Plug-In Hybrid Electrical Vehicle

Top 10 reasons why teens love plug in hybrid vehicles - PHEVs

2008-08-27T18:17:00.005-04:00

10. I don't have to take the bus to school.

9. I can't give chics a ride home on my skateboard.

8. I can eat lunch and still afford gas.

7. The green teachers always give me good grades.

6. I don't have to wake up an hour earlier to catch the bus and wait in the freezing cold.

5. I can afford to buy an iPhone and still pay for gas.

4. My girlfriends parents cannot hear me drive up at 11pm.

3. My girlfriends parents cannot hear me drive away at 12:30am.

2. My parents cannot hear me pull in the driveway at 1am.

1. I can give the CEO's at GM and Ford the middle finger for screwing this country as I drive away in my fuel efficient hybrid yelling "Go home and watch Who Killed The Electric Car with your friends and family"

PS McCain is way too old to be running a country. He is too old to run around the block forget about running a country. He doesn't even know how to cut and paste. He thinks we are still living in 60's and 70's and that foreign policy should be handled in the same way it was in the 40's and 50's

This is when age discrimination makes perfect sense. You don't let teenagers drink alcohol for a reason. We shouldn't let rich old guys in their 70's run countries or businesses. He needs to go sailing or play golf.

Michelle Obama - Politics as usual without PHEV, Iraq, or energy.

2008-08-26T16:19:00.005-04:00

Lasts nights speech by Michelle was very moving but a total disappointment. She is a very very good speaker and was vey sincere. However it was politics as usual. I want positive energy and change. Change being the key word.

Every politician talks about their struggles. About their families struggles. It has been going on since the beginning of time....

I want to hear how you are going to make change. I do not need another sad story to convince me that you are human like the rest of us and that your family worked hard as well.

I would rather hear from a rich kid that had rich parents that was pissed off by the way the recent administration fucked up this country and that they are pissed off and going to bring change.

I want change. I don't want another tear jerking story written by the ratings experts over at Oprah Winfrey's office.

I would have rather seen her come out and talk about wind energy and solar energy and getting our troops out of Iraq.

I am so pissed off that he chose Biden over Clinton.

Joseph Biden could care less about PHEV and the environment

2008-08-25T13:20:00.003-04:00

Joseph Biden has been in office too too long to understand change and what this country needs to get back on track.

Obama should have just handed over the presidential election on a silver platter.

Politics as usual. You don't bring on a running mate because he is old with some foreign policy experience. We need someone that is going to bring about change.

Our foreign policy sucks. So what good is it to bring on a guy that has been part of the team that put us in the position we are in.....??????

I want to see change. I want to see these guys driving around in hybrids. I still see them all driving around in blacked out SUV's

Barack needs to stop posing and speaking from notes. I am sick of the canned speaches.

They are getting old. They sound like final exam speeches for a political science course at the Kennedy School of Government.

The aristocratic speeches that were delivered on his tour turned my stomach.

I want to see change.

I want to see drastic change. We need two leaders that are not afraid of change.

Ford and GM do not deserve to be bailed out. The union workers that want more pay, more benefits, and less responsibility for the companies profits do not deserver to be bailed out. The executives and management do not deserve to be bailed out for building junk cars and trucks for decades. For the lack of concern for the environment. For killing the electric car. Getting in bed with Chevron.

They do not deserve one penny.

Goldman Sachs is wrong again!

2008-08-21T07:56:00.004-04:00

Goldman Sachs is so out of touch its not funny. These guys are sweating and so stressed out its not even funny.

None of the elite over at Goldman Sachs are driving a hybrid to work and if they are its because their kids or wife make them. Or possibly they took a big stake in toyota or a battery maker.

Most of the staff doesn't even know what PHEV stands for.

Goldman Sachs is simply trying to get on the good side of the richest leaders in the world with their bullshit statement that oil will trade at $149 a barrel by the end of the year.

These guys are total dolts when it comes to playing in the real world. If this isn't a perfect example of the elite fucking with world economics by trying to drive up the cost of oil, I don't know what is......

These greedy slaves to the dollar/euro/ any currency take limos to work. Why don't you treck up to your house in Westchester and then drive your own car over to the train station and try and find a seat.

You are just like McCain with his speech in Colorado. Out of fucking touch with what is really going on and your just looking to make more money with your power of influence.

Oil cannot get to $149 a barrel and stay there. Forget about what it will do to the US. China and India are not going to subsidize gas at $149 a barrel. They cannot do it.

Bob Costas asked President Bush about PHEVS

2008-08-20T18:58:00.003-04:00

Bob Costas is an idiot. 1 of 2 things occurred.

1. He thought NBC told him to be a Political Journalist when they really said don't pretend to be a Political Journalist.

2. He got an F in the one political science course he took in College and he wanted to prove to his professor that he could cover politics and sound smart.

WTF was this summers eve dork thinking? I can't stand the way this guy covers sports. Forget about listening to him ask questions that sound so ridiculous.

I don't understand how people like Bob Costas keep their jobs. Do their parents or grandparents have tremendous power that allow them to keep their jobs?

This interview was so out of place.

Read a small portion of the transcript below:

Costas: And winning 101- 70. Alright, our time here is limited but we will get to as much as we can, the Opening Ceremonies were glorious there is much to admire about China's people, China's culture, and its present accomplishments. But this remains an authoritarian state.

Bush: That's true.

Costas: With an abysmal human rights record. In the long run, is China's rise irreconcilable with America's interest?

I don't know if Bush's people planned this or Costas and NBC but the fact remains that you don't do this type of interview during the Olympics with a sportscaster.

You can read the transcript here:
http://www.prnewschannel.com/absolutenm/templates/?a=749&z=7

Oil Heading Down to $80 a Barrel: Merrill Executive

2008-08-18T11:19:00.003-04:00

Finally an executive that has the balls to tell the truth.

We need more people like you on CNBC Tom! Good job Mr. Petrie

This was just released on CNBC this morning.

