Cyrus Farivar

It seemed like a neat idea — have one car, but two or three tanks. Regular gas, biodiesel, hydrogen, natural gas, whatever. But I promptly forgot about it. That is, until this week. IEEE’s Tech Talk blog asks the same question: “Where Are the Multi-Fuel Vehicles?”

The beauty of such vehicles is they help solve one of today’s biggest energy problems: uncertainty. With fuel prices oscillating wildly, is it better to stick with gasoline, invest in a natural gas vehicle, buy a hybrid, or what? Who knows? That’s why multi-fuel is interesting. You fill up with whatever fuel is cheaper, or available, where you live. It’s no silver bullet for the energy crisis, sure, but it just makes sense in places where more than one fuel is available. The point is multi-fuel could work as a bridge from petroleum to other possible technologies and fuels, be it batteries, hydrogen, cellulosic ethanol, whatever.

That same reporter, Erico Guizzo, penned a lengthy piece on one Brazilian multifuel car in January 2007, the Fiat Siena, which might just be my next car after my Toyota Corolla konks out — that is, if I can find one here in the U.S. This car has a gasoline/ethanol hybrid tank, which means you can put in either fuel in whatever proportion to the other in the car, no problem. The engine will figure out how to deal with it and will adjust ignition timing and so forth to make sure that it runs smoothly. Oh, and there’s a natural gas tank (two cylinders, in fact, in the trunk) as well for shorter-range trips.

Guizzo goes on:

Fiat’s Brazilian subsidiary unveiled the Siena Tetrafuel almost two years ago. It expected to sell 2,500 units in 2007; it sold more than 10,000. This year it has sold nearly 6,000 so far. In terms of annual sales, the Tetrafuel should represent less than 1 percent of all flex cars sold in Brazil (flex cars can use both gasoline and ethanol; 1.7 million were sold last year). It’s still a tiny market. But for Fiat — and Brazilians — it’s nice to have such option around in case oil prices skyrocket or something. It’s all about flexibility. (In fact, gas prices oscillations and the availability of ethanol at filling stations led to an automotive revolution in Brazil; sales of flex cars went from virtually nothing in 2003 to about 90 percent of all new cars sold last year, when the Brazilian auto industry saw all-time record sales.)

And here’s my favorite part: “In Brazil — the only place where the car is available — it costs about the same as a regular Honda Fit.”

But this still doesn’t answer the question: Where are these multifuel, or flex-fuel cars? Guizzo speculates that Detroit thinks of these as being too “niche” and that Americans won’t go for them. I say screw that. Why is Brazil and/or Fiat just selling them directly? Toyota has shown pretty well that Americans with the buying power will respond to hybrid cars like the Prius in order to lower the amount they throw down on gas.

Currently, there’s a bill pending in the Senate that would “allow a credit against tax for the purchase of a flexible fuel vehicle.” With any luck, maybe I’ll get that Siena a little sooner than I think.

Note: Thanks for reading! My week-long stint as the Machinist concludes today. If you’d like to follow my other work, you can do so at my blog: CyrusFarivar.com.

But there were also a few troubling episodes on the technological front, with text messages and e-mails being used as a way to perpetuate false information.

Wired reported late last night that voters in Florida and New Mexico received a fake text message from 505-507-6041 that says things like: “Due to long lines if you are voting for Barack Obama you can vote tomorrow,” or “Due to the long lines today, all Obama voters are asked to vote on Wednesday.”

The AP adds that there have been reports of similar “robo-calls” and fake texts in Missouri and that the Missouri secretary of state and U.S. Attorney’s Office have been notified. I’m glad that this wasn’t widespread enough to have made a difference, but it’s still a troubling development.

But that’s not all. Thousands of students at George Mason University received an e-mail spoofed to look like it was from Provost Peter N. Stearns saying that “election day has been moved to November 5th. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you.” Apparently the FBI is on the case.

