Automotive gaskets - machined with extremely high tolerances?

[Shockwave]

Electric is great for a number of reasons, including a flat torque curve. We're still at the beginning and battery technology will only improve going forward.

Yes, but were decaded if not centuries from them being a viable alternative.. right now they only go like 50-100 miles on a charge,  are tiny in general, have to charge overnight, and there is no infastructure in place to support (I.E. charging stations).

The fact that you cant roll up and 'fill up the battery' pretty much makes them worthless to anyone but those people who barely drive.


Add in the roadblocks that the oil companies are goinf to put into place... and the possible backlash against green energy when people start to get fed up with skyrocketing energy prices... and im not sure how long it would take.

[wes]

Ass Gasket Of Peace

[rotaryfan]

Yes, but were decaded if not centuries from them being a viable alternative.. right now they only go like 50-100 miles on a charge,  are tiny in general, have to charge overnight, and there is no infastructure in place to support (I.E. charging stations).

The fact that you cant roll up and 'fill up the battery' pretty much makes them worthless to anyone but those people who barely drive.


Add in the roadblocks that the oil companies are goinf to put into place... and the possible backlash against green energy when people start to get fed up with skyrocketing energy prices... and im not sure how long it would take.

The only way that the electric car will succeed long term is to move to rechargeable battery stations, where a standard type of battery is used for every vehicle. You would drive up, lift the battery out and put it on a charger, and a fresh battery dropped into your car. There is no infrastructure for that in place right now and it would take decades to get that going across the country. Parking a car and not being able to drive for 8 hours while it recharges is ridiculous and doesnt fit into anyones fast-paced lifestyle. I dont want to get home from work and have to wait 8 hours to get to the gym.

Gas is now $1.55.9/L here. About $5.92 a gallon. It cant be much longer before everyone just says "fuck oil companies, im walking everywhere". Having to spend $300.00 a month in fuel for normal amount of driving it outrageous, not to mention people who drive for work or long haul truckers.

Oil rant of Peace

[MAXX]

The only way that the electric car will succeed long term is to move to rechargeable battery stations, where a standard type of battery is used for every vehicle. You would drive up, lift the battery out and put it on a charger, and a fresh battery dropped into your car. There is no infrastructure for that in place right now and it would take decades to get that going across the country. Parking a car and not being able to drive for 8 hours while it recharges is ridiculous and doesnt fit into anyones fast-paced lifestyle. I dont want to get home from work and have to wait 8 hours to get to the gym.

Gas is now $1.55.9/L here. About $5.92 a gallon. It cant be much longer before everyone just says "fuck oil companies, im walking everywhere". Having to spend $300.00 a month in fuel for normal amount of driving it outrageous, not to mention people who drive for work or long haul truckers.

Oil rant of Peace

there are highvoltage chargers that can charge your battery full in 30 minutes today.

in the future batteries can probably take higher voltage so 10 minutes or so for full charge not impossible imo

[Mr Nobody]

there are highvoltage chargers that can charge your battery full in 30 minutes today.

in the future batteries can probably take higher voltage so 10 minutes or so for full charge not impossible imo

Where do we get these?

[Shockwave]

Where do we get these?

Im sure your local wal mart carries them.

Its a nice idea but right now its a pipe dream.

[avxo]

Yes, but were decaded if not centuries from them being a viable alternative.. right now they only go like 50-100 miles on a charge,  are tiny in general, have to charge overnight, and there is no infastructure in place to support (I.E. charging stations).

The fact that you cant roll up and 'fill up the battery' pretty much makes them worthless to anyone but those people who barely drive.


Add in the roadblocks that the oil companies are goinf to put into place... and the possible backlash against green energy when people start to get fed up with skyrocketing energy prices... and im not sure how long it would take.

Two words: Tesla Motors.

The Tesla Model S is:

• A good-looking car - not a goofy golf-cart-like contraption;
• A safe car - it scores amazingly well on crash tests and  broke the machine that conducts one of the tests. It beats the other established players in its class (Mercedes and BMW) hands-down. It drives and handles great.
  
• A long-range car - it can drive upwards of 250 miles (depending on how much you use the fun-pedal, of course).
• A quickly-recharging car - it can be recharged on the road in under an hour for free at facilities Tesla has already built along major highway routes.
• A super-quickly-recharging car - it can have its battery pack swapped in for another, fully charged pack, in under 60 seconds at those same faciltiies as I previously mentioned for a small fee.
• A driver's car - just about everyone who's driven a Tesla raves about how good it handles and how comfortable the ride is.

Why am I saying this? Because the fact is that there's a viable electric car today which puts the internal combustion competition to shame. Is it a car for the masses? No, of course not - not today, although it will trickle down as time goes on. But electric cars are here today and as the technology improves they will become a much better value proposition than vehicles with internal combustion engines for many, if not most, uses.

[Roger Bacon]

Thanks for leaving this up Ron/Mods, sorry about the extreme off topic post!   

[Shockwave]

Two words: Tesla Motors.

The Tesla Model S is:

• A good-looking car - not a goofy golf-cart-like contraption;
• A safe car - it scores amazingly well on crash tests and  broke the machine that conducts one of the tests. It beats the other established players in its class (Mercedes and BMW) hands-down. It drives and handles great.
  
