Is the reign of the ICE ending?

[Highbeam]

It's also worth noting that a fully driverless truck is a very bad candidate for battery power: with no driver's hours restrictions it will never be in one place long enough to recharge.

You would just swap out the battery pack with a fully charged one.

 

[pdf27]

You would just swap out the battery pack with a fully charged one.

Only if you're something like a UPS truck with a relatively short route which ends back at a depot every day. That's a fairly small fraction of the total market in the US as I understand it - in theory if you came up with a strict standard that everyone adheres to then you could swap them out at truckstops and the like, but in reality governments are the only people with the power to impose such a standard and they aren't interested. All attempts to do this with cars have crashed and burned taking the companies involved with them, and the problem with trucks looks to be harder still.

 

[spirilis]

Just test-loaned a Leaf for 24hr this week. Love the car. Wife doesn't want us to buy yet, but I am considering putting "Plug-in Hybrid" a minimum constraint for our next car.

Also, 240V/40A circuit somewhere in the garage or on a post outside the house... assuming we stay in our house this year.

Random thought dump:
Elon Musk's new Boring company, (broken link removed to https://www.boringcompany.com/faq/)

Talking about loading cars onto "electric sleds" and shuffling them through tunnels at fast speeds using electricity -

• Eliminating hazardous emissions. Electric sleds are zero-emission vehicles, and thus do not output hazardous gases like internal combustion cars do. Every mile the sled transports a gas-burning vehicle becomes a zero-emission mile.

The problem here is what about the car's climate control/comfort? ICE cars use engine heat for heating (that might still work for a while) but engine for A/C too... I wonder if auto companies should consider adding J1772 ports to all ICE cars just for maintaining the lower-voltage DC busses for comfort control during these "electric sled" rides. Naturally, the electric sleds must provide a J1772 cable.

Electrification of ICE car accessories (A/C, P/S, etc) is already a thing from what I hear, and having a >=48V DC bus for doing rapid engine start-stop may be a thing soon (outside of hybrids), while the J1772 will support keeping all of those electrified things topped off, while serving as a charging point for BEV/PHEV's at the same time.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

I think the GM Bolt has made the Nissan leaf obsolete. Why would anyone settle for less than half the AER of the bolt plus the spotty record and battery degradation of the leaf battery. Unless the leaf was half the price.

 

[spirilis]

I thing the GM Bolt has made the Nissan leaf obsolete. Why would anyone settle for less than half the AER of the bolt plus the spotty record and battery degradation of the leaf battery. Unless the leaf was half the price.

The price seemed somewhat attractive but, I bet it will get even more attractive as the 2018's come out. Fire sale will sell those last 30kwh Leafs!

 

[begreen]

Locally Bolts and Volts are being advertised for $27,995 during a Memorial Day sale in which Chevrolet is kicking in some incentives. This is before the tax credit.

 

[jebatty]

Minnesota is not the best place to try to find a new Bolt or Leaf from a dealer.

 

[woodgeek]

Easily found a dealer with inventory selling new and used LEAFs in Minneapolis....are you saying that they are not motivated?

Bolts are not in nationwide delivery yet....they're only in the CARB states at this point. Should be nationwide by the end of the summer.

 

[spirilis]

Locally Bolts and Volts are being advertised for $27,995 during a Memorial Day sale in which Chevrolet is kicking in some incentives. This is before the tax credit.

Now a Bolt at that price range would be a slam dunk for me. Still $38K ish around here.

edit: Found one listed for $34.6K but not sure what incentives involved.

 

[ihookem]

Elelctric cars would be great in the cities. Less pollution, less noise too. I dont know why they are not selling in the big cities. It also seems that less will go wrong with them too. For people that pull double axle trailers with lumber and drywall to work, it won't work. There is no doubt we are going to have to redo a lot of electrical grid, power plants will be needed, natural gas will surely go up , hence the cost of heating our homes. I'm not sure that an electric car is going to be a cheaper lunch in the long run, even if the car itself goes down in price.

 

[begreen]

They are great in stop and go traffic in the city, or in our gridlocked highways and freeways going thru the cities.

 

[woodgeek]

Elelctric cars would be great in the cities. Less pollution, less noise too. I dont know why they are not selling in the big cities. It also seems that less will go wrong with them too. For people that pull double axle trailers with lumber and drywall to work, it won't work. There is no doubt we are going to have to redo a lot of electrical grid, power plants will be needed, natural gas will surely go up , hence the cost of heating our homes. I'm not sure that an electric car is going to be a cheaper lunch in the long run, even if the car itself goes down in price.

Hard to say....electrifying all US light transportation might need about 25-30% as much electric that the US currently generates. While this sounds like a lot, it will mostly be in off peak times (like night), so no new capacity would be needed.

As for nat gas prices....hmm. Dispatchable demand (in EVs) will facilitate more renewable energy on the grid, so gas demand might not go up marginally due to EVs. IF however, oil prices tank due to EV reduced demand, nat gas prices could rise due to reduced gas production. Most tight oil production produces gas as a byproduct....when tight oil plays out nat gas will get more expensive.

 

[Ashful]

Elelctric cars would be great in the cities. Less pollution, less noise too. I dont know why they are not selling in the big cities.

