Left hand in your pocket and the right on the trigger of the hand throttle:
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Posts Tagged ‘battery’
Look Who’s Enjoying the New Oak Street Bike Lanes Now: It’s Brocephus on His Remote Controlled Electric Skateboard
Tuesday, June 18th, 2013The Perils of Electric Moped / Scooter / Bike Ownership – A2B “Bicycles” are Back in Business
Thursday, May 30th, 2013I think I saw an ad for these A2B bikes just today in the SF Weekly.
They were never very popular but I did my best to discourage purchases, to the dismay of the Ultra Motors people.
These days, Ultra Motors is gone but A2B bikes are making a comeback aided by more realistic pricing.
Thusly, as seen with a flat tire:
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IMO, you’re better off with a regular bike, one with puncture resistant tires and theft-hardened parts.
But that’s just me.
Ooh Nice One, Goldman Sachs! CODA Automotive in Bankruptcy Today – The Bay Area’s OTHER Electric Car “Factory”
Wednesday, May 1st, 2013Read the news and turn the pages.
I remember seeing CODA Automotive’s first SFMTA bus stop ad back in 2010. I thought, “Man, what a turkey.” That’s the year I started the DeathWatch.
This whole CODA concept appeared to be another big fat loser from Goldman Sachs and that’s exactly what it turned out to be.
Oh well.
Ah memories, memories from 2010:
“Whatever You Do, DON’T Put $499 Down on the $45K, Mostly Chinese, All-Electric Coda Sedan
I’ll tell you, the Mitsubishi Carisma didn’t exactly slay the European market when it went on sale a decade and a half ago. Simply, it wasn’t popular. Then a regional car maker in China tried to take the design from Mitsu and make a version to sell to the Chinese in 2005. It wasn’t popular there neither, even at a price of just $10,000. It, as they say, “lacked quality to make a mark“ in the Chinese market. O.K. then.
Well, they went and took out the gas engine and fitted it with a big heavy battery and a lightweight motor and that’s how we’re getting the 2011 Coda Automotive Sedan at a price of, wait for it, Holy Toledo, $44,900. That’s the news of the day, 45K, officially.
Should California and the feds give you tax credits to buy this thing if all Coda Automotive is going to do is raise the price sky high?
What a POS this thing is. Just look at it. In some ways better, and in some ways worse than your sister’s ’94 Honda Civic:
Now, they’re going to have a showroom in the bay area soon and they’re going to let you take a test drive starting next month. Fine, test drive the thing, I don’t care. But don’t give them a deposit, don’t encourage them.
All right, what about the all-electric Nissan LEAF, the Coda Sedan’s arch-rival? The LEAF is better and cheaper.
Here’s what an overly-excited CODA fan was saying about the LEAF last year:
“It’s an alien-looking buggy with small wheels and no nose that won’t look like a real car to American buyers”
Uh, no, that’s incorrect. Sorry.
Hey, here’s a question:
Why is the LEAF so much cheaper than the CODA?
Yes the CODA has a big trunk that the LEAF lacks but so what. (The CODA has small rear seat area because of that big trunk, so oh well.)
Uh oh:
“More ominously for the company, the sedan is more expensive than the Nissan Leaf, which will retail for $32,800 before incentives. Put another way, the Leaf is almost as cheap before incentives as the Coda is after incentives. And Nissan has a well-known brand name and years of automotive experience.”
Here’s another question:
Why does the CODA cost so much more than the Chinese design it’s based upon?
Here’s another question:
How on Earth can people call the CODA an American car if the bulk of it, the glider (basically the entire car except for the battery/transmission) is made in one factory in China and the giant battery is made in another factory in China? What’s that, you wait for the boats to arrive in L.A. County Contra Costa? Solano?, Alameda? (one of them counties anyway) and then slap the battery and various whatnots inside the glider and that’s your “final assembly” in America? I cry foul.
Let’s face it, the Coda Sedan is a Chinese car, whether you like that or not.
Maybe a $45k electric sedan seemed like a good idea last year, but this thing is looking like a clunker already. That’s why people are saying that it, “may be a tough sell.”
Now, speaking of tough sells, let’s look at some of the marketing we’re getting from the CODA people. Go ahead, click and read along:
“The CODA might be the most agile car you’ve ever driven.”
Nope!
“Do you know the feeling of stomping the pedal and waiting for the car to build speed? Those days are over. The experience of driving a CODA is completely different.”
Well, I know what a Chevy Chevette Diesel automatic is like. It’s slow, with a o-60 time of 20 seconds plus. I know your CODA is quicker than that, but is the experience of driving the thing “completely different” from other cars? Nope.
