The Times They Are A-Charging

[TMSBOSS]

Nice lines!!

If they ever invent a long range battery or one which can recharge in a short time, us country folks would take a look see......maybe.

 

[Grant 302]

Hrm...competition for Tesla?

Electric car start-up Faraday Future picks Nevada over California to build a $1-billion plant
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-faraday-nevada-20151210-story.html

 

[Fat Boss]

Hrm...competition for Tesla?

Electric car start-up Faraday Future picks Nevada over California to build a $1-billion plant
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-faraday-nevada-20151210-story.html

Tesla has them beat badly in Time to Market and Brand Recognition. Since Teslas are pretty much the highest rated car ever, how are they going to compete on anything other than cost? Cost is tough early in a product development cycle. We're getting kicked in the nuts pretty hard on cost right now on our semiconductor processing chamber. Full on fire drill for cost reduction on a half million dollar recycling bin. :

 

[byronj]

Tesla has them beat badly in Time to Market and Brand Recognition. Since Teslas are pretty much the highest rated car ever, how are they going to compete on anything other than cost? Cost is tough early in a product development cycle. We're getting kicked in the nuts pretty hard on cost right now on our semiconductor processing chamber. Full on fire drill for cost reduction on a half million dollar recycling bin. :

Tesla is good, but youth is progressive and Tesla will be required to step up their game. Its just progression in a new world. Preferably, I want to consume fossil fuels so the next generation can make changes.

 

[Grant 302]

Ooops:

http://artofgears.com/2016/01/01/tesla-model-s-burns-to-the-ground-at-norway-supercharger/

 

[VoodooBoss]

Yikes, I'm surprised we haven't seen more of that.

 

[Fat Boss]

How many gas powered cars burn up at gas stations daily? I bet the percentage is much higher.

 

[VoodooBoss]

How many gas powered cars burn up at gas stations daily? I bet the percentage is much higher.

You're probably right about that. They probably go boom too. ;D

 

[four-walling]

Yikes, I'm surprised we haven't seen more of that.

...probably had a hoverboard in the trunk...

 

[Grant 302]

How many gas powered cars burn up at gas stations daily? I bet the percentage is much higher.

I wouldn't make a bet of it. I doubt many burn to the ground during fueling. Might have been better odds when most engines were carbureted. Even a hundred such fires on 11+ billion fill-ups a year don't add up to much percentage wise.

The more I think about it, I think this one event made it a losing bet. And that's assuming every electric car making a remote charge every day in the year.

 

[Fat Boss]

I wouldn't make a bet of it. I doubt many burn to the ground during fueling. Might have been better odds when most engines were carbureted. Even a hundred such fires on 11+ billion fill-ups a year don't add up to much percentage wise.

The more I think about it, I think this one event made it a losing bet. And that's assuming every electric car making a remote charge every day in the year.

It's impossible to calculate without the data, but my guess the number of gas fires is closer to 100,000 than 100.

 

[TMSBOSS]

Not to throw gas on a cold fire but.........the statement was how many burned while refueling. ;D ;D.
Less than a 100 is likely accurate. Most fires when refueling are operator induced. Most likely cause is refueling fuel cans in the trunk, technically not a car refueling incident. Place the fuel can on the ground and it is well....grounded eliminating sparks. Leave in in the trunk or bed of a truck and the chance of a spark igniting the can are greater.

 

[four-walling]

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/daimler-unveil-long-distance-electric-220101904.html

Daimler to unveil long-distance electric car in October

By Ilona Wissenbach

FRANKFURT, June 11 (Reuters) - Germany's Daimler will lift the curtain on its much-anticipated long-distance electric car at the Paris Motor Show in October, as the automaker gears up to compete with Tesla Motors Inc's Model X sport-utility vehicle (SUV).

The company will display a prototype of an electric-powered Mercedes car with a 500-kilometre (310 miles) range, Chief Development Officer Thomas Weber said this week in Stuttgart at an event for journalists.

"The structure is ready, the teams are working and the initial results from road tests are coming in quick succession," he said.

Weber did not specify how soon the car would hit the road but said it would be sometime this decade.

Daimler and European rivals are stepping up investments in electric vehicles in order to meet new EU pollution targets and catch up with U.S. battery-car specialist Tesla. The German government has also announced subsidies for buyers of electric and other less polluting cars.

