Electric cars head toward another dead end

Feb 06, 2013 Last reply: 13 years ago 52 Replies

The F-150 isn't economically viable for the majority of Americans. They sell a lot of F-150's. The Volt isn't an "electric car." It's a plug-in hybrid.

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This is going to take a some time to respond to all of your post so I will respond in pieces as time permits.

I was responding directly to his statements

1) "he believes fuel-cell vehicles hold far more promise than battery electric cars." 2) "Because of its shortcomings ? driving range, cost and recharging time the electric vehicle is not a viable replacement for most conventional cars,"

As I read his statement I believe it to be about EV's not Hybrids.

I also wonder what the "total" environmental impact of manufacturing the cars, producing electricity for, as well as disposal after the battery and/or cars reach the end of their serviceable life.

Every rechargeable battery has a finite charge cycle and loses capacity on each recharge. What's the impact of deep discharge vs. partial discharge, etc., etc. As battery packs get used up are they still Hybrid's or just gas cars carrying an unusable battery pack?

Tom

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The Volt is an amazing technical achievement and should be far more popular than it is. One reason it isn't is that society is trending towards what I'll politely call the short attention span mentality. The afflicted prefer things that don't require any effort to understand. The Volt is the opposite. I was explaining to someone that it only has a 10 gallon gas tank and he said that was obviously too small, his car has 16, yada yada. GM's main mistake may turn out to be overestimating the intelligence of the market.

Nitrogen as a fuel for a fuel cell would be quite the trick. Liquid nitrogen as an energy stoage medium for a thewrmal expasion engine is a totally different system

You're nuts. If they're economically viable, then why don't the majority of Americans own them? Because they want no part of a pick-up truck. The majority of Americans aren't '"cargo haulers." And pick-ups aren't that "popular" either. Very small part of vehicle sales, though they sell well because businesses, farmers and tradesmen find them useful or essential. I've had pick-ups and full size vans. Hauled stuff with them too. But whenever I moved I rented a 20' box truck. Made the pick-up look like a tinker toy. I've had a lot of stuff hauled since I had pick-ups and vans. Free delivery or a 10-50 buck charge. Most of that can be avoided by loading into the back seat of mid-size sedan or tying it on the roof. Doesn't add up to a hill of beans compared to +$30k for a decent new pick-up. But if you want a pick-up, go for it.

This is a car tech group. I stick mostly to that. You're a political monkey. Here's my last words to you. Go f*ck yourself.

I look forward to when people will shovel coal from Kentucky into cars, and will never see a gas station again.

Around here the majority of suburban homeowners DO have pickup trucks parked out front and use them to haul the construction, lawn and garden supplies that would mess up the wife's SUV. Do you live in a neighborhood where no one dirties their hands with their own maintenance?

Actually, most do use lawn services, and I'm an exception. Hardly any pick-ups around this suburb, except tradesmen. Plenty of SUV's. But I have no problem putting 500 lbs of topsoil in my car trunk. Done it more than once. Same with pavers, concrete blocks, etc. Also tied plenty of stuff to the roof, including 4x8's. Never hurt the car, or dirtied it that a vacuum wouldn't fix. But that's all pretty infrequent. Every time I've had appliances or furniture delivered it was free. I paid HD to deliver a pallet of pavers once, and paid them to deliver a couple 24' 2x10's once. A half ton pick-up wouldn't have handled the pallet, and no pick-up the 24's any better than my car. Think the HD delivery charge was 50 bucks each time. Just don't need a pick-up. Doesn't make financial sense. Other may see it differently.

Your choice of gutter language does not support your claim to be a professional anything.

Christopher A. Young Learn more about Jesus

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And I'm a Professional Engineer. Bikes are fun to ride and to mess with in the garage.

The difference between a generator and a car is the generator runs at steady speed and relatively steady load, while a car does a lot of accelerating and decellerating and climbing hills etc - and needs to have almost instantaneous response.

Good advice that it appears bonkers has been dedicated to for quite some time. Although he does have a linkedin group apparently, and we all know how difficult those are to set up and finance.

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I sent that link to my aunty because she likes to discuss pie baking. Hopefully her friends won't treat her invites to join the same as I do all my linkedin horseshit spam.

Anyway if linkedin blogs could run on "bumps" and self promotion then bonker's could have made it to Mars and back by now.

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MOST pickup trucks are personal vehicles that virtually never carry a load - just like MOST 4X4 "off road" or "trail rated" vehicles never go off-road.

Linkedin membership is just the new hightech way to broadcast to everyone "Hi everybody!!!. I'm a looser and just got fired _ I'm looking for some sucker to hire me!!!"

Around here the majority of folks have huge full-size pickup trucks which they use to drive to work with an empty bed, because having pickup trucks is cool and fashionable and a statement. Most of these people would be horrified at the thought of actually hauling something in them and possibly scratching the finish.

--scott

Yeah but it doesn't seem to have worked for him. Unless bonker found someone to pay him to write "bump" a lot, he appears to remain unemployed and unemployable. Maybe he should try a different high tech broadcasting system next time. Batten down the hatches famville, bonker needs a new manure spreader.

Nobody said iut was an EFFECTIVE way to actually find a job - but about 90% of the requests to join LinkedIn that I have recieved have come from those who have either last their job or were very dis-satisfied with the job they still held.

I bought my ranger - 16 years old and 307,000km on the clock, and it had NEVER carried a load more than a few bags of salt or topsoil. First week I had it I hauled 200 sq feet of half rotted cedar 2X6 to the dump.

A majority of the "pick-em-up" trucks I see on the road these days, you would need a step ladder to get anything over the side and into the box.

Only one of the three groups you are posting to is about cars.

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