13 Responses to “ SMERA LUMENEO Electric Car? ”

1. 

   Barry Bernsten
   

   16. Jul, 2008

   A fundamental change in our driving habits is now required.

   The Automobile Industry is going to be in the same position as the Airline Industry in the next few months. Unless we get away from gas combustion vehicles, including Hybrids, the automobile industry (as we know it) will die.We need to make drastic moves. America needs to move to ELECTRIC. The vehicles are not as fast, not always as fun to drive, but the move will save Americans money (Billions) and help bring change to our automotive companies. Let’s “Be Green”!!!!!!!!!!!! BG Automotive Group Ltd. has a car that will travel 80-100 miles per charge for $15,995. Finally a car that most Americans can afford. Did you know that 80% of all drivers, drive less than 50 miles per day? This new car will cost an equivalent of $0.20-0.25 cents/gallon (depending on electricity rates in your area). Why send $700 Billion per year to OPEC (now buying up U.S. companies) when we can use this money for our schools, health care, social security for all Americans, etc, etc, etc. We can make the difference if WE change.

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2. 

   kent beuchert
   

   17. Jul, 2008

   Barry Bernsten has made some remarkable claims : “Unless we get away from gasoline powered vehicles, we will die?”
   he does say WHy this will kill us,. perhaps because, as we all know, nothing of the sort will happen. Once again, the simple minded hysterics are failing to see the future : like the anti-nuclear blockers who have all by themselves caused global warming; the ethanol proponents who not only promised $1 gallon fuel, but good financial times for the farmers and
   energy indepdendence. Now we have the electric car proponents who foolishly believe that if a aprtial electric like the plug-in hybrid is good, then the all-electric battery-only must be wonderful. They are complete fools if they believe such utter nonsense. Battery prices make battery-onlies (BEVs) too expensive and battery technology is too deficient - they can’t come close to providing a viable alternative to gas powered cars - they can’t go where you want to go, nor even when you want to go there and force use of gas power when a plug-in hybrid not only could get there, but do so using quite a bit of electric drive and much less gasoline doing so. And when you own a plug-in, you don’t have to buy, insure and maintain a second car. And find a place to park it.
   BEVs make NO sense and never will until a practical battery comes along that can be quickly recharged, Agssi’s idiotic Project Better Place not withstanding.

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3. 

   Car Rental Spain
   

   18. Jul, 2008

   I want know some more details about it.I think this will help me a lot to proceed me. I am waiting for your response. Thank you very much.

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4. 

   Ali
   

   12. Aug, 2008

   To Kent Beuchert:
   Firstly, you need to read the post you’re rebutting. quote:
   “Unless we get away from gas combustion vehicles, including Hybrids, the automobile industry (as we know it) will die.”
   Not ‘we will die’ the industry will die. Last time I checked, I was not the automotive industry.
   Battery prices do not really compare to gas prices - either you pay in one lump sum or you pay in small increments over time. Either way, you’re paying. Battery technology has greatly improved and will only continue; meanwhile gas is gas, and no matter how you slice it, the stuff is getting scarce. I’d rather be working with a renewable resource than a finite one, and electricity has boundless opportunities for production. Hybrids are a great first step, but the end goal needs to be a release of our overall dependence on oil, and that means alternatives to gasoline. It should have been in the works decades ago, and shame on us for not being more proactive in the past on this issue.
   If you look at the Tesla sportscar, that is a prime example of where the technology (and hopefully the market) is heading - 220 mile range, top speed of 125 and 0-60 in 4 seconds! I don’t know where you are, but in the Portland area in Oregon we have recharge stations all over the place, as well as in every campground in the state that offers RV space. Range is certainly not a problem, with a little planning. You’d do the same with gas stations, considering there are some vehicles on the road that get only 12 miles to the gallon (criminal!) that people actually take on long-distance trips. Don’t give up on batteries yet, they’re still our best stepping stone to the next travel technology, and without development we’ll never move forward. Development takes money, and so if we buy into the BEV craze now it will fund the next level and get us that closer to being gasoline-free…

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5. 

   Delaney55
   

   15. Aug, 2008

   Most of these are so small! What about people with families? Who can afford to spend that much money on something that is one person sized? Even if you get one of the 2 person sized little cars there just isn’t any room for anything. I’m all for finding an alternative to gasoline for cars but these itty bitty cars aren’t the answer for everyone.

   Jon and Kate plus 8 sure would be in trouble if that was all we had a choice to drive.

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6. 

   We need to make a change
   

   30. Sep, 2008

   Delaney55, if I’m reading into your post correctly, maybe the problem is that that the EV car options are too small, but the “Jon and Kate plus 8″ sounds like you need to keep it in your pants. In the world we occupy today, we simply cannot continue to exponentially expand our families.

   That said, most people driving to work are by themselves, well within the range of what is capable with EV cars. When prices make them more obtainable, they’ll be a great match for 90 some percent of the people.

