Li-Ion Batteries Hit Final R&D Phase for Plug-in Cars 238
An anonymous reader writes "Tesla finally delivered its first production model of the all-electric Roadster this month. Coinciding with that, researchers from the big automakers and their outsourced startup labs are hitting stride in the development of cheap, high-powered lithium-ion batteries. These may actually end up in our garages. Toyota, in fact, says it's got enough of the chemistry down to roll out a test fleet for the plug-in Prius before the end of 2009. It's mass production of battery tech that's the holdup — which might mean Mercedes' electric hybrids beat the Prius to market en masse by 2010 or 2011."
Oh noes!!! (Score:5, Funny)
"50 cars caught fire on I-4 today."
Re:Still waiting (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Infrastructure? (Score:5, Funny)
1) Buy an extension cable.
2) Find the nearest Starbucks.
3) Buy a cup of coffee.
4) Instead of plugging in your laptop you covertly plug in your car.
5) Profit! (for you)
Same difference, isn't it?
Re:Picture's for those that want to see the car! (Score:5, Funny)
One picture. Two pictures. No apostrophe. English, motherfucker... do you speak it?
Re:Picture's for those that want to see the car! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Why now? (Score:4, Funny)
Or, with an analogy, how will new computers hold up vs the current computers? If something was wrong with the current computers, you would think they should have built the new ones to start with.
(I do realize I'll be hanged for making an analogy without cars in it on Slashdot. But the argument is already about cars! Adding more cars into the analogy would probably cause a pile-up crash or something.)
Re:Rolling Timebombs? (Score:5, Funny)
Wrong. Everyone knows that cars always explode after a crash. Sometimes, though, the explosion happens after the driver and occupants escape to a safe distance.
I've seen it myself hundreds of times, both on TV and in movies.
Re:Great News for the Coal Industry (Score:4, Funny)
That's why I recommend a wind generator be installed on every car. That way you can charge as you drive. Ever hang your hand out the car window and think "Wow, if I could just harness this power, I'd be rich!"
-matthew
Recursion! (Score:3, Funny)
It would be even better if you could say that analogy with a LISP.