Decreased global demand will push the price of oil to about $80 a barrel in the coming months, Merrill Lynch Vice Chairman Tom Petrie said on CNBC.

"I think it's pretty clear demand elasticities have been triggered in a way that will take prices lower," Petrie said. "I do think $80 to $90 is probably where the floor is."

To read the full article click here:

http://www.cnbc.com/id/26264945

George Bush is going to Green Bay for Bret Favre - Straight UP!

2008-07-31T10:36:00.004-04:00

Manny Ramirez was just kidding. He is not going to Green Bay and Bret Favre is not going to play for the Boston Red Sox. He is going to Washington DC!

Someone at Dunkin Donuts got a text message from a friend that works up the street at Starbucks that said our country is now going to be in a much better position with Bret Favre as our leader!

Once the stock market gets the news I think we can expect oil to drop and consumer confidence to go way up.

So jump in your Hybrid and go ask Bret to pass some legislation that will help this country reduce its consumption of gasoline. I bet Bret wouldn't talk about drilling for more oil since our focus should be on reducing consumption.

This message was approved and paid for by people that want a new leader.

Google and Idealab to solve nations oil problems

2008-07-28T18:11:00.005-04:00

Google and Idealab seem to care more about the country than rest of corporate America. Where is GE? Where is Oracle? Where is Yahoo? Where is Microsoft? Where are the hedge fund billionaires that have made way too much money trading oil?

"C'mon fellas, WTF??" Where are the superstars? How come the hollywood millionaires are not stepping up to the plate? Where is Arnold Schwarzenegger? He is supposed to want a cleaner state, so why isn't he involved in this organization, even if it is to simply bring attention to the possibilities Aptera offers? If he has brought attention to the deal please let us know!

Where is Walmart? Where is the Walmart family? What are they doing to help reduce our oil dependency since they have helped create such demand in China? Where is Lowes? Where is Home Depot?

I don't understand why Google seems to be the only company that cares and is actually doing something to make a difference?

Where is Warren Buffett? All he seems to say is that oil demand is real? What is he doing to help? He doesn't need to invest or throw money at a cause to make things happen. Although he should. Regardless of your position about Warren Buffett, I think he needs to help move the country to make changes. Everyone with tremendous power and wealth should be doing everything in their power to make things happen.

Senator McCain spent $16 million dollars last month on advertising! Clearly there is enough cash out there to fund more organizations like Aptera. When are going to cap spending on politicians for political races? How come more people are not pissed off by the money spent to run for office. It is disgusting.

The Google and Idealab info was passed along from www.gas2.org. What a great web site! You must check out gas2.org. You can read the full article here.
http://gas2.org/2008/07/28/aptera-electric-car-closer-to-production-after-cash-infusion/

Who are the green billionaires? What are they doing? Keep us informed and pass along what you know.

Driving a hybrid feels good

2008-07-26T09:50:00.005-04:00

We tend to focus on gas mileage and the costs associated with trading in an SUV for a hybrid and whether or not it makes fiscal sense. What we often forget to talk about is the feel-good aspect of doing something that right. You are doing something right for the environment and for the economy. Most of the time we are arguing about the myths associated with replacing the batteries or the carbon footprint of the batteries from the people that simply refuse to believe that a hybrid is actually an option to reduce pollution and our dependency on foreign oil.

Most of us driving hybrids were not volunteering to set sail with Green-Peace back in the early 90's but many of us were members and did our small part by becoming a member. Many of you were recycling before recycling was mainstream. Being green is something that felt right. It felt good and still feels good. I don't care if you drive an SUV. I don't care if you love your big diesel truck. Do your part in other ways. Stop using paper towels. Make sure you company turns of their lights and you turn off your lights. Make sure your tire pressure is always correct and everyone around you knows the importance of proper tire pressure. Write to your state reps about the importance of a pickup hybrid that still has power. There are a million things you can do besides drive a hybrid. Do your part to make sure green is really green. A lot of organizations sell green but in all honesty it is very difficult to know for sure if something is 100% green or even better than the existing alternative.

Regardless of your political beliefs or your position on oil and gasoline. I think it is safe to argue that the hybrid movement is something we can now all get behind and make a legitimate argue for as the best approach to reduce consumer vehicle pollution and to reduce our dependency on foreign oil. With gas prices at this level even the most hard core gas lover cannot drive by a hybrid and not think to themselves... "Damn I wish they made that thing with an 8 foot bed and a 4 inch lift kit"

This post is all about the good feeling that comes along with driving a hybrid. So many people want to know if the car really does get 40+ miles per gallon. So many people want to know if the car is expensive to maintain. So many people want to know how the hybrid drives. Nothing feels better than walking out of the store and to see someone looking at a hybrid wondering to themselves "is this a car I could drive, does this car really get ..... , does this car cost $$$$ to maintain" and you get to walk up to them and answer all their questions. I don't even bother to ask them what they are doing unless I see them with a slim jim trying to get in the car! I just walk up and tell them "It is a great car. I average 47 miles per gallon. It handles like any other 4 cylinder toyota or honda. It does not cost anything to maintain beyond what you pay for a normal car" and they just stand back and shake their head and say "thanks" or "no kidding"

Now the real secret to the hybrid and PHEV success is getting some companies that are more interested in doing good than making a profit. Well I think we need a nice balance of both in order to make it successful. We need Patagonia to build hybrid PHEV technology.

Imagine a hybrid that wicks away sweat! LOL

Anyway.... Got get a hybrid and feel good about doing your part today.

A message from your children and their children to come!!!!

"STOP BUYING BOTTLED WATER" Get a water filter and a reusable water bottle. Drink water before you go to work and when you get home. There is no reason to buy so much damn bottled water. Stop putting bottled water in the cooler at barbecues. Put out a pitcher of ice water from your filtered water.

When you go to a restaurant and get a soda, where do you think that water comes from? That is tap water that is mixed with the carbonation and syrup? "THE TAP!!!!!" You drink more of that than you will ever drink of bottled water.