• A long-range car - it can drive upwards of 250 miles (depending on how much you use the fun-pedal, of course).
• A quickly-recharging car - it can be recharged on the road in under an hour for free at facilities Tesla has already built along major highway routes.
• A super-quickly-recharging car - it can have its battery pack swapped in for another, fully charged pack, in under 60 seconds at those same faciltiies as I previously mentioned for a small fee.
• A driver's car - just about everyone who's driven a Tesla raves about how good it handles and how comfortable the ride is.

Why am I saying this? Because the fact is that there's a viable electric car today which puts the internal combustion competition to shame. Is it a car for the masses? No, of course not - not today, although it will trickle down as time goes on. But electric cars are here today and as the technology improves they will become a much better value proposition than vehicles with internal combustion engines for many, if not most, uses.

Never argued that they didnt carve out a niche market... just that it will be decades or centuries before it becomes a real alternative to the ICE.

Also, id be extremely interested to see exactly how many facilites they have.. I live in one of the most liberal, green energy concious places in the country other than cali, and ive seen exactly 3 recharging stations... 2 at hospitals, within a 100 mile radius of Seattle. Thats it.

That is not a viable alternative imo, unless you live in the area Tesla has focused on productuo , or you cN plan your life around driving by the few charging stations that do exist.

[avxo]

Never argued that they didnt carve out a niche market... just that it will be decades or centuries before it becomes a real alternative to the ICE.

Also, id be extremely interested to see exactly how many facilites they have.. I live in one of the most liberal, green energy concious places in the country other than cali, and ive seen exactly 3 recharging stations... 2 at hospitals, within a 100 mile radius of Seattle. Thats it.

That is not a viable alternative imo, unless you live in the area Tesla has focused on productuo , or you cN plan your life around driving by the few charging stations that do exist.

Again, the Model S can go up to 285 miles on a single charge, which means that people don't need to "plan their life" around charging stations: in most cases they can simply drive to where they want to go and back and never blink. Longer trips may take some planning, but not nearly as much as you might think, considering that the car can be charged from any regular 120V outlet. And at any rate, isn't planning always involved when taking longer trips anyways?

Additionally, please note that Tesla has installed over 100 supercharger stations across the continental United States - and more are being added. The fact is that you could use those superchargers to drive coast-to-coast without paying a single dime for gasoline or electricity. Don't believe me? Take a look at the map here: http://www.teslamotors.com/supercharger

You really ought to look at this more closely. The fact is that a viable and practical electric car exists today and is, by many metrics superior to its internal-combustion powered competitors.

[Shockwave]

Again, the Model S can go up to 285 miles on a single charge, which means that people don't need to "plan their life" around charging stations: in most cases they can simply drive to where they want to go and back and never blink. Longer trips may take some planning, but not nearly as much as you might think, considering that the car can be charged from any regular 120V outlet. And at any rate, isn't planning always involved when taking longer trips anyways?

Additionally, please note that Tesla has installed over 100 supercharger stations across the continental United States - and more are being added. The fact is that you could use those superchargers to drive coast-to-coast without paying a single dime for gasoline or electricity. Don't believe me? Take a look at the map here: http://www.teslamotors.com/supercharger

You really ought to look at this more closely. The fact is that a viable and practical electric car exists today and is, by many metrics superior to its internal-combustion powered competitors.

Eh, ill take your word for it, but its still a long way from being the TRULY viable alternative youre trying to make it out to be. Has it carved out a niche? Absolutely. Can it take you anywhere a gasoline driven vehicle can, as easily, without special research and planning? No. You couldnt take a trip camping to eastern washington with one, without extremely critical planning and/or going way out of your way, as there are hundreds on miles of nothing, plus mountain passes, etc, without a single charging station. And how long does it take to charge on 120?

My point is that you cant just hop in and go anywhere you want like you can with an ICE powered vehicle. Once they get to that point ill agree with you.

[Shockwave]

And after looking at the map, in order to take a trip to northeastern washington as is so popular to camp, you'd have to drive almost a hundred miles out of your way to refuel after crossing the pass... and then you have several hundred miles there and back before you could cross back over.

Its a nice idea and im sure it will develop, but its not quite as nice as youre trying to make it out to be just yet.

[MAXX]

Where do we get these?

a 900+ something volt socket 

[Mr Nobody]

a 900+ something volt socket 

Thanks.

[pluck]

The only way that the electric car will succeed long term is to move to rechargeable battery stations, where a standard type of battery is used for every vehicle. You would drive up, lift the battery out and put it on a charger, and a fresh battery dropped into your car. There is no infrastructure for that in place right now and it would take decades to get that going across the country. Parking a car and not being able to drive for 8 hours while it recharges is ridiculous and doesnt fit into anyones fast-paced lifestyle. I dont want to get home from work and have to wait 8 hours to get to the gym.

Gas is now $1.55.9/L here. About $5.92 a gallon. It cant be much longer before everyone just says "fuck oil companies, im walking everywhere". Having to spend $300.00 a month in fuel for normal amount of driving it outrageous, not to mention people who drive for work or long haul truckers.

Gas in America can be $10/gallon & people will still keep driving. Sure, people will be more frugal with driving habits.
The only people who have the option of commuting on bikes/walking to work/shopping etc... are people who live in big cities.

Most Americans live in suburbs and rural areas where there is no public transport & you have to drive for miles to do typical stuff like school, work, shopping, kids activities ....etc.