Tesla: ‘There’s almost no reason to have a gas car’
 

I know two people now who own Teslas, and the more the tech improves, the more they will catch on. Right now the recharge rate is the only real drawback, and that only affects you on long trips.

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/06/jay-...he-future.html

The once reliable diesels have been so messed up by gov't intervention now that once they become older and super expensive to maintain it makes electric sound mighty attractive in a tractor trailer. :03:

...but then your hybrid escort vehicle gets a !HEV warning and you think maybe things could become worse. :hmmm:

So the charging seems to have improve

what about temperature and capacity ?

Temp:

A few years back I saw on a Danish science program how they tested an electric car in summertime and wintertime and the performans between summer and winter was huge.

Capacity- Even here the temp had an impact on the capacity.

(I could of course have remembered it wrong)

Markus

The biggest advantage of electric I've heard and seen in various news and other reports has to do more with performance than anything else; there seems to be an almost universal expression of impression with the almost instant engagement of the electric drive train versus the 'build-up' acceleration of gas engines. Regarding issues with temperature, climate, etc., the same sort of issues are seen in gas and diesel vehicles and may be more easily overcome in electrics than other vehicle types; recharging has also gotten a bit easier with charging stations multiplying in number and accessibility; shopping malls, recreational areas and other similar sorts of public areas have been installing charging stations in their parking lots and they are remarkably convenient: you just pull up into a charger parking space as you would any other parking space, plug in, and go about your business:


https://mblogthumb-phinf.pstatic.net....jpg?type=w800


A local mega-shopping center has installed a slew of units similar to the above and they are being well used...


What will be interesting to se is the development of other fuel sources; here in CA, there has been a statewide effort to make hydrogen fuel refill stations available; and there are interesting steps forward being taken in fuel cell technologies...








<O>

Am I correct in presuming there is a cost to use a charging bay?

I saw some free charging stations in the cell phone lot at TPA.

I wished I could afford two vehicles


I would love to have an electric for my daily work commute and then have my ICE for the weekends and vacations


I wonder how feasible it would be to have one vehicle that does both?

Unintended pun?...



(or, knowing you, intended?...)...










<O>

Ford enters the arena, not bad although count me as one of the questioners of using the Mustang name for a car that's clearly not a Mustang. Marketing I guess.

https://www.theverge.com/2019/11/18/...auto-show-2019

And not impressed with the dash/tablet arrangement; looks slapped together, when it should be integrated into the cabin.

But it is another step away from ICE cars, and can't hurt.

Two, three weeks ago I saw a documetnation on the state of things, and they said in it that while int he wets everybody goes crazy abiut battery-run cars while ignoring the tremendous and extrenly costly infrastructure problem, in many Asian countries incolduing Japan and China, the yhave a very different attitude. In Japan th welcoming of electric cars is coo, only, and in China it is below expctaction as well. The real differen ic that in japan they still are not on the batter ytrain, but push development in two way, regarding hydrogen as well, which is more popular in japan than anywhere else. It avoid allt he priblem s with needing to establish the loading infrastructure, and creharging times. In China the quality was too bad so far, and the government set up a prigrma to have that quality level raised. Still, the media reprts we have in the West that the Chiense go electric like crazy, seem to be propaganda so far.



Sounds to me as if the Asians have a far more sober and realistic approach to electric cars. Especially the Japanese calmness I ike.



Personally I would prefer hydrogen-run cars. I know cretaing hydrogene is mor energy-intensive, but so far I still wait for somebody showing REALISTIC calculations how to establish the needed infrastructure without making it an extremely costly enterprise for the private households owning property and beign forced to pay for the construction. The new laws they mull in Germany will force property owners to pay for it, in case of the six-flats-house where I have my appartment, it would cost 30 to 40 tousand coins to provide the six garages with charging terminals. And subisdies by the state? Dont make me laugh the state get the koeny for these subsidies from taxes, so they would be OUR money that was stolen from us before.



