As we expected, the Raser Electric Hummer H3 is a plug-in, extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) utilizing a 200 kW motor to drive the wheels and a turbocharged Ecotec four-cylinder to power a 100 kW generator to charge the batteries and run the e-motor.

If you're good at math you immediately see the problem here. For the first sixty miles the Raser Hummer runs in all EV mode and from there it will run on a constantly operating generator, resulting in an asymptotic decline in average fuel economy. It does get the dramatic 100 MPG fuel economy the company claims — as long as you don't go further than 60 miles in a day. The actual, long-range economy is a less headline-grabbing 33 MPG. Much better than a standard H3 for sure, but Raser has not quite yet managed to defy the laws of physics.

We'd have more details for you, but Arnie strode into the middle of the press conference with his phalanx of security guards and turned it into a media feeding frenzy.

The new collaborative Web site, ecodrivingusa.com, urges consumers to slow down, ensure that tires are filled properly, avoid tailgating, remove excess weight from vehicles, replace air filters, and get tune-ups. Sound familiar? Yeah, it's all pretty much the same stuff that's been recommended — and largely ignored — for about 30 years now. But in an effort to be more persuasive, the Web site also has a helpful calculator to show you how much you could save, along with a video featuring the camera-shy Schwarzenegger comparing solving the global energy crisis to taking care of one's body. Oh, and if you look really closely, we're pretty sure you can see Jimmy Carter in the background of the video urging you to turn down your thermostat and put on a cardigan. [Detroit News]

State Senate Hearing to Focus on Flex-Fuel Vehicle Purchases [mercurynews.com]

Related:
Corn Demand Up, Pizza Prices Skyrocket [Internal]

We would like to give our deepest condolences to everyone who lives within 50-miles of San Francisco, as their commute has just increased by at least an hour in each direction. Which means that Bay Area traffic worsens from its current level (about as bad as you can imagine) to Dante's third-concentric circle of Hell (that's where the sowers of discord and schism hang). A tanker truck crashed, its fuel load caught fire and the bridge on the Emeryville side simply melted. Amazingly, no one was killed. The Governator is on the scene and has already declared a state of emergency. The upside? All trains, buses and ferries are free for the next little while. The downside? It's not going to make one damn iota of difference traffic-wise. It should be noted that Bay Area-ites managed to soldier on without the Cypress Structure for eight-years after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. So, they'll be OK. Look for local residents/environmental whack jobs to tie up construction well into Kucinitch's second term. – Jonny Lieberman

Bay Bridge Maze Collapses [sanfranciscosentinel.com]

Related:
The Mighty Bay Bridge [Internal]

Nitromethane is an organic brew which contains not one molecule of petro fuel. A splash of methanol alcohol may be thrown into the mix for various reasons, but the true madmen tip in the whole can and run a near 100% mix of the good stuff. Nitromethane also carries along with it a few oxygen molecules in its structure, which when combined with a few atmospheres of boost culled from a roots-type supercharger and crammed through a Chrysler Hemi or Chevy makes horsepower not in the hundreds range - but into the multiple thousands. The Nostalgia Nitro Shootout this last weekend at the California Speedway brought out not only a good number of front engine Top Fuel Dragsters but also a solid lineup of Funny Cars. The rest of the race cars were running either methanol, or an odd mix of race gasoline and nitrous oxide. Always remember to support alternative fuels, and your local dragstrip. – Mike Bumbeck

Nostalgia Nitro Shootout [nostalgianitroshootout.com]

Related:
The Horrors of Nitro: Bakersfield March Meet; MAXIMUM INCINERATION AMUSEMENT!; Arnold Schwarzenegger [Internal]

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger played up the green image he's been cultivating during a speech yesterday at Georgetown University. The Austrian Oak remarked, "We don't have to go and take away the muscle cars. We don't have to take away Hummers or SUVs or anything like this, because that's a formula for failure," he said. "Instead we have to make those cars more environmentally muscular." So then, Governor Schwarzenegger, when can we have our 30-year rolling CARB exemption back? – Davey G. Johnson

Schwarzenegger's Guiltless Green [SFGate]

Related:
Hasta La Vista Saudi: Arnold Gets a Hydro Hummer [Internal]

Related: Mechanical Resonance: The Tesla Motors Press Intro, Complete With Governator

Ahnuld is set to sign a ban that bans use of a cellular phone while driving unless one's using a hands-free device. Scheduled to go into effect July 1, 2008, the ban carries penalties of $20 for the first offense and $50 for each infraction thereafter. No word as to whether the Gov'll come by your house and do you like he did the T-X if you don't pay up. [Thanks to Bumbeck for the tip.]

