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SPAIN - CANNONBALL INT. ZEV RUN™
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Dom de Luise (Captain Chaos) would toast these Cannonball events
The Spanish Cannonball Run begins in Girona in the eastern tip of Spain, heading west, the suggested road trip route takes in a number of historic locations en-route to Huelva, including Barcelona and Madrid. We will also recognize the same start and end locations using a coastal route that is roughly 200kms longer - or any similar alternatives that are necessary to encompass suitable charging locations.
Spain is developing sustainable policies that include renewable resources from wind and solar electricity that will ultimately benefit a change to a sustainable all electric economy for both economic reasons, the health of the nation and as a means to curb changing weather patterns.
Map of the Spanish Cannonball International ZEV Runs. [Left] Inland route incorporating a visit to Madrid and [Right] the coastal route incorporating a visit to Valencia. Both routes are valid as Cannonball International events.
CANNONBALL INTERNATIONAL EV SERIES
The Cannonball International EV Run™ series is for battery or hydrogen fuel cell powered electric vehicles that are based on ordinary production vehicle running gear and must be capable of carrying at least one passenger. They may be solar assisted, provided that the solar panel area does not exceed four square meters - a rule that may be relaxed in subsequent years as we learn from experience. See the full Cannonball EV rules HERE.
These rules are designed to promote the development of an international EV infrastructure, as a means of accelerating the transition from IC engines to clean electric motors, especially in countries that do not have abundant sunshine, where support for non-solar assisted electric vehicles is all the more important.
Make sure that you read the EV runners road rules before entering your team.
GIRONA - HUELVA: THE SPANISH INLAND CANNONBALL ZEV RUN STOPS* 50mph
GIRONA - HUELVA: THE SPANISH COASTAL CANNONBALL ZEV RUN STOPS* 50mph
GOOGLE SUGGESTED ROUTE - Driving directions 30 HR target with cartridge exchange and 50 hours with fast charging (This route has tolls)
Valencia - Spain
Alicante - Spain
Cartagena Murcia, Spain
Almería - Spain
Málaga - Spain
Jerez Cádiz, Spain
CANNONBALL INTERNATIONAL OFFICIAL ROUTES
Female environmental lobbyists strut their stuff - point well made ladies and we love the gull wing doors on that red Mercedes.
FORBES 2014
On the same week that Tesla shows off its cross-country “cannonball run,” (aiming to break the transcontinental record for driving an EV from the left to right shore of the U.S. in three days), bad earnings and production news comes from the oil patch. This could be really good news for Tesla and its competitors, among them, the Chevy Volt, the Nissan Leaf, and the forthcoming BMW i3. The more expensive oil gets, the more marginally attractive EVs become.
Fourth quarter earnings are out from Shell and Exxon Mobile and they confirm a trend many have pointed to for a long time: the hydrocarbons may still be there, but they are getting more and more expensive to recover. Both Shell and Exxon pointed to declining output, while at the same time bearing enormous investment burdens (Shell’s 2013 capital spending exceeded $44 bn).
Shell’s fourth quarter revenues declined from $7.3 bn to $2.2bn. At the same time, the company took a major torpedo to the bow with its Arctic mishaps, which to date have cost them over $5bn while yielding nothing. The company has also allocated over $30 bn to a project in Kazakhstan which is eight years behind schedule. To worsen the situation, Shell reported a 6% drop in oil production. Annual earnings were down 23% below 2012.
Exxon Mobil fared somewhat better, seeing its earnings decline from $9.95 bn to $8.35 bn, but annual earnings were down 27%. Production of oil and gas was down 1.8% from the prior year, a trend that has continued in seven of their last eight quarters.
The two majors are not the only companies forced to spend huge amounts of money to develop difficult oil and gas fields across the planet. Fracking notwithstanding, the easy stuff is pretty much gone. Today’s projects typically involve billions of dollars of riskier investments at higher costs, and the potential for enormous cost overruns. OilPrice.com cites the example of Italian oil company ENI which currently forecasts a $50 bn investment in Kazakhstan’s Kashagan oil field – a five-fold increase over initial numbers.
If
one looks southward to Latin America, the example of Petrobras shows
similar echoes. The
company has incurred over $100 bn in debt to develop the gigantic
offshore Lula field. To
get to the oil, companies will have to function a
mile below the ocean, and drill another two miles to get to the
reserves. It’s
technologically risky (does anybody remember BP)
and super expensive, with the potential for brutal cost overruns. All of which suggests that marginal costs for the production of oil will continue to rise. In the meantime, electric rates are also not without price pressures. The question will be by how much rates increase over time, and whether the current advantage in ‘fueling costs’ enjoyed by EVs will continue to grow. The DOE currently shows an ‘eGallon’ (the cost for the equivalent energy of a gallon of gasoline) at $1.21, compared with an average price of $3.33 for a gallon of gas. Electricity rates would have to rise much faster than gasoline for electrons to lose their economic advantage. Even if electricity were to shoot up by 50% (an additional $.61 per eGallon) while oil increased by only 25% (an additional $.83), there would still be a marginal economic gain for an EV.
But that kind of mismatch is unlikely to occur. With relatively cheap U.S. natural gas-fired generation, and renewables continuing to rapidly decline in cost, there’s a very good chance that the relative cost benefits of fueling an EV will continue to increase significantly. And while fuel is only a small part of the entire cost equation, that’s a great trend to help spur along the adoption of electric vehicles. Tesla’s voyage may be pioneering today: it will be commonplace tomorrow.
METRO CANNONBALL RUN MOVIE REMAKE OCT 2011
The 1980s caper movie
The Cannonball Run is set to get the remake treatment – with two directors vying to bring their version to the big screen.
Cannonball Run remake attracts rival bids from Guy Ritchie and Shawn Levy
LINKS & REFERENCE
http://www.forbes.com 2014 oil-majors-woes-good-news-for-tesla-and-other-ev-makers http://metro.co.uk 2011 cannonball run remake attracts bids from rival guy ritchie and shawn levy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cannonball_Run http://www.mile-to-km.com/km-to-miles.php http://www.worldsolarchallenge.org/ http://www.discovery-campervans.com.au/adelaidedarwin.php http://www.familyonabike.org/other%20info%20pages/awards.html http://www.endtoenders.co.uk/ https://maps.google.com/ VAUXHALL AMPERA endurance ev attempt 2010_ampera_e-revs http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/ http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/newsandeventspggrp/imperialcollege/newssummary/news_27-5-2010-12-26-15 http://www.formaplex.com/news/formaplex-launches-electric-car-world-record-attempt/ http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/31/racing-green-endurance-srzero-electric-car-to-make-16-000-mile-t/ http://www.rideacrossbritain.com/packages/end-to-end/ http://www.discoveradventure.com/challenges/land-s-end-to-john-o-groats-cycle http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land%27s_End_to_John_o%27_Groats https://www.google.com/maps/place/Madrid/
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This
website is Copyright © 2014 Bluebird Marine Systems Limited.
The names Bluebird,
Cannonball EV Runs™, Ecostar DC50™, Utopia Tristar™ and the blue
bird in
flight
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