Gas 2.0 |
- Has Peak Travel Come and Gone?
- GM Invests in Wireless Charging Technology
- Renault Managers Suspended Over Electric Vehicle Espionage
| Has Peak Travel Come and Gone? Posted: 06 Jan 2011 05:47 PM PST
You’ve surely heard of peak oil, which is when the maximum extraction of oil is reached and oil production declines from there. Peak travel is the same idea; we have traveled as much as we’re going to travel, and from here on, people will supposedly travel less in developed countries. The study didn't just take a look at America, but Japan, Australia, the United Kingdom, France, and Sweden. The researchers wanted to compare miles traveled per-person a year with GDP growth. As expected, from 1970 to 2003, miles traveled rose with an increase in GDP. But something happened in 2003 in America, and other nations. The GDP continued to rise (at least for a few more years…) but miles traveled leveled off, or in some cases even dropped. There is no simple answer, although the researchers offer a few reasons as to why this is happening. In America, there are more vehicles than licensed drivers, and there are 700 cars for every 1,000 people. How is that possible? Small businesses often have fleets of vehicles, and some people (like me) own more than one vehicle. This also contributes to the average of 16,155 miles of motorized traveled by Americans every year. In other countries, car ownership is closer to 500 cars per 1,000 people, but even that's quite a few vehicles. Most other countries travel between 6,000 and 10,000 miles in motorized vehicles, to give you an idea of how much America outpaces the rest of the world in getting around. Automobiles have been being built en masse for over 100 years, and while many are scrapped and recycled, a lot of cars get passed down, stored away, or are just driven relentlessly for decades. I know more a guy who has driven the same Pinto for more than three decades without exploding. Crazy, I know. Other reasons are an aging, less-mobile population (damn Baby Boomers), traffic congestion, and rising fuel costs. I'm sure the recent economic crunch has put a dent in miles traveled too. This is good news if you like to breathe, because it could mean that with fewer cars on the road, a large source of emissions are getting less use.
Of course, this study left both metaphorical elephants in the room; India and China. I know the Chinese have taken to cars like flies to honey, and they're already experiencing the unenviable hell that is traffic congestion. I've also seen video of India's roads, and I can't see how they could cram one more car on those roads, so maybe they'll find a better way to get around. Take what you will from this study; it does give me a slight slice o' hope that maybe things are changing for the better, no matter how crappy things may be feeling. Source: Wired Chris DeMorro is a writer and gearhead who loves all things automotive, from hybrids to Hemis. You can follow his slow descent into madness at Sublime Burnout.
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| GM Invests in Wireless Charging Technology Posted: 06 Jan 2011 01:04 PM PST
PowerMat uses inductive charging, which transmits electricity via magnets without any actual, physical connection. As the world comes to rely more and more on pocket computers (I just bought a Droid 2 yesterday and I'm already obsessed), we find ourselves overcome by cords. I've got cords to phones I don't even own anymore. But if you just plop your device down on a PowerMat (after installing a small "receiver" on your phone), it will automatically start charging. Pretty neat, right? GM seems to think so, and is investing $5 million through GM Ventures to bring the PowerMat technology inside its vehicles exclusively for the first year, probably starting in 2012. The PowerMat will be placed on the center console in the front and there will be a mat placed for the rear passengers too. No more cluttering up the interior with different cords. While I was driving across country, I was constantly charging my phone, computer, and even camera through a power inverter connected to the cigarette lighter. A PowerMat would've come in handy, but instead I was often draped with cords. Still, I'm thinking that maybe there's more to this than just PowerMats for the Volt (and other GM vehicles). This might be a stretch, but perhaps GM is interested in "scaling up" the PowerMat technology to charge, say, an entire car? That'd be a huge bragging point, as well as selling point, to would-be EV buyers. Never use a cord again! Just parking your car and it charges itself! The idea isn't new, but with a company as big as GM behind it, it could become very real. For now though, we'll have to settle for wirelessly charging our phones, which is still pretty damn neat. Source: GM Chris DeMorro is a writer and gearhead who loves all things automotive, from hybrids to Hemis. You can follow his slow descent into madness at Sublime Burnout.
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| Renault Managers Suspended Over Electric Vehicle Espionage Posted: 06 Jan 2011 09:48 AM PST
How high up the managers were, and what information specifically was leaked, Renault will not say. The information apparently pertained to electric cars, in all likelihood either the batteries or control systems, as this is primarily what’s holding electric cars back. Batteries are heavy, expensive, and still capable of only deliver between 100 and 200 miles on a charge. That wouldn't be so bad, if they didn't take, on average, four to eight hours (depending on the outlet voltage) to fully charge. The first automaker that can develop relatively inexpensive, fast charging, long lasting batteries will have a huge advantage over the competitors. Nissan-Renault wants to be that automaker. To give you an idea of the kind of money at stake, the Japanese-French alliance has thus far sunk over $5.5 billion into electric vehicle technology, and has only just started selling electric cars to the public (the Nissan Leaf). What specifically was leaked, and who the suspended managers were, Renault did not say. But the leak "threatened strategic assets" of the company, and Nissan is apparently none-too-pleased either. An unnamed Nissan executive told the Wall Street Journal "Whatever they leaked, it's ours. They don't have their own lithium-ion battery technology. We serve all of their battery technology needs, and we are their supplier of battery cells and packs." Ouch. This leaves me with more than a few questions. What was leaked, who leaked it, and who was it leaked to? The I'm sure we haven't heard the last of this story, friends. Source: Wall Street Journal Chris DeMorro is a writer and gearhead who loves all things automotive, from hybrids to Hemis. You can follow his slow descent into madness at Sublime Burnout.
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