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
Jim said:
We've been hearing for 20+ yrs now that our energy infrastructure is in dire need of an upgrade. 'Bout all that ever come of it was lip service and nice stock dividends for shareholders so's that CEO pay could reach the stratosphere. Like Pogo sez... we is our own worst enemy.
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Mebby 'round KC. Here after they split the utility bill into energy and transmission, they've been on a spending/installation spree, both elect and nat gas transmission capacity has been seriously upgraded.
 
A partial solution would be to encourage charging overnight when demand is lower.

In the UK we are encouraged to have SMART meters installed that can send usage data up to every half hour.
Change the pricing structure so that prices rise when demand is high and are lower when demand is less or more is being generated than required.
This would encourage consumers to move some of their consumption out of peak periods.

Also have charging points that can be programmed to charge when prices are at their lowest and you have a win-win situation.
A more efficient use of the available electricity and lower costs for the consumer.

Not the complete solution but it would help.
 
Max Midnight said:
A partial solution would be to encourage charging overnight when demand is lower.

In the UK we are encouraged to have SMART meters installed that can send usage data up to every half hour.
Change the pricing structure so that prices rise when demand is high and are lower when demand is less or more is being generated than required.
This would encourage consumers to move some of their consumption out of peak periods.

Also have charging points that can be programmed to charge when prices are at their lowest and you have a win-win situation.
A more efficient use of the available electricity and lower costs for the consumer.

Not the complete solution but it would help.
Click to expand...
I had a smart meter installed a year ago. I had a choice of three plans and it made more sense for me to get the cheap power overnight when I could run the immersion heaters and do the heavy loads of washing and drying after 11pm, for about a third of the cost of doing it during the day.
I have a couple of timers to install for the immersions, on a long finger. Really need to get around to it.
 
Max Midnight said:
A partial solution would be to encourage charging overnight when demand is lower.

In the UK we are encouraged to have SMART meters installed that can send usage data up to every half hour.
Change the pricing structure so that prices rise when demand is high and are lower when demand is less or more is being generated than required.
This would encourage consumers to move some of their consumption out of peak periods.

Also have charging points that can be programmed to charge when prices are at their lowest and you have a win-win situation.
A more efficient use of the available electricity and lower costs for the consumer.

Not the complete solution but it would help.
Click to expand...
Grimly said:
I had a smart meter installed a year ago. I had a choice of three plans and it made more sense for me to get the cheap power overnight when I could run the immersion heaters and do the heavy loads of washing and drying after 11pm, for about a third of the cost of doing it during the day.
I have a couple of timers to install for the immersions, on a long finger. Really need to get around to it.
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I read a while back about an electric airplane some company was trying to certify for passengers (De Havilland Beaver iirc....). At remote airports that didn't have the electrical infrastructure, they planned on putting battery banks made from used Li batteries. They only go to about 80% capacity or so.... not good enough for cars but still usable. On these battery packs they install high capacity fast chargers.
The batteries charge on the 115v slow chargers that are within the capacity of existing infrastructure. It charges around the clock and the fast charger charges the airplane when it comes in. I always thought that was an ingenious hack to get around weak infrastructure.

Prolly too expensive, but that would be a nice setup for a house where your energy is cheaper at night. Use it to run washer/dryer and such whenever you want.
 
Harley Davidson’s Livewire brand is proving a disappointment. With less than 600 sold this year, the company has announced production cutbacks and delays of their new lower cost model The Del Mar, for $17,000

“LiveWire originally wanted to sell upwards of 7,000 bikes in 2023, but now, a press release has lowered that number to 2,000 on the high end. LiveWire also expects the company to operate at a loss of between $115 million and $125 million. Originally, the launch of the S2 Del Mar was supposed to happen early this year, but that has been pushed back as well to closer to the end of the year. “

https://apple.news/AfacXcX86S92lkOOSR4R8FQ

$22,800
2C9C0AB5-5B28-4FCB-9A6E-88AA4E6513FB.jpeg

No company, no matter how large will put up with losing $120,000,000 year after year.
 