“It’s small, energy-dense UQM PowerPhase® electric motor packs a punch, and weighs hundreds of pounds less than internal combustion engines.”
How can a motor be “energy-dense?” Shouldn’t you be talking about the energy density of the battery instead? Speaking of which, how much does the battery weigh? Isn’t that the more salient aspect?
“So whether you’re standing still or moving at a good pace, you’ll get instant torque and acceleration when you need it.”
You’re selling an electric car on this basis? Isn’t the CODA slower than the average car being sold today? Yep.
All right, caveat emptor.
All the deets, after the jump
Coda DeathWatch, Day 898: Coda Automotive is Coding – Crappy, Expensive Electric Cars – Thanks, Goldman Sachs!
Friday, March 29th, 2013This is the end of the Coda Automotive DeathWatch, which started on October 14th, 2010.
But tell me if I’m wrong, tell me if the final assembly facility in Benicia starts chugging out product all of a sudden ala Willie Wonka’s chocolate factory.
Otherwise, I’m concluding that Coda is dead. It’s not responding to stimuli, anyway.
Get the story here, just keep on clicking back in time to learn about the star-crossed Coda Sedan.
Why did we, the taxpayers, subsidize Coda when it was obvious that it couldn’t succeed?
I don’t know.
Now back in 2007, the electric car we were going to get from China was called the Javlon XS500. It was suppose to come in 2008. It didn’t. Check it:
Adieu, Coda Automotive.
“Miles Automotive on the $30,000 Javlon XS500 all-electric sedan“
Then, in 2008, we were promised the Miles XS500. That was going to come in 2009. It didn’t. Check it:
“Miles XS500 will be a lot more expensive than planned, maybe“
Then, in 2009, we were promised the Coda Automotive Sedan. That was going to come in 2010. It didn’t. Check it:
“Coda Automotive Unveils New Mainstream All-Electric Sedan“
And on and on.
Per Wiki:
Coda’s investors include:
- Aeris CAPITAL – a private Swiss investment office
- Harbinger Capital Partners - private hedge fund based in New York City, New York.
- Riverstone Holdings - a private equity firm based in New York City, New York.
- Piper Jaffray - a U.S. middle-market investment banking firm based in Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Angeleno Group – a Los Angeles based private equity firm
- EDB Investments (EDBI) – an investment firm headquartered in Singapore
- Countyline LLC – an investment entity owned by Tony Pritzker and J.B. Pritzker
- John Bryson, former U.S. Secretary of Commerce and adviser at Kohlberg Kravis Roberts[23]
- Miles L. Rubin – Founder and Chairman Emeritus of CODA Automotive; former CEO of Detroit Iron & Steel Industries, Reliance Manufacturing, Puritan Fashions Corp. and Polo Ralph Lauren Jeanswear
- Steven “Mac” Heller – Executive Chairman of CODA Automotive; former Goldman Sachs Head of Mergers & Acquisitions, Worldwide and Co-Head of the Investment Banking Division[23]
- Tom Steyer – Managing Director of Hellman & Friedman, a San Francisco private equity firm; Founder, Co-Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer of Farallon Capital; member of the Board of Trustees of Stanford University[23]
- Klaus Tschira, founder of SAP AG[23]
- Les Wexner – Chairman and CEO of Limited Brands
- Henry “Hank” Paulson - former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, former Chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs and special representative of the U.S.-China Strategic Economic Dialogue[23]
- Mack McLarty – (Thomas “Mack” McLarty) Former Chief of Staff for President Bill Clinton, President of McLarty Associates and McLarty Companies, a transportation business based in Little Rock, Arkansas[23]
- Kevin Czinger – Senior Strategic Advisor, CODA Automotive; Former President and CEO at CODA Automotive, executive at Global Signal, Webvan Group, Bertelsmann AG, and Goldman Sachs
Board of Directors
- Miles L. Rubin – Founder and Chairman Emeritus, CODA Automotive; former CEO of Detroit Iron & Steel Industries, Reliance Manufacturing, Puritan Fashions Corp. and Polo Ralph Lauren Jeanswear
- Steven “Mac” Heller – Executive Chairman, CODA Automotive; former Goldman Sachs Head of Mergers & Acquisitions, Worldwide and Co-Head of the Investment Banking Division
- Alan Chesick – Acting Legal Advisor of CODA Automotive, former general counsel of Fortress Investment Group
- Daniel Weiss – Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Angeleno Group LLC, a leading Los Angeles-based private equity firm focused on high growth investments in the energy sector
- John Bryson - Former Chairman, CEO and President of Edison International from 1990 through 2008, a director at The Boeing Company, The Walt Disney Company, and the California Institute of Technology
- Niall Davis – One of ten founding partners of Swiss aeris CAPITAL AG, a large global private equity firm
