S550 may be eliminated sooner rather then later...

[K4fxd]

The battery powered Electric car is a 'bridge' to proper fuel cells

Yes, fuel cells are the future. So the Gov should stop forcing battery power on us.

Let the car companies develop the real future technology instead of making them spend billions on battery tech.

It's like when they forced florescent lights on us when LED's were the proper tech.

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[Bulldog9]

Yes, fuel cells are the future. So the Gov should stop forcing battery power on us.

Let the car companies develop the real future technology instead of making them spend billions on battery tech.

It's like when they forced florescent lights on us when LED's were the proper tech.

They will still need the storage capability of the electric/battery even with fuel cells, or some other capacitive storage.

 

[shogun32]

I made over $6K TODAY alone and almost my annual salary the last 2 months.

unless you sold your position and went to cash, you didn't 'make' anything. Back when people made 'millions' in tulip bulbs too. Until they didn't.

At least you now can have the cash to put a supercharger on your new Bullitt or do something else with your purely speculative windfall.

But I am curious what about Tesla's SEC filings convinced you this was an investment opportunity. /joke

ed. yeah, yeah sour grapes and so forth.

 

[K4fxd]

The current fuel cell tech that I have read up on has no need for a battery.

Lost my links with my dead computer but should be able to google and find it.

 

[Adamone92]

The current fuel cell tech that I have read up on has no need for a battery.

Lost my links with my dead computer but should be able to google and find it.

solid oxide fuel cell?

if so..if I remember correctly, it can use various things for power. it can convert a higher percentage of fossil fuels energy into power than combustion based processes and can also use no-carbon fuels like hydrogen to generate power. It is also much cheaper to make, using nickel instead of expensive platinum like lithium batteries.

 

[shogun32]

solid oxide fuel cell?

they just need to call up NASA and get coke-bottle-sized containers of the Shuttle Booster fuel. strap it to the IRS hard-point and a doo-hicky to provide spark and light it off. Stop/Start city driving might be a challenge though.

 

[MaskedRacerX]

Welcome to the future where a 6 hour road trip now takes 9 because you have to charge twice.

I've been messing around with a couple of route planners. A fully charged TM3 Performance, starting here in St. Augustine, driving to our place in The Keys (Islamorada), ~400 miles, one 27 minute stop right at the halfway point, big charging station right in the middle of a bunch of great places for some food and bev. Total of 6h 53m including that stop (6:26 total drive time).

It's really dependent on where you're going. Our standard Universal Studios trip, no stops, chargers onsite (like at the Portofino). Our old trips we used to make to PA, not bad, but like 6 totals stops, where one is a full recharge, stayover.

We've had some places we've gone where charging logistics would've been a PITA, a nice VRBO in Savannah, across the street parking, no way to conveniently charge, so that's either a long stop before arriving, or a long stop right at the beginning of the return trip.

 

[shogun32]

Our standard Universal Studios trip, no stops, chargers onsite

so you're tying up a charger for the duration you're in the amusement park? That's not very helpful of your fellow EV'er. Or is there a concierge service that rotates cars on/off from the charging pool?

Or does the charger bill your CC at some enormous rate to make sure you come back to the parking lot and move your car expeditiously?

There's plenty of inconsiderate gas pumpers who think it's just ok to pump and then go into the convenient store to hit the head or buy snacks without moving their car out of the way, but the turn-over is so quick that the system doesn't break down over a couple of a-holes.

 

[MaskedRacerX]

I've been messing around with a couple of route planners. A fully charged TM3 Performance, starting here in St. Augustine, driving to our place in The Keys (Islamorada), ~400 miles, one 27 minute stop right at the halfway point, big charging station right in the middle of a bunch of great places for some food and bev. Total of 6h 53m including that stop (6:26 total drive time).

Oh, I hadn't looked at it since the final '21 model release with the newer battery updates and firmware, OK, so that's actually a 6:35 total trip, 6:11 driving with a 24 minute stop

so you're tying up a charger for the duration you're in the amusement park? That's not very helpful of your fellow EV'er. Or is there a concierge service that rotates cars on/off from the charging pool?

Or does the charger bill your CC at some enormous rate to make sure you come back to the parking lot and move your car expeditiously?

Hahaha, it's handled by the valet service, and the charging is included with parking (so no difference vs. a non-EV). You can actually make it round trip on a single charge, but I'd still probably want to drop on another 15-20% to CYA ...

