Electric Vehicles, Hybrids...Battery tech... Land Air and Sea. Let's See 'em.

Is the internal combustion engine doomed to history

  • Yes

    Votes: 10 25.6%

  • No

    Votes: 21 53.8%

  • Not sure

    Votes: 5 12.8%

  • Don't care

    Votes: 2 5.1%

  • ...er... what was the question again?

    Votes: 1 2.6%
  • Total voters
    39
From here....

We’ve driven Ford’s other electric workhorse: The 2022 E-Transit​


"For now, Ford is just offering a single pack size—68 kWh. This keeps the range relatively low, at between 108-126 miles (174-203 km), but Ford says the majority of its customers' vans cover 75 miles (120 km) a day or less. The smaller pack no doubt helps keep costs manageable, starting at $43,295 for a cutaway model (think cab and frame but not much else). A basic extended-length, high-roof E-Transit costs nearly $10,000 more."


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gggGary said:
Overall seems safer than gasoline. jus' say'n
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I’m the one who brought up the battery fire burning down a repair shop, and yeah you’re right, gasoline fires have taken out their fair share of shops too. I personally knew a mechanic at a muffler shop, who was trying to remove an old exhaust system with a cutting torch and he caught the car on fire and burned down the shop.
I knew another mechanic that opened up a high performance garage and one of his mechanics was welding a roll cage in a car and caught it on fire, again the whole shop was burned down, along with some pretty pricey muscle cars in it. Shop fires can get out of hand pretty quick.

Jim said:
"A technical tsunami is flooding the repair industry with cutting-edge vehicle advancements. If you’re not training on new technologies and materials, you’re falling behind."
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When I read that it made me wonder if schools like AAI ( automotive technical institute ) are training for electric vehicles? The electronics involved are pretty complex and diagnosing them would be way beyond a lot of mechanics abilities. It would seem like a good transition for a lot of guys with military training! :D Guys with extensive aircraft, weapons systems, guidance systems etc.
 
Mailman said:
The electronics involved are pretty complex and diagnosing them would be way beyond a lot of mechanics abilities.
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I'd guess EV's are much like older cars using OBDII diagnostic software... in that you run the tests and replace/do what it tells you to.
It's when you replace/fix the part and the problem stays.... that's when you separate the men from the boys. :sneaky:
 
Jim said:
"A technical tsunami is flooding the repair industry with cutting-edge vehicle advancements. If you’re not training on new technologies and materials, you’re falling behind."
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Agree with the comment but that's not a new issue Jim, I remember back in the late seventies being introduced to the Bosch K Jetronic fuel system and using a breakout box for diagnosis.
It's been going an ever increasingly complex since then.
The manufactures I worked for made it compulsory for their workshops to meet specified technical criteria and that technicians had to attend mandatory training and meet a standard. Without that they were not allowed to work on vehicles that needed that level of competence.

It's the independent repairers that have faced the biggest issues as vehicles have become more complex and the cost of diagnostic equipment and training have to be factored into their business plans.
 
“My professor of nuclear physics told me in 1979 that fusion power was 50 years away. It is still 50 years away today.”

There have been advances. It's always 20 years away now
 
Range and charging capability are what's going to drive any expansion.
I'm just glad I won't be around in 50 when they need to figure out what to do with all the toxic lithium battery waste.
 
RC4MAN said:
in 50 when they need to figure out what to do with all the toxic lithium battery waste.
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No kidding! In just a very short time we're getting buried in medical waste. It seems the waste is someone else's problem, because there's no money in it. At least, not yet.
 
xjwmx said:
The Model S motor from at least 7 years ago is roughly the same power and weight.
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Not really. The S motor drove a transmission/differential box. That effectively doubled the weight. It needed the gearbox to reduce the 10-15k revs of the motor. This motor gives HP and torque without a gearbox.

Second pic.... motors are piggy backed, but not linked internally... built in (designed in?) differential. Both outputs are the housings for CV shafts... direct drive.
 
Jim said:
without a gearbox.
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Actually, "a less-complicated transmission"

There are no order of magnitude breakthroughs, just incremental improvements, and it's a safe bet Musk is consistently on top of this technology. Harder to imagine him missing something than to imagine the other outfit hyping their product.

Also...Musk would hire this Romanian designer away for 10x what he's making if he had anything useful
 
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Jim said:
330hp, 440ft-lbs of torque and a weight of about 65lbs. Soda can for scaling... Link.

Mate two of 'em together and you get 660hp, 880ft-lbs... prolly less than 150lb package. That's a serious power to weight ratio.
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For the motor it is but you would also have to factor in the weight of batteries and control gear before comparing them to a i.c. engine.

I suspect the figures will be far less impressive.
 
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