"deekster_caddy" (deekster_caddy)
09/08/2013 at 21:13 • Filed to: None
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"deekster_caddy" (deekster_caddy)
09/08/2013 at 21:13 • Filed to: None | 2
| 11 |
I parked my MG (smallest car at the show) next to the biggest car at the show... Very nice '59 Eldo. My wife followed me over in the Volt. I spent the entire show talking to people about the MG, Volt or Caddy. (Not my caddy). I only had one guy who tried to give me a hard time about dirty coal power, but after I explained that most of our energy comes from natural gas not coal, and that I only charge the car at night when there is excess energy plus it's cheaper, he cooled off and we chatted for about 15 minutes. (I checked our power company's website which gives a breakdown of their power sources to verify where our electricity is coming from)
It was the first time anyone has been very offensive about the electricity I'm using. Somebody else who was nearby watching came up to me after and told me they were very impressed with the way I handled that guy... I was a little nervous at first but he cooled off, then became one of those talkative guys who you can't get away from...
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deekster_caddy
> deekster_caddy
09/08/2013 at 21:19 |
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Can't figure out how to edit my original post but here's a bigger picture.
offroadkarter
> deekster_caddy
09/08/2013 at 21:19 |
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Someone was giving you shit for having an electric car?
I mean I'd never own an electric car, but still, what a dick.
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deekster_caddy
> offroadkarter
09/08/2013 at 21:21 |
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I understand it's not for everybody, and there are people who will never like the idea, but I really enjoy talking about it and 90 other people really liked it and had lots of questions. But yeah...
Frank Grimes
> deekster_caddy
09/08/2013 at 21:21 |
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Car shows are wierd all the hermits who just want to talk about thier cars only for hours on end creep me out.
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deekster_caddy
> Frank Grimes
09/08/2013 at 21:23 |
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I guess that's me, because when I'm not at a car show I can definitely be a bit hermit-y. My kids and wife force me out of my shell, but at car shows I can definitely get chatty.
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offroadkarter
> deekster_caddy
09/08/2013 at 21:24 |
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Some people don't get that the best thing to do at a car show or car meet when you see something you don't like, is to not go up to the owner and give them crap. I mean hell, I was standing in a field of hellaflush cookie cutter subarus and volkswagens today but if I tried what this guy pulled I would have been there all day talking crap... or possibly shot in the chest.
Speaking of Volts, I only know one even slightly close to me, every time I would ever drive past the guys house I'd always see the extension cord going out to the car. At least GM made the volt look rather good, way better than the leaf
ASheep
> offroadkarter
09/08/2013 at 21:33 |
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He didn't have to be a dick about it, but he has a point. Depending on your power source and charging habits, a plug in hybrid could actually be generating more greenhouse gas emissions than an efficient petrol or diesel counterpart.
With current technology, in Australia, if your power comes from a power plant running on black coal, you're pretty much breaking even with a clean diesel as far as CO, CO2 and NOx emissions are concerned, but the power plant emits significantly more Sulphur Dioxide than the car. If your power is coming from brown coal, the diesel is ahead by between 5-10%.
If you only charge during off-peak period, when the generators are essentially wasting excess power, then it's almost "emissions free" in the respect that the generators were making the power whether you use it or not.
Having said that, the plug-in series hybrid concept as used in the volt is a pretty good way to go, as the generator can be run at peak BSFC, greatly increasing thermal efficiency.
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Frank Grimes
> deekster_caddy
09/08/2013 at 21:58 |
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No i can tell you arent like them. They are the same ones who go to swap meets not to buy anything but to just talk to people in awkward one sided conversations where they tell you everything about everything. Put cardboard signs on their backs. Etc. I most definitely have the hermit tendencies as well i sometimes dream of a shack with a stack of books on the isle of man.
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deekster_caddy
> Frank Grimes
09/08/2013 at 22:22 |
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Oh that was definitely the other guy then - he was talking about everything!!
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deekster_caddy
> ASheep
09/08/2013 at 22:25 |
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Understood, which is why I mentioned the power sources above. Also worth mentioning is that as electricity production becomes cleaner, you automatically benefit with no changes to the car!
NinetyQ
> deekster_caddy
09/08/2013 at 22:25 |
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Even as someone who will probably always prefer to have a gas-powered car, I can't imagine actually giving someone heck for the electricity used in their electric car. Sure, it can be a dirty power source, but I'm willing to bet that even a coal-fired plant producing electricity is less harmful to the environment per car powered than a bunch of gasoline engines.