PBS Earth Day Special

[Baja_Traveler]

I just learned that PBS is going to be airing an earth day special on Nova -"Car of the Future" Tuesday night April 22nd. Should be interesting...

If you can't watch it - might be worth recording.

[waboom]

oh great! And my TiVo's hard drive decided to give up the ghost last week. I better get a replacement drive in there tonight I guess!

[Keldros]

Fear not, waboom. If you can't record it then, you'll be able to watch it with the rest of us who are sans TV service. They'll be showing the entire program online April 23rd.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/car/program.html

[CelticFlyer]

Cool. Thanks for the heads up!

[Baja_Traveler]

Well - Nova just ended here, and I was a bit disappointed that they pretty much concentrated on the big car manufacturers (with the exception of Tesla and college research projects). I thought for sure they would at least show the Aptera, since they have a rolling prototype that Tom and Ray could have driven around in.

Good info on the various methods of fuel generation though...

[Satt]

I was very dissappointed. The two guys acted like idiots the whole time and I felt like I didn't learn anything at the end. It was an hour I can't get back. It did make me want a Tesla though. Of course, what do I want more...the Tesla...or to save up $92,000. Hmmm

[JoeU]

I felt the same way! Those two seemed to make a joke of everything. :LOL: I guess people will watch anything these days.=n:

[Baja_Traveler]

I felt the same way! Those two seemed to make a joke of everything. :LOL: I guess people will watch anything these days.=n:

Well, If you've ever listened to the "Tappet Brothers" on PBS radio's Car Talk, you'll know that Bob and Ray joke all the time. They really know their stuff though, but some people just can't stand them.

[Keldros]

Just got through watching the online replay of the show myself. Checking out the additional online content they had, I think I can answer why there wasn't much coverage of the independent car developers out there. This show was actually shot and edited in Winter 2006-2007. Around that time most of the independents, VV and Aptera included, were still flying under the collective radar of most people and the X-Car Project hadn't even been fully formed yet.

Also, I think this show was geared more toward educating the general public on what alternatives were out there and what needs to be done. If you're a member on these forums, you're probably a little ahead of the curve in terms of general knowledge of alternative fuels and alternate vehicles. :cool:

It was an interesting show, though, and it did give me a few thoughts. First off, of the alternatives currently available, electricity appears to still be the best and most viable for the forseeable future. The costs and extra energy involved in manufacturing other alternate fuel sources just don't seem to be capable of supporting current needs while still addressing environmental concerns. And with better energy storage solutions on the way, it just may be possible to see a paradigm shift away from oil sometime within the next decade or two.

Second, I wonder if VV might be able to eventually benefit from an interlocking carbon composite framework like they were using for the "Hypercar." While expensive now, if the mass manufacturing techniques could be developed that they were talking about then the cost could be greatly reduced. Such a frame could provide the same safety and structural support as a steel frame but at half the weight; imagine the gains to performance and range that could be gained by that.

Anyway, just my thoughts on it, and if I had any complaints about it, it's that it wasn't done years ago to make more people aware of the crisis we face by oil.