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Canadian Cannabis Car 120

Posted by samzenpus from the Cheech-and-Chong-already-did-it dept.
sykobabul writes "The CBC is reporting: 'An electric car made of hemp is being developed by a group of Canadian companies in collaboration with an Alberta Crown corporation. The Kestrel will be prototyped and tested later in August by Calgary-based Motive Industries Inc., a vehicle development firm focused on advanced materials and technologies, the company announced.' Leave it to us Canadians to come up with all sorts of uses for cannabis."
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Canadian Cannabis Car More

Canadian Cannabis Car

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  • Only one word to describe it (Score:4, Funny)

    by maroberts ( 15852 ) on Tuesday August 24, 2010 @09:37AM (#33355040) Homepage Journal

    Smokin'!!

  • already done (Score:4, Interesting)

    by i.r.id10t ( 595143 ) on Tuesday August 24, 2010 @09:38AM (#33355064)

    Didn't Cheech and Chong already do this?

  • Use more hemp please (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Neil Watson ( 60859 ) on Tuesday August 24, 2010 @09:40AM (#33355096) Homepage

    It always disappoints me how little hemp is used in industry. It is my understanding that hemp is easy to grow, is a more durable replacement for cotton and can be a more sustainable fibre for paper.

    • Re:Use more hemp please (Score:5, Insightful)

      by slyrat ( 1143997 ) on Tuesday August 24, 2010 @10:04AM (#33355500)

      It always disappoints me how little hemp is used in industry. It is my understanding that hemp is easy to grow, is a more durable replacement for cotton and can be a more sustainable fibre for paper.

      The same can be said of bamboo actually.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Amouth ( 879122 )

        I wish we would use more Bamboo than we do.. while it is harder to process than Pine.. it is by far a more renewable resource. (for a given land area over a given time) with the benefit of being stronger and more durable..

        I would love to get bamboo based boards and plywood

        • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

          by NotBornYesterday ( 1093817 )
          It's already been available as a hardwood floor material [ambientbamboo.com] for years now. I'm not sure you could make decent plywood out of it, since plywood manufacturing requires shaving the stock into sheets [youtube.com].

          • You could make particle board though, which tends to be preferable to plywood in most instances anyway.

            • Yes, it would be a good candidate for particle board. The two are not necessarily interchangeable, however. Plywood is generally better for environments where moisture will be an issue (sheathing for houses, for example), although that depends on a number of factors, such as the glue in the plywood or resin in the particle board.

    • It's simply because everybody associates it with smoking that it's so unknown that you can use it for something useful as well...
      Hemp is one of the fastest growing plants in the world. It's got seeds for biodiesel, but the rest of the plant is full of useful fibres or biofuels/chemicals as well... The bio-based industry would love to use this plant...

      But all people can say whenever something based on hemp is brought to their attention is: "huhuuuhuhuh... stoners!"... which is a reaction I'd only expect from

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by TheCarp ( 96830 )

        I heard it said once that when you point a finger at someone else, you point 3 back at yourself.

        -Steve

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Khyber ( 864651 )

          At least, that's what it looks like if you're really stoned.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by TheCarp ( 96830 )

            You know whats funny about that....

            It was said by one of my religion teachers in HS. I can't remember which one. However, the idea of either of them stoned is hilarious for entirely different reasons.

            One because he was the kind of tight wound ass who would give you an essay asking you about a moral issue, and then mark you wrong if your essay disagreed with his philosophy. He would write little comments (in red ink of course) like "What about natural law?" and pissed a few students off leading prayer in cla

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      by captain_dope_pants ( 842414 )
      IIRC it used to be illegal in the UK not to grow hemp. This was back in the days of sailing ships etc. Farmers had to set aside a certain area for hemp cultivation.

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by tsm_sf ( 545316 )
      It always disappoints me how little hemp is used in industry. It is my understanding that hemp is easy to grow, is a more durable replacement for cotton and can be a more sustainable fibre for paper.

      It is. That's why it's illegal.

  • Hemp eh? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Finallyjoined!!! ( 1158431 ) on Tuesday August 24, 2010 @09:40AM (#33355098)
    One of the most useful crops imaginable, read the wiki page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemp [wikipedia.org] Trouble is a variety can be smoked, so it's all but banned. Shame really.
    We need to grow more.

