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$300,000,000 for a car battery

GuvamintCheeseGuvamintCheese Member Posts: 38,932
edited June 2008 in General Discussion
WHY NOT?

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/06/23/campaign.wrap/index.html

(CNN) -- Sen. John McCain on Monday called for a $300 million prize to whoever can develop a battery that will "leapfrog" the abilities of current hybrid and electric cars.


Sen. John McCain wants someone to develop a battery that can "leapfrog" those available in current electric cars.

Citing high oil prices, the Republican presidential candidate said he wants his offer to "deliver a power source at 30 percent of the current costs."

"[The prize would amount to] $1 for every man, woman and child in the U.S. -- a small price to pay for helping to break the back of our oil dependency," McCain said during a town hall-style meeting at California's Fresno State University.

McCain said the new automobile battery should have "the size, capacity, cost and power to leapfrog the commercially available plug-in hybrids or electric cars." Watch more on McCain's $300 million reward ?

"In the quest for alternatives to oil, our government has thrown around enough money subsidizing special interests and excusing failure," McCain said. "From now on, we will encourage heroic efforts in engineering, and we will reward the greatest success."

McCain also called Monday for a "Clean Car Challenge" for U.S. automakers, hoping to spur them to develop and sell vehicles with no carbon emissions. The challenge would allow $5,000 tax credits to buyers of such cars, making those vehicles more appealing to consumers and thus easier to sell.

"We're going to see technology for electric-powered cars that are going to be [made cheaper] with our incentives," McCain said.

Comments

  • p3skykingp3skyking Member Posts: 23,916 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Now if some enterprizing thief will steal the plans for them that the big oil companies have hidden in their vaults, we got a ball game.[:D]
  • peonpeon Member Posts: 2,644 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Why not? Because capitalism should be the driving force of invention in our society. Let the automakers invent it or pay someone for their invention. I don't want my tax dollars used to payout on a "prize." $300 million paid out and the automakers will be the ones benefiting the most. We won't be paying as much for gas, but I guarantee our government will find a way to make their money off of us from the loss of tax on the gasoline purchases.

    Plus, the demand for electricity to recharge these vehicles will go up, thus driving up the price.
  • OdawgpOdawgp Member Posts: 5,380 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    id gladly pay $1 to the man who put the big oil barons out in the street
  • Gun_PoorGun_Poor Member Posts: 241 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by Odawgp
    id gladly pay $1 to the man who put the big oil barons out in the street
    Damn straight. I'll put in a dollar.
  • deceedecee Member Posts: 456 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Electric cars are a sham

    The electric company has to burn oil to generate electricity to charge the battery
  • FrancFFrancF Member Posts: 35,279 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Makes you wonder what kind of batteries they use for the ISS[;)][?]
  • GuvamintCheeseGuvamintCheese Member Posts: 38,932
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by decee
    Electric cars are a sham

    The electric company has to burn oil to generate electricity to charge the battery
    We will go back to nuclear.
  • AmishAmish Member Posts: 1,383 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Who killed the electric car?

    Think the electric grid could handle charging 100+ million autos, and then there's the added polutionfrom coal fired electric plants.

    Electric autos is a short term solution, just one they don't seem to serious about.

    GM had one they were leasing a decade ago. They recalled it.
  • Rack OpsRack Ops Member Posts: 18,596 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by decee
    Electric cars are a sham

    The electric company has to burn oil to generate electricity to charge the battery


    Ever hear of nuclear power?
  • KSUmarksmanKSUmarksman Member Posts: 10,705 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    hmm...ok I'm grabbing my engineer and physicist buddies and getting our azzes down to business.

    hey, lots of "crazy" good ideas (like the PC) were invented by some college boys with a screw loose, not by a major corporation [;)] (just look at Microsoft's start)
  • KSUmarksmanKSUmarksman Member Posts: 10,705 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by FrancF
    Makes you wonder what kind of batteries they use for the ISS[;)][?]


    not sure about the batteries, but they use large arrays of solar cells. These are more effective in space since the solar radiation is not attenuated by the atmosphere like it is on Earth
  • triple223taptriple223tap Member Posts: 385 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    $300 million is peanuts. if anyone could develop the battery McCain has in mind, they'd make 100X that.
  • nemesisenforcernemesisenforcer Member Posts: 10,513 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by decee
    Electric cars are a sham

    The electric company has to burn oil to generate electricity to charge the battery


    Yup.

    People (especially politicians) think that there's some magical, infinite, free power source out there just waiting to be discovered and utilized to "end our dependence on foreign oil" or "make us Kyoto compliant" or "reduce greenhouse gases" or "roll back climate change."

    It never occurs to them that you can't get something for nothing.
  • FrancFFrancF Member Posts: 35,279 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by KSUmarksman
    quote:Originally posted by FrancF
    Makes you wonder what kind of batteries they use for the ISS[;)][?]


    not sure about the batteries, but they use large arrays of solar cells. These are more effective in space since the solar radiation is not attenuated by the atmosphere like it is on Earth


    That I know, but the batteries must some sort of shelf life IE, effectiveness . The question is how long? 5 10 50 years etc.
  • OdawgpOdawgp Member Posts: 5,380 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by nemesisenforcer
    quote:Originally posted by decee
    Electric cars are a sham

    The electric company has to burn oil to generate electricity to charge the battery


    Yup.

    People (especially politicians) think that there's some magical, infinite, free power source out there just waiting to be discovered and utilized to "end our dependence on foreign oil" or "make us Kyoto compliant" or "reduce greenhouse gases" or "roll back climate change."