So do your part today and tell all your friends to stop buying bottled water!

Pickup truck PHEV to get 100 miles per gallon

2008-07-23T08:09:00.003-04:00

Keep your eye on Raser Technologies. The Utah based company put out this press release yesterday.

Raser Developing 100 MPG Plug-In Hybrid Light Truck For Initial Release To Utility And Government Fleets

PROVO, Utah – July 22, 2008 – Raser Technologies today announced it is developing a 100 mile per gallon (mpg) light truck in addition to a 100 mpg SUV. Raser’s plug-in electric drive system is designed to allow light trucks such as the Chevy Silverado, Ford F-150, or Dodge Ram to achieve over 100 mpg in typical local daily driving with near zero emissions, by using electricity instead of petroleum as the primary fuel. The announcement comes as Raser nears completion of a 100 mpg SUV demonstration vehicle, built in cooperation with a leading global OEM, using the same drive system. Unlike most hybrid or even plug-in hybrid vehicles that still rely mainly on a combustion engine, an extended range electric truck (E-REV) using Raser’s drive system is propelled entirely by a powerful 200 kW peak electric motor using lithium ion batteries. The truck is being developed in cooperation with the Plug-In Hybrid Consortium Development (www.HybridConsortium.org) and is designed to operate with zero direct emissions during typical local daily driving.

Here is a link to the full article: MORE

Here is a link to a very interesting brochure on their plug in hybrid electric truck. It is a very detailed PDF that describes the system with great photos and descriptions. CLICK

Next generation PHEV motors developed by Raser Technologies

2008-07-23T07:52:00.003-04:00

I was checking out my PHEV Google alerts this morning and read a great article on Greenbiz.com The article mentions a company out of Utah that I think you all need to watch. The name of the company is Raser Technologies and they have developed a PHEV motor that is powerful enough for light duty trucks and will get 100+ miles per gallon.

Next Generation Hybrid Motor

As hybrid vehicles become “electric motor dominant” they require a motor that can deliver more power and more torque at a lower cost with more reliability. Raser’s Symetron™ technology is available for license for “hub” style motors to meet the needs of the next generation of hybrid vehicle motors. Symetron™ technology offers PM motor performance with the economy of an AC induction pancake motor. The technology is ideal for many applications including integrated hybrid motors, intergraded starter generators, and is scaleable for a wide range of sizes from small scooters to the large heavy vehicles and generators.

To read more about this engine and Raser Technologies: Click Here

McCain to get his lame ass kicked by Barack Obama

2008-07-22T14:46:00.008-04:00

A friend of a friend said that she heard from a friend of a friend that got a text message from his neighbors grandma that works at the library that Barack Obama was going to kick McCain's ass for that bullshit gas price television commercial that was aired by Senator McCain.

A friend of a friend also said that he heard someone say that most people that are worried about our economy and oil prices think that McCains new commercial makes him look like a douche bag.

Others have reported that McCain has been spending his money to look cool and funny in order to avoid real issues and real questions about his parties inability to get anything right over the past 8 years.

Oh this just in... Hot of the text message alert system here at PHEV. A bunch of high schoolers that no longer can afford their gas to go out on the weekends call McCain a real idiot. One youngster, a senior in highschool, said "WTF I am LMAO right now McCain, you think that drilling now is going to help us reduce pollution and find alternative energy sources. The problem is oil jerk off, not because we don't have more oil wells in the US. Don't you read McCain? If demand is going up, then all that is going to happen is prices are going to go up. The solution is alternative energy and creating incentives for businesses to use alternative energy sources as well as make it more attractive to entrepreneurs to come up with new technology... But what do I know, I am just 18."

We are so pissed off that McCain would run such a dumb ass aggressive advertisement.

I am a former republican and veteran of the Gulf Storm. The republicans can thank Bush and Rumsfeld for forcing me to switch teams.

We need change and we need change fast. We need new approaches that have real thought and concern behind each decision. Not, I am right and you are wrong.

Andy Frank to win Nobel Peace Prize for PHEV

2008-07-18T10:20:00.006-04:00

Andy Frank should be given a Nobel Peace Prize for his work developing plugin in hybride electric vehicle technology.

Detroit automakers and their engine designers should be given pink slips. If you are an engineer or executive with one of the big automakers, your kids should be ashamed of your efforts and lack of concern for the planet and geo political issues. The same way union negotiators should be ashamed of pushing manufacturing jobs to other countries.

Many of our engineers only had concerns for profits and the most of the union side negotiators had no concern for profits.

Alright.. No more soap box blogging. I want you to learn more about Andy Frank.

Take a look at this great article written about Andy Frank on csmonitor.com. Most people have never even heard of this genius.

Check him out.

http://features.csmonitor.com/innovation/2008/07/18/can-plug-in-hybrids-ride-to-america%E2%80%99s-rescue/

55 MPH Speed limit law passed by congress

2008-07-12T08:38:00.007-04:00

34 years ago we had an oil crisis and today we are talking about similar legislation to help solve our current economic crisis with respect to oil demand. Does it get anymore frustrating than this?

At what point do we start learning from our past experience? At what point does a warning from Alan Greenspan become legitimate? We all held on to his words but for some reason thought he was a crazy old man when he warned us about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. At what point do we start taking this problem seriously as a nation? I think too many people see our problems in the same light as the trash and boarded up buildings in a bad neighborhood on the other side of town. Most think that if I ignore it long enough the problem will simply go away. Hell most people probably thought.. "If real estate prices continue to climb some savvy developer is going to buy up that bad neighborhood in put in luxury condos or OOH maybe that developer can put in another Home Depot and Walmart.

We have so many indicators and factors that have been in our face for decades and yet we have done nothing. Our economic situation did not hit us like a freak earth quake without warning. We have had all the information necessary to know that many indicators were real and that if not addressed could cause a deep recession.

