Something Random

[ddrueding]

Want to lose your next election by a landslide? Take away 50% of people's drivers licenses.

Indeed. +1 to monarchy/dictatorship (minus a bazillion for other stuff, but here they have the win).

 

[timwhit]

Another way to lose your next election in most states is to support spending money on public transportation. I think this is incredibly shortsighted by the electorate.

 

[jtr1962]

Another way to lose your next election in most states is to support spending money on public transportation. I think this is incredibly shortsighted by the electorate.

Thankfully the electorate is gradually shifting away from that perspective. My guess is once gas goes over $5 per gallon and stays there support for public transit will be a winning platform. Also, a fair number of younger people see driving as wasted time. They would rather take public transit so they can stay connected traveling. And then salaries are dropping in terms of real dollars. Eventually a significant portion of the population won't be able to afford to drive. My take is it took us over 50 years to get to sprawl and auto dependency. It might take that long to completely erase any vestiges of it.

 

[Handruin]

I also agree; they are all valid points contributing to the reasons why it's a difficult problem to solve. The nature of the problem and the difficulty in solving it on a macro level are very similar to how many people wait or ignore even their own problems on a micro level until the very end when it's imperative to make a change (which is often too late and much more costly).

 

[Handruin]

Thankfully the electorate is gradually shifting away from that perspective. My guess is once gas goes over $5 per gallon and stays there support for public transit will be a winning platform. Also, a fair number of younger people see driving as wasted time. They would rather take public transit so they can stay connected traveling. And then salaries are dropping in terms of real dollars. Eventually a significant portion of the population won't be able to afford to drive. My take is it took us over 50 years to get to sprawl and auto dependency. It might take that long to completely erase any vestiges of it.

So many other industries will have to shift or fold with that kind of change likely making it far longer and more difficult to get to your hope of increased public transportation. Think of all the gas stations, convenience stores, auto unions and auto workers, insurance agencies, mechanics, parts and suppliers...the list goes on. All those people either out of work or much reduced in workforce aren't going to help support a public transit system. Even before it gets to that extreme the increase in gas prices will cause that ripple much sooner as people drive less, buy less cars, etc.

 

[time]

But it's fascinating that even the official statistics from USA lies to us and say that more people die in car accidents in rural areas rather than in urban areas.

Please don't misquote me.

Rural accidents are more likely to be single-vehicle and the leading cause is typically fatigue and/or alcohol (which induces the former). Collisions with trees and rollovers are vastly more likely to be fatal than rear-ending someone in the city (most common accident type). I already acknowledged the potentially higher energy involved with higher speeds, but hitting a tree at 90km/h instead of 100km/h doesn't affect the outcome for the people involved.

Perhaps you should compare statistics on high-speed freeways (eg autobahns), if you still believe there is an exponential link between speed and accident rate?

 

[Mercutio]

Another way to lose your next election in most states is to support spending money on public transportation. I think this is incredibly shortsighted by the electorate.

In a substantial minority of US states, publicly indicating that you support peer-reviewed scientific research will cost you an election, as will being in favor of low cost health care, strong regulation for industry and human rights for homosexuals and Muslims.

That said, there just aren't that many places in the US that have population densities such that public transit actually makes sense. Personally I'm fine with the idea of rounding everyone up and making all of humanity live in high density urban settings, but somehow I think that would be a non-starter for most people. The area where I live tries to have bus routes, but the buses invariably don't go or stop too far from places where people actually want to be, so usage is pathetic. Vastly more of the population of the US lives in rural or suburban areas that are far too spread out to be served adequately with any kind of centralized public transit.

 

[LunarMist]

How can I determine if it was a marmot that crapped my boot?

 

[Mercutio]

I can ask a park ranger that very question. She knows many things about a wide variety of scat. Scats? Whichever.

 

[mubs]

A lot of this. I think we would be better off if the bar was raised to the point where only 50% of current license holders could qualify.

Over here, that would disqualify 99.999999% of present and aspiring drivers. And that would be a good thing. Heck, if current US practices were applied, that would still disqualify 99.999% of present drivers (there's a couple of nines less there).

It is very much a privilege and carries significant responsibility. It should be treated as such.

Absolutely. And that is something that is not communicated to current drivers and aspirants in many other countries.

Another way to lose your next election in most states is to support spending money on public transportation. I think this is incredibly shortsighted by the electorate.

That is why it is sometimes called democrazy. Pandering has become huge in the last few decades. Businesses pandering to Wall Street, politicians pandering to the public at large or to special interest groups, etc.

If this planet is going to be hospitable for our kids and grand kids, public transportation should have been the way to commute. Note the past tense.

I am turning cynical, very cynical in my old age.

 

[fb]

I already acknowledged the potentially higher energy involved with higher speeds, but hitting a tree at 90km/h instead of 100km/h doesn't affect the outcome for the people involved.

Perhaps you should compare statistics on high-speed freeways (eg autobahns), if you still believe there is an exponential link between speed and accident rate?

I believe that 1 km/h higher speed means 2-3% more deaths. At least that's what the scientists say.

Here's some information from the Autostrada system.

