Comments on: BMW Revives the Steam Engine Concept

By: Correct me if I'm wrong, but:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but: — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 22:36:56 +0000

[quote]nutramistic said: “What the hell am I talking about?

I don’t know. I’m just sick of shit not getting done.”[/quote]
well what are you waiting for? go get shit done then. PS: i dont know what the hell you’re talking about either. :)

By: Sacred Junk

Sacred Junk — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 10:58:33 +0000

Ten years seems too long

By: Jaded

Jaded — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 15:34:36 +0000

Why couldn’t the existing “hybrid” model employ an excess heat powered steam turbine to charge the battery? That seems more direct than trying to engineer a brand spanking new way to utilize the steam power.

By: pakiyo.shah

pakiyo.shah — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 05:06:26 +0000

JAY HIND

By: navroan

navroan — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 09:21:18 +0000

Not a bad idea really, but more changes in culture would have to ensue.
The same method that power plants use to capture the waste heat from gas turbines and produce steam =)
The average car engine is very oversized for the application that it is used for… cruising at speed takes little horsepower, with the engine operating at near closed throttle… the boost provided would still help reduce fuel consumption from a stopped acceleration, assuming that the heat produced by an idling engine and stored heat from before would produce enough usable steam. A good fit for this technology would be a properly sized engine for the vehicle, and not the oversized engines that Americans so love. Large trucks would benefit the most from this arrangement, due to their higher constant engine loads, and the little difference the extra weight will add.

By: nutramistic

nutramistic — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 17:39:10 +0000

Yup. Madd Engineering.

I am now convinced that the auto industry has to be involved in some kind of conspiracy. There is no other explanation for why 80 year-old technology has not been updated. A very, very slow introduction of fuel efficient vehicles will take place over the course of the next few decades. Let me emphasize slow. Marginally better fuel economy will be the major selling point of each newer vehicle that comes out. Profit is always the bottom line.

Monopolies and oligopolies such as those currently held by the automakers are forms of totalitarian communistic economics (existing within capitalism) that cause capitalism to fail in many arenas. Governmental mandates and regulation can assist, but the government does not represent the people. It suffers the weakness of Democracy (inefficiency), and still does not uphold its ideals.

What the hell am I talking about?

I don’t know. I’m just sick of shit not getting done.

…

Some FYI. If anyone ever tells you that a superior “technology” (I don’t consider this true technology) is not feasable or practical because of cost, know that they’re full of shit. Any auto-maker has the resources to mass-produce said impractical components that would make their vehicles more efficient. They can even use components that would have multiple applications (I’m being intentionally vauge). This would lower cost for such components, especially if standardized. I wonder if industrial engineers learned any of this in school.

So once more, this is a political battle that has manifested into battles of flesh and blood. We do go to war over the price of oil, do we not? Ideologies? Mostly oil? Yes, we do.

Forget the Arabs. We don’t need them. We just need to shake down our wealthy bastards and get our shit done.

By: tigoldbitty

tigoldbitty — Tue, 11 Jul 2006 04:32:56 +0000

I thought the Germans were supposed to be good engineers. What happened? Just because BMW is a private company, do they think they have the right to do any “Golburg” project they want?

By: tigoldbitty

tigoldbitty — Mon, 10 Jul 2006 03:55:52 +0000

There must be better ways of capturing thermal energy – something less mechanically intesive. What about heating a pressure vessel like an accumulator that’s already part of the propulsion system. The fewer the components, the better.