oldcajun

Elon Musk's long term vision for Tesla is to equip homes with unique solar panel roofs and batteries for power at night. The "giga-factory" he is building will get the battery price down to affordable. At least for the South and Southwest this could become the primary source for home electrical power. This lets you use solar power to recharge your car with no CO2 emissions. He already has a contract with a big box retailer so someone believes in the plan.

spuds

I agree with Jill that even if EV's were the greatest thing ever,they wont be cheap.You can bet your last dollar,and you will,that the gov taxes will manage to take it.Electric demand will soar and price will be more than petrol,plus our home electric will rise.

I think ideally the sweet spot is the Chevy Volt model.get electric range up around 400 miles,most anyone can drive in a day,unlimited range with a multifuel generator,fast recharge,is Nirvana.Its just diesel/electric system,minus the batteries, what trains have been doing for a long time now.We know that works very well.

MM,I play with solar from charging AA Eneloop NiMh,to solar electric fence (man that works well!) to 500 watts mobile on my roof rack on the Dodge Cummins with 4 large sealed batteries that has enough juice to build a house with,to a home back up with 8 sealed batteries and 2000 watt pure sine wave inverter power.The first time you switch on a fan running with Solar,your life changes,and Im NOT waxing poetic,its mind blowing.All the 'it doesnt work because of A,B or C' is out the window,because it does work.You are watching it with your own lying eyes.

Funny about tree's,THAT is real.I live in the forest,I have over 2000 watts of panels just sitting,because we never moved away where the panels could be deployed as planned.Now if the grid went down I could deploy them all,and while it wouldnt be very efficient in output,it would far exceed no output.But now we are getting into prep territory which is beyond this thread.

Have to tell you though,solar is just the most awesome power ever.

spuds

I just dont like Elon though.most anything he is doing is reaching in on taxpayer money.Rates up there with Bezos,Gates,Buffet and the rest of their ilk IMO.Just a personal opinion though.Elon though doesnt want competition,and he wants us to pay for setting it up,all the while he owns it all.Nope,dont like that guy.On the other hand though,if he does succeed in making folks think its mainstream,maybe he is a necessary evil?

If anything drove solar it was China knocking panel watts into the 50 cent/watt range.Like Japan drove our cars into efficiency,disc brakes standard,etc,Sony turning the color TV market on its ear. Industry and competition is quite the best combo IMO.

spuds

I liked everything about the EV1 because it was a showcase of bleeding edge technology.I also liked the style,I think it matches anything today for what the future can be,Gosh i wish it had made it.

Per wikipedia,what isnt to love here regarding technology?---------------Configuration

The EV1 was not only used to showcase the electric powertrain, but also premiered a number of features and technologies that would later find their way onto more common GM models and other manufacturers' cars. The EV1 was among the first production vehicles to utilize aluminum in the construction of the frame. The car's body panels were made of plastic rather than metal, making the car lightweight and dent resistant. The vehicle was fitted with Anti-lock brakes and a traction control system. Comfort improvements included a keyless entry and ignition system, a special one-way thermal glass for better heat rejection on sunny days, an automated tire pressure loss warning system, electric power steering, and a time-programmable HVAC system.To boost efficiency, the EV1 possessed a very low drag coefficient of Cd=0.19 and a drag area of CdA=3.95 sq ft (0.367 m2).[1]
[60] Super-light magnesium alloy wheels and seats provided strength despite their low weight, and self-sealing, low-rolling resistance tires developed by Michelin rounded out the EV1's exceptional efficiency characteristics.
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Or per https://www.digitaltrends.com/cars/h...-of-electrics/

It featured an aluminum space frame, aluminum suspension components, and plastic body panels, to keep weight down. It also had electric power brakes and steering; the latter is a common feature on cars of 2013.
-------------------------------
Styling,I love it.Not the average bubble of today.Still ahead of its time like the Mustang and the Avanti if talking mainstream.They still look great.

LeX2K

People will plug in their phone to charge every day but won't plug in a car. But will go to a gas station in the freezing cold to fill up. Explain that.

Toys4RJill

Absolutely this will happen. In fact, California has already put a plan together that will tax EV owners. There will be a $100 up front fee and then then there will be a $25 for cheaper cars and up $175 for any EV over $60K. It seem like nothing right now, but the fees will increase and increase as EV drivers are not paying any gas taxes. You are also already seeing it from Tesla, they do not offering free charging for the new model 3, only for the model S. It is carefully not mentioned. Once enough people start plugging in, the state governments will just add fees onto the charge rate for cars. They could also add in a battery disposal fees at time of purchase which is supposed to be used for end of life for the vehicle. Ontario already has tax on tires.

