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Good point, I hadn't considered the Isis connection. In that context OPEC's motives become obvious since they have Isis right in their backyard and soon to be knocking on their door. (And some OPEC members of course have the block party right in their living rooms already). I'm not sure Isis...

HUH? How does that make any sense? I don't find ANY reasoned thought in that response. As far as what anyone "believes", it's irrelevant. FACT: Oil IS FINITE! That means there is NO endless supply. ANYWHERE. That is not a 'belief', or an opinion, or a delusion, or a crystal-ball vision of...

I think they just manipulated the price of oil down to mess with Russia over the Ukraine issue. Funny how we have a problem with Russia, and suddenly the backbone product of their economy takes a major dive in value, causing economic recession and major devaluation of their currency. Soon as a...

Most fun car I had was my '79 Porsche 924. That thing was a BLAST! Not exactly overpowered, but that just meant it needed some skill to wring out every lb. of torque it could muster. Only about 140 mph on the autobahn, but it took curves like a rollercoaster ride and it was easy to fix. I...

Yikes! That seems a bit geek-ish even for "comfort-minded" riders. I could see that ending in a severe beating in a more "minimalist" oriented biker establishment.

I think most people have the idea that fuel usage is simply in direct proportion to engine RPM, but that's not the case. The throttle plate controls vacuum in the intake manifold, not RPM or fuel flow. Those things are a RESULT of manifold vacuum. If you push a car downhill at idle it doesn't...

Yep, Somewhere on this forum is the guy who disputed my assertion that falling gas prices would mean a huge increase in gas-sucker sales. Just proves my point: if gas gets cheaper, we'll just burn MORE of it.

There's not even an Elio available any time in the near future, much less any upgrades for it. Heck, I'd love to see an actual prototype! At this point I'd be excited if they just produced the engine for sale to third parties. Might give them some operating capitol and some real-world engine...

Fins on the casting is good for high performance engines, but to make an engine efficient you want it to heat up fast and run as hot as you can without risking it blowing up. In this case you'd WANT the oil to run hot.

That's HILARIOUS! And the real funny thing is that it would work just as well, if not better, today! That REALLY underscores my stance on the dangers of 'voting while ignorant', or VWI. Regarding the other point, being essentially the old adage that the 'pen is mightier than the sword', I...

OK...... how does it make logical sense? Let me see if I can clarify then.. If Caddo Parish decided to enforce it's option to fine the heck out of Elio for the delays, then they would be owed money by a company that isn't even a business yet and has no revenue and publically admitted financial...

"If there were legitimate credibility issues, I don't think Caddo Perish would have given them a six month extension" Is this an opinion or statement of fact? Perhaps you have some supporting documentation? Maybe a secretly recorded audio tape from the parish offices? You offered your...

A six month extension instead of what? Fines that will never be paid? Making an alternative deal with one of the OTHER companies clamoring to put a big job creator there? Their willingness to delay might well be a sign of having little to loose by waiting and nothing to gain by shutting it...

Agreed. Then again, any way I've done the math there is no point putting a start/stop system on a car that I figure can idle for 14 hours on a gallon of gasoline unless the system cost pretty much nothing. Most people don't like them anyway.

Interesting system. As I understand it though it would only work on a gasoline direct injected engine. Looks like it still uses the starter motor also. Seems to be all about making the startup faster and less noticeable. The Elio motor isn't direct injected is it?

I found a spec sheet on the ultracap units from maxwell, and I did some math. They DO have some fairly impressive specs for capacitors. But, for example, one large cap bank about the size of a large truck battery had a rating of 500 farads and a rating of 16 volts, which is the minimum you...

Not sure what the point would be of spinning backward first instead of just continuing in the usual direction. One cylinder firing is the same as any other firing. And at TDC it should already HAVE a fuel charge and compression. I always was told it was BAD to spin a motor backward, though I...

I've been an electronic technician for a LONG time, and I can tell you that capacitors have some critically useful properties in electronics, but power storage on any useful scale is not one of them. Might be just enough to help an engine start in SOME cases, if you have a big enough box of...

Those junked Geo metro motors might not be all that easy to find these days. Lots of people been snatching up the ones that ain't been melted down for various applications. Besides, what's the point of an Elio that only gets 45 MPG or so? That's good, but it's not great. I would love to get...

I love new technologies, and think it's great to push things in new directions, but to be honest, I don't see anything here. It's kinda smoke and mirrors and a new way of using what car audio 'enthusiasts' have known for a long time. Not that the system might not get your engine started under...