Specifications summary of a type of motor-wheel

Maximum power 80 kW 107 hp
Power rated at 950 rpm 18.5 kW 25 hp
Maximum torque 670 Nm 494 lb.-ft.
Couple rated at 950 rpm 180 N m 133 lb.-ft.
Maximum speed 1385 rpm
Rated speed continuously 1235 rpm
Effectiveness under load continues to 950 rpm 96.3%
Voltage maximum 500 V CC

By eliminating the central engine, transmission, differential, universal joints and drive shaft, engine-compact wheel TM4 Transport allow greater flexibility in the architecture of the vehicle

http://www.tm4.com/servlet/dispatcherservlet?selectedContentID=2008&lang=2&action=2

CANADIAN PATENT CA 2161237

http://patents.ic.gc.ca/cipo/cpd/en/patent/2161237/summary.html?query=MOTEUR+ROUE&start=1&num=50#view_or_download_images

EACH WHEEL DELIVERS 95 HP.THAT'S A TOTAL OF 380 HP.

I'm not as impressed as you seem to be. I suspect the system may work fine for a city car. But for American roads I just don't think it will fly.

More than one manufacturer, most notably Renault, has blown tons of money trying to penetrate the US market.

The Tesla is much more "low tech', but I'm more impressed with that approach.

The real issue on electrics is batteries. Until cheap mass produced batteries come on the market, electrics just won't be able to be built in enough quantity to affect the market.

A recent breakthrough may make hydrogen fuel cells cheaper- kinda funny but two arch rival colleges, Ohio State and Michigan, did much of the research work.

And it's simply not true that electrics don't pollute.

The manufacture creates pollution, and unless it's solar or wind, the majority of electricity is from burning coal- which ain't clean.

There ain't no free lunch. The major difference is people see car exhaust, and the electric plant is off hidden somewhere.

Even Nuclear- what do you do with all the nuclear waste?

We are pumping tons of Co2 and heat into the atmosphere while cutting down trees. the result is more carbon returned to the ecosystem.

Electricity simply doesn't solve this.

There is no one solution. It will be a complex mix, raising efficiency, while trying to recover all the lost energy being thrown away.

Every landfilled aluminum can has half a kilowatt hour of electricity in it. Aluminum can only be made where electricity is dirt cheap, like South Africa. Millions off kilowatt hours get simply landfilled every year. And more carbon burned to refine more aluminum. There's an end point in the game.

I think we are just going to have to downsize our disposable lifestyle. No more cheap consumer goods.

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"There are four boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order."

And I don't know about your neck of the woods, but around here I can choose the source of my energy, 100% of my power comes from wind. Effectively anyway.

I do think it's funny that the American car companies abandoned their research, development and production of electric cars roughly a decade ago. They could have been leaders on the world scene by now.

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"When words fail, music speaks" - HC Anderson

Quote

The real issue on electrics is batteries. Until cheap mass produced batteries come on the market, electrics just won't be able to be built in enough quantity to affect the market.

The Lithium battery plant is on schedule . Opening in 2009 for mass quantity production here in Longueuil QC.

As for reliability . I've seen the video in 96 on the news in winter in 1 foot of snow. The 4 wheel
rotor motor is more capable and more powerful than a V-8 engine.They used a Chrysler for demonstration purpose.

Right now as I write this 40 postal trucks are running through the streets of Paris equipped with
the 4 wheel motor.

If the Chevy Volt does what it's claimed to do, it will change the automotive landscape like never before. We're testing prototypes right now. If you drive short distances, you literally may never have to stop at a gas station again.

Hybrid cars are way behind on orders. All the battery plants in the world can't keep up.

Basically,I'm agnostic. I have read maybe ten thousand puff pieces on new ideas. 98% turned out to be bull

I simply don't believe what you're repeating, and you do.

We can argue till we are blue in the face. It won't matter. We'll know in a few years, one of us can say I told you so.