I did a simple calculation just for fun, the table shows the energy of my car (1550 kg) when travelling at different speeds. 90->100 km/h means 23% more kinetic energy. Perhaps the increase does not affect the people involved, perhaps it does?

km/h	mph	m/s    	   kJ
---------------------------------
 70	 44	19.4	  293 017
 90	 56	25.0	  484 375
100	 62	27.8	  597 994
130	 81	36.1	1 010 610
160	 99	44.4	1 530 864
200	124	55.6	2 391 975

 

[mubs]

Strange co-incidence: I saw a link to the Tesla S safety performance a few minutes ago.

Wish every car performs as well.

 

[Clocker]

Very good performance, indeed. Lot's of things are possible from a performance and quality perspective when you have a $70,000+ starting price, only one assembly plant & body style and very low volume production. When they come out with a car that's actually profitable at less than $35,000 & produced in volume, I'll be more impressed. Otherwise the performance you are seeing there is a result of over-engineering by a body team that knew they had to go over the top with performance and that they didn't have a budget to even think about.

I have been contacted by Tesla a couple times now relative to working at their Fremont facility but decided to pass. They're aggressively looking for people that actually know how to do automobiles in volume and are recruiting a lot here in in Detroit. I have no idea why they decided to locate their facility in CA. I guess they got a deal on the land and the the old GM/Toyota plant they could not pass up on.

 

[Bozo]

I was looking at figures at the NTHSA and I didn't find results for city or country fatalities. But it should be obvious that the denser the population, and therefore vehicles, the more accidents. It should also be obvious that the accidents out in the country would be more horrific ( or deadly ) because of the speeds. City speed limits are half or lower than country speed limits.
And, blaming the cars for fatalities is stupid. It's the drivers fault, period. I have never owned a car that started itself up and took itself for a joy ride and killed someone. ( but Google and others are trying to change that ) If you do something stupid and get into an accident, blaming the car is just plain stupid. If you insist on having a vehicle that can protect you no matter how bad the accident, then buy a Tank.
If you would like to improve your chances at avoiding an accident and possible injury, get driving instructions from one of the road racing schools. There they teach car control, not how to parallel park so you can get your drivers license.

 

[Handruin]

Very good performance, indeed. Lot's of things are possible from a performance and quality perspective when you have a $70,000+ starting price, only one assembly plant & body style and very low volume production. When they come out with a car that's actually profitable at less than $35,000 & produced in volume, I'll be more impressed. Otherwise the performance you are seeing there is a result of over-engineering by a body team that knew they had to go over the top with performance and that they didn't have a budget to even think about.

I have been contacted by Tesla a couple times now relative to working at their Fremont facility but decided to pass. They're aggressively looking for people that actually know how to do automobiles in volume and are recruiting a lot here in in Detroit. I have no idea why they decided to locate their facility in CA. I guess they got a deal on the land and the the old GM/Toyota plant they could not pass up on.

I agree with that. I like that they focused on one thing and worked on one thing well. They need as little bad press as possible and as much good press as they can get in order to help them succeed as a newer automotive company entering the upper end masses. I think they made the right decision on multiple levels to help ensure their success. You're absolutely right that it will be a much more difficult challenge to produce that sub $35K vehicle with the same safety marks. I can only hope that their experiences gained from the Model S trickles down.

 

[timwhit]

I'm waiting for the cheaper Tesla before I buy a new car. It's not a rush my 10 year old car only has ~60k miles.

 

[fb]

I was looking at figures at the NTHSA and I didn't find results for city or country fatalities.

You mean something like this?

 

[Newtun]

I'm waiting for the cheaper Tesla before I buy a new car. It's not a rush my 10 year old car only has ~60k miles.

Approximately apropos:

Tesla California sales beat Chrysler, Volvo, Cadillac, other big names
​

 

[Mercutio]

Lay's Chicken and Waffles flavor potato chips are quite possibly the perfect distillation of junk food. The platonic ideal of a chip: Salty, crunchy, maple-sweet. I do not know if other places have these things but if you are a person who has been known to enjoy the mighty potato in all its delicious forms, it is worth a couple bucks to give orgasms to your taste buds.

 

[ddrueding]

I'm waiting for the cheaper Tesla before I buy a new car. It's not a rush my 10 year old car only has ~60k miles.

My 3 year old car has more than 60k miles, and I'm waiting for the Model S with 4 wheel drive

 

[mubs]

When they come out with a car that's actually profitable at less than $35,000 & produced in volume, I'll be more impressed. Otherwise the performance you are seeing there is a result of over-engineering by a body team that knew they had to go over the top with performance and that they didn't have a budget to even think about.

You're barking up the wrong tree. They ain't competing with GM or Ford or Chrysler. They're competing with MBZ, BMW and Audi in the upper segment, and with Volvo on safety.

If you would like to improve your chances at avoiding an accident and possible injury, get driving instructions from one of the road racing schools. There they teach car control, not how to parallel park so you can get your drivers license.

You're quite right, but it'll do nothing for you when a drunk hits you from out of nowhere. That's when the car can save you.

