E Cars and more

E Car Technology:

One to watch and learn about. With hub motors.

About hub motors and Siemens and Hi-Pa Drive. This looks like a new division, now named Protean Electric, the e-Traction hub

More on the Sabaru. The Micro-Vett from Italy. The Mini-e from Mini-Cooper. Earth2Tech reviews six at once.

Intelligent Traffic

Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon) wants to try out per mile vehicle taxes using vehicle trackers. $154 million he wants to spend, with the usual skullduggery of supporting lobbyists.

The bill wants to try out GPS trackers and transmitters. But I say, change the bill to include receiver and display for the driver.

In this blog Adam Stewin talks about pricing by the mile and mentions Holland:

"Before delving into the specific arguments for and against a mileage tax, it’s worth noting that the entire country of Holland is doing exactly what commentators have deemed stupid or impossible: starting in 2011, the Netherlands will phase in a vehicle-tracking scheme that applies dynamic pricing to every mile driven. Pricing will vary by vehicle type, time of day, and location, in order to curb both congestion and carbon emissions. The program is designed to be revenue-neutral, and because the government is simultaneously phasing out a steep motor vehicle tax, the plan should end up reducing the burden on low-income drivers. I mention this not to suggest that the U.S. can or should do exactly as Holland does, but just to point out that the concept isn’t quite as crazily unworkable as some seem to think."

Comment

In digital traffic zones all vehicles and their weight class are known to the system. The addition of indicator lights on the dashboard allow driver interaction with system traffic. ,Hence, the system can minimize interaction between heavy and light weight vehicles. The E-Zones make unlimited use of the E-Car possible, with very short pay backs on the digital upgrades. As the volume of light weights grow, so does their road space with virtual dividers. All parties gain from insurance savings.

Secretary of Energy Chu and his views on E cars.