Battery based electric vehicles of today and tomorrow.

[Agvg]

Talked to a owner of several car dealers selling Mazda and Hyundai, he was painfully aware that revenue on service and repairs was a dying thing, on EVs it was selling tyres and brake jobs and of course some suspension jobs, not anything close to the drainage of people's wallet that ICE cars demand.

 

[DieselBound]

I always though supply and demand drives prices. If demand for crude is less because the majority of vehicles don't run on it, wouldn't it be cheaper? Seems some people in the thread have it backwards.

Not so fast. Economies of scale. Operating huge plants (well, even small ones!) at low output levels means cost per unit is going to be higher. As a plant operator/manufacturer if you KNOW that demand will more or less be permanently reduced (from whatever forces, be it a reduced interest in your product or via some legislated edict) you're going to look to scale back in a more permanent manner: if multiple manufacturers then some may look to try and hold higher output up in an effort to be the last man standing.

 

[DieselBound]

A lot of middle of the road EVs are on its way, if you not are pushing battery technology you can make a mediocre EV and it good enough for a large base of customers, problem comes to make money on them.

Or be big enough that when encountering major financial issues you can get bailed out from govt!

 

[DieselBound]

IC wise, my bugout choice would be small olde skool diesel... but I won't drift off there, except to say.......

The tough thing for electric high-density power is storability, and portability.... meaning off-board, but close-by.

Land Rover Defender Jerry Cans Accessories and Auxiliary Fuel Tanks | LR Parts

Exterior fuel-cans are for more than looking butch, driving to Starbuks.... though they get used for that too.....

I can easily carry enough extra fuel to traverse my Province, and it's not a small one.

Not just keyboard talking..... I take at least 40L of extra fuel with me, remote drives in Canada, during Summer, non-emergencies.
I do get that this practice is not "normal", but is one option that matters to me....

I (honestly) look fwd to the the day that EVs are that easy to backup....

Rgds, D.

I've recorded an 840 mile tank out of my TDI. I have a tank of diesel on-site that in case of emergency I'd use to fill up my cars. BUT... as has been noted, all is going to come to a screeching halt with a major disaster: those in more expensive vehicles, be they ICE or EV, are going to be sitting ducks (my cars don't look like targets). OH! And there's the issue of whether the roads are actually usable...

 

[DieselBound]

You apparently aren't familiar with newer vehicles that automatically shut the engine off when you release the accelerator pedal. No app is necessary. My hybrid does that.

Newer? My diesels stop fueling when the accelerator isn't pressed (and not idling): amount of fuel consumed at idle is piddly.

 

[Agvg]

Or be big enough that when encountering major financial issues you can get bailed out from govt!

Yes, and wanting the government to protect your business model from "unfair" competition when it comes to new technology is also not unheard of.

Adapt or die is the only way forward, I do belive car makers that are not to conservative will survive, as mentioned before it looks like VW and Mercedes-Benz are on the ball, going all in and throwing enormous amount of money in research and development. Tesla had a head start but other brands will compete fiercely and Tesla have had a lot of issues when it comes to fit and finish witch is a big problem if your going to take on Mercedes Benz and other premium brands.

 

[DieselBound]

Without upgrading the grid in major cities, where is the electrical capacity going to come from. I think that is going to be a hidden tax in the EV push. Cities will need huge inflows of capital investment to upgrade the grid. The BBB bill hid those subsidies in the form of charging stations, but the real money was going to companies that could upgrade infrastructure. The thing that will kill EV fast and hard is when people have to make a choice on what to spend their limited electric resources on; home use or transportation use.

EXACTLY! The poor folks stuck in crappy energy-inefficient rental units with high electrical rates because wealthier folks sucking up more electricity for transportation (rather than basic needs). I suppose that it's just the same as it ever was... My point here is that we're really good at wearing blinders. (I have no illusions that fossil fuels don't do the same [I am fairly aware of global affairs/realities]; the "we're going to save the planet driving our EVs" is a marketing story, it's not reality*.)

* Perpetual growth will crush any such notions.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

https://robbreport.com/motors/cars/thundertruck-ev-pickup-solar-panels-1234655254/

Seems like a lot of people are excited about trucks.

 

[DieselBound]

That is not a concern in the USA outside of CALIFORNIA. In KY it is 3 cents a mile in my case. It seems like some people are under the misunderstanding that ev's use a lot of electricity.

I'm at $0.05/mile with my car. I have no car payment and the insurance rate is low. It's fully depreciated.

 

[Hay Dude]

EXACTLY! The poor folks stuck in crappy energy-inefficient rental units with high electrical rates because wealthier folks sucking up more electricity for transportation (rather than basic needs). I suppose that it's just the same as it ever was... My point here is that we're really good at wearing blinders. (I have no illusions that fossil fuels don't do the same [I am fairly aware of global affairs/realities]; the "we're going to save the planet driving our EVs" is a marketing story, it's not reality*.)

* Perpetual growth will crush any such notions.

And those crappy rental units leave no opportunity for charging an EV. This is an inherent issue I have with the poor never being able to own EVs.
Rich people have no idea how many millions of people don’t have single family homes with driveways and garages. It’s discriminatory and there’s been no viable answer given.
That and the traffic jams caused by dead EVs.

Blinders indeed.