Archive for January, 2011

Electric Powered Cars – The Real Truths About Electric Cars

January 6th, 2011

I have to say, the thing that really got me interested in electric powered cars was the Tesla Roadster. I really love cars and when I saw that it accelerates HOW FAST? (0-60mph in less than 4 seconds.) – it definitely caught my eye. Ever since that I’ve been looking for the perfect electric transport for my family and learning an awful lot on the way. I have to say at the start I found myself EXTREMELY CONFUSED, EXTREMELY FAST when I tried to figure out about electric cars! Electric bicycles and electric scooters are all great…. but for me and most other people…. there is no beating the cars!

But when I started to look closer there seemed to be all sorts of things going against electric cars. Like…there are lots of great looking sports cars… but they’re so unbelievably expensive for what they give – and you’ll have to queue up! OR… you could get another one that’s PLUG UGLY – but hopefully you’ll feel better knowing your saving the environment! OR… oh wait! Here’s a car that can give you everything you need… do you want one? Sorry, they’re not out for another 12 years when we get around to making it!AND… this one is REALLY CHEAP… but it won’t do anything fancy like.. GO UP A HILL and you’ll usually need to recharge it about 10 times a day! So where are the facts in all this science fiction and promises? Well this is some of the “Truth” I found out about electric powered cars after all my research. What really is an Electric Car? There are a few different types of Electric cars:

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Tags: neighbourhood electric vehicles

Model Car Designing For Advanced Builders

January 6th, 2011

You have put together a few hundred models (well, it feels that way anyhow). You have even custom detailed several and all it took was a little thought and some extra elbow grease. Now you are starting to get a bit bored and feel like a real challenge but you are not sure what to try next. You can either try assembling your next model blindfolded or you can try to design your own model from the ground up. It can take a bit of creative skill and the ability to read a measuring tape but with little more than this you will soon have a model car of your own creation.

The first thing you must do is to find a car that catches your eye. If this is your very first attempt you should pick one that may not have too much fine work on its exterior. This way you will get a bit of practice in before you get to the really hard stuff. Take pictures of the car from all the angles that you can so you get a good idea of the detail that will be included in your end model. Once you do this then you should have someone assist you in taking measurements of the car. Measure every bit of the car that you can get to. From front to back side to side and everywhere in between, every measurement that you have will make it that much easier once you are ready to draw your model to scale.

Once you get to the drawing board the first thing you will want to do is to rough sketch your car. It doesn’t have to be to scale yet but it should look pretty close. Also make sure you draw many different viewpoints of it. By doing so you will make it much easier when you bing to make a mock-up. Now that you have sketched out your car you can also sketch out the various embellishments you would like to add. Whether it is a fin or spoilers by adding them to the sketch they will also be much easier to visualize as well. One thing that is very useful is to use tracing paper to draw these embellishments on the vehicle. This way your primary drawing will not be compromised and you can try out several different looks.

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Tags: elbow grease

Ferdinand Porsche – Prolific Car Designer

January 6th, 2011

Ferdinand Porsche was born on September 3, 1875 in the Bohemian village of Maffersdorf, which is now part of the Czech Republic. He was fascinated by electricity and engineering from an early age. When he was 16, he moved to Vienna and started to attend the Vienna Technical High School. At the same time, he worked part time at Egger, a local electrical company.

Here he started dating a bookkeeper named Louise Kaes. Later on he married her. They had two children, Ferdinand, nicknamed Ferry, and Louisa. Ferry inherited his father’s passion for cars and joined the business when he reached adulthood.

During the course of his employment at Egger, Porsche was promoted to the testing and experimental department. However, in 1898, young Porsche left Egger and went to work for Lohner, a company that manufactured electric cars.

Here, at age 23, he designed the Lohner Porsche. Then, the L’Exposition Universelle De Paris was the most prestigious car exhibition of the time and Porsche was fortunate enough to have his car exhibited there in 1900.

Porsche then won the opportunity to design another prototype, a 4-wheel drive with an electric motor in each wheel. In 1902, with Porsche driving, it won its class at a hill climb in Exelber, Austria.

During the same year, Porsche was drafted into the Imperial Reserve. There he was employed as a staff driver for top ranking officers of the Austro-Hungarian Army and at one time chauffeured Archduke Franz Ferdinand.

During the next 25 years, Porsche worked for many different companies. He designed a road train that was used in World War I and rated as one of his most important achievements.

In 1923 Porsche joined Daimler, Germany and then in 1926 Daimler merged with Benz. This enabled Porsche to work on the Mercedes S and SSK. He also designed a popular automobile and a diesel powered truck.

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Tags: austro hungarian army

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