 

[SVO MkII]

Exactly how many government incentives were available in the first part of the 20th century? Answer. None. So your hypothesis really doesn't hold any water. Our current Federal government spends billions in subsidies and incentives. Electric power is just one of thousands.


They are getting closer and closer everyday. And not just for the wealthy and woke. I'm interested in see what the Mach-E does. Forget the whole Mustang thing, I just want to see if it sells.

I'm not sure I follow your argument. Without govt subsidies, products and technologies must compete for consumer dollars on a level playing field. Had the govt decided to subsidize stable owners, or blacksmiths, it would have hampered (not necessarily stopped) the adoption of the automobile. When the govt subsidizes anything, it subverts the forces of the free market that allocate capitol efficiently. (Google "Adam Smith", or "Milton Freidman").

Yes, of course they're getting closer, and some of that progress has been subsidized by tax payers (e.g., Tesla). My point is that electric cars are not yet economically viable for the masses. You can buy a new Nissan Versa for less than $15K, and drive it anywhere on the continent, for as long as you want. A Nissan Leaf starts at $35K and has limitations on it's use. It's not good value, especially for a lot of people who can only afford one car.

I welcome the day when electric cars offer the same value proposition as internal combustion cars, on their own merit. It will come...just not here yet.

 

[Norm Peterson]

For our most likely long distance drive, which would be Charleston, SC to the Scranton, PA area, the distance is about 760 miles. <snip> Tesla's website has a route calculator that allows you to enter a starting point and a destination, and it will automatically calculate the optimal route that places Superchargers along it, and even tells you how long you'll need to spend at each.

For me, a gas stop isn't 5 minutes, it's at least 20, sometimes 30, as I have to get the kid to the bathroom, the wife needs to go, we need to get food and drinks, and I need to walk the dog. Tesla's website has me stopping in Fayetteville, NC, for 15 minutes, Rocky Mount, NC, for 35 minutes, Glen Allen, VA, for 50 minutes, and Gettysburg, PA, for 40 minutes.

I'd hate to have to add that kind of planning, and then feel like I'm locked into it the whole time. Too many of our trips have had a little sparkle added to them by an unplanned detour or the choice to take the road less traveled. As described, Tesla's travel model lacks that sort of spontaneity, those on-the-fly decisions to take a different road that eventually ends up rejoining the original route. No big deal if I have to crack open the atlas, which might have been the inspiration to get off the original road in the first place.

For us, gas stops rarely take more than about 10 minutes, including potty break time. The kids are 40+, and there's no dog, so we're not bringing along any built-in delays.


Norm

 

[K4fxd]

One of my golfing buddies has a Tesla. He says it is great for commuting to work and back. If he plays with it the battery drops like a Hemi roadrunner with the dual 4bbl at WOT. Supposed to get 300 miles a charge, he gets about 200. If he stomps on it, it drops to 100 mi fast. There is a drag strip about 30 miles from him. We took it and got 3, 1/4 mile passes before he was afraid we wouldn't make it back home.

I laugh at the EV Hummer. Supposed to have 1000 HP and be off road friendly. 1000 HP is around 750 Kw. I don't think that hummer will deliver that amount of power for more than a few seconds before draining the battery.

But yep, EV's are the future

 

[shogun32]

But yep, EV's are the future

But a gov't apparatchik who failed Physics 101 (if they took any science, logic/reason, or math courses at all) said so. They wouldn't ever lie or mislead the public now would they? I have photo proof that when elected to public office, tongues of the fire came down from the heavens and anointed them with knowledge far beyond what us mere mortals gleaned from studying the incoherent scribbles of scientists of generations past.

Worship your gods, people. They said so. So it must be. I think the Medes and Persians had a cute turn of phrase for this. Pity we don't sacrifice these people in pits of fire to appease Mother Earth so our greenhouse emissions won't flood the coastlines. I'm pretty sure those virgin sacrifices into volcanos worked really well. I don't understand why we quit doing it...

 

[WildHorse]

This whole thread is a joke. ICE vehicles will be around for a long long time to come. Electric vehicles only count for 2% of global sales, projections are 30-40% in 30 years. IF FORD wants to go all electric tomorrow, that's fine. They are still required to make replacement part for our ICE vehicles for 15 years iirc. That's all I care about.

 

[K4fxd]

The coyote is not going away. I just found out yesterday the 2021 F150 is going to have the 5.0 with MDS. Ford wouldn't develop this tech if the engine was going away anytime soon.

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