The way it gets pushed her ein the west, I still rate it as hysterical actionism by politicians wanting to please Fridays for Future. To have a shaky greta coaltion in office that at the last election was vouted out and should nto even exist, doe snto make me more optmistic for the forseeable future of a realstric electricity-driven car program. There is no other country in the world - NONE - that tries as desperately as Germany to cripple the one vital key industry it has and on which all national wealth and wellfare depends. The e-cars offered by Germna car makers, are an alarm signal to me. They are extremely expensive and belong to the medium and upper luxury sehment, with the decisive small-cars-sgment beign dominated by Asian car amkers since long, they do the small cars much better by now than the Germans. And still the Germans have nothign better to do than to spank and torture the one industry of theirs that keeps the German ship floating.



Surreal. Unreal. Anti-real.


Tesla wants to build a gigafactory near Berlin, so says Musk. Of course with enormous tax subsidies by the germans. Tesla also builds batteries, a field where the German car makers lag behind, and depend on subcontractors supplying them with batteries. VW just has annoucned to cisnider to mayb estart building it sown batteries. They would be the first german car maker. That is strange when saying at the same time one wants to play at the top.



Teslas are too expensive. The European and German e-cars usually are too expensive as well. The decisive segment are affordable, s all cars, and I think it will be the Asians winnign that race: Japan, India, China, Korea. For small cars, Asian brands would be my first choice since years.

I think the future will be a mix of electric and hydrogen. Electric for small city vehicles, not jus6t cars but also bikes etc (Many times shared or rented) that can easily recharge on a normal plug, and then hydrogen for family vehciles for trips etc. Anybody who lives less than 40 kms away from work in a single house or condo doesn't really have much problems to recharge daily an electric vehicle for commuting. Statistics show that is the biggest share of vehicles moving around. Then the hydrogen solves all the rest of problems for longer distances.

I believe we will see the electrics start in cities/commuting and then the hydrogen ones replace the diesel/gas ones slowly.


But, isn't that logical when you consider competition in the lower segment is dominated by sell price and thus low wages and running costs as in most of Asia? I mean, the same applies today to diesel/gas vehicles, where Germany sells quality and more efficient engines in the premium sector. Germany can't win the low cost race, it needs to sell premium vehicles, so I think that part of the idea is OK. The part that becomes problematic, however, is when you realize an electric engine is terribly simple and most can do an efficient one, there is not a lot to gain there, so what can Germany add there? Basically nothing but the badge, unless they drop the millions in better batteries which could net them more benefits.

Yes, its about fincial affordability, and car quality. German car makers still are associated with superior quality. But in the small car segment, the Asians are better - not just cheaper, but also better. And since the medium price and size segment becomes more and more unaffordable for the ordinary employee, car sales in the smaller size segmet goes up. Luxury cars are just for the very wealthy, and companies leasing them for their business fleet. German brands still oput hjigh empohasis on the medium and high price segment, but the fight for e-mobility I expect to be decided in the small car segment.

Which may also mean the need for loing rnage mediuum and big sized cars will fall. Families may not find it affordable to have a battery car for city traffic, and a hydrogen car for holiday travelling.

Personally, I am a happy user of an e-bicycle, and have no car at all. I have not driven a car since 30 years, I never needed to own a car. :) I I now would need to buy a car for whatever a reaosn, I honestlky do not know what to do. An all-e-car I would refuse to buy, so probably a small hybrid car, if there are hybrids in the small car segment, I do not know. Else a small gasoline car, probably a Korean or Japanese. The asking prices for small size German cars imo are not justified.

I don't think many people will have two cars, electric and hydrogen, it is likely that hydrogen ones will just be rented for holidays or weekends. And probably also the small electric ones, in fact the automobile is headed mostly for car sharing apps and rental. Big fleets of rental/shared electric vehicles in the city, where you could not care less about what badge they have, that is the future.

One important part of this is is IMO how the automobile has changed in popular culture. From being a sign of individuality and freedom, to becoming mostly just a tool that gives you an utility. There is also of course the radical left environmentalist inquisition around, happy to point at such mid class freedom dreams as toxic and damaging for the wellness of society. But overall I see millenials and younger people have, save for some exceptions, a quite different perception of the automobile, not different than what they see in a fridge or washing machine. No wonder motorsports are declining big time, popular culture has already moved away from all the automobile once meant.