    • Re:Hemp eh? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Nadaka ( 224565 ) on Tuesday August 24, 2010 @10:03AM (#33355494)

      Shame really, a variety has useful fibers that are cheaper and just as durable as the newly invented nylon by Dupont. One year later, all hemp is banned. Don't kid yourself, hemp is illegal for monetary reasons, its use as a recreational drug was leveraged to make banning it all the more palpable to the American people.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Jeng ( 926980 )

        Hemp was replaced by manila long before nylon was introduced.

        The only reason for "Hemp for Victory" was because the Philippines were occupied cutting off our supply of manila.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by Gaffod ( 939100 )

        hemp is illegal for monetary reasons, its use as a recreational drug was leveraged to make banning it all the more palpable to the American people.

        I think it is illegal because the cannabis you can smoke looks similar to the one used for fiber, which makes it harder to spot marijuana fields from the air because now you have to check each one more closely, as well as having to constantly inspect the (presumably) vast industrial fields to make sure they aren't hiding some drug plants in their fiber crop.

    • We need to grow more.

      Help stimulate demand for it. Visit your local "Hanfhaus" (Hemp-house), and buy some stuff made out of hemp: http://www.hanfhaus.de/adressen.php?language=en [hanfhaus.de]

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by TheCarp ( 96830 )

      Actually, the smokable variety came first. Its been refined through breeding over the years... but...

      it was in fact a French company that engineered (I don't know if it was through genetic engineering or breeding, or a bit of both) the "low THC" variety, and then pushed for international laws defining "hemp".

      The real problem is NOT that most varieties can be smoked, its that some people can't mind their own business as to what other people do, and insist on asking the government to put a stop to the behavio

  • wooooo (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward

    I wonder if it can do a burn-out.

  • I remember about ten years back, hemp was the "new big thing" in the local farming industry. There were a bunch of farmers around here growing it. Then they had to deal with dumb kids trying to sneak into their fields and smoke it. Then they discovered that it was especially hard on their harvesting machines. Then they discovered that there wasn't much of a market for it, I suppose, because after that one year, I never saw another hemp field again.

    • If all those kids are getting caught in the harvesting machines, I could imagine them having problems.

  • - "Dude, we hit something..."
    - "Forgot to open the garage door dude..."

  • here's a youtube clip of the original hemp car, in 1941

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rgDyEO_8cI [youtube.com]

    among other hemp facts:

    ford and diesel intended their cars to run on hemp oil

    jefferson drafted the declaration of independence on hemp paper

    much of the founding fathers grew hemp or processed it

    read more:

    http://naihc.org/hemp_information/hemp_facts.html [naihc.org]

  • If you get into an accident and the car stars to burn a little? Do you have Emergency Cheetos in the glove compartment?

    • The roadside assistance kit contains Twinkies, a large bottle of Mountain Dew, and some aluminum foil.

  • Western Canada (mostly BC and Alberta) has a lot of MJ around. I don't really know why, I have no idea if it's ALL grown here, or imported, or what not, but there seems to be more pot than any other drug. I've been approached downtown for the option to buy, sell, or asked directions to somebody who does buy or sell, for a couple of different drugs but mostly weed. The house behind my parent's place while I was growing up had 2 police raids that caught 2 marijuana grow ops, and 1 meth lab. [tinfoilhat] I thi

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by jez9999 ( 618189 )

      Remind me again; with cannabis so popular recreationally in BC and harmless, why is it illegal?

      • It's a conspiracy, Maaaaaan!

      • Because playing to the hard-right conservative crowd with a "tough on crime" agenda makes for good politics.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by zach_d ( 782013 )

        In a lot of BC it effectively isn't.

        Walking around vancouver it's common to see people openly smoking joints, and I've even seen guys offer them to a police officer (somewhat cheekily, but still). The reason it's not legal in the whole country is that we fear the border would be frozen if we did legalize it. I'm quite curious to see what happens in the United States if prop. 19 passes. It could have quite an effect on our own laws, and political scene.

      • Blame America's Puritanical roots and Canada's need/desire to follow our lead

    • Western Canada (mostly BC and Alberta) has a lot of MJ around. I don't really know why, I have no idea if it's ALL grown here, or imported, or what not, but there seems to be more pot than any other drug.

