The cars and bikes thread!

[geoffbot]

45 isn't that many considering the number of units sold (Over 300,000).

[Raza]

45 isn't that many considering the number of units sold (Over 300,000).

Certainly enough to be indicative of a design flaw.

Let's make some BIG assumptions here.

Let's say GM's ignition switch failure which caused 124 deaths caused them in 124 discrete accidents caused by the ignition switch failure. There was a 2.7m car recall.

That's 0.00046% failure rate to recall number.

Compare 45 Tesla infernos to 300,000 sold, that's 0.015%.

GM also paid out an estimated $2.5b in settlements and penalties.

Of course, that's a lot of BIG assumptions. There were probably far more ignition switch failures than there were fatalities.

[Samanator]

Certainly enough to be indicative of a design flaw.

Let's make some BIG assumptions here.

Let's say GM's ignition switch failure which caused 124 deaths caused them in 124 discrete accidents caused by the ignition switch failure. There was a 2.7m car recall.

That's 0.00046% failure rate to recall number.

Compare 45 Tesla infernos to 300,000 sold, that's 0.015%.

GM also paid out an estimated $2.5b in settlements and penalties.

Of course, that's a lot of BIG assumptions. There were probably far more ignition switch failures than there were fatalities.

The more scary thing is their questionable financials. They may not exist by this time next year.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/techn...=.65f33c55b942

[happyscrappyheropup]

Since we're discussing Tesla...

https://electrek.co/2019/03/01/tesla...autopilot/amp/

-- Wayne

[93EXCivic]

The more scary thing is their questionable financials. They may not exist by this time next year.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/techn...=.65f33c55b942

Musk companies are a questionable at best. I know some people at NASA that have said the safety standards of SpaceX are pretty crap.

The model 3 to me has massive design flaws from a safety point of view.

I think electrical cars are going to be the main cars going forward but I question Tesla as that driving force.

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[mlcor]

Until electric power is generated primarily by renewable sources, I don’t get why electric cars are any better environmentally. And until you can fill up as quickly and conveniently as you can with gas, I don’t see that it’s practical over here outside of urban use.

Which isn’t to say that instantaneous torque isn’t fun...


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[Raza]

Until electric power is generated primarily by renewable sources, I don’t get why electric cars are any better environmentally. And until you can fill up as quickly and conveniently as you can with gas, I don’t see that it’s practical over here outside of urban use.

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I agree completely.

This should be the future, but with this electric car distraction, I fear we're going to go too far down the rabbit hole of resource usage, resource allocation, and infrastructure investment to devote real resources to this:

https://www.audi-mediacenter.com/en/...ng-tested-9912

Clean, renewable gasoline with 80% less CO2 emissions and no changes to infrastructure, no environmentally harmful mining required unlike for batteries, no burning to death because you hit a rock, and the material is still in its infancy. I first heard about it in 2015 and despite the fact that it could literally save the world, it's gotten no major press.

[geoffbot]

Until electric power is generated primarily by renewable sources, I don’t get why electric cars are any better environmentally. And until you can fill up as quickly and conveniently as you can with gas, I don’t see that it’s practical over here outside of urban use.

Which isn’t to say that instantaneous torque isn’t fun...


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Because they don't pollute the most populated, urban, areas?

[mlcor]

Because they don't pollute the most populated, urban, areas?

No, because you don’t have the range/recharging issue if you’re just running around town. My other objections still apply.


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[FuzzyB]

I agree completely.

This should be the future, but with this electric car distraction, I fear we're going to go too far down the rabbit hole of resource usage, resource allocation, and infrastructure investment to devote real resources to this:

https://www.audi-mediacenter.com/en/...ng-tested-9912

Clean, renewable gasoline with 80% less CO2 emissions and no changes to infrastructure, no environmentally harmful mining required unlike for batteries, no burning to death because you hit a rock, and the material is still in its infancy. I first heard about it in 2015 and despite the fact that it could literally save the world, it's gotten no major press.

Interesting, but the biggest issue with something like this is going to be scale-up. From the article:

...the largest batch of e-gasoline ever produced – 60 liters (15.9 US gal) – has been achieved.

What is likely a ton of money and years of research has resulted in...one tank of gas. Logistically, the manufacturing plants required for such a fuel would be mind-boggling. I read an article recently about an oilfield in Texas that was pumping several million barrels of crude a day. What size chemical plant would be required to match the output of that one oilfield?

Alternative energy (sun, wind, water) can be produced in so many places. We bought a plug-in hybrid a few months back and when running errands locally, we are able to run on battery power alone. The electricity at our house is sourced entirely from wind and solar.

There is no perfect solution. Batteries have a higher environmental impact at the beginning and end. Gasoline has a steady impact. Even a synthetic gasoline as described in that article would have significant environmental costs in the growth/harvesting/processing of the biomass and chemical conversion and distribution, and even with decreased emissions, it would still have an impact during use.