Houses are not worth that much! WTF WTF WTF Everyone knew deep down inside that housing prices were completely ridiculous. It does not take a derivatives trader to figure out that houses were over valued. How in the *&^% did so many financial analysts and risk managers just look the other way just to make more money? I mean talk about the perfect storm....

Auto manufacturers that have not given a rats ass about fuel economy for over 90 years.

Greenspan warning us about Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae crisis years ago.

2004 - Franklin Raines, CEO of Fannie Mae was fired for engaging in accounting improprieties that hid earnings volatility. Better known as accounting irregularities to the spin doctors.

I know that I am rambling.... It is just so frustrating that this time our bubble was not just some internet valuation game being controlled by the nations richest and most powerful traders and market makers. This time, WallStreets superpowers were playing with paper that has ##@@ed us like no other financial game in our countries history.

It is the perfect storm set in place by financial traders and risk managers. Greed at its best.

What is amazing is that we are still sitting in the bleachers watching WallStreet's super heros do it all over again with Oil.

WallStreet is no different than any other institution. Just like Madison avenue does it with styles and colors. WallStreet has a hot commodity or industry that everyone manages to convince is beautiful and real. No matter how ugly or uncomfortable it might be when broken down in a spreadsheet or with logic. Just as they where uncomfortable suits and ties all day because Madison Avenue tells them what to wear. A very select few super traders get to tell the world what is going to go up and create artificial markets and valuations with no substance or logic.

Oil speculators trade on such bullshit data. Hurricane possibilities drive up oil prices. Reported attacks on oil refineries without pictures or video footage drive up oil prices. Two guys miss work on an offshore oil drilling platform and oil prices go up.

These speculators are on the golf course laughing their asses off. Just like the internet bubble players were doing in 1999 outside the coffee shops in Palo Alto. They had nothing but potential to trade on and the oil traders have nothing but made up stories that enable them to move the markets.

Powereful players just go from one game to the next. Some win and some lose. But nothing changes except for the game. Junk bonds, Internet Companies, Mortgages, and Now oil. All they did is figure out how to do it in another category and make more money doing it.......

How beautiful is it when you can walk in the office and look at a weather report send out a few emails and make millions. It's beautiful. Login to your email and check out your Google alerts and find the perfect little link and pass it long to CNBC. Shazaam! Oil prices have gone up.

Or just get on CNBC and tell the world that global demand is driving the prices and we might run out of oil. Imagine that. They found a game that allows them to use fear to drive up prices.

Was the gauge that measures the amount of oil underneath the earths surface broken until recently? Was it stuck? Oh I bet it was probably just dirty and one of the traders took the time to clean it off and then looked at it and said holy shit! "We don't have that much oil left. I better call CNBC and let them know"

I am not denying the fact that oil demand is up and going up based on global growth. There were some aspects of the internet bubble that were real. However, after thousands of companies were started and stopped and billions were lost we were left with Google, Yahoo, Ebay and a handful of others.

The problem with oil is that you can't walk over to the middle east pull out the dip stick to see how much oil is actually in the ground or quickly find an alternative source of energy to slow down the speculation.

This oil game is brilliant. They figured out how to trade the perfect commodity and we have no real way to stop it from my perspective.

So the next time an oil trader comes in your shop, charge him 300 times the suggest retail price and tell him there was a threat of a hurricane off the Gulf so I had to raise my prices to cover the possibility that demand is going up and supply could be slowed down for the next few weeks.

Oh and always charge more in hot months and cold months. People like to use stuff when its hot and when its cold. I have always loved that one.....

Just make up some story about some neighborhood thieves that have been stealing stuff from local businesses. Use that as an excuse to charge your oil speculators 500% above suggested retail.

The bottom line is I don't have enough information to truly understand the oil game but on the surface it just pisses me off because it doesn't make much sense based on the data that drives prices up and down.

Top 10 misconceptions about the Toyota Prius

2008-07-10T20:25:00.007-04:00

Top 10 Misconceptions about the Toyota Prius

1. Its better for local city driving. WRONG: It only gets 2 - 3 miles less per gallon per mile based on EPA estimates. Our tests show it gets the same or better gas mileage on 3 different 2008 Toyota Prius' when driving long distances on the open highway in New York.

2. Chics dig the Prius. WRONG: Only if you live in certain areas and/or you are a huge celebrity. Even then, it is still highly unlikely that chics will be turned on by your Prius.

3. It is really slow and has no power. WRONG: It has plenty of power. You will be pleasantly surprised.

4. It requires special gas. NOPE.

5. It costs a lot to maintain. NOPE. WRONG again.

6. It has to be plugged in. NOPE and unfortunately this time you are WRONG again. We wish you could plug them in.

7. You have to do city driving before it makes sense to buy one. NOPE. You and about 200 million others are wrong again.

8. You have to take a class to learn how to drive one. NOPE. But you will need to get used to spending less time at the gas station.

9. People will make fun of me. NOPE Actually people will often ask you for a test drive and ask you how much you like driving the Prius.

10. Al Gore invented the Prius. NOPE. But he did generate over 100 million entries in top 10 lists all across the internet and has been at the butt end of millions of invention jokes.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2009 Toyota Prius may come with a solar panel sunroof

2008-07-10T16:25:00.005-04:00

This is obviously not a Prius but check this stuff out after you read about the Prius.

Nothing has been confirmed by Toyota but news is spreading that the 2009 Toyota Prius might have a solar panel sunroof. A few sources have called this a PR stunt. I have no idea why this would be considered a PR stunt considering RVs have been using solar panels for years.

White Horse RV Center was kind enough to transfer me to their service department. Pete was kind enough to spend a few minutes on the phone with me going over the solar panels on RVs. He told me that they have been using solar panels on RVs since the early 90's. Pete said that they have were designed to keep the batteries charged while your RV or Motor Home is in storage.

Obviously the batteries that help power your Prius are a bit different than the batteries that start up your RV or Motor Home. However, anything that can help generate power without the use of fossil fuels or mineral fuels is what we need. Maybe just maybe, Toyota figured it out during a killer brainstorming session during a corporate retreat. You never know.