      It's all locally grown, and mostly in BC - the latter produces over 40% of all Canadian cannabis (and most of it is actually exported to US).

      The reason why it's grown in BC is because the local conditions are very conductive to it. The climate is good - there's plenty of sun. Forested hilly and mountainous terrain makes concealing fields easy. Finally, you need a lot of electricity, and not only it's here in abundance - so it's cheap even if you pay for it - but the location of hydro power plants relative t

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Thing 1 ( 178996 )

      [...] and its chalked full of shops [...]

      The expression is chock full. [wiktionary.org]

  • Reeferance, please (Score:5, Funny)

    by hyades1 ( 1149581 ) <hyades1@hotmail.com> on Tuesday August 24, 2010 @10:02AM (#33355460)

    Hey, guys, c'mon over here and have a look at my spliffy new car. It's a 2011 Tokeswagen.

  • Hemp !== Cannabis. (Score:3, Insightful)

    by gus goose ( 306978 ) on Tuesday August 24, 2010 @10:02AM (#33355468) Journal

    FFS, people, when will it be understood that Hemp is much more than just Cannabis? Honestly, folk... 'concluding' that the car is made of Cannabis when it's described as a 'hemp' car is like concluding a person is a heroine user when they say they took some drugs... (even if it was a headache pill).

    gus

    • It's more like concluding somebody is a heroin user because they ate a poppy seed muffin. Heroin and other opiates are made from a kind of poppy, after all.

    • Hemp IS Cannabis... (Score:5, Informative)

      by Ellis D. Tripp ( 755736 ) on Tuesday August 24, 2010 @10:27AM (#33355862) Homepage

      FFS, people, when will it be understood that Hemp is much more than just Cannabis?

      Industrial hemp is just a cultivar of C. Sativa that is bred for fiber and oil production.

      There are 3 separate species of Cannabis, and many different cultivars and hybrid varieties.

      ALL hemp is Cannabis. But not all Cannabis is hemp. The varieties grown for drug use are generally pretty poor fiber producers.

      • The varieties grown for drug use are generally pretty poor fiber producers

        I wish!
        /returns to winnowing out stems

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Khyber ( 864651 )

        "The varieties grown for drug use are generally pretty poor fiber producers."

        Tell that to my busted bone shears.

    • FFS, people, when will it be understood that Hemp is much more than just Cannabis? Honestly, folk... 'concluding' that the car is made of Cannabis when it's described as a 'hemp' car is like concluding a person is a heroine user when they say they took some drugs... (even if it was a headache pill).

      Except that hemp [wikipedia.org] is Cannabis [wikipedia.org]. Industrial hemp is generally manufactured from Cannabis sativa sativa, while medicinal and recreational products are generally derived from Cannabis sativa indica.

      Honestly, folks, concluding that a car is made from 'Cannabis' when it's described as 'hemp', is like concluding that a suit is made from 'polymers' when it's described as being 'polyester'... Oh.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Khyber ( 864651 )

      Taxonomical failure.

      Hemp is from the Cannabis genus.

  • Just watched it this past weekend when I saw it on netflix. Those guys were crazy.

    Ob on topic

    Hemp is one of the best examples when we let fear rule out lives. The lost innovation and efficiency, IMHO, is staggering. I don't know what was going on in the 30's that made hemp so evil. I don't suppose it could be any worse than the Meth problems we have now. The funny thing is that hemp cannot be grown, while the constituents of meth are still be sold over the counter. I suspect it just that some peo

    • If what I heard was accurate, what came along was nylon. Hemp competed with it in a variety of ways, so it was smeared with great success by the chemical industries and (yes, even then) their toadies in government.

    • What happened is black Jazz musicians took a liking to it and our government demonized it with a lot of propaganda to make it illegal.
    • "Up In Smoke" is entirely on-topic: one of the scenarios (scenaria?) involves smuggling hash across the border by converting it into the body of a panel-van. No prizes for guessing what happens to it...

      On a more serious note, cultivation of the weed under agrodomes used to keep an old codger I knew in the Cotswolds in relative comfort in his retirement back in the '80s. (Thatcher's Britain was sometimes a miserable place to be.) But if I had kept smoking the stuff like I did then, I would be hard pressed
    • You should read "The Emperor Wears No Clothes" by Jack Herer. Available to read online here [onlinepot.org] or get a hardcopy [amazon.com].

