Electric Cars - the discussion continues.

[nomadpete]

That sounds like a likely scenario.

 

It's the way that capitalism works.

 

Those with the most capital will buy out an emerging competitor before they can get big enough to be a threat.

 

 

[Litespeed]

Nah, 

 

Rivian is in the box seat and should gets good deal. Just look at the big deals Hyundai and others have done.

 

The huge success of Tesla means Rivian is in the box seat.

 

 

[onetrack]

GM are going to produce an electric-drive Hummer pickup in 2021. They have already put out teaser ads for its release on May 20, this year.

 

Ford is well advanced on its electric F-150 pickup, slated for release in 2021.

 

Tesla has shown off its (fugly) pickup, slated for production sometime in the near future.

 

Rivian is trying to enter the electric pickup market without ever having produced or sold a complete, working model to anyone.

 

All this, into an electric pickup market that is essentially tiny - because Red-Blooded, Hairy-Chested, Diesel pickups will still be available when the electric pickups come off the production lines - and they will sell side-by-side.

 

If anyone believes that electric pickups with no sales history, no reliability record, no country-wide standardised electric recharging system, and limited range - are going to outsell diesel pickups in the first year by a factor of 10 to 1 - then I've got some prime waterfront property just adjacent to the scenic Blackstone Range, for you to invest in. 

 

 

[octave]

So I just purchased my first EV

 

 

[old man emu]

Taking it for a short circuit at the lake? 

[octave]

5 minutes ago, old man emu said:

Taking it for a short circuit at the lake? 

 20 Km partially by the sea

Edited April 3, 2021 by octave

[pmccarthy]

Looks like it would fold onto an aircraft seat.

[Bruce Tuncks]

Good onyer Octave .  I just love my electric bike.  Just don't ride it in main roads where they will try n run u over.

[octave]

6 minutes ago, Bruce Tuncks said:

Just don't ride it in main roads where they will try n run u over.

 They have to catch up with me first😁

[Jerry_Atrick]

Are the pedals to charge the battery?

Edited April 3, 2021 by Jerry_Atrick

[octave]

Just now, Jerry_Atrick said:

Are the pedals to charge the battery?

 no they are there to give me some actual exercise!

 

[onetrack]

At the end of the day, you've got a 1/4HP motor. That to me, means plenty of pedalling! - particularly into headwinds or up steepish slopes!

 

I quite enjoy peddling my old (regular-style) treadly around - but if I was going to go electric, I reckon I'd want a bit more than 1/4HP in a motor.

 

I was driving home one evening in my Hilux, and a cyclist came barrelling along the main arterial road towards me, in the kerbside lane, as I waited to turn right.

 

He was fairly moving, keeping up with the traffic easily, and he sure wasn't doing any pedalling!

 

As he zipped past, I saw he'd mounted a 3HP Briggs & Stratton to a rear rack, and this was driving the rear wheel via some kind of pulley and V-belt arrangement!

 

Not exactly legal! - and I never saw him again! I don't know if Mr Plod caught up with him, and put him off the road - or  if he ran under the back of a truck!

 

I don't reckon his braking arrangement would've matched his power arrangement! But he sure had no trouble doing 60kmh with the setup. Might've been a relative of Colin Furze? 

[Jerry_Atrick]

Hmm.. May skip the pedals and go for one of these when they come out: https://fuell.eu/products/fllow-motorycle

 

[octave]

2 hours ago, onetrack said:

At the end of the day, you've got a 1/4HP motor. That to me, means plenty of pedalling! - particularly into headwinds or up steepish slopes!

 

It may only be250 watts but  it provides quite a lot of power.  The power input from the motor relies on a sensor that measures you pedal cadence (in order to comply with the law in this country)   It does have a throttle setting that will propel at 6km on level ground without pedaling. This is an artificial limit again to comply with the law. It also has a setting that you can get if you made a small mod, this is legal but only off road.  This will give approximately 25km with no pedaling on flat ground.

 

There are 5 levels of assist so if you are feeling lazy you can let the motor do all the work but the way I use it is to modify the effort I have to put in. On the level I use usually use zero input but kick it up a little when encounter a hill.  I did 20km which I could do anyway however I would have struggled with some of the hills.

[nomadpete]

Jerry, there are a couple of real performance ebije makers in USA and of course Asia. What would worry me about your linked example is

"Li-ION cylindrical cell array in structural magnesium housing"

I hope they have a good BMS otherwise it could go pyrotechnic!

[octave]

Just to put the 250w motor in perspective, the average cyclist  produces 200-300w.  This motor has the effect of adding the power of another cyclist but without the extra weight.  This makes even steep hills no more challenging than cycling on the flat.

Edited April 3, 2021 by octave

[onetrack]

I don't know about all this new-fangled electronic stuff - what's wrong with the original source of mechanical power? This is the classy way to cycle!

 

 

[octave]

Swap and go: electric trucks to run between Sydney and Brisbane using exchangeable batteries

[spacesailor]

Ang it could all be moot ! 

IF

The new ' Plasma drive ' gets as much Push, as given to the electric vehicles.

Old coal, power stations, having a 'Plasma drive ' upgrade would be a really clean adaption.

AKA : The Rover Turbine car, but run on Plasma,

spacesailor

[facthunter]

"Burn off" everyone else at the lights. Nev

[Old Koreelah]

On 29/04/2021 at 8:42 AM, octave said:

Swap and go: electric trucks to run between Sydney and Brisbane using exchangeable batteries

Pretty much a modern version of changing to fresh horses during the Stage Coach days.

[onetrack]

The Janus electric truck solution is exactly what I proposed elsewhere as the solution to the potential EV charging problems - bottlenecks at charger points, and time lost waiting for a recharge.

 

Swappable batteries is a no-brainer. They can be charged with cheap off-peak power when most of the country is asleep.

 

Edited April 30, 2021 by onetrack

[Old Koreelah]

Decades ago a lot of Government buses were built in Tamworth; they were constructed on extended Scania truck bodies, with the Diesel engines converted to natural gas. When they were driven to Sydney one broke down on the Mooney-Mooney bridge, having run out of gas.

I believe that in service the pallet of gas cylinders was designed to be quickly swapped.

[Marty_d]

 

11 minutes ago, onetrack said:

The Janus electric truck solution is exactly what I proposed elsewhere as the solution to the potential EV charging problems - bottlenecks at charger points, and time lost waiting for a recharge.

 

Swappable batteries is a no-brainer. They can be charged with cheap off-peak power when most of the country is asleep.

 

If all the manufacturers could agree to standardize removable batteries across all EV manufacturers it'd be a damn good start.  How the hell they do that, I don't know.

[onetrack]

It just takes one strong Govt leader to seize on setting up a task force to set standards for EV systems. Standardisation of power plugs, battery dimensions, connectors and all other important features must be done now and done by the Govt.

 

Leaving standardisation to individual companies will only mean a multitude of incompatible systems that will hold the country back. Imagine having twenty different mobile phone systems, and a hundred different wavelengths for phones? It would have happened, if the Govt hadn't set the standards initially.