Before this discussion with a co-worker I had no idea RVs had solar panels and after a little browsing I found some impressive solar panels you can buy for your RV. Now we just need to figure out how to get two 50 ft panels mounted on a PRIUS.

Check out these solar panels and what they provide for green RV owners. If you or anyone you know have anything like this installed on their RV we would love to hear how well they actually work.

THE SUNRISE

The Sunrise mobile solar kit is compact and simple to install. Provide basic DC power for lighting, laptop computer and water pumping. It can provide up to 325 watts in 5 hours of sunshine.

1 Kyocera KC85 watt solar panel
1 Set of flush mount panel mounts for roof
1 Sunsaver SS-6-L-12
50' 10/2 flat wire 50' roll

All for just $575, plus shipping!

THE SUNDANCER

The Sundancer is a powerful solar kit that can provide over 600 watts DC per day* from a powerful mitsubishi 120 watt panel and is expandable to double the amount of power.

1 Mitsubishi 120 solar panel
1 Set of flush mount panel mounts for roof
1 Morningstar PS15M charge controller
50' 10/2 flat wire 50' roll

Pay only $860, plus shipping. Add a second 120 watt panel and mounting for $600

THE TWO SUNS

The two suns solar kit can provide over 650 watts per day* from powerful Kyocera Solar panels and run up to 1,500 watts of AC equipment on-board for all the comforts of home on the road.

2 Kyocera KC85 watt solar panels
2 Sets of flush mount panel mounts for roof
1 Morningstar PS15M charge controller
50' 10/2 flat wire 50' roll
1 Magnum ME-2012 & remote control
1 Set of 15' x 4/0 inverter cables
1 300 amp battery / inverter fuse block

A great sale price of $2,545, plus shipping.

You can see the panels here: http://www.wholesalesolar.com/RV.html

You must take a few minutes and check out www.wojack.net. Once you get there go to the left menu and click on Our Solar System.

It is an interesting site that talks about solar panels and RVs.

Wojack.net also talks about "Boondockers". I think this means RV travelers that travel without the need to park inside a full hook up RV park. They manage with just their solar energy systems. Take a look at this site. I think you will find it interesting considering this has been going on for years.

http://www.wojack.net/Our%20Solar%20System/OUR_SOLAR_SYSTEM.HTM

Toyota Prius misconceptions

2008-07-08T22:46:00.007-04:00

Most people that do not have a hybrid or that do not directly know someone with a hybrid have some pretty unbelievable misconceptions about the cars, especially the Toyota Prius.

The rumors and misconceptions never cease to amaze me......

Perfect example: Just last week I was talking with an insurance adjuster that drives an average of 300 miles per day and he thought that the Yaris was a better option because he does a lot of highway driving. The Prius gets 48 mpg in the city and 45 on the highway. Ladies and gentlemen, that is only a difference of 3 miles per gallon. The Yaris has an EPA rating of 36 highway and 29 city. It is amazing how many people have this belief that the Prius gets 50 mpg if you drive in the city but once you get this beast on the the highway it has the fuel efficiency of a Chevy Suburban or something! Now don't start arguing about price and batteries... blah blah blah... We are only allowed to talk about the misconceptions people have about hybrids like the Prius. Why do so many people have this strange misconception?

I will tell you..! Because none of the television interns bother to do any research before they put people like Matt Lauer on camera and let him start talking about hybrids.

Do your part and research how beneficial an efficient car or light bulb might be before you right it off as NO GOOD.

Example: My biggest misconception about the Prius was related to the cars ability or inability to go from 0 - 30 MPH or 0 - 6o MPH in under an hour. I now know that the car drives like many other four cylinder gas powered cars with a four cylinder engine. It has plenty of power and torque to get you on and off the highway ramps.

So go for a test drive. Ask your green neighbor to take you for a ride in his or her hybrid.

John Stossel loves oil companies.

2008-07-01T16:27:00.006-04:00

On June 30th 2008 John Stossel on Larry King live made this absurd statement:

STOSSEL: I think these oil companies are heroes. Think what it takes to bring this stuff to us, across an ocean, refine it into three types of gasoline, put it in trucks that cost 100,000 dollars each, ship that to gasoline stations that have to have this expensive equipment so we don't blow ourselves up pumping our own gas.

Later on in the segment Stossel make this statement:

STOSSEL: If they could find it in Montana, they would go to Montana.

I never thought much about Stossel while watching him on 20/20 but after this I am not going to watch him or 20/20.

What an absolute &*%^&$ *$&#&#..... How could he come on this show in these economic times and make such useless comments. We all want to point the finger and make this problem go away. We all want a quick solution to help fix the problem.

Where is Stossel's solution? Where does he stand? Does he simply want prices to go higher until the free market comes up with a solution? Why not tell us what he thinks should be done? Why not tell us what he thinks Americans should do? Why not tell us what he thinks the US government should do? John Stoseel... Please answer the sixty thousand dollar question. Why would you make this comment on CNN? Why would you call the oil companies heroes?

At least Kennedy is giving us some insight as to what could be done to reduce our dependency on foreign oil.

I don't like to point fingers because nobody really knows who is to blame. Is it the spineless engineers at every auto manufacturer that never stood up and said we need to make every engine more efficient and cleaner? Is it the executives fault for not doing the right thing and walking down to the engineering and design group and making this a requirement for every new vehicle.

We can blame politicians all day long. That part it easy. They have bent over the US citizen a million times over. There is no question that our government has been involved with big oil money for decades.

The bottom line is I want answers. I want solutions. I want some insiders to come out and tell us what really happened when the engineers got together at Ford and GM in their Monday morning meetings to talk about their new engines for next year. We have 30 years of Monday morning meetings to talk about. What in the hell did these guys and gals do for 30 years?

I want to know why we don't have wind farms in the midwest? Why don't we have solar energy being produced on a massive scale in the southwest?

