ukcanuck wrote:
BTW in all this talk about electric car batteries where is the talk about how long a petrol engine will last before it requires constant parts replacement. how long alternators, fuel pumps, starter motors, and car batteries last and need replacing?
electric motors have far fewer moving parts so should last comparatively indefinitely with only brushes and batteries being the weak point.
Very good point. Personally I will most definitely buy electric but only when they advnce the technology enough to be functional for everything i use a vehicle for. Dynamic braking and momentum generation will advance to thr point eventually where you likely wont be tethered to a plug every 500 km. I can see them one day not requiring external power except in unusual circumstances...this unfortunately is at least 10 years away
A car with no timing belt, no ignition, no fuel pump, no gear box, no engine oil... compared to a combustion engine, an electric engine hardly needs any maintenance at all, and there are far fewer things that could break down or go wrong. I just had to replace the clutch on our ten year old volvo v50, and f---, that's expensive.
I think I've seen some concept electric car with solar roof. It recharges while you're at the beach or wherever... Guess it can't generate as much energy as you use while driving, but it should help extend the range.
I agree that they still need some improvement before I switch to fully electric. My mother, my sister and my eldest daughter all live some 500 kms away, one to the north, one to the west, one to the south. Thus 500 km without recharging is a minimum requirement for me. But the way batteries have developed over the past few years, I'm confident that milestone will soon be reached. China is focusing on electric cars, not so much because of global warming, but because their air has become toxic and they need to stop polluting it in order to survive. Since they are now a bigger market for new car sales than North America, they will drag the whole auto industry with them.
Re: It's getting warm
Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2017 12:45 pm
by Cousin Strawberry
Topper wrote:the eternal motion machine
Absolutely. Spin wave generation is the future. This seems to be the way to finally generate energy without loss in as small or large of an application as needed. It would be the end of numerous industries mind you...cue doc and his conspiracy theories https://www.vasantcorporation.com/index.php
Re: It's getting warm
Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2017 1:10 pm
by Per
Btw, friendly advice; do not invest in a diesel driven vehicle.
They are already banned in Tokyo. In Oslo and Beijing they ban them on days when the air quality is particularly bad. Madrid, Paris, Athens and Mexico City have announced plans to ban diesel car and vans within city limits from 2025. Stuttgart is also considering a ban and London is expected to follow suit.
It seems this is a spreading trend, and the Supreme Leader Donald Trump, praised be his name, will - even if he can skirt impeachmeant and ignore the ban on a third term - not last forever, especially given his disdain for physical exercise, so sooner or later this will reach North America too. Or at least California.
Anyway, as an increasing number of cities ban diesels, their second hand value will drop. It's probably still s few years away, but should be taken into consideration if you are buying a car now, and might want to unload it say five years down the road.
Per wrote:Btw, friendly advice; do not invest in a diesel driven vehicle.
Anyway, as an increasing number of cities ban diesels, their second hand value will drop. It's probably still s few years away, but should be taken into consideration if you are buying a car now, and might want to unload it say five years down the road.
When the king of diesel Volkswagon is ditching it in favour of going electric & hybrids for the long term, it's a sign diesel is dead.
Volkswagen’s new investment plan for the next five years (through 2022) details a huge spending spree on electrification, in parallel to further improvements of combustion engines.
VW’s Chief Executive Matthias Mueller said:
“Even though modern combustion engines will be relevant for at least another 20 years, it is clear that the future will be ruled by electric drives,” Mueller said, citing a need to respond to “epochal changes” in industry.
“What’s at stake is to develop a future-proof drives portfolio as a basis for transforming the core autos business,” Mueller told an auto industry conference in Vienna.
How the hell is the Vancouver area going to get by without buses and even more: DUMP-TRUCKS ?
Re: It's getting warm
Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2017 1:27 pm
by SKYO
It's clear for basic transportation such as vehicles and small to midsize trucks, most manufactures will all eventually turn to electric and hybrids.
micky107 wrote:How the hell is the Vancouver area going to get by without buses and even more: DUMP-TRUCKS ?
True that.
Diesel will still power the big rigs for now, but it's also why to meet emission standards the world will turn to hybrids, biodiesel blend's, renewable diesel's for the big earth movers like dump trucks etc.
For long term planning for buses and heavy-duty trucks + machinery it will be Fuel Cell-Battery Hybrid Propulsion, powered by hydrogen.
Fuel Cell-Battery Hybridization Will Power the Heavy Duty Vehicles of Tomorrow.