    It never occurs to them that you can't get something for nothing.




    the trick isn't the batteries the trick is to make the car self supportive once it is given an initial charge make the car charge itself

    I once saw a history channel show that dwelt with this type of technology the inventor used the brake rotors as magnetos and collected the electricity with a stator and wha la the car was some what self supportive in that it only needed charged once a week the way he drove it.

    of course we are going to have to give up power everything, car radios cd/dvd players and all the other energy sucking gizmos and gadgets that have found there way into todays vehicles. they need to be what they were first designed for and not what they have become an extension of your our home's
  • MercuryMercury Member Posts: 7,842 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Microsoft wasn't found on innovation, it was founded on THEFT.

    Merc

    quote:Originally posted by KSUmarksman
    hmm...ok I'm grabbing my engineer and physicist buddies and getting our azzes down to business.

    hey, lots of "crazy" good ideas (like the PC) were invented by some college boys with a screw loose, not by a major corporation [;)] (just look at Microsoft's start)
  • OdawgpOdawgp Member Posts: 5,380 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by Mercury
    Microsoft wasn't found on innovation, it was founded on THEFT.

    Merc

    quote:Originally posted by KSUmarksman
    hmm...ok I'm grabbing my engineer and physicist buddies and getting our azzes down to business.

    hey, lots of "crazy" good ideas (like the PC) were invented by some college boys with a screw loose, not by a major corporation [;)] (just look at Microsoft's start)



    that is what they say
  • nemesisenforcernemesisenforcer Member Posts: 10,513 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by Odawgp
    quote:Originally posted by nemesisenforcer
    quote:Originally posted by decee
    Electric cars are a sham

    The electric company has to burn oil to generate electricity to charge the battery


    Yup.

    People (especially politicians) think that there's some magical, infinite, free power source out there just waiting to be discovered and utilized to "end our dependence on foreign oil" or "make us Kyoto compliant" or "reduce greenhouse gases" or "roll back climate change."

    It never occurs to them that you can't get something for nothing.




    the trick isn't the batteries the trick is to make the car self supportive once it is given an initial charge make the car charge itself

    I once saw a history channel show that dwelt with this type of technology the inventor used the brake rotors as magnetos and collected the electricity with a stator and wha la the car was some what self supportive in that it only needed charged once a week the way he drove it.

    of course we are going to have to give up power everything, car radios cd/dvd players and all the other energy sucking gizmos and gadgets that have found there way into todays vehicles. they need to be what they were first designed for and not what they have become an extension of your our home's


    the key words in your post being "somewhat" and "need to be." Those words, along with "if," "should," and a host of others telegraph that a concept is, at least on some level, disconnected from the harsh reality that we inhabit.
  • KSUmarksmanKSUmarksman Member Posts: 10,705 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by Mercury
    Microsoft wasn't found on innovation, it was founded on THEFT.

    Merc

    quote:Originally posted by KSUmarksman
    hmm...ok I'm grabbing my engineer and physicist buddies and getting our azzes down to business.

    hey, lots of "crazy" good ideas (like the PC) were invented by some college boys with a screw loose, not by a major corporation [;)] (just look at Microsoft's start)



    they bought DOS fair and square...when the morons at IBM were saying that there is no market and NO REASON for an individual to have a PC in the home [V]

    IBM dropped the ball big time, catering to businesses and science they missed a major emerging market in home PCs
  • WinM70WinM70 Member Posts: 1,667 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Yea, IBM cried foul for a long time.
    A hacker (did it as a prank/bet) is the richest man in the world, go figure.
  • Rack OpsRack Ops Member Posts: 18,596 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I think its a great idea.

    Cash bounties have been used in the past for development of technologies with vital security interests, why stop now?
  • OdawgpOdawgp Member Posts: 5,380 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by nemesisenforcer
    quote:Originally posted by Odawgp
    quote:Originally posted by nemesisenforcer
    quote:Originally posted by decee
    Electric cars are a sham

    The electric company has to burn oil to generate electricity to charge the battery


    Yup.

    People (especially politicians) think that there's some magical, infinite, free power source out there just waiting to be discovered and utilized to "end our dependence on foreign oil" or "make us Kyoto compliant" or "reduce greenhouse gases" or "roll back climate change."

    It never occurs to them that you can't get something for nothing.




    the trick isn't the batteries the trick is to make the car self supportive once it is given an initial charge make the car charge itself

    I once saw a history channel show that dwelt with this type of technology the inventor used the brake rotors as magnetos and collected the electricity with a stator and wha la the car was some what self supportive in that it only needed charged once a week the way he drove it.

    of course we are going to have to give up power everything, car radios cd/dvd players and all the other energy sucking gizmos and gadgets that have found there way into todays vehicles. they need to be what they were first designed for and not what they have become an extension of your our home's


    the key words in your post being "somewhat" and "need to be." Those words, along with "if," "should," and a host of others telegraph that a concept is, at least on some level, disconnected from the harsh reality that we inhabit.


    the reality is if we don't do it now 30yrs from now your grandkids and my kids are going to be saying to each other why didn't they do something

    reality is I/we/us are in for a big change, we love our urban sprawl fact of it is if we let the government and big business choose the way we are to change we will all be living in one of about 20 cities Denver,L.A, D.C. to name a few wondering what the hell happened

    the fact that the man can do it himself and without corporate financing should scare the hell out of big business and with a 300 million dollar reward it wont be the money grubbing corporations that change the world it will be people that have not been corrupted by the money of the world
  • tccoxtccox Member Posts: 7,379 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    well, I can easily be corrupted but I don't know beans about battetries. Tom
  • txlawdogtxlawdog Member Posts: 10,039 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    What a joke. Everyone of them in Washington has made money off of you and me. Why should they care? It ain't their money!
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