Mailman said:
Harley Davidson’s Livewire brand is proving a disappointment. With less than 600 sold this year, the company has announced production cutbacks and delays of their new lower cost model The Del Mar, for $17,000

“LiveWire originally wanted to sell upwards of 7,000 bikes in 2023, but now, a press release has lowered that number to 2,000 on the high end. LiveWire also expects the company to operate at a loss of between $115 million and $125 million. Originally, the launch of the S2 Del Mar was supposed to happen early this year, but that has been pushed back as well to closer to the end of the year. “

https://apple.news/AfacXcX86S92lkOOSR4R8FQ

$22,800
View attachment 235481

No company, no matter how large will put up with losing $120,000,000 year after year.
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Realistically, with the economy as it is, and my interest in motorcycles being what it is, chances of me buying a big electric motorcycle is zero. The only Harley Davidson that has any chance of ending up in my garage is going to be a used one.
Harley Davidson and the electric bike market needs to reach the younger audience. Not so many of them have deep pockets and time for toys.
Electric cars? Yes for many. Motorcycles…. Not something I’d bet on.
 
Jim said:
Electric 2-wheelers grew 300 per cent in India in 2022
Link
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Good point! True in many countries. I didn’t say it, but in my mind my comments were Harley centric. Much of the world will put a battery motorcycle to good use. Harley Davidson is not in those markets at all.
 
I note the article says that solar is the cheapest form of generation but I wonder if that includes the cost of the battery systems and infrastructure to support it?
I also wonder if, when the pollution from manufacturing and end of life disposal is factored in, how solar/battery compares to (say) gas?

Over the years we have been told that x or y will be the next big thing and bring the cost to the consumer down only to be told some years later that it is now a pariah and the cost still keeps going up!

Cynical, moi?
 
Max Midnight said:
I note the article says that solar is the cheapest form of generation but I wonder if that includes the cost of the battery systems and infrastructure to support it?
I also wonder if, when the pollution from manufacturing and end of life disposal is factored in, how solar/battery compares to (say) gas?

Over the years we have been told that x or y will be the next big thing and bring the cost to the consumer down only to be told some years later that it is now a pariah and the cost still keeps going up!

Cynical, moi?
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Good point, battery should be moved from generation to solar/wind as a sunk and operating cost.
Wonder what the combined in/out losses of the utility level batteries will be?
 

Vroom Vroom.... :p​

Ferrari, Dodge fine-tune artificial noise for EVs​

Stellantis and Ferrari are betting customers will still want to keep making noise with EVs.​


1676656905693.png



When Stellantis unveiled its Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept in August, the muscle-car brand debuted an industry-first exhaust system for EVs.

“No, Dodge has not found a way for an electric car to pump equal parts engine noise and CO2 into the air,” Car and Driver wrote. It designed a system to amplify the near-silent hum of electric motors into “a 126-decibel cacophony worthy of the SRT badge.”

Ferrari too is working on a way to create distinctive noises tied to the actual performance of an EV powertrain, enabling drivers to not just feel but also hear realistic vehicle feedback.

Analysts at Oddo BHF last month flagged that the supercar maker had filed for a patent for its device, which could go into its first full-electric model coming in 2025.

Link
 
I just saw that on the news last night. You can hear a sample here,


A while back I posted this link to a new electric motorcycle company, that did the same thing, amplified the natural sound of the motor. ( Fast forward about 4 minutes to get to the riding )

 
Jim said:

Vroom Vroom.... :p​

Ferrari, Dodge fine-tune artificial noise for EVs​

Stellantis and Ferrari are betting customers will still want to keep making noise with EVs.​


View attachment 235819


When Stellantis unveiled its Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept in August, the muscle-car brand debuted an industry-first exhaust system for EVs.

“No, Dodge has not found a way for an electric car to pump equal parts engine noise and CO2 into the air,” Car and Driver wrote. It designed a system to amplify the near-silent hum of electric motors into “a 126-decibel cacophony worthy of the SRT badge.”

Ferrari too is working on a way to create distinctive noises tied to the actual performance of an EV powertrain, enabling drivers to not just feel but also hear realistic vehicle feedback.

Analysts at Oddo BHF last month flagged that the supercar maker had filed for a patent for its device, which could go into its first full-electric model coming in 2025.

Link
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Something similar here. Makes a puny lawnmower sized engine sound mean...
Of course, it would be easy to fit it to an electric vehicle, but it would just sound daft, then.
Not that it's not daft in the first place anyway.
http://www.souhan.ie/exhausts/v8-sound-generator.html
 
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