mine now bitch". Original Owner comes to reclaim item within the prescribed time frame. If you don't return it, you are committing a crime.
You post the item in Craigslist lost & found on a regular basis until the time frame has elapsed and the OO comes to claim it a day late, "Suck it, it's mine now bitch."
I can testify to that. I've the old PD I worked for used unencrypted radios. I'd run someone, and the moment I unkeyed my mic their phone would blowup.
You try taking a crash report from an already shaken up 16 y/o while everyone she knows is trying to call her. I made the mistake of asking her to turn off her phone till we were done. That backfired, everyone started to call 911 because she wasn't answering her phone.
A 747 from 1969 and a 747 form today are very different aircraft. Sure they share the same basic airframe, but that's where the similarities end.
Yes they fly the same route, at the same altitude, in the same time However a modern 747 does it requiring less maintenance, less flight crew, and using less fuel.
Aircraft manufactures are hyper conservative when it comes to materials and processes. Their product is very expensive to develop and if it fails has the potential to kill hundreds if not thousands in a single shot, only to then be the lead story on every news outlet worldwide. Boeing is only now starting to use composite construction in the 787. Yeah, they're 40 years late to the parity but last thing they want is the 787 to be the new DC10.
The part of your post I thought was asinine was the statement about GM management deliberately sabotaging the car. Yes, the marketing has been off the mark, but its a fundamentally new product to the modern automotive marketplace so there's a learning curve to the marketing. I also doubt they're going to sink massive marketing money into a car they know has limited market appeal.
Yes, the math is variable with the Volt & Pruis. The sad fact is people don't buy those cars because of logic or math, they buy them because they fill an emotional need.
It's not bait and switch, it's a loss leader. GM doesn't make any profit on the Volt (or the Corvette for that matter), GM has said they don't expect the Volt to be profitable until generation 2 or 3. The Cruise on the other hand makes a profit for every unit sold.
The point of a halo car is to drive brand awareness and dealer foot traffic. The Volt (like the Prius) is not going to be a major player in Chevy's sales figures, 1-2% tops. The Cruise will likely out sell the Volt 5 to 1.
Wow, that is the most asinine statement I've seen in a while.
Yeah, they're deliberately fucking up on a car that they spent few billion on to get out to market in near record time. It's not like they had the perfect opportunity to drop it when they were, I don't know, going though bankruptcy (like they did with the diesel engine for light duty trucks).
The Volt is a halo car like the Corvette. The car itself is the marketing. Its job is to get people into showrooms so the sales force can sell costumers another Chevy product.
"Wow, Volt is nifty little car. I think the only time I'd have to use gas is when we visit the cabin."
"Even then it will deliver mileage in the high 30's"
"Wow, but forty large is steep."
"Well for about eighteen five you can get into a Cruise Eco, that'll deliver 40 plus on the highway."
"Oh, so its a hybrid?"
"Nope, they just tweaked the regular Cruise for maximum mileage."
"I see, so it doesn't have A/C or air bags. It's a stripper."
"Nope, its got the same amenities as every other Cruise, its actually nicely equipped. If you have time for a test drive I'll show you."
"Sure, why not."
A staff post at the re-education camps?
Spoken like a man that has never had a gay friend dress him for a hot date.
"You're not wearing that are you?"
"Yeah."
"Let me rephrase, YOU ARE NOT WEARING THAT!"
"Why? I look good."
"For a hillbilly child molester, yeah you look great. Ditch the pants and jacket, wear these instead with this belt."
"Stop being so dramatic."
"I assume your goal is to put your penis in her vagina at some point this evening?"
"Yes....."
"Not going to happen dressed like that. Wear this watch too."
Next morning, text message:
GGGGGGGGGOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!
No, use dimes, they're heavier by volume.
I worked for an armored car co. Pay in dimes, they're heavier by volume. A Federal Reserve bag of pennies ($50) weighs between 25 & 30 pounds (I forget the exact number), same bag filled with dimes ($1000) 50.3 pounds.
Or pay in half dollars, I still have night terrors about those disks forged of hate and pain.
Also, given reverse psychology and all that, denying kids something because it's "for adults" makes it more likely that kids will go out and buy ASAP. So this is marketing on MULTIPLE levels. DEVIOUS.
See, that was my first thought.
corp drone 1: How can we convince adults to buy this pudding?
corp drone 2: Easy, get their 5 to 9 year-olds bother them unceasingly about it till they cave.
corp drone 1: Yeah, but that would require a marketing campaign aimed at the kids. We want the parents to buy it for them selves in addition to the pudding cups they buy the kids.
corp drone 2: Just sell it to the kids the way we sell cigarettes and malt liquor to teens, tell them they can't have any because they're not old enough.
corp drone 1: Right! Crap my soul must be growing back because I should have seen that one staring me in the face.
corp drone 2: I keep telling you, every other month get that shit cut out. It grows fast and costs you money.
I was expecting the lectures to be taught by Gypsy with color commentary by Crow and Tom Servo.
The (R) only seem to want to regulate my sex life.
So they are largely irrelevant to you then?