The car industry is just like audio. Many good ideas don't make it.

Who will be the main supplier ? The competition has started. BMW, Chrysler GM are looking for companies that can initially produce 5000 units per year.

There is also a company from US .

The demand is changing every 6 months.

And a lot has to do with the price of gas.

Great looking car.

I'm a GM fan. An american car fan! The US car companies have come a long way, they make great cars now.

Too bad the US citizens are still stuck with the need to buy a Toyota.
**** ....Toyota is dominating NASCAR...huge mistake on NASCAR'S part....just adds fuel to the freak'n fire.

I can see it now....."And the Prius of Kyle Busch is leading Daytona at an astonishing 58 mph...but his batteries are charged!"

Gads zooks.

BTW...I drive a Chev Coblat SS supercharged. 25mpg city, 34+ on the highway, and it has poop! Will run low 14's in the 1/4 mile.
The standard Cobalt does better...GM has forgotten to advertise this.

Also, notice less Excersions, Suburbans, Durangos, and less huge Diesel or gas pickups on the road? I bet you can buy one cheap. The 6 figure income folks don't care. Although my guess is the 6 figure income folks also lead in the credit card debt area. I know more than a few.

But to answer Convergence- talking about 5000 units a year is nor very valuable.

Any idea how many cars there are in the US and Canada? That's not even half a drop in the bucket.

The problem is with Lion batteries, our current ( no pun intended) best option, is the raw materials are getting to be in short supply. More factories mean more demand- which either means shortages, higher prices, or both. In the case of the Tesla I mentioned, batteries are almost half the cost of the car. Look for them to go higher.

The 10% or so drop in gasoline use is already killing highway maintenance budgets- at a time when bridges are crumbling all over the place.

So there is gonna have to be a tax on electricity to cover the shortfall. Which means senior citizens now having trouble paying will have to be bailed out- most likely a government program paid for with another tax. In other words, we will be taxed again to help some pay the first tax.

We haven't even discussed that burning coal actually pumps more radioactivity into the air than a nuclear plant does- Google it. Source is government researchers at Los Alamos.
What I took exception to was not so much that the invention was a good idea. It seems like it, and electric cars, are being presented here as a "magic bullet". There just plain is no such thing.

It took us a century to dig this hole, allowing ourselves to become dependent economically on a substance we can't control. It's gonna take a long time to dig out. And every sword cuts two ways- any improvement will have consequences.

Lastly- I have just read so many glowing press releases- I think maybe I'm just mentally calloused. The simple truth is 98% or better of new ides just plain don't work, not necessarily because they were not good ideas.

What killed Altec?

The seeds were lack of capital. I owned a bit of Altec stock it the early 70's. The joke at the time was it sold for printing cost plus ten percent.

Altec had to issue so much because of the massive inherited debt. Then came the 70's.

The explosion in sound reinforcement, and then Lucas totally changed Theatre sound.

I was young and hotheaded at the time, I was frustrated that Altec, whose products I loved, couldn't follow the market. The thing was, where were they to get research funds? Just basic survival was an issue.

I didn't understand that for an idea to succeed takes engineering, management, marketing, and capital. All of them in close communication. Surviving in the business world is not for the faint of heart. Now I've done that- I made a lot of decisions and gobbled a lot of antacids.

Actually, my 2004 Corvette can get as good or better mileage than the Cobalt! In last years Eureka Springs Corvette Weekend Economy Run, I placed! I recorded over 28 mpg in the contest (too many big hills), and I recorded an actual of 34.5 on the way back to Tulsa - not even trying very hard!

The Silverado K2500, however, is only used to tow the boat, tow the tractors and haul suff when necessary. I don't even care to figure out how bad it is on gas. :|

But GM doesn't advertise this. Instead, they advertise trucks, SUV' Cadillacs etc. They still are! Drives me nuts. The new Malibu rates as good or better than a Camry, or Accord. I've never seen an ad. They have great products, but are plain STUPID in the advertising.

