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Without Elon Musk, we would be thinking that a 0-60 time of less than 2 secs in a vehicle is not achievable unless you spend a few million dollars.
Without Elon Musk, we would be thinking that a $50k vehicle (Model 3) can never compete with a $30k vehicle (e.g. F-150, Camry, Rogue) in terms of sales volume.
Without Elon Musk, we would be thinking that the insiders to the automotive industry, the CEOs of the world's largest automakers such as Toyota, Ford, GM, VW, etc. are giving us exciting products.
If EVs are so irrelevant, detrimental, etc. etc. as some of you say, why are the world's largest automakers investing so heavily in developing their EV business (albeit a decade after Musk)?
but this should really change to convert from v6 to v6 hybrid sleeper. Arnold Schwarzenegger turned his g wagon completely electric. Something similar could be done to the gs although he had to have a company in Austria do it. better yet make it look like a gsf but have an amazing hybrid engine.
no one denies ev is the future but the real issue people have is the energy storage. As people previously stated battery tech isn’t impressive and until we have a compact recyclable power source that doesn’t use a limited resource then the energy source will always be the issue. Ev came from the need to find a need to extend mpg from petrol engines since it is a limited resource. Ev shows that we don’t need to rely on a combustion engine as long as there’s an electric grid to refuel. Now it’s just a race to see which alternative fuel and build a proper infrastructure and manufacturing process to become mainstream.
I think you'll reflect back on your beliefs in the future to see that you were as wrong as the:
People that said the automobile would never replace horses and mules.
• People that said wiring across the United States for Alexander Graham Bell's telephone invention was absolute lunacy.
• People that said there was no way that it would be commonplace for people to have a personal computer in their house.
• People that said it was foolish to think that practically everyone would have a portable cell phone and be able to use it like **** Tracy's wristwatch phone or Get Smart's shoe phone.
• People that said it was insanity to install enough cell towers across the U.S. for wireless cell phones.
• People that thought it was stupid to think fast food like McDonald's hamburgers would become popular.
People that said DNA would never be used to prosecute someone for a criminal act.
• People that said Kodak film for cameras will always be used.
• People that thought 33 rpm, 45 rpm & 78 rpm records, 8-tracks, floppy discs, VHS/VCRs, Betamax, compact cassettes, etc. will never become obsolete.
• People that said phone booths will always be needed.
Never heard anyone say any of these things, and I grew up when there were still a lot of these around.
Further, lots of false equivalencies here. Electric cars are an INCREMENTAL technology step in automobiles. Yawn. The idea itself isn't that outlandish, the actual implementation of said idea is a whole
other story. I could produce a laundry list of great technology that was created, but failed commercially because of these problems, and by the time the problems were remedied, something better
replaced it. Never said they won't exist. They already do. , just stating that Tesla's product is brutally overrated, absent some quantum leap in battery technology, or like I mentioned earlier, some kind of fuel cell or some other form of onboard power generation. Batteries have existed for a long *** time, and they're still not good enough to build a REAL automobile around. Hooray, Tesla built the worlds best grocery
getter by putting some motors an infotainment system and a crapload of 18650s in a matrix inside a unibody car frame.
Call me when an electric car exists with like a 300+ mile range that I can recharge it in like 3 minutes, then we'll talk. Until then, Tesla is really just stopgap garbage, although when the company
fails the owners might end up with a semi-cool collectible car, so that's one upshot I guess. Hopefully a 3rd party will help them maintain the things.
So where are our flying cars? We've been promised flying cars since the 60s and nobody has come close to date. Jet packs too, where a thing we'd be using by now. History is littered with what should have been and what might have been.
Personally, I want a Star Trek-ish transporter to replace travel. Breakfast in a Paris French cafe, dinner in a Sicily Italian restaurant and a weekend in Tahiti.
Electric cars will remain a niche product until there is a quantum leap in energy storage that can trounce gasoline or diesel. Electric cars are evolutionarily the equivalent of the model T, in their infancy.
Elon Musk is doing it backwards. If you want mass adoption of something, you make it inexpensive and appealing to the masses, not a niche product that has an exorbitant price and limited market. See model T above.
Based on your comment, it seems that you dont like Tesla and its cars because you cannot afford one. I cant afford a 747 Boeing jet either but that doesnt make that tech bad or useless.
