Caltrops - American McGee's Honda Civic





	[quote name="Fussbett"]<a href="http://www.forbes.com/markets/economy/2008/12/15/byd-hybrid-car-markets-equity-cx_twdd_1215markets04.html">http://www.forbes.com/markets/economy/2008/12/15/byd-hybrid-car-markets-equity-cx_twdd_1215markets04.html</a> [quote]Times are tough for automakers, but fast-rising Chinese company BYD, which stands for Build Your Dream, dreams big in the electric car market. BYD, partially-owned by billionaire investor Warren Buffett, beat Japanese and U.S. automakers to release the first plug-in hybrid car in China. If it fulfills its promises, the cheaper car may have a good chance against Toyota Motor's Prius in the urban Chinese market. BYD's F3DM model operates in either full electric or gas-electric modes, and contains an electric battery that can be charged at a regular plug or at a recharging station. It can travel up to 100 kilometers (62 miles) solely on battery power, and contains a back-up gas engine, BYD said on Monday. Drivers alternate between the two power modes by flipping a switch: the electric mode is optimal for city driving, as gas engines are more wasteful under constant acceleration and deceleration, and the gas-electric mode is more appropriate for travel on highways and outside of cities.[/quote] Can the auto bailout money just go to these guys instead? Or give it to Warren Buffett at least, if you want to keep it American. I love that unlike the elegant engineering of the Prius, the Chinese solution was to make two engines. One gas, one electric. Oh hey, it's nearly half the price of the Prius too! Imagine that. I'd also love to see a GM/Ford reaction to this car. First they could explain why it's physically impossible due to the laws of physics (citing the "squirrelliness" of electricity), and then once they discover that it already exists (like so much small car market they long suspected was just a myth) reasons why it can't be done in America. Cost, unions, demand and the Patriot Act probably all play a role. Or maybe it's just that Chinese electricity is simply different than the American counterpart (less squirrelly). While I'm wishing, it would also be cool if the CEOs were hung for treason too.[/quote]