Our gov't...thanks Bush...hasn't demanded increases in fuel economy. My tweaked 90 Olds Quad 442 Calais did better than my Cobalt.,And it was as fast.

I dunno....I think it's a political mess.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/08/08/air.car/index.html

Although they at least have comments from an unbiased engineer.

I read the business plan. They are going to franchise small factories.

Wanna bet the darn thing doesn't work after lots of people buy franchises?

I'll put up a fifty that says these are NOT in production by 2010.

I just don't htink there is any "quantum leap" out there. Vehicles will improve in hundreds of small increments, not a few big ones.

I'm not against any new technology. Just against deluding people.

The public wants a savior. they ain't one. We'll have to save ourselves.

Lots of good live music in Eureka's watering holes. You were just a few miles from my fishin' hole too...

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bfish

"We're going ALL the way, till the wheels fall off and burn!"
Bob Dylan, from Brownsville Girl

I find it hilarious the degree to which the consumption rate data are ignored. By that I mean that I have never, through all these price hikes over the last many years, found an article in any publication or heard any journalist discuss the issue *with data* about gasoline consumption. Can anyone point me to data about consumption in the last few years and relative figures a decade ago? I have looked before and been unsuccessful. Another one I would be curious about is the average EPA highway rating for cars sold in the US (ie. average rating of the combined total of all units sold) and again compared to some years ago.

BTW, expect to see *nothing* but SUV ads now that they are dead weight on dealers lots, they are just desperate to get rid of them to offset the size of the losses.

So what is 60 minutes on CBS waiting for to get an interview . CBC has all the tapes.

There have been BTW similar motor designs, I am not entirely sure how well that patent is going to hold up in court.

A patent does nothing except give you the right to sue. The real issues are decided in the courts.

Anyway, repeated posting about how great that company is will accomplish absolutely nothing. I have just read way too many pieces written by the company itself. They have a vested interest in people believing in them, therefore I don't.

Who am I willing to believe? Maybe somebody like Consumer Reports, who accepts no advertising. Most publicatios any more the articles are sold ot "thrown in" with an advertising contract. It is incredibly hard to get accurate information.

Anyway, in a few years, Hydro Quebec will be successful or bankrupt. I am not arguing either way so much as saying, even if they HAVE a good product, which is still in doubt, it takes much more than that to be successful. I'm agnostic- show me and I will believe. Only time is going to do that.

Type Crown Corporation
Founded Montreal, Quebec (1944)
Headquarters Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Key people Thierry Vandal, President & CEO
Industry Electricity generation
and distribution

Products Electricity
Revenue ▲$10.888 billion CAN (2006)
Employees 22,915 (2006)

One Of the many dams.

Now where can I buy some dam bait?

I once helped restore a 100+ yr old log cabin just downstream from Beaver Dam near here. All around the cabin site were road signs for the "Damsite Overlook", "DamSite Picnic Area" etc, etc. The cabin owners' wife had a cute idea for a fitting little sign for the little lane to their cabin;

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Audio_by_Goodwill
Michigan, USA

Convergence, that's a nice dam. But it has nothing to do with making a car work.

I simply won'r argue anymore. There is no argument, what is going to happen will happen, you and I won't have a lot to do with it.

Just understand, why our positions are different is you read the site and believe in it, my past experience is most rosy predictions fail. Just understand we have different viewpoints, I am cynical about advertising, which is all that site is. You are not. It just doesn't matter, neither of us can prove we are right no matter how many oictures of what we post.

Their idea will work, or not. Even if everything on that page comes true, which it certainly won't, it's only part of the solution, not the solution. The problem is way more complex than one idea can solve.

Sadly, a lot of people in the world it looks like will go hungry because we are making a bad trade of food for fuel. Most of the subsidies to farmers aren't ending up in farmer's pockets, but in the hands of agribusiness. Politics get into everything, usually to the detriment of everybody.