   For those with the need to haul stuff or travel on a long trip, I don’t see a problem with hanging on to a used car that can spend most of it’s time parked in the driveway. As someone else mentioned, the bottom line is not depleting a non-renewable energy source when you don’t need to, and not having a larger carbon footprint than you need.

   In addition to having methods such as hydroelectric, solar, wind or harvested solutions to produce energy, keep in mind how several poorly tuned and not highly efficient engines all running on fossil fuels is still less efficient than a power plant that burns fossil fuels with the highest energy yield possible.

   Also, people, take it easy out there! If we’d all drive a little easier, we would get better fuel efficiency and longevity from our cars, not matter how they are powered!

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7. 

   Joy
   

   25. Oct, 2008

   There have been many recent breakthroughs in car batteries and in solar cells that are flexible and may cover the entire car to keep the batteries recharged. See “Who Killed The Electric Car?”

   Also there are others working on energy efficient autos such as the Magnetic Air Car, the Air Car, and others. The future is looking good for pollution-free low-cost transportation, and it is not the big auto manufacturers that are going to bring us that technology, which is the technology that they have been suppressing since the early 1900’s.

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8. 

   brad
   

   28. Oct, 2008

   nice toy! Plugging your transportation into your home, that works off the electric produced for your home… comes back to (in the u.s) coal burning power plants. What about the disposal of the spent batteries? Like the idea.. Results… not so much.

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9. 

   Sam
   

   30. Oct, 2008

   this would be good. to go to work. if you’re are an office guy. and all that.
   i would have 2 cars. this one. and a regular[bigger] one.

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10. 

    Will
    

    05. Nov, 2008

    Great post. The Lumeneo Smera definitely qualifies as a Neighborhood Electric Vehicle (NEV). 90 miles per charge may not seem much but it’s excellent if we just want to drive to the local grocery store.

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11. 

    Suzanne
    

    13. Nov, 2008

    Interesting posts, but as I skimmed, I didn’t see where the electricity was coming from. Here is Washington State we have some hydro-electric, which opponents say is killing the fish runs. In other states there are coal-fired electric plants, which have carbon emissions. Nuclear energy will have radioactive wastes and the danger of a melt-down. There are wind farms and solar cells, but can they provide enough? I think electricity is great in its use, but what about in its generation. I think that the answer is more complex than “Buy Electric”.

    I could really see these vehicles in a business park or on a closed campus though. Where I was in college, many people had scooters to get to and around campus, but they got pretty cold and wet in winter. My husband works at Microsoft in Redmond, WA. This electric car could be used to get between the buildings instead of the shuttle buses that they run. I also worry about the road-safety aspect. There could be dedicated lanes on the freeway, but to get to our place, you have to drive a 2-lane highway, at 50 (posted) with the big trucks. I’d wig a little!

    PS: My father-in-law created and wrote a book about his electric bicycle. So I have a passing interest in the subject.

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12. 

    Kenny
    

    13. Jan, 2009

    I totally agree that (this) EV car is not the right way to go at the moment, due to 2 things; 1st the solar cell is not efficient, 2nd batteries will die.

    Solar cell can generate alot of electricity, lets say on your house roof, however you will at work, the power is useless, and your office roof (tall building) does not have the capacity to supply all vehicle park under it. Unless the government use grid feedback system in your state or country. (assuming by using green energy only, solar/wind)

    Recharging too slow, batteries die. Well, no need to explain a lot.

    Cause traffic congestion, the car is compact, so two or four of this vehicle can share a parking space, however on road, it still takes up one land. So, is kinda stupid, unless the government design special lane for this kind of vehicle, which is … a lot of work.

    Conclusion, this might work in the future, for now … i don’t see it to be useful unless it is on remote places, far suburbs or serve as security personnel vehicle, or other purposes.

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13. 

    jan Swesey
    

    14. Mar, 2009

    The car is very interesting. It is a move in the right direction. What needs to happen is for America to build a transportation system that is a LOT more flexible and does not REQUIRE that we all drive gas hog tanks. As with ALL transportation ideas, they are not ideal for ALL circumstances. Yes the car is small and therefor light in weight. That helps with the range. And yes if it were made like the “old” cars are made it may not be very safe.
    How ever what must be kept in mind is that we are in a complete system redesign of our economy, country, life style, and lively hoods. Just like when we went from steam and horse and buggies to the internal combustion gasoline engine.
    This change in America will be difficult, and traumatic for some, but present opportunities for others. We need to aggressively reeducate out selves and to start thinking for the THIS century and beyond and not spend our time defending the last century and how things were.
    Now we need to get our local state, county, and city fathers on board so that we can not only build and buy these new technologies/products but actually USE them. Please keep in mind that this comment is addressed to all you tinkers, harness makers, and steam engine engineers out there.

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