 

[fb]

I think every model of Renault made after 2003-2004 has gotten five stars in the Euro NCAP, and they don't make premium cars. I don't know how they would rate in the US tests, probably not quite as good, but at least it shows that it's possible to make safe AND inexpensive cars at the same time. It's only up to the guys/girls in the boardrooms. But of course, if the customers doesn't understand the benefits (and buy more of their cars) it's only a waste of resources...

 

[Clocker]

Even

You're barking up the wrong tree. They ain't competing with GM or Ford or Chrysler. They're competing with MBZ, BMW and Audi in the upper segment, and with Volvo on safety.

Even so, their volume is so low and the price is so high that I would not call their performance surprising, at all. It also helps, being pure EV, that they don't have to contort the front structure around a powertrain.

 

[Bozo]

Even

Even so, their volume is so low and the price is so high that I would not call their performance surprising, at all. It also helps, being pure EV, that they don't have to contort the front structure around a powertrain.

They also don't have to spend a ton of money on emission controls.

 

[ddrueding]

Even so, their volume is so low and the price is so high that I would not call their performance surprising, at all. It also helps, being pure EV, that they don't have to contort the front structure around a powertrain.

Indeed. But even in that segment they are rocking the competition. The Model S Performance has out-dragged a BMW M5 and has put up very respectable figures to other cars in the luxury ~$100k segment (3.9 to 60mph, 1/4 mile in 12.4) while competing comfortably with the S-Class or A7 on the comfy bits.

They do seem to be doing just about everything right at the moment.

 

[Clocker]

Agree on that but there seems to be a lot of questions in the air relative to if the vehicles are actually profitable. They don't seem to be using standard accounting methods when stating their profits. The company is either making $30M or losing $30M (per quarter or per year, not sure which).

Tesla is not a car company when it comes to making money, they're actually an emission credits company.

http://www.marketplace.org/topics/sustainability/teslas-secret-success-selling-emissions-credits

Companies earn those credits by making and selling zero emission vehicles.
“So if a manufacturer has sales in California of, let’s say, 100,000 vehicles, and the obligation is credits equal to one percent of their sales, they have to come up with 1,000 credits,” Bevan said.
If a company comes up short, it has to pay a penalty of up to $5,000 per credit. Or it can buy credits from a company like Tesla, which happens to earn a lot of credits on every car it makes.Tesla has sold enough credits to post its first profit.

 

[ddrueding]

I have no issue having my zero emissions car subsidized by someone's Escalade. The only question WRT to the long-term success of the strategy is whether these policies will stick around.

 

[DrunkenBastard]

Picking up a mid 90s Honda VFR750F tomorrow. The Goldwing is an incredible highway tourer which can easily carry a slab or two of beer in its luggage, but I miss the feel of the wind and looking forward to the feel and sound of the V-4 engine. Trimming 200-300 pounds of weight will also help when riding in the city.

 

[ddrueding]

If Dubstep is the lawful evil of electronic music, does that make Jungle chaotic good?

 

[time]

The Goldwing is an incredible highway tourer which can easily carry a slab or two of beer in its luggage ...

I tried but failed to understand the point of a motorcycle that weighs half a ton ...

 

[Mercutio]

If Dubstep is the lawful evil of electronic music, does that make Jungle chaotic good?

Dubstep is not something I'd choose to listen to but it's not rap and it doesn't rely on recycling recognizable chunks of work by other musicians, so it's already a big step up from certain other genres.


Anyway, if I believe the retail box for this Asrock N68C-GS FX, it has special powers for making Youtube better. I can watch videos and download files AT THE SAME TIME. Awwww yeah.

 

[Striker]

Picking up a mid 90s Honda VFR750F tomorrow. The Goldwing is an incredible highway tourer which can easily carry a slab or two of beer in its luggage, but I miss the feel of the wind and looking forward to the feel and sound of the V-4 engine. Trimming 200-300 pounds of weight will also help when riding in the city.

That's quite a nice motorcycle. It's been on my wishlist for years. Good luck, enjoy yourself and ATGATT.

 

[Handruin]

Happy birthday ddrueding!

:b-day::cheers::beer:

 

[jtr1962]

:beer: Happy 33rd birthday, Dave! :beer:

 

[ddrueding]

Thanks guys!

 

[Mercutio]

Hope you have an understanding babysitter for the evening.

 

[ddrueding]

I appreciate the sentiment, but we will be having dinner in tonight

 

[Mercutio]

Speaking of almost-babysitters... Ladyfriend wants me to go out to drunken college parties this weekend. I haven't actually said no yet but since I'm technically old enough to be the father of college aged human beings it's weird to even contemplate.

 

[Chewy509]

Happy B'day Dave.

 

[Chewy509]

Speaking of almost-babysitters... Ladyfriend wants me to go out to drunken college parties this weekend. I haven't actually said no yet but since I'm technically old enough to be the father of college aged human beings it's weird to even contemplate.

Having been a student at Uni, when most of my peers were young enough to be my child, is a strange feeling indeed. However in your case I would go, as I've found most young students to be accepting of older students.