And finally, while the outcome of the election was by a pretty overwhelming margin, there were still problems with electronic voting in numerous states, although not enough to have any sort of real impact.

Still,  we as a country really need to have a single standard for federal elections, get rid of these awful e-voting machines, and streamline this whole process so we don’t have to deal with this kind of crap anymore.

On a more personal and professional note, I share with you the news that this is my last post in Machinist, which is going on hiatus beginning tomorrow.

I thank all of you for reading and for your thoughtful and critical comments. If you’d like to follow me and/or any of my other work on public radio or elsewhere, you can do so on my blog: cyrusfarivar.com (where I’ll be announcing the result of our little trial voter-verified election), and/or you can email me at cfarivar [at] cfarivar [dot] org.

Cheers!

CNN will have 44 cameras and 20 computers in each remote location to capture 360-degree imaging data of the person being interviewed. Images are processed and projected by computers and cameras in New York. There’ll also be plasma TVs in Chicago and Phoenix that will let the people being interviewed see Blitzer and other CNN correspondents. Bohrman says the network can project two different views from each city so Blitzer can appear to be in the studio with two holograms.

Jessica Yellin was the first CNN reporter to be “beamed” to the New York newsroom, where Wolf Blitzer interviewed her — and she reported that there were only 35 cameras pointed at her, and that “talk to the cameras in New York.” Apparently representatives in the Obama campaign in Chicago and the McCain campaign in Phoenix will be interviewed as holograms later in the evening.

It’s still unclear who makes this hologram technology, nor how much it costs, nor how exactly it works — nor when I’m going to get it in my house. Man, and I was just getting used to Skype video chat. Still, scope out the video below.

This is without a doubt the best Obama song that I’ve seen so far. It’s got catchy lyrics — Viva Obama! — snappy outfits, a line about healthcare, and that female violin player? Muy caliente!

2) Extra Golden – Obama

This half Kenyan band (just like Obama!) rock out on this chillaxed benga track. Great guitar riffs.

3) Cocoa Tea – Barack Obama

Jamaican reggae star Coco Tea recorded this tune earlier this year, earning a small writeup in the Jamaica Observer at the time.

As he told the newspaper:

“If you notice, Obama is getting a lot of support from the young people, and when the younger generation begin to call for change, it usually comes, as they and the future, and Obama’s future is in their hands. Support for Obama is also coming from other quarters including the Kennedy family, as he is seen as the man with a plan, therefore I was guided by Jah on this one.”

How can you argue with Jah?

4) Docta Musica WashiWara – Barack Obama

This tune comes to us from Cameroon, and if you believe what the Docta says on his Web site: “The video has quickly becomed a big hit on Youtube.” Indeed.

5) crbballgal – BARACK THE VOTE!

How can I deny two fly girls, an ’80s-style synth, and rapping in front of a bathroom mirror? Well done, ladies.

6) Mighty Sparrow – Barack the Magnificent

Mighty Sparrow is the world’s leading calypso singer, hailing from the island of Grenada. Cop a read on the lyrics over here — I’m sure this is the first time that the phrase “Foreign Relations Committee” has worked its way into a calypso song.

7) Obama Song Spanish Reggaeton

I’m not sure who wrote this song, but nothing makes me want to sing “Si se puede!” louder than this reggaeton tune.

Bruce Springsteen – Working on a Dream

This song debuted just two days ago at a rally in Cleveland, so if you drop this joint at your fiesta, you’ll definitely be about 75 percent as cool as the Boss himself.

9) Barackapella – Yes We Can

Although college a capella may get mocked on Stuff White People Like, this cover of the famed will.i.am song is perfectly pulled off by Barackapella, a group from Lewis and Clark College in Oregon. (Also, don’t forget the parody, by john.he.is!)

10) Guru – Obama dance mix

I really, really hope that this is the first song that the Obamas dance to at the inagural ball. Or at least at the party in Chicago tonight.