Solar Powered Vehicles and Energy Crisis

Simontay78 SG

Hi ya all!

Today I am going to discuss on fuel, I understand the oil prices had gone crazy lately and must have some effects on drivers' pocket past, present and future.

I am a energy crisis researcher and the future on oil is pretty bleak.

However fear NOT, There are hope!

There are solar/wind powered Vehicles in the market and soon more people will raise up again Petrol thirsty cars and bloated ethanol/hydrogen promises.

Check out my research!

Regards,
Simon Tay

Kuali Baba SG

We know about them but the people who allow you to put cars on the road are doing sod all to promote alternative fuels.

allentyb SG

i rather buy myself a electrical car

Scania N113CRB luver SG

X2 . Somemore electric car can be speed demons too . Got one car from japan it can speed very well . Its silent too . Cant rmbr its speed . Seen it on Discovery channel or NGC .

But the problem would be the cost . But i think engineers now are coming up with low cost electric cars? Smile

Simontay78 SG

Someone mentioned about Electric Car? I saw one in production that is Solar+wind+plug-in Twisted Evil

Guile SG

I wish they'll built a Toyota Prius which uses CNG instead of oil as fuel and has solar panels all over the roof. Totally replace the fuel tank for a CNG tank instead.

By the way, has any Toyota Prius owners thought of installing a CNG system into their cars from this shop?

http://www.cng.com.sg/index.php

Simontay78 SG

How the CNG be topped up in Singapore? Tell me more!

Scania N113CRB luver SG

That would cost a bomb sia . Many plp cant afford it . Surprised

Anyway , the problem with solar powered cars is that , how will the car run at night? Laughing But common sense tells u that the car will have reserve batteries . Just now was only a joke.

Scania N113CRB luver SG

Wow . The car wheels look like the Ford T . Laughing

If SG were to import this car into SG , i might consider buying one when i grow up . Very Happy Hope the car can be as controllable as a Golf Kart .

Guile SG

Currently there is only one CNG gas station in Jurong Island. You'll need a special permission/pass to go there to top up yr tanks. At the moment, most of the vehicles which uses CNG are taxis, buses and vans. So i guess you can expect long queues.

Besides Jurong Island, there are also filling stations in Malaysia. The list of the places where the stations are located are at the website too.
http://www.cng.com.sg/howdoesitwork.php

But there are plans to open more filling stations in Singapore, one of which will open next year at Mandai Road.

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/cna/20070712/tap-singapore-s-first-public-cng-station-231650b.html

Guile SG

It might cost a bomb initially, but i think it will pay itself over the years as you're likely to spend lesser on fuel/petrol. Moreover its quite likely the price of fuel will increase too.

Using CNG, electricity and solar, the engines will be cleaner too and might require lesser maintenance and last longer. Not to mention lesser emission of toxic fumes which is quite ideal for Singapore as we can forsee more vehicles on the road in the future.

Simontay78 SG

200 Had been sold already! I guess needs some time before someone with a business mind can parallel import these babies!

there are many other models i guess ...
Twisted Evil Mr. Green

NoviXG SG

I doubt the car will be sold here in SG as a consumer car...Due to safety issues...
This car has a see-thru glass type solar panel on its roof...Anything like a bamboo stick falling ontop, its a goner...And its not cheap to replace...

From what I see, the 'cage' is the only safety measure for this car...

The car have to be light or else they have to use a bigger motor...And the solar panels probably cannot keep the batteries top'ed up liao...

Simontay78 SG

You pose a good point on the safety concerns and of course the replacement for solar panels. Smile

I guess safety might be everyone's concern including the authority who approved millions of cars in the road right now and accidents still happens. haha but anyway it's possible to modify existing vehicles into solar powered and with a simple modification of shatter proof glass on top...it should be quite strong.

The question now is how much can we invest to make one? To maintain is a breeze since it's electrical not combustible engines so it's less prone to break down due to neglect but more on managing the motor heat distribution and battery leak check and refilling battery fluid once every month. The battery terminals will rust away after some time therefore needed to be heavily oiled.

The other upgrades will be similar to upgrading a PC!!!

Twisted Evil