On the other hand, the cost and energy density of such batteries are more pressing problems that still haven't really been solved.

That said, most of the delays in EVs/PHEVs are on things unrelated to the battery, like the transmission in the Tesla and the redesigned accessories (air cond, wipers, sound system if I remember correctly) for the Volt.

Thing about Nissan is that it's Japanese and it's no secret the Japan government really supports EV development. The only affordable EVs from mainstream automobile makers are pretty much almost all japanese:
Mitsubishi iMIEV, Subaru R1e are examples.

Again 2010 seems to be "the year" for EVs/PHEVs. Hopefully at least a couple of these companies deliver to consumers in the US.

I agree with a previous poster, that if they took away too many more elements it would look way too bland, like the 05 models. I think we have to remember lots of people considered the original Focus to be butt ugly too.

Remember piracy is much easier to do than thievery. They just need to crack ONE copy and then it's all over. For thievery (like cracking a safe) you have to do it every time. A rule of thumb is that countermeasures can only prolong the amount of time the thievery takes place, not stop it. With pirates, they pretty much have an infinite amount of time to crack the thing (and at the comfort of their own home too) and release it.

Again developers should really evaluate if their countermeasures are negatively or positively impacting sales and also if it's actually doing anything to prevent piracy. It's fine if it doesn't interfere with paying customers.

I think boycotting is a better route than piracy for those who don't like the measures.
As for cracking to create a backup/playing copy or to play without the CD, I don't agree with those who say it is as wrong as piracy. CDs do tend to wear down and get scratched and I'm sure a lot of gamers don't like to have to use the CD every time just to play it. They like to keep the CD mint in the case. I suppose digital downloads might end CDs, but most people still like to have a hard copy, esp if they spend $60. If they paid for it they should be able to enjoy it how they like (you can see parallels with movie and mp3s). Too long a comment though. DRM is just a very complicated topic.

I have heard some reports of the exact same freezing problems on the 360 but it's a lot less widespread and it hard to confirm if they are just signs of RROD or caused by the game. But I don't think x360 users have been vocal enough if they still have the freeze issue, esp the one that makes it so you can't even get past a cutscene. R* seems to not even really acknowledge or know about the reports on the x360.

Hopefully this time, things work out, regardless of whether the conspiracies in the past were true. Seems like at least this time a lot of the ones coming out with EVs/PHEVs actually want to make them and wasn't forced by a mandate. Again 2010 will be an interesting year.

@brtbs:
Yes I was about to bring that up, how Apple does the same thing too. It's marketing/humor, it's supposed to be exaggerated. People somehow view Apple as if they are somehow fundamentally good, when in reality they are just out to make money like the rest.

@ranwhenparked:
The situation here is different because it's just the development costs; Magna never actually made any production versions. If it was a dispute where production AND development was included, then maybe it will be enough to bankrupt the company because not only would the disputed money be a lot more, but also the production of the car would depend on the supply, but luckily that's not the case here.

Of course, Tesla didn't even post a legal response yet, so it will take a while before we know who's right or wrong (namely if there are details in the contract that will turn the case to either side).

@dolo54:
"I can imagine that Fisker intentionally made a weak design, so their car would kill it in competition."
This is what I'm trying to explain, and it's also an answer to the people asking why Tesla didn't just go with Fisker's design. Tesla probably saw Fisker's Karma and said WTF, how come this design is so much better than the one he made for us, and decided that they needed a new design that was better than the Karma if they wanted to beat the competition. I think the bit about Fisker not ever being experienced in hybrids was to show that Tesla had no way to know that is was going to happen, b/c they had no idea that Fisker was going to make a competing vehicle.

Found a link to an original scoop early in May 2007 of Fisker designing the Whitestar:
[www.autospies.com]
We know news of Fisker's hybrid only came later in the year, near October. So obviously Tesla had no idea of this conflict of interest.

There are a few very suspicious and valid points too. For example why would an auto designer like Fisker who penned many high-powered sports coupes like Aston Martins, the Z8, and runs a company that makes converted Mercedes and BMW high-powered sports coupes all of the sudden decided to make an electrically driven SERIES HYBRID SEDAN. Could it just be coincidence that Fisker just HAPPENED to plan to release this type of vehicle after he designed the Whitestar?

In terms of the iMIEV, I think it's a pretty good EV. It's basically a mid-engined RWD car with possibility of being 4WD with hub motors, and it's most likely going to be fairly affordable for an EV at around $25k. And don't forget the iMIEV Sport version shares a lot of it's components with the Evo X. I don't think they will have much of a problem selling them in the US if they get the range up to 100 miles (I mean at least in the EPA cycle, their iMIEV Sport gets 100 miles but that's their own internal tests).

I found this quote from the article something that would apply to most people who absolutely hate the Prius. Most of the hate is directed the "smugness" of some of the celebrities that drive one. They would LOVE anything negative about it. Perhaps Toyota got too much "green cred" from the Prius, but that's not to say it's not a green car. Maybe not as green it's projected as, but it's green nonetheless.

And where is the evidence of "human rights abuses" in this recent Tibet incident. All of the news sources say that they have been locked out so they don't know the real situation, so how can anyone tell if there were abuses? I haven't seen any news source present evidence except for speculation from either politicians or from the Tibetan exiles.