When the world ran out of oil you will be begging your neighbors to give you a ride in there now classic car status Tesla Model S to buy groceries. LOL
Who needs a V6 to V8 when you can get a vehicle with sub 5 sec 0-60 and equivalent to 100+ mpg and flat cornering with minimal body roll and state-of-the-art technology including autopilot (and Apple Carplay/Android Auto ) all at the price of a base GS350
Plasma TVs were hindered by high costs as well. Many people stuck to their tube TVs as $20K to $100K was a bit hindering on the common man. Hell even LED TVs were hindering the common man when they first came out. And now we have 55" flat screen TVs for a few hundred bucks. Someone has to be an early adopter.
Your model T example is more an exception than a rule and would never fly in this day and age. It was a simple machine that could be cheaply made thanks to Ford's revolutionary assembly line process. But that is another topic for another day. Name one thing that is the equivalent of the model T in this day and age?
False equivalence and shortsightedness in regards to history. Toyota (and Honda and Datsun) already proved me correct. I remember the first Toyotas, little tiny econo-boxes. I remember when the Datsun B210, the Honda Civic were also tiny little cars. They cracked the market with the cheap, affordable cars and THEN upscaled to the Lexus, Acura and Infiniti brands that command higher prices and compare favorably with any German or US marque available. Those that do not remember history are doomed to repeat its mistakes.
Originally Posted by AL13NV8D3R
Based on your comment, it seems that you dont like Tesla and its cars because you cannot afford one. I cant afford a 747 Boeing jet either but that doesnt make that tech bad or useless.
When the world ran out of oil you will be begging your neighbors to give you a ride in there now classic car status Tesla Model S to buy groceries. LOL
What I can afford has nothing to do with it. Implying so is a dishonest distraction from the real discussion. My financial health is not a factor. I can afford one in cash if I wanted it but I don't desire one. They aren't practical AND when gasoline is no longer viable, I'll up the jets in my already antique V8 non-electronic car and keep on driving on ethanol or methanol. Being from Kentucky, I know how to (and have) distill alcohol but it's a shame to put it in a tank when it can taste so good.
The original topic is how to get a Lexus V8 into a GS350. Personally, I'd drive it like it is for as long as I could. Today's cars are so integrated with the computer(s) that it would take a person with intimate knowledge of the systems to be successful on any kind of reliable conversion. As a track car, it would be a blast and not need all the systems currently there for driver convenience and comfort.
You are comparing apples and oranges. Toyota/Honda/Datsun came out with econoboxes not automobiles that were top performers. So yest they were cheap and that was by design. FF to when Toyota wanted to make a top performing sports car such as the Supra TT, it was pricey as hell as it was on par with the Germans. And guess what, it didn't sell and was discontinued. It's the same with Lexus, when Toyota wanted to break into the luxury market, their cars were pricey as hell. It's the same with Tesla. It's not designed to be an econobox but a top performer.
I'm just glad you didn't mention the Honda Cub 50, the #1 selling two wheel vehicle of all time. LOL. Yes it was cheap and cheap by design. No it was not comparable to a Harley or a Vespa or Indian.
You are comparing apples and oranges. Toyota/Honda/Datsun came out with econoboxes not automobiles that were top performers. So yest they were cheap and that was by design. FF to when Toyota wanted to make a top performing sports car such as the Supra TT, it was pricey as hell as it was on par with the Germans. And guess what, it didn't sell and was discontinued. It's the same with Lexus, when Toyota wanted to break into the luxury market, their cars were pricey as hell. It's the same with Tesla. It's not designed to be an econobox but a top performer.
Again, to my point, Tesla didn't start with an entry level market car and has used the government to prop up their bloated model. Lexus, et al, used the econoboxes to generate the capital to introduce the luxury brands with great success. Without the government subsidies, Tesla is dead, like the Tucker, Hudson, Edsel, Oldsmobile and Pontiac. Being a great car isn't enough to survive, which I'm not convinced it is.
There's little doubt that all electric motorized vehicles will become the norm replacing the petrol piston engine. It's just a matter of time...and it has been a long time coming, but I think it's about to blast-off much like radio, television, cell phones, personal computers, etc. all took-off in its heyday.
Not going to happen with current battery technology or charging infrastructure. Electrics offer very little advantages over a IC car aside from the social image and so many compromises.
09-07-18, 05:04 PM
and equivalent to 100+ mpg 
) 