- Philip Murtaugh – CEO, CODA Automotive; former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of GM China, EVP International Operations of SAIC
- James P. McGinnis – Managing Director, Harbinger Capital Partners
- Lord John Browne – Managing Director and Managing Partner of Riverstone Holdings LLC, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, Chair of the Tate, Member of the House of Lords
Board of Advisors
- Mack McLarty – (Thomas “Mack” McLarty) Former Chief of Staff for President Bill Clinton, President of McLarty Associates and McLarty Companies, a transportation business based in Little Rock, Arkansas
- Dr. Thomas Cardello – Partner of Sunrise Capital, an institutional fund manager, Advisory Director and former MD of Global Electronic Derivative Market making for Morgan Stanley
- Dr. Michael Wang – Manager of the Systems Assessment Section of the Center for Transportation Research at Argonne Labs, serves as a senior advisor to the Chinese government on new vehicle technology and alternative energy production
- Henry “Hank” Paulson - former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, former Chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs and special representative of the U.S.-China Strategic Economic Dialogue
- Thomas F. Steyer – Managing Director of Hellman & Friedman, a San Francisco private equity firm; Founder, Co-Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer of Farallon Capital; member of the Board of Trustees of Stanford University
- Woo C. Lee – Head of Asia for the advisory firm JL Thornton & Company, formerly a U.S. diplomat at American embassies in China, Japan, Australia and Southeast Asia
- Thomas R. McDaniel – Director of SunPower Corp., SemGroup, LP, Cypress Envirosystems, and the Senior Care Action Network and Formerly executive vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer of Edison International
- Kevin Czinger – Senior Strategic Advisor, CODA Automotive; Former President and CEO at CODA Automotive, executive at Global Signal, Webvan Group, Bertelsmann AG, and Goldman Sachs
Most of the People Who Drive in San Francisco at Night Without Headlights Own Toyota Prius Hybrids
Wednesday, January 23rd, 2013It’s uncanny.
Prius drivers are pretty bad to start with, so Toyota should have taken steps to make sure that they’d be aware that their headlights are not on.
Toyota didn’t.
Market Street, inbound:
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Oh well.
Manager of Empty, Graffiti-Strewn Financial District Building Strikes Back Against Street Youth Culture
Thursday, October 25th, 2012Here’s the Before…
…and here’s the After:
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You’d think the managers would have a better strategy against graffiti, but you’d be wrong…
Bad Taxi Driver Takes Out Cyclist at Sacramento and Battery – Luxor Cab #591 vs. Roadie – A Free Ride to SFGH
Friday, October 19th, 2012This…
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…plus this…
…equals this:
Sacramento and Battery, October 18, 2012.
Now you will get an ambulance bill after the SFFD scrapes you and your ride up off the street, but that’s going to end up being Someone Else’s Problem. So as far as you’re concerned this is a free ride to San Francisco General.
Video: “Black Bloc” “Street Battle” with SFPD on Oct 6 – “Fuck Columbus Day” – 22 Arrested in the Financh
Sunday, October 7th, 2012Well, yesterday’s West Coast Anti-Colonial, Anti-Capitalist March didn’t last all that long, as this four-minute video will show you:
OK then.
(The revolution won’t be televised but it will be on the Facebook, apparently.)
A communique:
Columbus Day 2012 marks the 520 year anniversary of the genocidal and ecocidal project of Empire building and colonial expansion that began with the conquistador invasion of this continent and continues to this day through the daily violence and exploitation of global capitalism.
It also marks the 20 year anniversary of the first American Black Bloc which disrupted the 1992 Columbus Day Parade in San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood.
This year during Columbus Day weekend, a West Coast Anti-Colonial, Anti-Capitalist convergence is being organized in San Francisco. As a contribution to this effort, we are calling for friends and comrades to gather at 2pm on Saturday, October 6 for a rowdy march through the heart of the city’s financial district.
We will honor the memories of all those who fought back and resisted the onslaught of empire over the past five centuries by unleashing the power of our own resistance in the very heart of capitalism on the West Coast. We are proud to stand in solidarity with others whose fierce struggles continue to hold off the machinery of domination and exploitation.
