The cars and bikes thread!

[tribe125]

How are your ailments?

Diminishing by degrees, with a good way to go.

I’m up to three lengths of the house, with stick. Next week I’ll go for four.

After that, Kraków!

No, not really.

[geoffbot]

Good. Yeah, maybe avoid Europe for a while. We're safe, right?!

[Fantasio]

Easy for you to say. 1430 km of land border isn't something I'd choose, if given the option.

Yeah, maybe avoid Europe for a while. We're safe, right?!

[mlcor]

I love it. One of my wife's clients asked her to meet him half way to Ft Lauderdale (which is about two hours away) since he fears his EV cannot make it up and back in one charge (About 190 round trip). These are still five years or more away from being usable cars except for local commuters. It's not range anxiety, it's reality. These things are not baked yet no matter how much KoolAid you drink. Won't have one until they can still go 500 miles on a charge after they are three years old, or can charge from near dead to full in 10-15 minutes.

This makes as much sense as solar for the house which based on the quote I just got would cost $276 a month when my average electric bill is $139. Add that I don't need to replace it every 15 years in Florida or possible have to still buy electric from the electric company on bad whether days. This is only good for the guy selling the systems. This is also technology that is not quite baked IMO, but probably more along than electric vehicles.

I really don't understand the enthusiasm for EVs (other than the thrill of instant acceleration). They will solve the range issue soon enough, but I agree about the real issue being recharging time--even 10-15 minutes is an eternity compared to filling up a car with gas.

What no EV fan wants to talk about are the other issues, many of which negate the environmental benefits of EVs:

1. Mining for all the rare earth and other minerals needed to make the batteries (not to mention that almost complete monopolies for some of them exist in not-so-friendly countries).
2. Limited lifespan of batteries, limited recycling opportunities, and battery disposal issues.
3. Electricity used is very clean...unless it was generated by power plants using oil, natural gas, etc.

Once we solve those issues, then come talk to me. I have nothing against the hybrid approach (my AMG CLS53 is a mild hybrid) as a stopgap until we figure all this stuff out. Or until Back to the Future's "Mr. Fusion" is available.

Oh, also--has anyone noticed one unintended side effect of EVs? Namely, lots of drivers who used to own minivans and huge, slow SUVs suddenly finding themselves behind the wheels of vehicles with Ferrari-like acceleration, with no clue how to safely drive a vehicle that fast???

[geoffbot]

Easy for you to say. 1430 km of land border isn't something I'd choose, if given the option.

I'll have a spare room soon, pop over.

[Samanator]

I really don't understand the enthusiasm for EVs (other than the thrill of instant acceleration). They will solve the range issue soon enough, but I agree about the real issue being recharging time--even 10-15 minutes is an eternity compared to filling up a car with gas.

What no EV fan wants to talk about are the other issues, many of which negate the environmental benefits of EVs:

1. Mining for all the rare earth and other minerals needed to make the batteries (not to mention that almost complete monopolies for some of them exist in not-so-friendly countries).
2. Limited lifespan of batteries, limited recycling opportunities, and battery disposal issues.
3. Electricity used is very clean...unless it was generated by power plants using oil, natural gas, etc.

Once we solve those issues, then come talk to me. I have nothing against the hybrid approach (my AMG CLS53 is a mild hybrid) as a stopgap until we figure all this stuff out. Or until Back to the Future's "Mr. Fusion" is available.

Oh, also--has anyone noticed one unintended side effect of EVs? Namely, lots of drivers who used to own minivans and huge, slow SUVs suddenly finding themselves behind the wheels of vehicles with Ferrari-like acceleration, with no clue how to safely drive a vehicle that fast???

According to the supposed Carbon Foot Print Bible "How Bad are Bananas" EV from their production cycle and their life cycle have twice the Carbon Foot Print of a Petrol vehicle (Remember most electric is generated by Coal). This book has been out over 12 years and no one disputes the numbers. Add, for anyone with a EV in Central Florida your vehicle is powered by coal regardless of the large solar farms you see on 95 and other roads. They do not account for even a quarter of a % of the electric generated by Duke and FPL.

Then there is the cold weather issue which seriously cuts range.

Your point about the performance of the current EV is pretty much an excerpt of a conversation I had with some other people the other day. Totally agree. These things are ridiculous and probably this state is Tesla's fault? Who needs 3 second trucks that can only go 300 miles on a charge. More people would buy 6-7 second trucks that can go 600 miles on a charge. These are about the numbers on the average full size pickup today and each is the number one seller in their respective brand in the US. They should be able to easily fit enough batteries in pickup size vehicles to do this. Put some gears in these things and restrict the motors a bit so they use less electric (Porsche is the only one I am aware of that has used a two speed trans in a production EV). They do motor energy control in Digital AC motors to save electric so the tech exist. Not every brand has to be a Ferrari. Now a car that matches the acceleration of the average Civic and can go 700 miles on a charge at a $35K-$40K price will get people in EV. Knock the charge time to under 10 minutes and then you have a real alternative. Very few want to pay these prices to have beta test cars.

Also agree on the Hybrid thing. If Jeep had ready for sale Grand Cherokee L 4xE (plug in hybrid)version when I was buying my truck I would have bought this. With 40miles of pure electric range and the use of gas past that for up to 600 miles total range while having 7000 lbs tow capacity it would meet my needs. Most of my day to day could be done on pure electric (Coal) and there was no worry of range anxiety. It would actually save me money. This I would buy maybe in a few years when as they work out the kinks. Unfortunately Toyota did not build this type of hybrid yet for the new Tundra or I would have put my name in for that.

[Fantasio]

I tried last Friday, didn't work out.

I'll have a spare room soon, pop over.

[geoffbot]

I tried last Friday, didn't work out.

I know, I was half way to the airport to pick you up!

[geoffbot]

https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a3...d-carbon-body/

800bhp in such a light body. Wonder what the whole car weighs.

[Strela167]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/ca...ays-Which.html