German competitor Volkswagen's subsidiaries Audi and Porsche have already unveiled long-distance electric prototypes, while BMW is working on one.

Weber also said Daimler would launch its fourth-generation electric Smart car at the end of the year in both two and four-seater variants.

Daimler currently offers two fully electric cars under its Smart and B-class models and a host of plug-in hybrids, powered by a combined battery and combustion engine. Further hybrid models are in the pipeline.

The company is aiming to sell more than 100,000 electric cars a year by the end of the decade, Weber said. He declined to provide the sales figure for 2015.

Daimler has also been working on fuel cell powered cars, which run on electricity generated by hydrogen. It initially planned to launch such a vehicle in 2014 but had to postpone, blaming pricing issues.

The fuel cell operated SUV GLC, likely to compete with Toyota's Mirai, is now expected to enter production next year.

($1 = 0.8847 euros) (Writing by Ashutosh Pandey; Editing by Tina Bellon and Mark Potter)

 

[Fat Boss]

The more the merrier. Looks like I'll be going full electric at some point. I'm buying a house with a fairly large solar system on it. 8)

 

[four-walling]

An EV does makes the most sense if you have a house with solar. On the other hand, most people are at work, with their electric vehicle, while the solar is operating. But, grid electricity is cheaper at night if you set your car to charge in the wee hours of the morning.

But, an EV is a non starter for me. I need a car that can drive from north county San Diego to Las Vegas and an EV won't make it.

It is not reasonable to ask the family in Vegas if they mind if I park the EV their garage at night so I can charge it, and by the way, "would you mind installing a high speed charger"?

 

[CrossBoss]

Re: The Times Are A-Changing

I live in a rural area, 35minutes to the next town. Dealers cannot give away the volts they are stuck with. Too expensive and too far to drag an extension cord when they run out of power.

Someday a electric car may have the range necessary satisfy a broader market. Until then, it's more of a novelty for all but city dwellers.

We have two 2016 Fusion energi's, plug in hybrids that we lease. They have both exceeded our expectations. We look forward to the next generation when we turn these in.

 

[four-walling]

The fact that BMW, Mercedes, Porsche and others are bringing pure electric vehicles to market kills Tesla's argument that electric cars can't be successfully pitched and sold on the same showroom floor as gasoline vehicles.

Who cares if the upstarts don't have a nationwide charging network?

Who wants to drive across the country?

Give me a ticket for an airplane, please.

Plus the new crop of EV manufacturers will have a superior dealer network compared to Tesla.

 

[Fat Boss]

An EV does makes the most sense if you have a house with solar. On the other hand, most people are at work, with their electric vehicle, while the solar is operating. But, grid electricity is cheaper at night if you set your car to charge in the wee hours of the morning.

But, an EV is a non starter for me. I need a car that can drive from north county San Diego to Las Vegas and an EV won't make it.

It is not reasonable to ask the family in Vegas if they mind if I park the EV their garage at night so I can charge it, and by the way, "would you mind installing a high speed charger"?

The times where my system will be most efficient are hot summer days when I'll have the AC on. I read up on PG&E and they will let you credit your account with KWH's until the end of the year. At that point they square up and it looks like they can/might/will buy the extra electricity back at 3 cents per KWH. At that rate I'll just consume that in the winter with space heaters.

I hear you on the EV not making it. That's part of the reason I'm buying the new house- need parking for more cars!

 

[coboss]

Speaking of electric/hybrids, I finally saw my first 2nd Generation Volt the other day. They just started selling them in Colorado even though they have been available in other parts of the country for a year.

What a huge disappointment. They made it a fastback hatchback, and the back seat might as well not even be there. They cut the roofline so low and forward that anyone over 5'10" hits their head on the hatch glass in the back. The low cut of the roofline makes it much more difficult to carry bulky item, too.

I just can't figure out how automotive designers lose sight of the overall purpose of their vehicles. Sure, the aero makes a difference on that car, but if they were going for max efficiency, the car would look like the original EV1. Instead, thy build a car that appeals to a buyer's practical side, then remove a large part of its practicality so that it "look good". Honda is the only company that seems to be capable of building a practical car that is actually practical. The Fit, the Odyssey, the Element, the Ridgeline, the Insight, all deliver on the practical aspects above the styling.

 

[Grant 302]

Some useful info for those considering leasing an EV:

http://ev-vin.blogspot.com