The battery replacement problem reminds me of the rotary engines of the 70’s. They too were a great idea, except they had to be replaced at about 50,000 miles. That quickly killed rotary sales, and I think people have a lot to learn about EV’s. Everybody thought, “Oh, they’ll figure out how to solve this rotary engine thing.” Yah, well they never did.
My parents bought a Mazda in ‘73. Subcompact car, very fast, but only got 16 mpg. We only had it for 4 years. Then they bought a full-size Chevrolet wagon that got 17 mpg.
Yep. My brother had a Mazda RX-7. It was a great car until the engine went tits up.
You are talking about the Wankel used is Mazdas. The seals on the corners of the rotors were ceramic. When they wore out there was no compression and they simply would not start. I vividly recall it, as I owned one. Just like EV batteries today, the Mazda was totally worthless once the engine was hailed out.
If properly serviced, a piston engine will last 200 to 300 thousand miles easy. An EV will never come close to probably that Mazda 50,000 mark.
Those rotary engines were destroyed by the race cars limiting them in races. They could not compete because they they scared the piston driven industry. With new oils, and better seals that last longer, we should be driving cars that will go several hundred thousand miles with rotary engines.
I had a 1974 RX 2 and it was like EV’s to my GTO. I had both a GTO and rotary, and drove an EV. The rotary was faster than a sumbitch, with great mileage. With a stick shift, and a new fangled 6 or 7 speed tranny? The limit was the moon. The car industry did not want them. Like “The Tucker” they were regulated out of existence.