I know Philly might not represent every city, but I do travel, and it seems there has been a general move from the cities to the 'burbs that started with our parents, and has accelerated in my lifetime. When I spend an evening in the city, I notice block after block of 14 story buildings with the lower two floors taken by shops or restaurants, and the apartments which used to occupy the upper 12 floors vacant.

Now, am I the only one irritated you can't get a motor over 6 liters in a 1/2 ton pickup anymore? I'd be driving an SRT-10, if they still made it, but had to settle for the 5.7 liter Hemi, this time around.

 

[jatoxico]

Around here the twenty somethings are moving into the cities.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

Around here the twenty somethings are moving into the cities.

I want to live as far from the city as possible. Top reasons are: Traffic jams ,waiting in line, crowds,pollution,noise, high cost of living, crime, ect ,ect did i leave out lack of good firewood?

 

[jatoxico]

I'm with you but the urban living has its good points. First no car needed. They are using mass transit to work. Second all restaurants and entertainment is a short walk away. Best ex. right now is Brooklyn. Not for me but I can see the attraction.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

I'm with you but the urban living has its good points. First no car needed. They are using mass transit to work. Second all restaurants and entertainment is a short walk away. Best ex. right now is Brooklyn. Not for me but I can see the attraction.

It depends what you want to see looking out your windows and when you step out of the house. Steel ,asphalt and concrete ,or trees, sky and grass. I live in a small town but have some land in the country. Its so much easier on the eyes in the country ,both winter and summer. All the stress goes away the farther i get from the concrete.

 

[jatoxico]

Steel ,asphalt and concrete

Well a lot of these neighborhoods are really beautiful. Many are tree lined with great architecture etc.I just like my peace and quiet but younger folks enjoy the culture and action.

 

[sportbikerider78]

Elelctric cars would be great in the cities. Less pollution, less noise too. I dont know why they are not selling in the big cities. It also seems that less will go wrong with them too. For people that pull double axle trailers with lumber and drywall to work, it won't work. There is no doubt we are going to have to redo a lot of electrical grid, power plants will be needed, natural gas will surely go up , hence the cost of heating our homes. I'm not sure that an electric car is going to be a cheaper lunch in the long run, even if the car itself goes down in price.

Because rich people in cities have options. It costs a ton of money to park and own a car in a big city. If you can afford it, the odds are you want a nice SUV not a little electric car.

 

[spirilis]

It depends what you want to see looking out your windows and when you step out of the house. Steel ,asphalt and concrete ,or trees, sky and grass. I live in a small town but have some land in the country. Its so much easier on the eyes in the country ,both winter and summer. All the stress goes away the farther i get from the concrete.

My wife and I are having an argument about this right now. She wants the city, hates driving, hates being cooped up when we have a snowstorm (oh, all 2-3 times a year that happens)... I hate concrete jungles, she complains every time I use the phrase. Right now I'm saying, if we can move to the city and I see trees & greenery and a serviceably-sized permaculture garden outside my window when I wake up, I'll do it.

 

[woodgeek]

Because rich people in cities have options. It costs a ton of money to park and own a car in a big city. If you can afford it, the odds are you want a nice SUV not a little electric car.

Not that simple....my LEAF is not a mini-car...it seats 5 adults and a lot of cargo. Gas and car repair is also a PITA in the city, so a parking location with a charger would be great. Also, a lot of city people don't drive their cars very often...and then find the battery is dead, etc. The electric car has great 'standby'....it can sit for months and starts right up every time.

 

[begreen]

A lot of cities have single-family residential neighborhoods. Seattle has several and lots of EVs too.

 

[bholler]

Because rich people in cities have options. It costs a ton of money to park and own a car in a big city. If you can afford it, the odds are you want a nice SUV not a little electric car.

Well lots of people in the city are not rich and saving on fuel costs can hep. There are also lots of areas in every city where it does not cost any more to park or own a car than out of the city. I lived in philly for years and loved it the whole time. But I moved out to raise a family and because of cost of housing. My transportation costs were no different other than I used my car much less.

 

[Hasufel]

My wife and I are having an argument about this right now. She wants the city, hates driving, hates being cooped up when we have a snowstorm (oh, all 2-3 times a year that happens)... I hate concrete jungles, she complains every time I use the phrase. Right now I'm saying, if we can move to the city and I see trees & greenery and a serviceably-sized permaculture garden outside my window when I wake up, I'll do it.

I can take cities and actually enjoy them to some degree, but only in small doses. A friend in DC made me slightly jealous when she mentioned being able to walk across the street to Starbucks in the morning. The next day, I made myself a cup of coffee and stepped outside on a beautiful morning to split some firewood, with not a single person in sight. I realized then and there that I wasn't missing much!

That said, I do recognize that cities tend to be more energy efficient. I heard that NYC is the most energy efficient city per capita in the US, thanks to public transportation and the preponderance of high-rise buildings...

 

[Lloyd the redneck]

My wife and I are having an argument about this right now. She wants the city, hates driving, hates being cooped up when we have a snowstorm (oh, all 2-3 times a year that happens)... I hate concrete jungles, she complains every time I use the phrase. Right now I'm saying, if we can move to the city and I see trees & greenery and a serviceably-sized permaculture garden outside my window when I wake up, I'll do it.

I think you should move farther from town. After all it is about your happiness right?