There are SO many things wrong about this that I can't even be bothered to write them all down. When the gas engine is running (and it will be, 40 miles is nothing) it's just a hybrid without the benefit of a gas engine also doing some of the work.

They already have working li-ion battery packs, even in automotive use, eg. the Tesla Roadster. And that (if you believe them) has a range of over 200 miles, not to even mention the performance difference. Sure, it's a light little thing, but still.

It looks like a Chrysler Crossfire with some beautifications made with a large sledgehammer (and the Crossfire already looked like a dog taking a dump).

It has a long bonnet, even though it supposedly has only a small gas engine and electric motors are also known to be quite small. So it doesn't have any room at the back. This would be acceptable in a city car, but by the looks of it, it ain't. And why would you need a car that can only do 40 miles if you're not using it in a city?

So it's a slow, ugly car with no place to put your stuff in, is completely useless on a longer trip compared to a normal hybrid, or even a normal car, is too big to be a proper city car, the batteries are going to blow out at some point, most likely in under 100k miles, and then you have to buy a new car.

Also the 50 mpg mentioned is pathetic, since many many many diesel cars nowadays can get more than 60 mpg, and the VW Golf TSI (gas) can get even more than that when you're going at about 40mph. If you drive less than 40 miles every day, chances are you're not going anywhere fast. "Studies suggest that 78% of drivers drive less than 40 miles per day" isn't really a good argument, since lots of people drive zero miles one day and 80 miles the next.

This car pollutes about as much as other cars in it's class while using gas, and the more people use electric cars, the more electricity is consumed, and the more pollution is created to provide that electricity.

Even better, they have a few systems in Germany that add water to diesel, which makes it more powerful, gives better mpg, and reduces the particle output (the only thing that's worse in diesels compared to best gas engines) to non-existant levels. It works for the same reason slighty moist wood burns better than bone dry wood. The systems are already working and require minimal modifications to work in existing cars.

Of course gas and diesel are going to run out at some point, and we'll have to use electric or hydrogen cars. But at this moment, and even in the future, the Chevy Volt is just rubbish.

^Then by your logic, the government should outlaw sidewalks because they're too close to those multi-ton devices, also known as vehicles. Hell, just outlaw automotives entirely, for that matter.

Tags for this video have been changed from 'Badger, commercial, dealership, rude, plaid suit' to 'Badger, commercial, dealership, rude, plaid suit, Johnson automotive' - edited by looris

imagine the reliability increase in so many automotive parts due to the dramatic reduction in vibrations year in and year out

To find out, we went to the Mechanical Engineering Department at Kettering University, in Flint. Dr. Greg Davis thought it would be good experience for his students to verify the claims about acetone in the department's test engine, a Buick 3.8 liter V-6 that is equipped with all kinds of probes and sensors.

For several weeks the students experimented with various strengths of acetone in gasoline. The findings were disappointing.

"Our current preliminary data suggests essentially no improvement running acetone in the fuel," Davis said.

Professor Davis wasn't surprised. "If you notice, it's a very small amount and when you add a very small amount of anything to your fuel, you wouldn't expect a large impact. So it's not really a surprise today."

We wanted to see if it made a difference in a real world situation, so a student who knows what kind of mileage to expect from his Ford pickup and Volkswagen tried acetone in the gas. "The results, when you add three ounces per ten gallons, there were no effects," said Josh Goudzwaard.

Aside from having no effect on mileage, acetone could actually do harm by damaging hoses and fittings. Carmakers don't like acetone either.

"If they know you did it, they could void the warranty," Davis warned.

http://abclocal.go.com/wjrt/story?section=automotive&id=3951510

this stuff is way beyond the pale of what passes for legitimate technology.
This is paranoid delusional stuff.

Occam's razor tells us that when you open your closet, unicorns won't fly out.
In a similar vein, you can't generate energy from nothing.
Many free energy machines fake generation of energy by converting a high quality energy source into a low quality energy source.

at first look, the energy is increased, but it's only a substitution of a low quality energy source.

like this:

"there is an unusual effect that occurs when lead-acid batteries are subjected to high-voltage spikes, such as the motor coils produce. Their open-circuit voltage rises to a level higher than normal, but the net energy content still diminishes over time as normal. The very small motors that Dr. Adams originally built were capable of masking the normal voltage decrease of the supply batteries and making them appear to hold their energy level. Large automotive batteries will run a small motor for several weeks, and the mechanical contactor switch will fail within this time giving the impression that the motor is going to keep running forever without draining the batteries."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adams_motor

*BEWARE THIS GARBAGE from someone who knows.

reminds me of this: http://www.videosift.com/video/Ten-minutes-of-guys-painting-automotive-pinstripes

As an employee of the Department of Ag, I can say that SOME of the subsidies are actually beneficial in containing the flow and maintaining a consistency in production levels for agribusiness. And some of these appropriations seem to be disaster-related (so it is probably unfair to characterize it as pet or pork because disasters and droughts hit agriculture harder than any other business sector).

But my previous comment was mostly tongue-in-cheek. If you want to follow the money these days, you will almost always see it benefiting four sources: defense/industrial lobby, energy/automotive lobby, the Israel lobby, and Big Agriculture.

The subsidies, kickbacks, and pay-outs not only sustain American agribusiness, but they lead to a perverse political culture at the local level.

also need an automotive collective

Gruppe B was insane. The top cars from Audi, Ford, Peugeot et al had up to, and over, 1000 bhp. Mass killings were becoming a semi-regular occurrence with 20 or 30 people being mowed over like so many dandelions, and with several of those being killed. The whole show was, very rightly, halted after the bloody 1986 season. Simultaneously a shameful and fantastic period in automotive racing history.