Governor Schwarzenegger to Sign Cell Phone Law [KNX]

Related:
Hands-Free On My Mind: Georgia Military Installation Bans Cell-Phone Yammering [Internal]

So we pulled out of San Pedro in the mid-afternoon to make sure we'd make it to Santa Monica Airport in time for the start of the Tesla Motors press intro. Rumors had flown back and forth as to whether or not the Tesla Roadster was simply a rebodied, rebadged Elise with an electric powertrain. The answer to that is slightly tricky — it is and it isn't. Click through for the full report.

The entire powertrain of the car only weighs 160 pounds. That includes the electric motor (to be built in Taiwan), the two-speed gearbox, built in Britain by a supplier the Teslas declined to name (umm...er, could it be...Ricardo?), and the diff.

The Tesla Roadster looks especially sexy in that red that Chrysler seems to use on all of the press cars they hand us.

The extruded and bonded aluminum chassis, built by Norsk Hydro in Scandanavia (once the target of a daring commando raid to curtail Nazi heavy-water production during WWII), is based on that of the Elise, using the 900-pound, water-cooled and heat-regulated lithium-ion battery pack — in classic Lotus style — as a stressed member. The wheelbase is two inches longer, and it weighs a bit more than an Elise, tipping the scales at 2500 lbs in the preproduction cars we saw. They're hoping to shave an additional hundred pounds from the production version. The sills are two inches lower than its Lotus half-sibling, although ingress and egress were still slightly problematic for Los Jalopnik in attendance, Dan Neil and some guy who played a destructo android from the future in a film trilogy of little note and splits his time between Sacto and LA. He had a bit part in Cars too, playing an H1.

Smashing through the boundaries, lunacy has found me, water cools the battery.

Yes, Arnold took up temporary residence in the house, and the rumor of the evening is that he'd bought one. We were standing outside after showing up early (the traffic between Pedro and Santa Monica is ridiculously unpredictable) when all of a sudden we heard a huge hubbub behind us. When we turned and saw a row of black SUVs, we wondered what was up. All of a sudden, there he was, right in front of us. We extended our hand and said, "Governor, it's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you, too," the former Kindergarten Cop replied. We resisted the urge to pull a Road House and exclaim, "We thought you'd be taller!"

Mr. Olympia's Wild Ride.

After Ahnuld had left the building, the Teslas got down to brass tacks, explaining the car's genesis. Yes, it is built in Hethel by Lotus. Sure, it tops out at 130, but it's got a 250-mile range based on the EPA's freeway test. Regenerative braking? Check. But one parameter they haven't tested is how much the regen actually adds to the car's (presumably-shortened) range while cruising in traffic (a number we're really interested to know). Regardless the magic pair of double decimal-delineated digits remains the 4.0-second 0-60 time. Even judging from our brief test ride, we'll proclaim that this thing will slay on the backroads.

When was the last time you saw a photo of Dan Neil of the LA Times (far right) and Arnold Schwarzenegger (far left) on either side of an electric sports car? We're guessing never. Jalopnik Exclusive?

The torque is unbelievable. And eerie. The power just comes on right now and does not abate. It's absolutely batty; unlike anything we've experienced. We think our kidneys may still be embedded in the seatback. And it sticks. Hoons, your EV has arrived. Yes, you do practically trade bodily fluids with your motoring companion, but there was plenty of legroom (although we're 5'11, we've got a positive ape index — 30" inseam with a 34" sleeve — but we'd say leggy types won't have any complaints in that department).

Chairman Elon Musk, who founded PayPal and got a lot of heavy hitters on board to raise $60 mil in venture capital for the project, has signed SiliValley luminaries like Google's Sergey Brin for orders. Essentially, this is a geek-chic semi-supercar interim step. It'll take a full load of juice in 3 1/2 hours from a garage-mounted charger, but more interestingly, while travelling, it can be topped up from an ordinary 110 socket using Tesla's mobile kit (albeit much more slowly). One of the major problems with GM's EV1 was that it was married to its charging unit. Tesla, using technology licensed from AC Propulsion, has rather cleverly mitigated this problem, although the dedicated charging unit remains the fastest way to top up the car.

The price for what may be the first real step toward a viable mass-market electric car? $100k. No goofy lease. Given Silicon Valley's penchant for pie-in-the-skyness, and having lived through the tech boom and bust in the Bay, we know how easy it is for a well-funded company to fail. According to rumor, however, Tesla's only burned through $25 million of its VC and has produced ten preproduction cars. Musk claims they started in the segment they did to produce a profitable vehicle that will lead to more development, and according to the Wired article, their $50k sedan project is due around 2008. We were skeptical of the Tesla project when we first heard about it. We're believers now. With any luck, we'll have a road test for you later this year. Finally, an electric car that car geeks can truly get stoked on. Because, let's face it — driving a Tango kind of makes you look like a dork. Unless you're already George Clooney. To be sure, electric cars are still, and will be for a long time to come, a niche market. But we think Tesla's got a good shot at broadening said niche. It's the first electric car that boys who aren't card-carrying members of the A/V Club will want to post on their bedroom walls.

Related:
Tesla Electric Car Pics Leaked! [Internal]