[flash]

the cow dung would be converted, and the methane captured.  the methane then would be burned to generate electricity, thereby killing 2 birds with one stone.

 

the waste would be taken to the "still", converted to alcohol, and then burned to generate electricity.  there would be no internal combustion engine for private cars.

 

we already have the infrastructure in place for this.  the refineries would be converted to stills.  the dumps would be converted to compost piles for the dung conversion.

 

as an interim, the gas stations could dispense the alcohol, instead of gasoline.  every engine can be converted to run on alcohol.  we would use those until the transition is complete.

 

it can work.  not likely to happen, for the reasons i have cited before, but it could work.

 

if it did though, it would give us cars where 650hp seemed wimpy.

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[ds968]

BTW, the top 13 most powerful cars still offer a manual transmission . While most are priced modestly more expensive than their auto or paddle shift option , if you're looking for any Ferrari with a manual transmission expect a price that's about 50 % more than the paddle shift model . Same with used Ferraris , and actually some ( 599 Fiorano for example ) are 300 % more expensive than their auto transmission versions.

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[flash]

yeah - with most of them, such a modification is exactly that..... a modification.  you buy an automatic car, and they send it out to be changed.  a few still offer it, but most have switched, for obvious reasons.

 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/...tick-shift

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[ds968]

I was reading another article, not the Bloomberg one but thanks for posting this one, it's very well written and informative blog on the merits of automated shifting vs. the old style stick ..which a lot of us still prefer for the occasional fun weekend drives and don't care a bit about the time gain difference ..we're not on a track, lol !

Technology often makes people lazy and even more importantly digitally removed from the many joys of living in an analog world . IMHO.

Having said that, for a DAILY DRIVER car , I would never go back to the stick shift , after driving the auto /paddle shift one .

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[Cloud9...68]

Yeah, for a daily driver/commuter appliance, I'll take an autonomous electric in which I could sleep during my commute, and charge for free at work.  For a weekend fun car, the more analog, the better.  For a track car, obviously the preference would be a dual clutch paddle shifter, but since I'm going to probably be buried in my 968, that really isn't an option.

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[flash]

don't get me wrong.  i have no issue with manually shifting.  it's the whole left pedal thing that is a royal pain, and ALWAYS results in a missed shift at some point.  paddles are so much better (except the ones that are mounted on the steering wheel, instead of the steering column).  timing the blip of the throttle, and not missing the slot on the shifter, and not popping the clutch, is just so much distraction from entering a turn at the right spot, hitting the apex, and exiting at the best speed.  i didn't think i would ever give up a manual trans in my toy, but after living with the PDK for a year, i have changed my mind.  even the X5 had paddle shift.  it took me a couple of months to learn how to use it though, and i suspect that if anybody did spend the time, they would come to the same conclusion.  it's the preconception that is in the way.

 

that being said, in an electric car, with the power on tap in full on demand, there is no shifting, and that allows for even better concentration on entry, apex, and exit.  it really is a lot more fun to see how well you can shoosh through the corners, when you don't have to mess with shifting.  the sun is brighter.  the stereo sounds better.  the flowers smell better - ok - i've lost it

 

this is like having a HUD, and then losing it.  i had gotten used to it.  we don't have it in the cars here, and i really miss it.  not having to look at the dash was really very cool.

 

i am really looking forward to the next few years of development.  things are progressing so fast, it's really hard to keep up.

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[ds968]

Not everything high-tech is necessarily better .  There are many examples I could list, but I'll use just one from Flash's world of expertise where he was a master of the trade at one point in life : SOUND.   Digital music - CDs, etc. have never produced as great , as rich , and as diverse / sophisticated ( separation of instruments and tones ) of a sound as you can get from a high quality vinyl LP,  on an equally high quality turntable .   It's FLAT, just as the experience associated with driving an electric car or an automatic vs a stick shift. Sure, it's more efficient , cleaner , faster, less effort , and all of that ... but again, flat and without any soul . Deal with that all ye' techno-geeks !              

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[Rap]

Oh you da man.

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[tejon007]

Walter Rorhl video (watch it all the way through, as his footwork is amazing)...


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wqREtbLe4sY


So, would you rather drive a car...or just point it?? I wonder what Walter would say?? Oh, and by the way, this car probably qualifies in the 650 HP subject...

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[flash]

to follow on the LP issue, while i may agree that there is something lost between 1 and 0, and that the "feel" of the bass response is better on an LP than on a CD, the pops and clicks of the medium are eliminated by the digital medium of the CD.  there is a digital process now that effectively exceeds even the feel of the LP, but it is not practical for the consumer just yet, and not likely to become popular, as most people can't hear the difference, and won't pay for the quality.  they are happy with the quality of the download they now get, and won't jump up to the quality level that is thousands of times better and more accurate.

 

as for the transmission, and to the only real measuring stick, racing, when they finally break out the dual clutch cars from the manual trans cars into separate groups, and you see the times logged, it will become clear that the manuals are the "short bus" version.  for those who say "some of us don't want to race" that is like saying "some of us prefer to masturbate".  everybody imagines themselves racing, even if it is just for a moment on the freeway when we see how our car stacks up against another.  we have all done it.  we need to admit that if we could, we would all go racing. 

 

as for the "experience", if you really want to "experience" driving, get an old british sports car.  that will really give you something to work at.  otherwise, i think people are lying to themselves when they say that shifting is a necessary part of the experience.  i get it.  denial is a very real thing.  we all get old.  we all cling to the things of our youth.  but, the reality is that most technological progress makes things better.  the dual clutch is definitely one of them.