Is this company called Better Place really going to get Israel off of gasoline cars in three years?

We have no time to point fingers. We have no time to waste watching useless talking heads like John Stossel call oil companies heroes. I never thought I would hear anyone call an oil company a hero in 2008.

John are you looking to get a friend or relative hired at Chevron? If so, I totally understand that little butt kissing comment.

If you would like to read the transcripts please visit this CNN link.

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0806/30/lkl.01.html

The Green Hybrid Love Bug

2008-06-27T21:41:00.003-04:00

It seems two thousand ten is going to be the year the world begins to reduce its dependency on gasoline with regard to passenger vehicles. Volkswagen has plans to have three Hybrids in showrooms in 2010. One of these Hybrids is to be an all electric car. I think technically that means two hybrids and one electric car. The article we read is not that clear. We cannot tell if there are going to be 3 hybrids and one limited edition all electric car or 2 hybrids and 1 electric car. It is also possible that there will be 4 hybrids and 1 will be an all electric car..

Regardless we are excited and I am sure you are too.

So call up VW and tell them to put you on the waiting list for the PHEV Jetta!!!

We need some help from an energy monitoring guru

2008-06-18T22:32:00.001-04:00

Lets see how long it takes to get Larry an answer and a solution that he can easily implement. Here is his question:

Dear PHEV.com:

I represent a cohousing community of 36 eco-friendly families. We have no private garages, only a large communal garage. We are looking for a way to monitor and have members pay for the energy used to charge electric and PHEVs. Any ideas?

Even your PHEV while sleeping can help reduce pollution

2008-06-18T22:14:00.000-04:00

We just got a great message from Larry Miller out in Paso Robles California.

First of all I want to thank Larry for taking the time to send us this message. We love to hear from others.

Dear PHEV.com

In vehicle-to-grid, you talk about some of the possible benefits of charging at night and supplying power to the grid during peak hours. You left out a biggy. Here in California, there is a huge push for renewable energy and most of it will be wind. However, wind energy comes predominantly at night. This is likely to create a minimum load problem as there isn't enough demand at night for the wind plants being planned. PHEVs can alleviate this problem and make wind energy vastly more useful than it otherwise would be.

Saturn is missing from Google hybrid search

2008-06-16T21:41:00.002-04:00

We just noticed that when we did a search for "hybrid" or "hybrid cars" that we did not see any paid ads for Saturn.

Since Saturn took the time to post we feel obligated to help them sell some more hybrids. Because GM is not printing money right now, someone needs to set up this Google adwords account in house. Don't send this task off to an online ad agency. They are going to charge you too much and you need to save money in order to get this economy back on track.

That's a free small tip for all the american car manufacturers... you do not need an online ad agency to manage your adwords campaign.... or to set it up...

ok that's enough free advice for today.... No more free pointers.... :)

All kidding aside your agency should be forced to buy Saturn Hybrids for not buying hybrid keywords... How important is the environment to Saturn? What happened to the greener image?

We all drop the ball in some aspect of life and work.... It is easy to point out others mistake... We all know that. However it is not my intention to do that with Saturn. I want to see more hybrids sold and on the road. I want to see an increase in demand so that the technology is improved upon and costs reduced. I will gladly admit to missing relevant keywords when setting up an adwords campaign. I have been doing it for years. At the same time I find it hard to imagine that Saturn and their ad agency missed the search term Hybrid? Maybe Saturn doesn't believe in Google adwords... I don't know....

Saturn.com does not have a visible link to hybrids on their home page

2008-06-12T23:02:00.000-04:00

Gas is $4.66 a gallon. The toyota Prius has a 4 - 6 month waiting list. The Honda Civic Hybrid is selling very well. Consumers are in a frenzy to get out of their gas guzzler and into a fuel efficient vehicle. So would someone do me a favor and explain to me how it is possible that Saturn.com does not have a link on their home-page to "HYBRID"?

Saturn has two hybrids in their lineup. They have the Vue Green Line and the Aura Green Line. Maybe I am just over reacting, but if I knew my competition had a bunch of people waiting in line for Hybrid then I think it is safe to say that I would have a link on the home-page to "hybrids"

What happens at their Monday morning meeting when the group goes over what needs to be changed or edited on the website? Do they talk about gas prices at Saturn? Do they realize that consumers are demanding and buying more fuel efficient automobiles?

To get to their hybrids you have to navigate to vehicles and then select Hybrid Vehicles. I realize that it makes sense to navigate this way, at the same time I find it very surprising that Saturn would not take a more aggressive approach and make sure that the world knows that they have two hybrids.

$4 gas! Time to buy a hybrid? The Today Show

2008-06-11T12:51:00.000-04:00

A good friend of mine that runs a green mattress company called Essentia Direct that also owns a Prius told me about the show he and his wife watched yesterday morning. He told me that he and his wife could not believe what they were saying about hybrids.

So I went online to find this show. Just so you now, that was pain also. You would think that you could go to MSNBC and click on the TODAY SHOW and type in the search term Hybrid and you would get a link to the video. Well it wasn't that simple so I have the link posted below.

The show is 6 minute piece on hybrids and whether or not they make financial sense to purchase over a comparable non hybrid. I am glad that they covered the topic but they did a horrible job reporting the benefits and the cost of ownership. I am also extremely annoyed that they somehow managed to turn the entire discussion into an investment piece on hybrids. Since when did the purchase of a vehicle turn into an investment? I have never heard of a show on television discussing vehicles and their break even points? When has anyone purchased a car and expected to break even? Everyone knows that a car is an expense unless you are buying low cost used cars or you can find some crazy special from an angry couple getting divorced it is treated as an expense.

Nobody in this segment mentioned the word ENVIRONMENT. See the line by line breakdown of the piece at the bottom of this entry.

Again, I don't want to be unfair. I am very glad that they did a piece on hybrids but the approach just seemed way off.

