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Electric Vehicles

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If they're going to make electric cars that fast, they need to find a way to make the driver use an extra pedal and stick for no reason, and link that to a system that actually inhibits speed while you're fiddling with the useless extra parts, just to make the gearheads happy.
 
Just put a fidget spinner shaped like a late 80s Ferrari Gated Shifter in the dash so the stupid gearheads can be like a toddler holding a second controller that's not even plugged in so he thinks he's helping his older brother play a game. That's all a manual transmission pretty much is worth these days anyway.

Hell, give them all sorts of dummy knobs and switches so they can think they are changing the steering stiffness and the suspension firmness and the fuel/air ratios ("But it's an electric car..." "Trust me they won't care.") to their heart's content.
 
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Hellbound said:
Just repeat an earlier post, even if your EV is ultimately powered by fossil fuels, that gas turbine generator operates more efficiently and cleaner than a car ICE. Still a net gain.
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Yes but the "Environmentalism is bunk because Al Gore doesn't live in a solar powered cardboard box" brigade have to think of it that way, that if electric cars aren't somehow 100% ecology perfect that means they are just as bad.
 
Something as a tangent to Electric vehicles...

From: Mining.com
Researchers at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology developed what they believe is an economically viable system to extract high-purity lithium from seawater.

There have been other attempts to extract Lithium from seawater, but the other experiments didn't produce as much lithium. (Note that this is just at the research phase, so it is possible that this may never end up being used in an industrial setting.)

Given the need for Lithium-Ion batteries in electric vehicles, this could be useful... china is one of the top lithium producers, and they are often caught up in various geopolitical conflicts. And extracting lithium from seawater would eliminate the need to build more mines.
 
I'm reminded of how often I've had to point out the fact that a standard coal burning power plant produces more radiation than a nuclear power plants, yet "OMG radidation chernobyl three mile island" is still the primary argument against nuclear plants.
 
Segnosaur said:
Something as a tangent to Electric vehicles...

From: Mining.com
Researchers at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology developed what they believe is an economically viable system to extract high-purity lithium from seawater.

There have been other attempts to extract Lithium from seawater, but the other experiments didn't produce as much lithium. (Note that this is just at the research phase, so it is possible that this may never end up being used in an industrial setting.)

Given the need for Lithium-Ion batteries in electric vehicles, this could be useful... china is one of the top lithium producers, and they are often caught up in various geopolitical conflicts. And extracting lithium from seawater would eliminate the need to build more mines.
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While I agree that a new source of lithium is extremely useful, it's entirely possible that aluminium ion batteries will replace lithium, especially in electric vehicles.

By the way, in your monstrous link, everything from /? to the end can be deleted without changing the function of the link, and I have done so in the quote. :thumbsup::D
 
Interesting.

Another article I read contradicts this

The new battery cells are claimed to deliver far more power density than current lithium-ion batteries, without the cooling, heating or rare-earth problems they face.
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stating that the aluminium batteries only had 60% percent of the energy density of lithium-ion batteries, but were still better because they charge so quickly.

The linked article is far more positive
 
Announcement from Volkswagen regarding a partnership with Tesco (IIRC the UK's largest supermarket chain) to provide free chargers for all EVs (not just VAG ones).

Volkswagen and Tesco want to make it easier for you to charge your electric car while you’re out, no matter what brand of Electric Vehicle you drive. That’s why by the end of July 2021 there will be free 7kW EV charging bays at 400 Tesco stores. At selected stores there are free 22kW chargers and (chargeable) 50kW rapid chargers. All of the chargers are installed by Pod Point, the UK’s largest independent public charging network operator, and all use renewable/green energy.
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https://www.volkswagen.co.uk/electric/partnerships/tesco

For now it's just the 7kw and 22kw ones that are free but this is an indication of the kinds of solution which may help those without home charging.
 
Hellbound said:
Just repeat an earlier post, even if your EV is ultimately powered by fossil fuels, that gas turbine generator operates more efficiently and cleaner than a car ICE. Still a net gain.
Click to expand...

Another thing that is often ignored is that EVs don't release toxic fumes into the cities where we live. I count that as a huge bonus.
 
Yes. I suspect that the recent furore about tyre and brake dust (even though ev's should produce less of both) was more distraction from the ICE makers
 
Again the "You're not perfect, therefore you don't get to point out any advantages you have" is a well established new tactic.
 
You may recall we bought a new 2018 Honda Clarity PHEV in late 2018. It was a unique year for us in that we had enough taxable income to benefit from the full $7,500 tax credit, bringing the net cost down considerably.

We now have over 54,000 trouble-free miles on it. EV range has dropped a tiny bit, but we still get an honest 35 to 52 miles on battery before going hybrid, depending on temperature and driving conditions. (Honda advertises 47 EV miles average). Then, it gets about 42 mpg, great for a car of this size and weight.

Sadly, today it’s apparently official - Honda is pulling the plug on all models of the Clarity in August.

https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/honda-clarity-fuel-cell-plug-in-hybrid-end-production/

They cite poor sales, but sales seemed doomed when Honda did essentially zero advertising of the marque. It’s apparent they didn’t actually want to sell them in large numbers - at the U.S. selling price they likely lost money on every sale. The working hypothesis is they just wanted to get a small number out in the wild to get data from owners and perhaps to slightly improve their fleet’s overall fuel economy figures.

In any case we still love the car and plan on keeping it for at least several more years. We always suspected that PHEV’s would end up a transitional step to an all EV future. Eventually we’ll have to consider the landscape of Tesla’s and other EV’s from Honda and others.

Regardless, we got a great car for a great price and are very satisfied Clarity owners.
 
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Filippo Lippi said:
Yes. I suspect that the recent furore about tyre and brake dust (even though ev's should produce less of both) was more distraction from the ICE makers
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Mine was built in 2014 and is still on the original set of brake pads (regenerative braking means that I rarely use the physical brakes), but...

... the car is heavier, and has eaten a set of tyres.

Given the mileage the car has done, I'm thinking that tyre wear is increased.
 
An article of interest...

Apparently 1 out of 5 people un California who bought electric cars between 2012 and 2018 switched back to a gas powered car.

Unsurprisingly the biggest issue was charging time. (Most people did not have access to fast chargers and had to deal with level 1 charging at home or work.)

Wonder if it might be more useful for the government to subsidize people installing fast chargers at businesses or in homes rather than investing in charging stations.

https://news.yahoo.com/1-5-electric-vehicle-owners-164149467.html

Sent from my LM-X320 using Tapatalk
 
Segnosaur said:
An article of interest...

Apparently 1 out of 5 people in California who bought electric cars between 2012 and 2018 switched back to a gas powered car.
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I've been thinking about that report since is was mentioned earlier. Even though about 20% of EV buyers switching back to gas doesn't seem too surprising to me. A person or family's vehicle needs evolve over time - someone who bought a car may need a minivan a few years later when the kids get older.

And things in the EV world have changed dramatically over the years.

The range of a typical EV on a single charge has more than doubled since 2012. California now has about 10 times as many charging stations as it did in 2012. EVs have generally gotten better and more affordable since then. And, they are starting to be offered in more forms such as the Ford truck.
 
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