GM to lose................petrol engines!

[AusBmw]

THE world's biggest car maker, General Motors, believes global oil supply has peaked and a switch to electric cars is inevitable.

In a stunning announcement at the opening of the Detroit motor show, Rick Wagoner, GM's chairman and chief executive, also said ethanol was an "important interim solution" to the world's demand for oil, until battery technology improved to give electric cars the same driving range as petrol-powered cars.

GM is working on an electric car, called the Volt, which is due in showrooms in 2010, but delays in suitable battery technology have slowed the project.

Mr Wagoner cited US Department of Energy figures which show the world is consuming roughly 1000 barrels of oil every second of the day, and yet demand for oil is likely to increase by 70 per cent over the next 20 years. Some experts believe the supply of oil peaked in 2006.

The remaining oil reserves are deeper below the Earth's surface and therefore more costly to mine and refine.

"There is no doubt demand for oil is outpacing supply at a rapid pace, and has been for some time now," Mr Wagoner said. "As a business necessity and an obligation to society we need to develop alternative sources of propulsion."

He added: "So, are electrically driven vehicles the answer for the mid- and long-term? Yes, for sure. But … we need something else to significantly reduce our reliance on petroleum in the interim."

GM is so convinced about ethanol it has signed an agreement with a supplier that claims to have come up with a way of producing ethanol that is cheaper and more efficient than refining oil. The supplier claims it can produce ethanol from "almost any material" such as farm waste, municipal waste, discarded plastics - even old tyres.

The car industry has had a love-hate relationship with ethanol, which is most commonly derived from crops such as corn, wheat and sugar cane. At first, car makers criticised ethanol-blended fuel because most vehicles weren't compatible with it. Then car makers changed their tune and embraced ethanol-blended fuel after retuning engines to suit the new mix.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/technology/times-up-for-petrol-cars-says-gm-chief/2008/01/14/1200159401944.html

Still think the M3 has some thing to worry about ;-) ;-)

Oh and I love the comment I've highlighted in red,that's just there way of saying "we haven't found any significant reserve in the last 20 years"

There is still a lot of oil, more than the Greenies and Green politicians would make you believe, and enough to power internal combustion engines for the rest of our natural lives. Oil reserve in the long run will effectively be even higher when economics takes care of it. The price at the pumps might well double but people will allocate their money and behaviour accordingly. The rest of us nuts here will still drive powerful engines.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_reserves Read this with a pinch of salt.

There is still a lot of oil, more than the Greenies and Green politicians would make you believe, and enough to power internal combustion engines for the rest of our natural lives. Oil reserve in the long run will effectively be even higher when economics takes care of it. The price at the pumps might well double but people will allocate their money and behaviour accordingly. The rest of us nuts here will still drive powerful engines.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_reserves Read this with a pinch of salt.
This is true. We have enough oil to run cars for another hundred years, or more, and raise the planet's temperature at least 20 degrees (Farenheit). What scares me, though, is what happens to the earth when we've removed all that liquid dinosaur sludge. I'm afraid it will turn into a giant prune! :scared:

[AusBmw]

scares me, though, is what happens to the earth when we've removed all that liquid dinosaur sludge.

You and an I wont be around to find out ;-)

Ok,Buying a Prius is irresponsible, simple as that. The burden on raw material to produce these puss-buckets is 13 times that of a Corolla!! Any council or government who purchase Prius should be held accountable for the money they are deliberately wasting. For example diesels are far more efficient when it comes to production and end result, without the massive ecological damage depleted hybrid batteries will cause!!

scares me, though, is what happens to the earth when we've removed all that liquid dinosaur sludge.

You and an I wont be around to find out ;-)

Ok,Buying a Prius is irresponsible, simple as that. The burden on raw material to produce these puss-buckets is 13 times that of a Corolla!! Any council or government who purchase Prius should be held accountable for the money they are deliberately wasting. For example diesels are far more efficient when it comes to production and end result, without the massive ecological damage depleted hybrid batteries will cause!!

Squeak for yourself, AusBoy. I plan to be here then.

[AusBmw]

scares me, though, is what happens to the earth when we've removed all that liquid dinosaur sludge.

