Electric Vehicles - Love 'em or Hate 'em?

[bobabode]

They are the future without any doubt. If our two ICE vehicles weren't at 50k on the odometer we'd be shopping for one.

[GChief]

Yes they are.

Look you finally drug me in.

[bobabode]

Originally Posted by GChief

Yes they are.

Look you finally drug me in.

Welcome GChief. Good to see you here.

[Not Insane]

Originally Posted by GChief

Yes they are.

Look you finally drug me in.

Same here.

Back in 1976 I raced large scale flat-track RC cars. It had been dominated by gas powered cars, but electrics were really catching on. I had an electric and loved it. I marvelled at how simple they were compared to the gas powered cars. Nothing to "start", nothing to really wear out except bearings, and I could swap out batteries between races or simply fast charge if there was at least 20 minutes to go.

I imagined electric cars were the future, and was quite excited about it. And when I bought my 2001 Chrysler 300M I honestly believed that would be the last ICE car I would probably own. This was solidified with the research I did on motors that reclaimed power when braking. If only an ICE engine could put gas BACK in the tank on the back side of a mountain pass.

Then reality set in. Don't get me wrong, I do believe that electric powered cars will eventually be the future, even if they are along the lines of how train engines work, But I'm not all that convinced "plug in" will ever catch on until we build a LOT more nuclear power plants.

I also think Battery tech needs to come up with a more environmentally friendly battery. I used to have high hopes for graphene based capacitors, and we may eventually see something like that. But ultimately I'm thinking in a 100 year time frame for electric power to really replace ice. And the electricity could come from anything from "plug in", to fuel cells, or even burning petrolium based products.

And how early one adapts it depends on their transportation needs. My daughter in a neighborhood fairly near Seattle's U-district. She has one toddler. I mentioned, when she said she was getting a new SUV, that she might want to look into a mini-van. Well, two weeks later she came home with a Chrysler Pacifica plug in hybrid. They LOVE that thing. Getting the child out with those sliding doors is a piece of cake compared to what all the other "soccer moms" she knows have to deal with. And they even "camped" in it when they went to a concert at the amphitheater near George, WA.

But one reason it is so good for her is that she lives in an urban environment. That car will go 35 miles on a charge, and the ICE engine is the same one as in the non-hybrid. And in her environment, an average trip is just a few miles. Theoretically, she could go weeks or months without the engine ever starting up.

But for people in the middle of Montana or even folks in the suburbs, it would be less advantageous. And regarding full plug in electric vehicles, outside urban areas, they could be a nice second car, or "dad's commuter car".

I just retired from the IT department of one of the major power companies. I can tell you that plug in only works because a small fraction of the population actually uses it. If a significant percentage of the population goes plug-in, either we'll have to drive a lot less - controlled by government taxes and regulations - or get used to brownouts and much higher electric rates.

Governments also need to figure out a way to tax them, since they're not getting it from the gas tax. It could become the "electric" version of dyed diesel. That is, road taxes are applied to electric car charging stations.

I think that, just as ICE became the norm, market factors and technology will eventually put us all in cars in which the final drive is electric.

[donquixote99]

Welcome to the clubhouse, GC!

[GChief]

Thanks!!!

I have been a long time lurker for the entertainment value.

[piece-itpete]

My late Dad, a civil engineer, used to say the concept of electric cars was great. So simple and robust, just put a motor on each wheel and if one breaks you still have three.

They are a bit more complicated than that it turns out!

If I sold my current 'good' car ('91 420sel) and it brought in enough I'd sure consider an older model S.

I also looked into converting my toy, an old Spitfire, to electric but there's no kit and I just don't have the will to do that custom work (assuming I could actually do it). Plus I read the diff doesn't hold up well to the extra torque .

No matter what when I run a new electrical line to the garage I'm going to way oversize it for future charging.

Here's a guy that dismantles cars. He's awesome. He's torn into many electric cars with good reviews. But check out how many coolant hoses the new 'Mustang' has - a tuneup nightmare!

https://youtu.be/C1dQtlrI7uU

And the future may still be hydrogen? Stay tuned

[donquixote99]

Originally Posted by piece-itpete

My late Dad, a civil engineer, used to say the concept of electric cars was great. So simple and robust, just put a motor on each wheel and if one breaks you still have three.

They are a bit more complicated than that it turns out!

If I sold my current 'good' car ('91 420sel) and it brought in enough I'd sure consider an older model S.

I also looked into converting my toy, an old Spitfire, to electric but there's no kit and I just don't have the will to do that custom work (assuming I could actually do it). Plus I read the diff doesn't hold up well to the extra torque .

No matter what when I run a new electrical line to the garage I'm going to way oversize it for future charging.

Here's a guy that dismantles cars. He's awesome. He's torn into many electric cars with good reviews. But check out how many coolant hoses the new 'Mustang' has - a tuneup nightmare!

https://youtu.be/C1dQtlrI7uU

And the future may still be hydrogen? Stay tuned

Fascinating. I guess the Ford guys didn't have time to make it better? Next generation, maybe.

[bobabode]

Originally Posted by piece-itpete

My late Dad, a civil engineer, used to say the concept of electric cars was great. So simple and robust, just put a motor on each wheel and if one breaks you still have three.

They are a bit more complicated than that it turns out!

If I sold my current 'good' car ('91 420sel) and it brought in enough I'd sure consider an older model S.

I also looked into converting my toy, an old Spitfire, to electric but there's no kit and I just don't have the will to do that custom work (assuming I could actually do it). Plus I read the diff doesn't hold up well to the extra torque .

No matter what when I run a new electrical line to the garage I'm going to way oversize it for future charging.

Here's a guy that dismantles cars. He's awesome. He's torn into many electric cars with good reviews. But check out how many coolant hoses the new 'Mustang' has - a tuneup nightmare!

https://youtu.be/C1dQtlrI7uU

And the future may still be hydrogen? Stay tuned

Now I've got a hankering Led Zepplin...Damn you!

[BlueStreak]

Originally Posted by piece-itpete

My late Dad, a civil engineer, used to say the concept of electric cars was great. So simple and robust, just put a motor on each wheel and if one breaks you still have three.

They are a bit more complicated than that it turns out!

If I sold my current 'good' car ('91 420sel) and it brought in enough I'd sure consider an older model S.

I also looked into converting my toy, an old Spitfire, to electric but there's no kit and I just don't have the will to do that custom work (assuming I could actually do it). Plus I read the diff doesn't hold up well to the extra torque .

No matter what when I run a new electrical line to the garage I'm going to way oversize it for future charging.

Here's a guy that dismantles cars. He's awesome. He's torn into many electric cars with good reviews. But check out how many coolant hoses the new 'Mustang' has - a tuneup nightmare!

https://youtu.be/C1dQtlrI7uU

And the future may still be hydrogen? Stay tuned

It may very well be. Haven't read up on it in a while but, the last time I did there were a number of concerns including the highly explosive nature of pure hydrogen. I agree that hydrogen would likely be the better way to go once the bugs are worked out.