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[part 3 of 4]

In this segment:  Tesla Roadster Electric Sports Car, Ethanol Pro and Cons, and Introduction to the Wayne Auto Spa

Electric:
Connie and Greg explore the Tesla, the world’s first performance exotic electric car. The electric motor is well fitted for performance racing, its design makes acceleration as easy as flipping a switch, no power curve necessary. Bottom line?… 0 to 60 in four seconds. The Tesla also features:

• a max speed of 130 mph 
• a regenerative breaking system
• a lithium iron battery good for 100,000 miles. 
• Lotus like performance 
• airbags 
• 4 way antilock brakes
•  appointments like leather and a nice stereo
• It sells for about 100K.

Want to see the electric Tesla?
teslamotors.com

Ethanol:
Ethanol is distilled from plant sugars or starches. We usually associate it with corn, but it can also be made from sugar cane. There’s also a variation called cellulosic ethanol that’s made from switch grass, poplar or willow trees, or even yard waste. These are more attractive sources because they convert more efficiently. But they have yet to be developed to scales that could meet our supply needs, and they are still about ten years out. Ethanol is more corrosive than oil-based fuel. In order for gas engines to run on ethanol some fuel system components must be replaced and the onboard computers need to be recalibrated. (Very similar to our straight veggie conversion trouble in the diesel). This modification allows regular cars to run on ethanol blends up to 85% ethanol and only costs automakers about $250 a car. The good news is it’s a boom to US farmers. and it reduces our dependency on foreign oil.

Some drawbacks to Ethanol:

• Reduces fuel efficiency by as much as 30%. So in order to compete with gas it needs to be that much cheaper. Even so it’s going to mean more trips to the pump.
• Currently takes a lot of farm space. The grain it takes to fill a 25-gallon tank with ethanol just once will feed one person for a whole year. Converting the entire U.S. grain harvest to ethanol would satisfy only 16 percent of U.S. auto fuel needs.
• Switching to Ethanol does little to combat air pollution. While it could save us about 10% of our green house gas emissions it will also put more ozone in the air increasing smog and asthma.

Wayne Auto Spa
Over the winter Greg tagged along with a group of students from William Paterson University as owner Rob Burke gave a tour of some of the spa’s unique features. Situated in Wayne NJ, the auto spa features:

• Furnaces running on the recycled oil of auto shop customers
• Water used to wash is recycled rather than put into the sewer reducing consumption of water 75%.

Rob is currently petitioning the town of Wayne to allow him to put up a wind turbine. If you would like more information visit their site: wayneautospa.com