We draw inspiration from the countless struggles of indigenous resistance to capitalist projects of development and expansion: from the mountains of Black Mesa, where elders fiercely protect their way of life in the shadow of a coal mine, to the rebel autonomous municipality of Chéran in Michoacán, México where both the repressive forces of the state and the drug cartels have been expelled while loggers infringing upon indigenous territory have been chased off communal lands, to the far north of Canada where indigenous peoples block roads and disrupt plans for expanding resource extraction while students and radicals in Montreal riot outside the gates of the Plan du Nord summit. These brave fighters motivate us to spread the fires of resistance in the ongoing struggles against colonialism and capitalism.
It is also fitting that October 7 marks the 11 year anniversary of the US invasion of Afghanistan, another brutal example of colonial domination’s recent manifestations. We invite all those who stand in opposition to Empire and in solidarity with the struggles of the Afghan people to join us on this march.
The Anti-Colonial, Anti-Capitalist March will gather at Justin Herman Plaza for a rally at 2pm and the march will begin at 3pm sharp. Stay tuned for additional details and ways to get involved.
This action is part of the Decolonize the New World 2012: West Coast Anti-Colonial, Anti-Capitalist Convergence in San Francisco during Columbus Day weekend. The convergence is being called for by Decolonize and Anti-Capitalist comrades in the Pacific Northwest and Bay Area.
For more information please visit http://www.decolonizethenewworld.noblogs.org
SFPD:
“Officer Injured, Weapons Recovered from Protesters in the Financial District on 10/6/12
On October 6, 2012 at approximately 2:50pm, a group of protesters gathered at Justin Herman Plaza. The group began a unpermitted march west bound on Market Street. The group, a number of them wearing black clothing, masks covering their faces, took to the streets disrupting the normal flow of traffic. Officers arrived in the area and were struck by projectiles thrown at them by members of this group. One officer was struck in the head and sustained non-life threatening injuries. The protesters were admonished multiple times that the march was unpermitted and there were causing a public safety hazard.
When the group failed to leave the roadway, Officers encircled them at California and Battery and the protesters threw flares and bags of paint at the officers. Some of the bags of paint contained rocks. A portion of this group ran to the area of Pine and Sansome where they were detained. A number of police officers and their uniforms were covered in paint.
Police made approximately 22 arrests from both locations. The suspects were arrested on one or more of the following charges: conspiracy, riot, refusing to obey a lawful order from a peace officer and resisting, delaying and obstructing a peace officer, and assault and battery on a peace officer. A lawful search of the arrested suspects’ backpacks revealed that many were armed with hammers, an ice pick, flares and other weapons and more bags of paint containing rocks. The suspects vandalized vehicles and businesses as the walked. Any witnesses to these acts of vandalism are encouraged to notify the SFPD. Attached are photos of some of the weapons the protesters had in their possession.”
See you next year!
How Wude! Marina Times Editor-in-Chief Susan Dyer Reynolds Bans Comments from Her “BMW SUV vs. SF Cyclist” Screed
Tuesday, September 11th, 2012So Marina Times Editor in Chief Susan Dyer Reynolds had a kind of a breakdown a few months back, while she was piloting her giant BMW among cyclists on Page in one of the Haights.
Let’s review:
“Curly sped up and so did I, pulling in front of his bike, and trapping him between my SUV and the car parked next to him. As he came to a screeching halt, I rolled the window down a couple of inches. What color he had in his pale face drained and suddenly the smug smile was gone. “Are you crazy?” he asked, his voice shaking. Any ability I had to be rational went out my spit-covered window. “If I was crazy I would crush you like a bug right now,” I screamed.”
There wasn’t much of a reaction to this cry for help at first. But then a tiny blog (tiny but with more readers than the picayune Marina Times it’s safe to say) made a post about Susan’s breakdown, so she then got a whole bunch of reaction, from all across the country, mostly negative.
And then she posted some message about how she was going to deal with all the negative reaction in the September issue.
And then the comments disappeared.
And now, we have this.
“Virtual Ku Klux Klan”
“$10,000 in stolen funds stuffed in her blouse”
“Giada De Laurentiis has a bulbous candy apple head.”
It’s wide-ranging, certainly.
Anyway, I guess that’s that. That’s all we’ll be reading from her on the matter.
But you can find the basic gist of all those comments here, and other places I guess.
Fashionable Woman Goes Down Hard on the Cable Car Tracks at California and Battery – Thursday Morning, Sept 6th
Friday, September 7th, 2012Don’t know why.
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You know, San Francisco is the most corrupt large city west of Chicago, probably, but you wouldn’t know it by solely looking at paramedic response in the 415. I’ve never seen dysfunction from this part of the “City Family.”
When you’re in trouble, the SFFD will care about you…
