The cars and bikes thread!

[happyscrappyheropup]

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.

It's complex, but EVs are improving.

https://www.reuters.com/business/aut...rs-2021-06-29/



Here's another good infographic showing when/where emissions are created and how an EV can be superior to ICE over it's lifetime. Its not perfect but EV tech is constantly improving.

https://www.wsj.com/graphics/are-ele...e-environment/

The cold can be an issue, but the adoption of EVs in countries like Norway, Iceland, and Sweden, show that it can be overcome.

[mlcor]

All interesting data, although it's still very dependent upon how you generate the electricity, which varies a lot by geography. Neither addresses the issue of disposal/recycling of spent batteries and the potential increase in prices that could occur in the future if things like lithium become scarce due to an exponential increase in demand and/or unavailability due to geopolitical issues. (See, for instance, possible issues with availability of palladium due to the war in Ukraine).

[happyscrappyheropup]

All interesting data, although it's still very dependent upon how you generate the electricity, which varies a lot by geography.

It is. It's worse in some areas and better in others.

With the average of the power sources in the US, the crossover point isn't very high for an EV to overtake ICE from a carbon footprint point of view, which addresses the issue with mining of raw materials and battery disposal. The comparison in the WSJ/University of Toronto data used an economy car that has a higher MPG than the average US car - the crossover point would be more favorable to the EV if they used trucks/SUVs or cars that were closer to the average US fuel economy of ~25MPG.

Neither addresses the issue of disposal/recycling of spent batteries

I think it is addressed by looking at the total carbon footprint, which both put in favor of the EV, even starting with a much larger carbon footprint due to mining/battery disposal. There's a longer payoff depending on several factors, but it is there.

and the potential increase in prices that could occur in the future if things like lithium become scarce due to an exponential increase in demand and/or unavailability due to geopolitical issues. (See, for instance, possible issues with availability of palladium due to the war in Ukraine).

Isn't that the case with fossil fuels, too? Germany gets 55% of their gas and oil from Russia - that's a significant disruption right now and it's not the first time we've seen significant disruptions in fossil fuel/oil availability for geopolitical issues in the US or Europe. Is it worse with raw materials for batteries? I don't know. What seems clear is that it's not an issue that's limited to EVs, it has an effect on fossil fuel derived energy costs and availability, too.

[mlcor]

All good rebuttal points. I do think the scarcity issue is worse for minerals relating to batteries than it is for gas/oil because from what I’ve read, unlike gas and oil, many of these minerals are concentrated in very few locations.

I’m just sort of glad I’ll be gone before we all run out of options other than bicycles and feet.


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[geoffbot]

My car is going back to the shop for a 'can't always get it into 1st gear' checkup. Google suggests a synchro mesh issue and apparently that probably means a brand new transmission... Glad I'm in warranty. I think I'll sell this thing before the warranty runs out in a couple of months - I can't be having potential 5 or 10k bills for stuff. I'd get a ferrari if I wanted that.

[tribe125]

As an antidote to the glamorous end of things, this place can be entertaining -

https://autoshite.com/

[geoffbot]

I thimk I've found my new grail car http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-deta...?atmobcid=soc3



I think I prefer it even to the emira. Hot damn.

[mlcor]

I thimk I've found my new grail car http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-deta...?atmobcid=soc3



I think I prefer it even to the emira. Hot damn.

I knew several folks that had Exiges (I had an Elise for many years). It's an incredibly fun car with absolutely no practicality at all. No trunk (the Elise at least had a tiny one that you could fit a couple of bags of groceries in, or a briefcase). No visibility out the back. And I don't mean limited, I mean zero--the top bits of the engine completely block the rear "window." Several owners I know actually added rear view cameras. In order to get in and out (especially with the fixed-top Exige), it is helpful if you're a member of the Cirque de Soleil. Also, if you have any loose fillings, you should avoid any severe bumps. The seats are one piece, form fitting and lightly padded, and only adjust fore and aft. If you don't like them, or their relative position to the wheel and pedals, you'll be unhappy. For me, I found them just fine (I'm average height and weight) even for 2-3 hour drives.

OTOH, more fun than a barrel of monkeys, especially on the track (if you have one handy). Handling and steering are far sharper than any other car I've ever driven or owned. My Elise was the best of both worlds--I had an aftermarket supercharger on it that took the horsepower up above what the Exige has, and made it so the second cam kicked in at 4000 rpm instead of 6000. So I had the power of the Exige with the (slightly) more comfortable ride and handling of the Elise, and some luggage space. Also, the Elise's top is removable, whereas the Exige's is designed to be fixed (although I know some owners who modded it so it could be removed).

They are incredible cars, although I wouldn't recommend it as your only car. But if it's a grail car, surely you'd have something more practical already.

I still miss mine sometimes...

[geoffbot]

2nd car then maybe

[Raza]

I knew several folks that had Exiges (I had an Elise for many years). It's an incredibly fun car with absolutely no practicality at all. No trunk (the Elise at least had a tiny one that you could fit a couple of bags of groceries in, or a briefcase). No visibility out the back. And I don't mean limited, I mean zero--the top bits of the engine completely block the rear "window." Several owners I know actually added rear view cameras. In order to get in and out (especially with the fixed-top Exige), it is helpful if you're a member of the Cirque de Soleil. Also, if you have any loose fillings, you should avoid any severe bumps. The seats are one piece, form fitting and lightly padded, and only adjust fore and aft. If you don't like them, or their relative position to the wheel and pedals, you'll be unhappy. For me, I found them just fine (I'm average height and weight) even for 2-3 hour drives.

OTOH, more fun than a barrel of monkeys, especially on the track (if you have one handy). Handling and steering are far sharper than any other car I've ever driven or owned. My Elise was the best of both worlds--I had an aftermarket supercharger on it that took the horsepower up above what the Exige has, and made it so the second cam kicked in at 4000 rpm instead of 6000. So I had the power of the Exige with the (slightly) more comfortable ride and handling of the Elise, and some luggage space. Also, the Elise's top is removable, whereas the Exige's is designed to be fixed (although I know some owners who modded it so it could be removed).

They are incredible cars, although I wouldn't recommend it as your only car. But if it's a grail car, surely you'd have something more practical already.

I still miss mine sometimes...

The Exige always struck me as a Cayman situation. It’s both too much and not enough at the same time. It’s not good as a road or sports car because it’s too extreme compared to the Elise, which is still the best car I’ve ever driven, and as a track only car, there are others that take it much further.