Everyone complains when a phone looks like the iphone and then keeps saying that no phone has "beat" it. Well, for a phone to "beat" the iphone, it will have to directly target it with the same large touchscreen design. And right now, even though sales are good compared to smart phones, it's not at significant compared to everyday phones, so I don't think that many phone manufacturers will focus that strongly on making an "iphone killer." As mentioned, this is esp. true because most of these companies don't have the software background which Apple obviously has, and most of the iPhone's significance is in it's software. The effort will probably increase when they have some help in the software department (ie android).

I don't agree that no one has beat the ipod, because it seems that there are a lot of much better media players that have come out these recent years. The current gen ipods aren't any better than the competition, except maybe the ipod touch which is only better because it is more of a internet device like the nokia 810.

This is a country of free speech so they can make whatever the hell video they want (the copyright issues are another topic that doesn't have anything to do with this) and protest the marine recruitment center if they want and the supporters can protest the city if they want.

@MadNachos:
Again what do you mean "those types"? Don't stereotype. Protestors were exercising their first amendment rights, which no law can violate no matter WHAT side you are on. And when have "those types" come together and said "let's make laws so no one else can enjoy their life!" People make laws that they believe most people in their locale would support and AGREE to. A law wouldn't have passed if there wasn't a majority somewhere that agreed to it. This time it was just a city council saying the marine recruitment center wasn't invited in the city and a couple of groups protested the center. When was a law made to prevent the marine center from being built there or to prevent military supporters from protesting against the city?

Let's not group and divide people up into "those types."

Considering they went from unacceptable to 3 stars in 79 days, I think with some more work they can get up to 4 or 5 stars, esp if they are going into a market where they can afford to add more safety features and still make a profit.

Just saw your post, but I agree because GT isn't aspiring to be a 100% sim that's accurate down to every detail. It's trying to get close enough for some of the more hardcore fans, but also accessible enough for people used to arcade driving games. If they went 100% realistic, the game wouldn't be so popular.

+ Watch video

I don't understand why GT continues holding out on doing damage. It's not manufacturers, because plenty of games had damage from cars of all different manufacturers. Maybe the creators don't like seeing the cars smashed up, but they don't have to lie about the reason.

Before complaining about the start of the events and police arresting monks during the initial protest, I'd also like to point out there were plenty of arrests in recent protests in the US. Now I'm not saying that there isn't posibility of torture or other offense, but this time China actually showed a lot of restrain in handling the situation. If you look at tourist footage you will see what I mean. Just ten years ago, if this had happened, you will bet anyone who was rioting will be shot; they wouldn't be going in with riot gear and riot police. Again, I'm not saying there isn't a possibility of protesters/rioters being shot, but until we know more on the situation I don't think it's right to jump to the automatic conclusion that China is in the wrong this time, esp when this time it isn't black and white with China violently cracking down on a peaceful protest; this time there were riots.

No that's not true, every nickel you spend is most likely to go into the pockets of every corrupt government official and/or company/factory owner in China. For products made in China for companies in the US, most of the profits go to the companies in the US, only a fraction of the cost goes to China.

"According to Marxism-Leninism, China's world war will not be fought to enslave or exterminate enemies, but to liberate them (hence "the People's Liberation Army"), to make them part of a new world - a global Chinese paradise."

You apparently still live in the Cold War Era...that kind of ideal died long ago when China opened their markets for unbridled capitalism. Now the main goal is to keep the economy churning so those on the top can keep making more and more money on the backs of the laborers on the bottom. Communism has long died in China and I don't see much chance of a revival.

@smalleyxb122:
At least half of that commute will be done with offpeak energy depending on the size of the battery (since you will HAVE to be leaving from home and you can charge overnight, don't see why you would want to charge in the middle of the day unless you are at work and you don't have enough range to get home or you work night shifts and you can't charge at your workplace). If the number of 40 miles of the average american commute is true, then there still stands a chance of the whole commute being done on offpeak energy.

@thebike45:
Here we go again...
The thing is EVs at least have the possibility of being actual ZEVs with renewable energy. Even hydrogen can't do that because it still emits water vapor! 75000 in 5 years is chump change in terms of number of cars in CA. Without some pressure, companies will forever create prototypes and not bother to make them avaliable to the public.

And another thing is EVs are only worst (in terms of SO2 but still slightly better in terms of CO2) than gasoline cars when powered solely by coal, factoring in emissions from the production of the battery. If you look at stats for 100% natural gas electricity, the stats are much better and CO2 emissions approach hybrids, SO2 and other toxic emissions are undoubtedly much better than coal. Nuclear also produces less pollutants with the exception of nuclear waste. For hydro and other renewables, the emissions are roughly half that of hybrids. Keep in mind all these factor in the emissions created from producing the car!
[www.ilea.org]

For my area of CA, only 15% is coal. 46% is natural gas, 15% hydro, 10% renewables, 14% nuclear. That means CA can significantly reduce emissions using EVs, esp with a stronger push in CA for renewable electricity.

I don't get why you still argue that a practical battery haven't been made yet. Look at the iMIEV, R1e. These were built without government pressure and they were able to build it. You mention the Volt...if they can build that, then that is already proof they CAN build a practical battery, esp if they only plan to run the battery from 30% to 80% charge. They just need a little kick to encourage them to keep going and make the cars avaliable to the public.

As for living in the factory, that's standard practice. Most people come from other far regions in China to work in factories and if they didn't provide the living quarters, the costs (both living and transportation to the factory) will be way too high for their meager wages to cover. This kind of system allows them to work and send money back home and maybe go back and visit for the holidays without worrying about making ends meet at the place they are currently working at. The pay is usually substantially better than working in their home region because they no longer have to worry about living costs while working, which is why there is still a large number of migrant chinese working at such factories.