You and an I wont be around to find out ;-)

Ok,Buying a Prius is irresponsible, simple as that. The burden on raw material to produce these puss-buckets is 13 times that of a Corolla!! Any council or government who purchase Prius should be held accountable for the money they are deliberately wasting. For example diesels are far more efficient when it comes to production and end result, without the massive ecological damage depleted hybrid batteries will cause!!

Squeak for yourself, AusBoy. I plan to be here then.

My bad,when some one thaws you out ;-)

Squeak for yourself, AusBoy. I plan to be here then.

My bad,when some one thaws you out ;-)

Thawing out Lord Pompsoity will require half of the world's oil reserves, for he is a very tough :old: man!

Squeak for yourself, AusBoy. I plan to be here then.

My bad,when some one thaws you out ;-)

Thawing out Lord Pompsoity will require half of the world's oil reserves, for he is a very tough :old: man!
If we can find one big enough we can simply use the microwave.

[chuck92103]

Dubai said they are running out of oil by 2015. This is why they are investing in resort property and creating a destination haven.

I think a lot of countries are running out, it is just that they have no way to accurately measure how much is left. My guess is we are beyond the half way point. I do not believe we have 100 years left at the current consumption rates.

The new electric car protypes I have seen are faster than most production cars. Electric should trump most cars before long if they focus enough resources on R&D this time. :jackit:

Dubai said they are running out of oil by 2015. This is why they are investing in resort property and creating a destination haven.

I think a lot of countries are running out, it is just that they have no way to accurately measure how much is left. My guess is we are beyond the half way point. I do not believe we have 100 years left at the current consumption rates.

The new electric car protypes I have seen are faster than most production cars. Electric should trump most cars before long if they focus enough resources on R&D this time. :jackit:

It depends on exactly what grades of oil we're talking about. Light crude oil coming out of the Middle East will run out first (because they are relatively cheapest to get to our car engines), then we'll rely more on oil coming out of oil sands from massive deposits like in Canada and Venezuela (not as cheap to get to our car engines as original light crude oil). Finally, there are oil shale/heavy oil despoits in your own country, which are the most expensive to mine and to "convert". These different grades will require the economics of oil, and politics of current banana-economies (for example Venezuela, Iran and Iraq) be "right" before they feed into our W16 3,000bhp engines by then. It might also cost US$500 a barrel. :100:

[AusBmw]

Dubai said they are running out of oil by 2015. This is why they are investing in resort property and creating a destination haven.

I think a lot of countries are running out, it is just that they have no way to accurately measure how much is left. My guess is we are beyond the half way point. I do not believe we have 100 years left at the current consumption rates.

The new electric car protypes I have seen are faster than most production cars. Electric should trump most cars before long if they focus enough resources on R&D this time. :jackit:

It depends on exactly what grades of oil we're talking about. Light crude oil coming out of the Middle East will run out first (because they are relatively cheapest to get to our car engines), then we'll rely more on oil coming out of oil sands from massive deposits like in Canada and Venezuela (not as cheap to get to our car engines as original light crude oil). Finally, there are oil shale/heavy oil despoits in your own country, which are the most expensive to mine and to "convert". These different grades will require the economics of oil, and politics of current banana-economies (for example Venezuela, Iran and Iraq) be "right" before they feed into our W16 3,000bhp engines by then. It might also cost US$500 a barrel. :100:

Ok,but OZ heavn for bid when china and india start drving like we do,no amount of oil sands and oil shale could keep up with demand.

Isn't there crap load under Alaska or some thing?

Dubai said they are running out of oil by 2015. This is why they are investing in resort property and creating a destination haven.

I think a lot of countries are running out, it is just that they have no way to accurately measure how much is left. My guess is we are beyond the half way point. I do not believe we have 100 years left at the current consumption rates.

The new electric car protypes I have seen are faster than most production cars. Electric should trump most cars before long if they focus enough resources on R&D this time. :jackit:
That's why Iran is developing peaceful nuclear power (wink wink). They will be running out of oil by 2159 and need to get ramped up before then. Oh, and the glow on the horizon will allow them to read better at night, too.

Savage beastards.

Isn't there crap load under Alaska or some thing?

Proven oil reserves in Alaska have probably past its peak. However, possible oil reserves in Alaska is a different matter. The Artic potentially have a big crap load mainly because it hasn't been fully explored and or announced.

Maybe we should use uranium to power motor cars. Australia supposedly has around 40% of the world's known uranium reserves! Surely we could use some of that to power our W16 3,000bhp engines.