Who killed the electric cars? (car engine, versus, sell, BMW)
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No the electric car killed the electric car............The other issue is electric power to fuel the cars. Where does that power come from in the USA, most likely coal or nuclear. A study I saw showed that if 5% of the country had electric cars it would collapse the power grid. The greenies that have championed electric cars ironically have stood firmly in the way of developing cheap power with new nuclear energy plants.
That's the ironic part. The Greens want electric cars but they won't support the power network to support them. Isn't the definition of insanity running around in that equation somewhere?
It would have been technically possible to have replaced almost 500 London buses - you know, the double-decker type - with battery driven electics - except - there isn't enough electric power generated overnight in the entire British Isles, Ireland and all of Western Europe to recharge them. Fortunately someone checked before they were built.
But that's not to say that electrics won't someday be here.They just need to be sustainable.
......... By the way, does anyone know anything about the Tesla cars that people can order right now? ..........
I've seen a few. They are delivering Tesla's now to depositers with the highest priorities. The cars are quick, quiet and beautiful. But when they run out of juice they become giant lumps of metal and plastic, and quite expensive to "recover". So they are great for short term stuff but not much good for two hour trips.
That movie is stupid conspiracy theory garbage. The electric car never took off because the market research failed; based on existing technology they were impractical with not enough power or range to compete the normally-aspirating vehicles.
Believe me the company that manufactures a viable electric car stands to make a zillion dollars.
I've seen a few. They are delivering Tesla's now to depositers with the highest priorities. The cars are quick, quiet and beautiful. But when they run out of juice they become giant lumps of metal and plastic, and quite expensive to "recover". So they are great for short term stuff but not much good for two hour trips.
Top Gear did a great feature on the car.
You drive it hard and it lasts 40 miles with a requirement to plug it in overnight. That doesn't work in the real world.
Also the battery pack is 6800, yes six thousand eight hundred, laptop batteries.
I don't know about you but I've had plenty of laptop batteries fail. Imagine trying to diagnose that mess with 6800 batteries.
Plus the battery pack weighs around 1000 pounds. I don't want to be riding around in a little car and be in an accident sitting on 1000 pounds of caustic metals and chemicals. But hey to each his own.
I don't know about you but I've had plenty of laptop batteries fail. Imagine trying to diagnose that mess with 6800 batteries.
Plus the battery pack weighs around 1000 pounds. I don't want to be riding around in a little car and be in an accident sitting on 1000 pounds of caustic metals and chemicals. But hey to each his own.
The point of the "thousands of batteries" is so that if a handful of them fail the overall effect is nil. By the time enough of them fail to make a difference, it's time to replace the battery pack, just as you'd have to with a more conventional battery pack anyway. It's also for fire safety -- you'd rather have one tiny battery catch fire than one huge battery catch fire.
As for the accident factor, you don't want "1000 pound of caustic metals and chemicals" but you'll think nothing of driving around with a tank full of liquid so volatile and flammable that it has enough energy to propel a car 400+ miles? Do you have any evidence or indication that being in an accident in an electric car poses any greater risk or hazard than being in an accident in a conventional car?
The point of the "thousands of batteries" is so that if a handful of them fail the overall effect is nil. By the time enough of them fail to make a difference, it's time to replace the battery pack, just as you'd have to with a more conventional battery pack anyway. It's also for fire safety -- you'd rather have one tiny battery catch fire than one huge battery catch fire.
As for the accident factor, you don't want "1000 pound of caustic metals and chemicals" but you'll think nothing of driving around with a tank full of liquid so volatile and flammable that it has enough energy to propel a car 400+ miles? Do you have any evidence or indication that being in an accident in an electric car poses any greater risk or hazard than being in an accident in a conventional car?
both of you have a point, I guess now all we can do is wait for people's feedback when they actually get their hands on one of those, and WOW, have you guys seen the car "TESLA MODEL S" ?, the exterior is fantastic, not to mention the GIANT touch screen inside.. Can't wait until they actually have stable electric cars
both of you have a point, I guess now all we can do is wait for people's feedback when they actually get their hands on one of those, and WOW, have you guys seen the car "TESLA MODEL S" ?, the exterior is fantastic, not to mention the GIANT touch screen inside.. Can't wait until they actually have stable electric cars
Well the feedback on the Tesla has been relatively positive so far. But keep in mind that this is a niche car. It sells for 90 grand and it's a two-seat sports car designed for recreational use. It is not really intended to be a substitute for a practical family/economy car.
That said, those trying to create practical family/economy electrics can still learn from the research and experiences of the likes of Tesla. New technologies rarely make it to the general consumer market without being "test-driven" by early adopters first.
Well the feedback on the Tesla has been relatively positive so far. But keep in mind that this is a niche car. It sells for 90 grand and it's a two-seat sports car designed for recreational use. It is not really intended to be a substitute for a practical family/economy car.
That said, those trying to create practical family/economy electrics can still learn from the research and experiences of the likes of Tesla. New technologies rarely make it to the general consumer market without being "test-driven" by early adopters first.
Good to research but mostly it is a technological dead end with batteries for all the reasons I listed above.
What is more "real world" and workable is hydrogen powered electric cars. That fixes most of the problems that battery powered ones have. Hydrogen fuel stations are a pain but there is more future in that technology.
Good to research but mostly it is a technological dead end with batteries for all the reasons I listed above.
What is more "real world" and workable is hydrogen powered electric cars. That fixes most of the problems that battery powered ones have. Hydrogen fuel stations are a pain but there is more future in that technology.
You apparently assume we've pushed battery technology nearly or actually as far as it will go. I don't. If the same amount of money put into the R&D of the ICE over the last 125 years (probably trillions) were put into battery technology instead, who knows where the technology would be today. It appears, for instance, that there's a breakthrough in two of the main obstacles to creating practical electric cars: charging times and battery capacity. Even better, it doesn't require any new, exotic materials; it simply requires reconfiguring the surface structure of one of the materials already used.
For better or worse, I expect to see electric cars become a significant portion of our vehicle fleet within our lifetimes. (Or at least within mine, I don't know how old you are.)
As for hydrogen, the only practical way to get it is from fossil fuels. Of course, much of the energy to power electric cars would also come from fossil fuels for the time being. Nonetheless, trying to crack hydrogen from water is incredibly energy-intensive and we'd be better off finding a more direct route to convert that energy into mechanical energy.
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