I do not know what kind of math the folks over at Edmunds.com use but it is something we here at PHEV.com cannot figure out. I would have to argue that somebody must have spilled one of those super sweet caramel frapacinos on his abacus when he or she was figuring out the cost of ownership. Also I don't understand how this fella "Chubba" could possibly work for Car and Driver, let alone be the editor-in-chief. Holy smokes! He said that Hybrids are only good for city driving? So I guess that 2 - 3 miles difference in MPG's from highway to city is such a huge difference that a telecommuter cannot benefit from a hybrid because he or she will only get 42 miles per gallon versus the city driver that will get 45 miles per gallon. What is this guy talking about?

People need to stop thinking of the hybrid as some crazy weird piece of equipment that doesn't function like a regular car. You don't have to take a class to drive one. You don't have to get a new garage or a new driveway. You don't need to where headphones and talk to other hybrid owners to get around town.

Lets go back to the math. If you own a Prius for $350.00 per month and you drive 1,200 miles per month or you drive another vehicle that costs the same $350.00 per month and drive 1,200 miles and it gets 14 miles per gallon.

Your gas payment a month is $364.00 vs $121.00. How is it possible that in 3 years a savings of $8,748 doesn't make a hybrid a good investment. Regardless of its environmental impact or what it does to reduce our dependency on gasoline. I mean c'mon. I understand that gas prices can go down or go up but this story was simply put ridiculous in my humble opinion.

Why would you only cover the cost of a hybrid and its break even point of a comparable non hybrid? It is just one sided and they made it seem like hybrids were sort of a bad idea.

How can you cover hybrids and not do the math with respect to the average vehicle? What is this guy Chubba talking about in his first few lines... 10k cost to get in to one over a non hybrid vehicle? It is possible that it makes total sense but I have no idea what he is referring to in his statement or comparison. Or how about his statement... ""Its never going to pay back at that point." Man what Lexus, Mercedes, BMW, Porsche, Ford pickup, SUV pays back in a couple of years? Give me a break. This a perfect example of figures don't lie but liars can figure... I don't think Chubba is a stone cold liar but I think the way this hybrid show took shape is disgusting. There isn't nobody out there that would come away from this episode thinking it is a good idea to buy anything but a hybrid Chevy Tahoe and if you were even convinced of that I would be surprised....

The poor guy from Edmunds sounds a little crazy because he got put on television the same way Bill O'reilly puts his guests on... Strictly in edited format without any details.... We don't even know what this guy is talking about. Now I am not impressed by Edmunds.com but that is a separate entry. Edmunds.com is doing a poor job of reporting on hybrids. Aside from that I still think they got the short end of the stick with respect to my review of their input on this piece because they were not given a chance to explain themselves in detail.

What was Matt Lauer and Phil Labeau thinking? What car have they bought that was a break even over the last vehicle they purchased? I do not understand why a hybrid has to be a break even over the non comparable hybrid. Why was there no mention of the intangible benefits of a the hybrid? That's what is bothering me the most. They could have taken 15 seconds and mentioned the benefits.

Take a look at the piece for yourself at MSNBC.com The link is http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/12065856/

You must search for the video titled:

$4 gas! Time to buy a hybrid?

Here is the video line by line.

MATT: "With gas prices now on average above $4 per gallon is it time for you to start thinking about buying a hybrid vehicle CNBC's Phil Labot takes a look...."

PHIL: "With consumers around the country trying to cut their gas budgets. Many are clamoring for fuel efficient hybrids and dealers can barely keep them stock.

Angelo Beltrano of Grossinger Toyota in LincolnWood, Illinois says: "I could sell a 100 plus a month if i had them right now.

PHIL: "Demand is so high he has sold out of the popular toyota prius and says he has a 6 month waiting list of 80 people.

Angelo Beltrano of Grossinger Toyota in LincolnWood, Illinois says: "Yeah, it has been tremendous.... again the demand is far exceeding the supply.

PHIL: "But do the long term savings at the pump out weigh the purchase price.

EDMUNDS JESSE TOPRAK: "Most hybrid vehicles though will still take you over 5 years to pay back in terms of the premium you pay."

PHIL: "On average with higher price models it takes 5- 10 years for a customer to recoup the money they will spend on a hybrid compared to a compriable standard model even when factoring in the savings on gas. its not just the premiums for hybrid technology."

EDMUNDS JESSE TOPRAK: "the dealerships in certain metropolitan areas selling toyota prius's two, 3 thousand dollars over manufacturers suggestedretail price."

PHIL: "As americans race to exchange their gas guzzlers for fuel efficiency Dealers have hiked up the price. It is easy to see why some dealers are charging more for hybrids right now....there is a frenzy of demand being driven by consumers desperate to buy models that give them better mileage.

DUTCH MANDEL (editor AutoWeek Magazine): "Think of a horror movie where people rush from the door screaming. Thats really what these hybrid buyers are doing. Trying to get out as soon as possible..."

PHIL: "Some like toyotas camry only takes 18 months to break even. but many hybrid SUV's may be more fashionable than practical.

EDMUNDS JESSE TOPRAK: "Its kind of like a sugar free chocolate. You know you get your large SUV but you don't have the stigma attached to owning one."

PHIL: "According to Edmunds ToyotasHiglander can take almost 12 years... And the Saturn Aura Greenline takes over 22 years before buyers will realize any savings."

EDMUNDS JESSE TOPRAK: "Consumers need to do their homework before they go out presuming that they are gonna save money because they are buying a hybrid."

PHIL: "For Today, Phil Labo CNBC Detroit."

** We are not back to Matt Laur outside in NYC with the crowd and cars behind him **

MATT: "Let me tell you that Toyota tells MSNBC news that it disagrees with the way Edmunds dot com calculates the payback time for hybrids. and says the true payback for the highlander is 7 years..
Saturn says The Aura is the lowest price mid size hybrid sedan and that payback numbers are often skued because the standard aura has different standard equipment from the Aura hybrid."