In Ontario there is "Green Levy" tax on some vehicles sold. So, the more fuel efficient you gas engine is, the lower the tax. Same thing with the air conditioner tax. Also, add in the Gas Guzzler tax. So how does that apply to electric vehicles, well the more efficient charging and less use of energy the car is, the less of a tax it will have. There are many ways to spin it.

Right now there are incentives and rebates to purchase, but like hybrids, they will eventually be removed.

spuds

Then we have the smart electric meters,so rates can be adjusted for when you use it,I hear the 6pm to 11pm will be prime pricing,you know,when you get home and plug in the car.Of course thanks to GPS not only will they road tax per mile,but again may tax per time of day,like the toll road pricing.

It gets worse.Automated 'speeding' tickets sent to you.Cant or wont pay,great little narcing car not only turns you in,will also shut down til Big Brudder anoints you travelling privileges again.

Such BS! Future world is so going to suck,and the generations coming up will never know any better as to what we had.

Toys4RJill

Taxes could go on for ever. Lets just say a city is all electric, no gas powers cars are allowed to enter the zone, and every year 100K or more EVs use the roads. How does the city pay for the repairs needed by all the use of the vehicles on those roads? This money needs to come from somewhere.

spuds

And it will.Give em a mm and they will take a lightyear.Camels nose under the tent......

MattyG

Well this well off the Fiat thread title, but anyway. The hybrid is going to be the way forward, not pure electric, which is not sustainable at this point - not in major high demand urban centers which already have issues with electricity generation during busy/hot/cold/aging infrastructure issues. Toyota should be commended for really doing something back in 1997 with that first Prius. A lot of doubters back then. And GM deserves some praise for taking on the EV experiment.

The way forward will have to be a compromise and Toyota thinks so too. A migration of various technologies including PHEV and BEVs.

https://newsroom.toyota.co.jp/en/cor.../20353243.html

I always thought the Chevy Volt didn't get enough credit for its attempts to extend range with a nice platform, but it came way late to the party compared to Toyota. The Volt is a nicer driving sedan. Heck the 1st gen Volt is a nice looking car. The Bolt just looks wonky weird but its got some nice range, just not enough marketability behind it. GM wants you to buy pickup trucks.

spuds

I think EV is in the thread title and has generated more talk than Fiat has....looks good to me.But Im brand new here,have no idea how tightly thread drift is perceived here....

If i had the disposable income I once had,Volt would be on my radar.Never been too excited about Prius though.Have to admit,Toyota has sure done it right ,great acceptance.

Bolt,dunno,lets see.Not my cuppa tea,but its pretty new.Also very small.What amazes me is real worlds worst case 150 miles range,best about 250 +/-.
1st scheduled maintenance at 150,000 miles,how insane is that??? Guess its the 40,000+ price above all killing it?

MattyG

^^^ Very true. The real issues that have to be addressed with pure electrics is weather conditions, usage and range. If you've ever driven in a nasty freezing cold winter, you know that you have to have some basic functions on a vehicle.

A electric car's range meter goes perilously downhil the minute you want such luxuries like heat, defrost, radio, constantly using wipers etc. Never mind a heated steering wheel or heated seats. That's the real issue. Electrics have problems with that.

The other big problem is the market. Where do you recharge an electric car when that vehicle is not sitting at home in its bay and you're on the road. Got a Tesla? Ok, well you have to plug into a Tesla charger. Got some other vehicle? Well you have to plug into the other kind of charger. It's all proprietory between the companies that market and patent their individual charging tech.

Hybrids, you simply use the most common form of recharging - a gas station with various options. This will be fixed once a common charging option and retail charging options are worked out. But if it takes a long time to recharge, that's a problem too.

Chocolate

He seems to have his own personal army. One guy stares you down, the other guy stares you down with his hand on his gun, and the 3rd guy looks at you with a quizzical look on his face.

SLegacy99

And stand there putting 30 gallons into their Escalade! It boggles the mind.


At 33 MPG, I'd say that the Pacifica is a solid hybrid offering, granted I've never driven one. Forget the EVs. If FC could offer more hybrid options in their large gas guzzling vehicles, I think that they would have something more going for them....but then gas is 'cheap' these days.

Sulu

The new 2019 Ram 1500 pickup truck will be available with a 48-volt mild hybrid system.