Inhabitat

June 16, 2008

Mythbusters Prove Electric Vehicles Outperform Gas!

We are big fans of the TV show Mythbusters, so when we found out about their tests pitting gas vehicles against electric vehicles in 5 extreme tests, we couldn’t help but take notice. The myth: gas vehicles better perform better than electric. The truth, according to Mythbusters, is that electric vehicles outperform their gas-powered counterparts. BUSTED !

Jamie Hyneman provides a behind the scenes account of their tests. They decided to pit compact vehicles, ATVs, motorcycles and go karts against their electric counterparts. Amongst their findings are that ATV’s aren’t subject to pollution restrictions, and they pollute four times more than a regular vehicle. They showed that with a little ingenuity they could create a better performing electric version of the ATV. As if that wasn’t enough, they saw how the benefits of electric vehicles outweigh the drawbacks, and that is not even counting the extreme difference in emissions.

In a final test they pitted an X1 Wrightspeed, an electric supercar prototype, vs a Ferrari. The winner…the electric vehicle, busting the ultimate myth, that electric vehicles have no real muscle behind them.

We look forward to seeing the show when it airs on the Discovery Channel, and hope that the team decides to tackle other similar myths.

+ MythBuster: Why Electric Vehicles Beat Gas in 5 Extreme Tests @Popular Mechanics

mythbusters, busting the electric myth, busting the gas myth, gas myth, electric myth, green cars

6 Responses to “Mythbusters Prove Electric Vehicles Outperform Gas!”

ac1dfl3sh Says:

June 17th, 2008 at 10:22 am

Very awesome! Not to mention the X1 is beautiful.

jsknow Says:

June 17th, 2008 at 12:53 pm

Why not just bust the whole energy lie?

Marijuana can produce several different kinds of fuel. In the 1800’s and 1900’s hempseed oil was the primary source of fuel in the United States and was commonly used for lamps and other oil energy needs. The diesel engine was originally designed to run on marijuana oil because Rudolf Diesel assumed that it would be the most common fuel. Marijuana is also the most efficient plant for the production of methanol. It is estimated that, in one form or another, marijuana grown in the United States could provide up to ninety percent of the nation’s entire energy needs.
Source: Schaffer Library of Drug Policy

Hemp is 4 times more efficient than corn as biofuel. Hemp pellets can be used to produce clean electricity.

… so powerful it could replace every type of fossil fuel energy product (oil, coal, and natural gas).

… This plant is the earth’s number one biomass resource or fastest growing annual plant for agriculture on a worldwide basis, producing up to 14 tons per acre. This is the only biomass source available that is capable of producing all the energy needs of the U.S. and the world…

Hemp will produce cleaner air and reduce greenhouse gases. When biomass fuel burns, it produces CO2 (the major cause of the greenhouse effect), the same as fossil fuel; but during the growth cycle of the plant, photosynthesis removes as much CO2 from the air as burning the biomass adds, so hemp actually cleans the atmosphere. After the first cycle there is no further loading to the atmosphere…
Source: USA Hemp Museum

JOIN THE EMAIL LIST, WATCH THE VIDEOS:
Internet Explorer: http://jsknow.angelfire.com/home
Other Browsers: http://jsknow.angelfire.com/index.html

mattyb Says:

June 18th, 2008 at 12:29 pm

I don’t think most people realize this but the first electric car was produced more than a century and a half ago.

http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/223/electric-car-timeline.html

Electric obviously works, but there’s a heck of lot more money to be made in oil.

mattyb Says:

June 18th, 2008 at 12:30 pm

Most don’t realize this but the first electric car was made more than a century and a half ago.

http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/223/electric-car-timeline.html

There’s just too much money in oil and it’s got such a stranglehold on the planet.

Kaligo Says:

June 19th, 2008 at 3:07 am

@jsknow

I don’t think there is any doubt that perfectly reasonable fuels can be made from grown crops, the question is, where are you going to grow it?

Most of the arable land is already being used to produce food and already there isn\’t enough to go aorund as numerous reports show.
UN Famine relief website: http://www.wfp.org/english/?ModuleID=137&Key=2853
ABC.net.au article on food riots: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/04/10/2212941.htm
Economost article of food shortage: http://www.economist.com/opinion/PrinterFriendly.cfm?story_id=11050146

To suggest that farmers should stop planting food and switch to any form of bio-fuel is utter maddness.

If Bio-fuel is to be a viable option then we need to find a way to grow in a way that doesn’t use land that could be put to better use. I have seen mention of modified algae produce hydrogen that could cultivated in large enclosures floated off the coast. There are many ways that we can get energy other than fossil fuels, but smoking the ganja ain\’t one of them.

The claim that \”Hemp is 4 times more efficient than corn as biofuel\” is interesting though, do you have a link for that claim? What sort of fuel would hemp produce; desiel, alchohol or gas?

buster Says:

June 26th, 2008 at 4:14 am

Mythbusters is an amazing show. It’s extremely entertaining, and it gets everyday folks thinking about the things they belief. Sure, their scientific standards aren’t the highest, but at least they make people think. BTW, here is a great site that contains all of the outcomes from the Mythbusters episodes: http://mythbustersresults.com/

Please keep your comments relevant to this blog entry. Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments.

Please note that gratuitous links to your site are viewed as spam and may result in removed comments.