      Biased, yeah, more than a bit.

      Interesting, full of real information and worth reading, definitely.

      Totally changed my view point on Cannabis Sativa.
  • The article doesn't really talk about production of the material - environmental impact aside, is it cheaper to produce than steel or aluminum? And how does it hold up in crash tests, or have any even been done? I'm all for being green, but I'd rather not end up as fertilizer.
    • From TFS

      The Kestrel will be prototyped and tested later in August by Calgary-based Motive Industries Inc., a vehicle development firm focused on advanced materials and technologies, the company announced.'

  • 55 MPH?!?!?! (Score:2, Funny)

    by oic0 ( 1864384 )
    Anyone else find it ironic that a car made of weed tops out at 55mph? I dunno about where yall live, but here the slow driving stoners piss me off. 55mph sound like it would suit them fine. Drunks go to fast and kill folks quickly Stoners go to slow and raise our blood pressure, killing us slowly.
  • Don't you mean Cannaba [nocookie.net]?
  • See this is what happens if you smoke pot, you come up with dumb ideas like this. See, you are supposed to make a car that RUNS ON HEMP, not made of it. Frickin pot heads.

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by Khyber ( 864651 )

      See, folks, this is what happens when you DON'T smoke pot, you say wholly uneducated nonsense such as this.

      We can make parts of the car out of hemp - plastic body panels can be made from the seeds and plant fibers by converting it into bioplastics.

    • Economically feasible hemp production is done on soil, but topsoil-based fuel production is fundamentally wrongheaded. There are plenty of alternatives; for example, this one is an EV. If you want solar fuel, algae is the answer, as proven by the USDOE at Sandia NREL. Indeed, it is an ideal match for our current energy production schemes both because biodiesel can be transported and delivered with existing infrastructure, but because it can be part of a successful carbon capture strategy when implemented at

  • Imagine the looks on the faces of all those people who lock themselves into a car with a hose coming from the tail pipe when they suddenly feel like everything is fine!
  • FTFA:
    http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2010/08/23/cannabis-hemp-electric-car-kestrel-motive.html [www.cbc.ca]
    "a range of 40 to 160 kilometres before needing to be recharged, depending on the type of battery....with a capacity ranging from 4.5 to 17.3 kilowatt hours of energy."

    40 km range? 24 miles? [google.com] That's a golf cart, not a car, will they at least give me a spot to throw a dozen D cells in so I can get home?

    Even 160km is only 100 miles [google.com], so it's equivalent to the Nissan Leaf [wikipedia.org] but without the big Nissan name be

    • 40km is a little low, but even if the thing averages 100km (60mi) it would be more than sufficient for most urban daily commutes.
      Personally i'm more worried about the top speed. 90kph isn't fast enough for the highways or freeways in Alberta. Taking that thing on Highway 2, the Deerfoot (Calgary freeway), or the Henday (Edmonton freeway) would just be dangerous. I think a car like this would need to do at least 110kph before many people (including myself) would seriously consider it.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by hitmark ( 640295 )

      not everyone live in sprawling suburbia...

  • Composite material bodies have been done before

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trabant#Overview [wikipedia.org]

    The Trabant was a steel monocoque design with roof, bootlid/trunklid, bonnet/hood, bumpers/fenders and doors in Duroplast, a form of plastic containing resin strengthened by wool or cotton.

  • You know you're a nerd when you read about a car made of hemp, but all you can think of when you see the name is that second character in Splinter Cell: Conviction.

  • I saw a documentary about this decades ago. Or maybe it was a Cheech and Chong movie, it's hard to tell...

  • How easy is it for an immigrant to earn Canadian citizenship? :)

  • Sort of unrelated, but I thought at least they picked a pretty cool name for the can anyway...

  • It's such a waste of perfectly good cannabis :(

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by duguk ( 589689 )

      It's such a waste of perfectly good cannabis :(

      IIRC, usually a different type of Cannabis plant is used for hemp vs. for 'medicinal' use.

  • Here we have Hemp. Has a shit load of great uses, is an annually renewable source that doesn't tap nutrients from the ground, but is illegal.

    Here we have Nicotine. Has 1 use. Is bad for people, but legal.

  • Would this be the van from Cheets and Chongs - UP IN SMOKE?

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