Electric car: see the DVD!

“Who Killed the Electric Car?” is a wonderful documentary about this once and future vehicle. What is shocking and maddening is the near total extermination of these vehicles by the auto industry — especially General Motors. One model seems to have survived in a museum, but the others, which were only leased to owners rather than sold outright, were recalled and destroyed in an apparent effort to virtually deny that they ever existed. At least the 1948 Tucker, that innovative alternative to Detroit’s products, survives in multiple copies. (See the Lucas/Coppola film, “Tucker: The Man and His Dream.”)

The electric car has many passionately positive drivers, but it met the needs of only 90% of the driving public, said the manufacturer, in whose eyes the most serious drawback was probably the lack of service revenue. A mechanic in the film explains the 5,000 mile maintenance as rotating the tires and filling up the window washer fluid reservoir. That compares to new plugs, new air & water filters, antifreeze, fan belt, timing belt, transmission fluid and at least four quarts of oil.

It’s no wonder that hydrogen fueled cars are more favored by Detroit, because they will continue to require many of these maintenance items. But how many hydrogen fueling stations will need to be built, compared to the already omnipresent electrical outlets in all of our homes and most or our garages?

McCain/Obama townhalls = Lincoln/Douglas debates?

Obama had better avoid comparing himself to Abe Lincoln when he defends his Lincoln-like low degree of experience at the national level, because McCain will come back at him just like Lloyd Bentsen squelched Dan Quayle: “I knew Abe Lincoln.  Abe Lincoln was a friend of mine.  Senator, you’re no Abe Lincoln.”

Franken: do fantasies make a “fantastic” candidate?

Al Gore is quoted in this morning’s news as saying that Al Franken would make a “fantastic” Senator from Minnesota.  Indeed, Al has already established his fantasy fides* in Playboy magazine, back in January 2000.  You can read an excerpt posted at http://www.minnpost.com/stories/comments_stories/?blog_post_id=2052#comments_section.

In Al’s favor, I must say that his fantasies, being sexual rather than military, would be less dangerous to this nation and others than the fantasies of our current President.

* For the Romans, FIDES was an essential element in the character of a man of public affairs, and a necessary constituent element of all social and political transactions.  (from http://www.csun.edu/~hcfll004/fides.html)

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