There is no doubt that the future of public transit and goods distribution transportation is going to be zero emission.
Diesel engines, that power our buses and heavy duty trucks, will be replaced with other technologies that don’t spew toxic fumes from the tailpipe. The health cost savings alone justify the change - more about that subject another time.
The debate is now about which technology (or combination of technologies) will become the preferred propulsion system to power our buses and heavy duty transport vehicles through streets and across towns.
No doubt some will continue touting their euphoric vision of battery power as the number one choice. The reality is, battery power alone has serious issues when used in heavy duty applications such as bus or transport vehicles.
How about we put a light weight zero-emission power generating source onboard the vehicle?
This system could ensure the batteries are in a constant state of charge (improving their lifetime) while providing the power to the electric drive.
The reality is that this power source is available today and is being deployed in transit networks around the world.
It’s called a fuel cell and it uses hydrogen to create electricity.
With millions of miles in commercial service across the spectrum of road and geographic conditions, it is the super-engine of our future.
The best part? No recharging infrastructure needs to be built along the street or at route nodes. This hybrid fuel cell-battery combination equates to a 1:1 replacement for diesel power.
SKYO wrote:
Diesel will still power the big rigs for now, but it's also why to meet emission standards the world will turn to hybrids, biodiesel blend's, renewable diesel's for the big earth movers like dump trucks etc.
I imagine they'll go driverless before they go electric (but then there's room for a big solar panel on top).
Re: It's getting warm
Posted: Thu Jul 20, 2017 12:31 pm
by Per
micky107 wrote:How the hell is the Vancouver area going to get by without buses and even more: DUMP-TRUCKS ?
Of the 56 public transportation buses in Gävle, 15 run on biogas and the rest on hydrated vegetable oil, ie so-called bio-diesel.
Re: It's getting warm
Posted: Thu Jul 20, 2017 1:05 pm
by SKYO
Cornuck wrote:
SKYO wrote:
Diesel will still power the big rigs for now, but it's also why to meet emission standards the world will turn to hybrids, biodiesel blend's, renewable diesel's for the big earth movers like dump trucks etc.
I imagine they'll go driverless before they go electric (but then there's room for a big solar panel on top).
autonomous vehicles will be started by like google, amazon or uber at first, gotta start small before that goes global.
Re: It's getting warm
Posted: Thu Jul 20, 2017 1:36 pm
by Per
SKYO wrote:
Cornuck wrote:
SKYO wrote:
Diesel will still power the big rigs for now, but it's also why to meet emission standards the world will turn to hybrids, biodiesel blend's, renewable diesel's for the big earth movers like dump trucks etc.
I imagine they'll go driverless before they go electric (but then there's room for a big solar panel on top).
autonomous vehicles will be started by like google, amazon or uber at first, gotta start small before that goes global.
There's already lots of autonomous vehicles in mines and other industries. The problem before you releasethem out in the open is mainly legislation. If an autonomous car is involved in a crash, who is responsible? The people riding in it? The company that built it? The company that sold it? Those who built the road, assuming there was some feature there, like lines etc, that confused the vehicle? These things need to be sorted out first.
Within a fenced area, like a factory, a construction site or a mine it's easier.
Re: It's getting warm
Posted: Thu Jul 20, 2017 1:42 pm
by Cornuck
SKYO wrote:
Cornuck wrote:
I imagine they'll go driverless before they go electric (but then there's room for a big solar panel on top).
autonomous vehicles will be started by like google, amazon or uber at first, gotta start small before that goes global.
That's so last year....
They'll be moving fast on this - less wages to pay, less driver error, longer shifts for driving... too many benefits to slow it down.
Re: It's getting warm
Posted: Thu Jul 20, 2017 1:43 pm
by Mickey107
micky107 wrote:How the hell is the Vancouver area going to get by without buses and even more: DUMP-TRUCKS ?
Um, this was actually somewhat of a joke. I guess you have to live here to know what I mean.
Can't say more than that really.
Re: It's getting warm
Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2017 10:50 am
by Per
Houston, we have a problem.
Re: It's getting warm
Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2017 12:10 pm
by Mickey107
Was doing air-to-air photo missions of WW2 aircraft during their October Air Show in 1994.
Thursday, Friday, it was great. Saturday the wind and rain came. My God did it come.
There was really no warning.
Rare planes were ruined on the runways as the Houston airport is right by the shore.
I got out, barely.
This one is 3 to 4 times worse.