 

to answer the question above, i would rather see how fast i can get around the track, than see how coordinated i might get my left foot, or deal with such primitive mechanical items as a clutch.  i am only interested in the trophy at the end.  this is also why i gave up racing production cars.  i was limited by the car.  formula was much better and much faster.  unfortunately it was also a lot more expensive.

 

i've beaten this one to death, and will just have to rely on the confidence that everyone will come around in time.  

 

back on topic - drive system output power will continue to rise, as long as the marketing people can sell it.  as soon as things change in that regard, it will plummet again, just as it did in the 70s, and for the same reasons.

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[ds968]

  everybody imagines themselves racing, even if it is just for a moment on the freeway when we see how our car stacks up against another.  we have all done it.  we need to admit that if we could, we would all go racing. 

 

as for the "experience", if you really want to "experience" driving, get an old british sports car.  that will really give you something to work at.  otherwise, i think people are lying to themselves when they say that shifting is a necessary part of the experience.  

 

 

Nope, no interest anymore in imagining myself racing.   Too old for that nonsense.   Stacking up a car against another is also of little relevance and a futile effort because, no matter what you drive there will always be faster cars than  yours ; if you think the latest Tesla or a Bugatti super sport will beat every vehicle, think again, there are a bunch of modified street legal  1,500 - 2,000 HP  cars , even ricers that can do 0-60 under 3 seconds out there  As for the old British cars experience, I don't think anyone is advocating masochism   , but something between that and the latest tech gimmicks which render the driver to be little more than a passive observer, is ideal for those which still prefer the spirit and pleasure associated with a manual trans car.  The 968 is in that category IMO.

The rest simply don' t get it .. and that's fine ..   whatever floats your boat  :closedeyes:

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[Cloud9...68]

Put me in the category of people who haven't given up the dream to race, even as the years roll on (which is what motivates me to be the fitness fanatic that I am).  I want to start doing this, hopefully within the foreseeable future, at least on a limited scale:

 

https://simracewaydrivingschool.com/racing-series/

 

Everybody is put into an identical F3-level car, after completing a three-course series of classes.  The track driving I do in my 968 is strictly prep work for this.  The cars have sequential manual transmissions with a clutch pedal, so everyone is faced with the same need to master that particular configuration.  Paddle-shift equipped cars would be faster, manuals with a traditional H-pattern would be slower, but it doesn't matter, because everyone is in the exact same type of car.  

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[Rap]

Dan, Paul Newman raced into his 80’s. Now I nose you ain’t as good lukin as Newman, perhaps your lovely wife thinks a close second, but you ain’t too old son.

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[flash]

lol - we all know dan still "races".  he just may not be doing it on the track.  there are a number of his stories here about freeway dashes against this car or that.  that's racing, whether he thinks so or not.  he just doesn't enjoy the track, yet he'll watch it on tv.   it's a natural male tendency.  no point in denying it.  it's really only a case of degrees.

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[ds968]

The highway dashes, with very few exceptions, have been solo runs with no other cars in sight , just so I could test the car's maximum attainable speed. It's a thing for me ;-) :-) Did it with the Maserati also and got to about 185 mph ( the speedo was reading 200 ) The other two or three times I may have " raced " other cars I did it only with for a few seconds to egg them on so I can see how fast they accelerate, and all were cars that would annihilate the 968 so I had no intention to race them. And another couple of times have been with Trevor and separately with Sean during 968 meets, also on mostly straight away rural highways .


As for tracking : I tracked the car once and will never do that again, because of one reason and one reason only. I absolutely refuse to wear a helmet !! Can't stand those things even for ten seconds on my head . Hated every moment of tracking the car in compete discomfort and interference . And there you are .


Last, my wife is more of a Robert Redford fan, than a Paul Newman one ..but yes, a handsome devil he was. And anyone who still races at 80 has my complete admiration and respect, I just don't think they should be allowed to drive on the street at that age, lol, the track is a far more safer environment .

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[94SilverCab]

As for tracking : I tracked the car once and will never do that again, because of one reason and one reason only. I absolutely refuse to wear a helmet !! Can't stand those things even for ten seconds on my head . Hated every moment of tracking the car in compete discomfort and interference . And there you are .


 

Well, of course...it would mess up your hair...Flash doesn't get this 

 

Jay

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[Rap]

Me thinks thou dost protesteth tooo much,

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[ds968]

Too funny ;-) . Ok, so while we're on the HP thread and topic , I have a question :


My Maserati ( " my Maserati does 185, I lost my license and now I can't drive .." - ref. Joe Walsh's song ) has 454 HP and 384 ft/lbs torque , and the top speed is 186 . A Dodge Demon has a monstrous 840 HP and 770 ft/lbs torque but it can only sueeze out another piddly 17 mph more , for a top speed of 203 mph. The two cars' weights are fairly comparable . How in the world is a car with nearly double the HP and Torque not capable of , say , 250 + mph or more, by comparison ? Is it only the aerodynamics that come into play or, are there a bunch of other factors also that make the Dodge proverbially hit a brick wall that soon ?

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[Kim]

I would bet that the Demon is geared so tall that the HP and T can't be used at high speeds, where the poor mechanical advantage of the gearing can't overcome the resistance of the air. Your Maserati likely reaches top speed at near max rpm. The Demon might go faster if it was geared shorter, but then fuel economy would suffer.

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[flash]

doth mother know that you weareth her drapes?

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