The Electric Car Future That Never Happened

Michigan Capitol Confidential ^ | 8/14/2016 | Tom Gantert

[johniegrad]

Even high gas prices will not sell this albatross. Americans have shown time and again that they are willing to spend whatever it takes for their entertainment and their vehicles (for better or for worse).

[N. Theknow]

Chevy Volt = Solyndra with wheels

[taildragger]

My auto gnome tells me the original Volt was a brilliant engineering exercise, and that it was the real deal. That doesn't translate into sales. I know folks that bought one for around town and love spending about a buck a month on fuel. Tangent to this is something I can't get too into the weeds on.

I met a tech-wonk ( who maybe a household name soon ) who basically said we are limited by chemistry. Obtaining 400kw/hr(/gm?) is the limit and anything else is hype for funding. we are @ 140 to 160ish now.

So do the Math, I did. That means IMHO a "Leaf" with 100 mile range on a good day has a theoretical max of 285 mile range w/ a 400kw/hr battery.

Now what all the hype might be about is can the get to those levels with consistency, reproducibility and reliability, that in itself might be a mini-revolution. Now can adding things like Graphene make them more reliable? Perhaps.

But the bottom line to make these things work, everything has to be "optimized" since you have so much less potential energy to start with vs the BTU's in a gallon of fuel. If I did my math correct even @ 400kw/hr that is 1/50 the energy density of Gasoline. Something to consider.

Emission standards and absolute desire for low Specific Fuel Consumption are a negative impediment for true Locomotive Style Hybrids with small high power to weight ratio engines for generators ( think Wankel and other "inventor" engines ), that literately would allow a power module that would fit under your back seat.

My 2 cents...

[Future Useless Eater]

Who needs a car?

[txrefugee]

Let’s start a list of Obama’s economic failures:
1) Obamacare
2) Solyndra
3) Electric cars

[xp38]

That is not cankles body!

[pepsionice]

This week, here in Germany....they had to admit that a program that they passed over a year ago....with one-billion Euro attached (1.25 billion dollars)...which was parted out into bonus-packages designed to help you buy an electric car (you had to trade the old car in)....still has almost the billion Euro still in the account. Almost no one has taken the deal as is....trading in the old car to get the electric car.

I think you could actually come to the market with a $20,000 electric car, and people would still refuse to buy it because of the fear of running out of power or juice.

[central_va]

eCar = impractical toy.

[ctdonath2]

I had a Leaf for two years. Excellent vehicle. Decent range, great performance, nice to have the option of running on various fuel options (coal, hydro, gasoline, wind, nuclear, solar).

[stylin19a]

I wonder how many Volts the feds bought since the beginning ?
I can’t seem to find any decent number

[GreenHornet]

I had a Leaf for two years. Excellent vehicle. Decent range, great performance, nice to have the option of running on various fuel options (coal, hydro, gasoline, wind, nuclear, solar).

A couple of questions for you: Do you do any long distance driving in your Leaf? How long does it take to recharge your car?

[kennedy]

Coal powered cars.

[Senator_Blutarski]

This article made me think of an experience I had yesterday driving home.

I was on a 4 lane street (25 MPH) and there was a car in the left lane going 10 MPH. As I pulled up next to him I realized the car was a Prius. We proceeded into first a 30 MPH zone, then 40 MPH and finally 50 MPH. The Prius stayed in the left lane and was consistently running 15 to 20 MPH below the speed limit. Then it dawned on me that the driver was “hyper miling”. The arrogant creep was attempting to maximize his mileage while driving in the left lane with a long line of cars stacked up behind him.

[rhoda_penmark]

“nice to have the option of running on various fuel options (coal, hydro, gasoline, wind, nuclear, solar)”

Wait, what? Coal? Nuclear? Are you from Back to the Future (or in case of coal, Back to the Future III)?

[pabianice]

Electric cars? Terrafugia is still trying to sell its flying car.

[Salman]

I expect there will eventually come a time when someone develops a useful electric car.

This will happen some time when the government is not pretending to make it happen.

[Enchante]

Actually that’s a VERY lightweight version of the current Hillary, who is at least 100 pounds heavier than that photo.

[Enchante]

“had”?

So you weren’t so impressed that you still drive it?

[az_gila]

I think you could actually come to the market with a $20,000 electric car, and people would still refuse to buy it because of the fear of running out of power or juice.

---

They just need to do what I saw some of the early DIY electric car converters in Los Angeles did in the 80’s.

Tow a little generator behind the car and connect the output as a battery charger...:^)

IIRC small Honda Civics and Pontiac Fieros were popular for conversion.