"Lets bring in Csaba Csere (pronounced Chubba Chedda) he's the editor in chief of car and driver magazine. He can maybe fill us in more on this."

"Hey Chubba good morning to you"

CHUBBA: "Good morning."

MATT: "So whats the deal? Are Hybrids worth it? Do they make sense? Do we see real savings and save energy?

CHUBBA: "You definitely save energy. I mean a car like this Prius gets 45 miles per gallon in the real world and thats about 50 percent better than a comparable non hybrid car, but that depends on how much money you need to spend for that because that kind of savings saves you 500 bucks a year and you might have to spend 10 thousand dollars to get there."

MATT: "So lets talk abut good candidates to buy a hybrid and bad candidates. lets start with the good candidates. Who should think about a hybrid?"

CHUBBA: "Well number 1, you got to drive a lot of miles. the more miles you drive the more you save."

MATT: "What kind of driving, though?"

CHUBBA: "City Driving. City is where the hybrid is best. in that stop and go driving thats where a hybrid shines. And the third person is the person who is gong to buying a new car anyways. . Because if you are trading in a gas guzzler right around now you are going to take a real beating."

MATT: "But to realize the real savings you want to keep that care for awhile as well, don't you?"

CHUBBA: "Absolutely because that payback time is relatively long and if you are the type of person who buys a car and drives it into the ground you are the perfect hybrid buyer."

MATT: "So a bad candidate is a someone that does a lot of highway driving and plans on getting a new car within a couple of years?"

CHUBBA: "Its never going to pay back at that point."

MATT: "This is the one that everybody talks about. This is the Kleenex of tissues. This is the Pirus. Why is this such a good car. And why is it in such hot demand. How longs the wait?"

CHUBBA: "Well the wait at this point is probably up to 6 months in some areas. but its amazing how quickly that changed. A few months ago there was no wait on the Prius. When the gas prices go up the Prius wait line goes up even faster. It is in such demand because it gets 45 miles per gallon. It's got enough room inside for four people our size. It looks really good. And by the way it is uniquely a hybrid so everyone sees that it is a hybrid."

MATT: "How much is it?"

CHUBBA: "It starts at about 22 and but fully loaded can go over 29."

MATT: "Alright lets go to another Hybrid over here.. This is the Honda Civic.. Are they available?"

CHUBBA: "They are available. But there is going to be a wait list on these too, on all of these hybrids there is a shortage of batteries and thats what's limiting the production. But it is very comparable to the Prius in the way it drives and roughly the way it costs."

MATT: "So you get about the same mileage and cost about 23 - 28 thousand dollars?"

CHUBBA: "Thats right, and uh slightly worse mileage but very close."

MATT: "For people who have never driven a hybrid Chubba what should they expect. Is it going to feel different to them?"

CHUBBA: "It is going to feel different in two ways. They all have what's is called a continuously variable transmission. you don't feel any gear shifts. It is totally step-less. And The other thing is Hybrids turn off when you are stopped at a light to save energy, so it goes dead silent."

MATT: "You here people say all the time, I would buy a hybrid but I have a big family and truck around a lot of stuff all the time. Is this the answer, the Chevy Tahoe?"

CHUBBA: "It's one of the answers. I mean, this is the largest hybrid on the market. It's got three rows of seats, it can tow 6,000 pounds."

MATT: "What kind of mileage does this get?"

CHUBBA: "Well it gets about 20 which is way less than these machines. But you know a line backer eats more than a jockey. Its still about 50% better mileage than the non ybrid Tahoe gets."

MATT: "Does it feel like its got power?"

CHUBBA: "Oh yeah it absolutely has just as much as power as a regular one which by the way isn't true of these two. These are slightly slower than conventional cars."

MATT: "50 thousand to 55 thousand, can you get these or is a wait for these as well?"

CHUBBA: "No I think you can get these at this point although they are not going to be lasting for long."

MATT: "Alright Chubba Chedda, Chubba thanks very much. Good to have you here."

Hybridplugs.com

2008-06-09T22:34:00.001-04:00

It is amazing how many people think that a Prius is a car for crazy liberal democrats even with gas at $4.25 - $4.55 a gallon in many states. The car has been around for years yet so many people think it is new.

Many people are afraid of change and do not know how to deal with it without being negative or sarcastic. Many evangelists or active environmentalists take a similar approach when pushing their agenda. Although I do agree with them at times and find my passion getting in front of my tact it is important for all of us to remember that taking a friendly approach is always the best approach. Regardless of your audience.

Take for example our internet friend at www.hybridplugs.com The message is clear and to the point. It is also done in a way that makes the reader feel comfortable.

I also have a diesel truck in my drive way along with my Prius. I do not commute or run errands with my truck and this is the most important to remember. I love cars and I love trucks. I also want to do my part to reduce our demand on foreign oil. I want to support the efforts of car manufacturers that build vehicles that stop polluting when stopped at a light or in traffic. We all have our reasons for wanting a cleaner and safer planet for today and tomorrow.

Do your part even if you don't have a hybrid or fuel efficient vehicle. Take small steps that can make a difference. Make sure your tires are properly inflated and remind everyone around you to do the same. If you see someone in a parking lot with their car running for no reason, ask them to turn it off. If you drive a diesel truck or know of anyone that does. Beg them to stop leaving their truck running every-time that get out of it for lunch or for coffee. For some reason diesel owners have been brain washed to leave their trucks running,regardless of the weather or the amount of time they are away from the truck. Report trucks that you see emitting a ton of black smoke to the company owner. The company name is usually on the side of the truck.

If you are going the same place 5 other parents or neighbors are going with their children, talk to them about taking turns dropping off and picking up so that 5 cars and trucks are not on the road for the same time for the same reason. Turn off lights at home and at work. It drives me crazy when you go downtown late at night and a majority of the office lights have been left on when not in use.

Oh and 1 more thing while I am at it.... Stop buying water in individually packed plastic water bottles. Get a reusable water bottle.

Don't forget to check out www.hybridplugs.com when you are done here.