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A Plug-In Conversion for Prius

Possibily the most sought-after technological innovation since Captain Kirk first flipped open his communicator is the plug-in hybrid, a vehicle that runs first on a battery charged from house current, and then on gasoline, according to The New York Times.

Big car companies have talked about it, but they do not yet sell plug-ins. Beginning this week, a company in the Boston area will be taking orders for what it says is the first mass-produced aftermarket conversion kit. The company, A123 Systems, is starting out with the Toyota Prius, with what it calls a range extender module. The module fits in the well normally occupied by the spare tire, with a charging port installed on the back bumper.

The A123 conversion will allow a Prius driver to substitute electricity, at about 3 cents a mile, for gasoline at three or four times that price. And it would let the United States shift toward the use of coal, wind or sun energy sources instead of imported oil.

One snag: it currently costs about $10,000.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 10:39 AM to Alternative fuels | Permalink | Comments 0

No return to cheap gas seen in Rhode Island

Southeastern New England’s beleaguered motorists may not want to hear this, but experts say the price of petroleum products and gasoline will continue to rise for the foreseeable future, according to The Providence Journal.

Forces halfway around the globe — principally the surging economies of India and China — are affecting the price of petroleum products in a way that is expected to push prices at the pump steadily upward.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 10:18 AM to Gas prices | Permalink | Comments 0

Bob Tasca III makes semi-finals, jumps to 11th

COMMERCE, Ga. – Bob Tasca III's day started and ended with racing friends Tony Pedregon and Joun Force at Atlanta the Dragway, according to his publicist Alexis Kinch.

The driver of the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Shelby Mustang earned himself a spot in his first semi-final of his nitro Funny Car career after facing best friend Tony Pedregon in the first round, Gary Densham in the second round, and mentor and hero, John Force, in the third.

“To run Tony Pedregon and John Force and make it into the semi-finals with this new team, is just really, really tremendous,” said Tasca. “But we come to every race wanting to win, so when you don’t, you’re disappointed. But when you look back at our program that we just started in November, and to move into the 11th position coming out of this race is just great for the team and my sponsors. After today, we believe now, more than ever, that we can win.”

Tasca’s semi-final round against Force was the closest round he ran all weekend, with both drivers having identical reaction times, but with Force having an edge on time by .003 of a second.

“It’s hard to describe the adrenaline that flows through you,” said Tasca after his loss to Force. “You get these tremendous highs of next round, next round and winning and winning, and then when you go out and lose, it just takes a lot of the wind out of your sails. But then you get an opportunity to reflect back and look at what we’ve accomplished, and I think that this weekend, we made it known worldwide, that when we pull into a race, we’re a contender.”

With a consistent car all weekend, Tasca accumulated enough NHRA POWERade points to put him one point outside of the top 10 heading into next week’s event in St. Louis.

“With what we did in Vegas, and now this weekend, we’ve got a lot of momentum heading into next week. Seat time is what I need; it’s just really valuable for me. I’m so proud of my team and Chris Cunningham. It’s just absolutely incredible what he’s done with this team. I can say this beyond a reasonable doubt, that God blessed me with that man. Because at the end of the day, as a driver, I will get better because of the confidence in the racecar, and it starts with Chris and it goes on down to every one of the guys on the team. I’m just so proud of my team and we’ll be ready for St. Louis.”

Tasca and the rest of the stars of the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series will head to Gateway International Raceway May 2-4 for the seventh stop on the 24-race schedule.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 10:13 AM to Racing | Permalink | Comments 0