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numerobis

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #2050 on: July 04, 2017, 06:44:54 PM »
For many reasons we want to incentivize pedestrians and bicycles as transit, not relegate them to second-class citizens (as they generally are treated now).

Having automated cars should reduce the accident rate. They should only very rarely forget to stop at a stop sign, or fail to notice a kid running out into the street. And at intersections, pedestrians and cyclists should have the right of way.

Bob Wallace

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #2051 on: July 04, 2017, 07:16:18 PM »
Quote
And at intersections, pedestrians and cyclists should have the right of way.

Limited right of way.  Like now when we have periods when crossing the street is OK - crossing lights.  If we don't limit then it would be impossible to drive on some streets during some hours.  The intersection would just be an extension of the sidewalk.


Sigmetnow

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #2052 on: July 04, 2017, 07:35:39 PM »
Quote
And at intersections, pedestrians and cyclists should have the right of way.

Limited right of way.  Like now when we have periods when crossing the street is OK - crossing lights.  If we don't limit then it would be impossible to drive on some streets during some hours.  The intersection would just be an extension of the sidewalk.

 Some have made the argument that autonomous vehicles won't work because pedestrians will simply step out onto the street at will, knowing the autonomous vehicle must look out for them and stop.  The ultimate "trust fall," I guess. 

I imagine there would be ways to dissuade people from such behavior.  Horns.  Automated messages of varying severity directed at the offender.  Sprays of water.  Muddy water...  ;)
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gerontocrat

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #2053 on: July 04, 2017, 07:41:46 PM »
I am a pedestrian (in England). I have many incidents where motorists assume they have the right of way. They do not. Muddy water ? Only because the urban roads in the USA are crap.
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Bob Wallace

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #2054 on: July 04, 2017, 07:53:02 PM »
Quote
I imagine there would be ways to dissuade people from such behavior.  Horns.  Automated messages of varying severity directed at the offender.  Sprays of water.  Muddy water...  ;)

EVs will be camera-rich.  Pictures of anyone intentionally interfering with traffic flow could be instantly sent to the closest patrol cars.

Or automated stun guns...

Sigmetnow

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #2055 on: July 04, 2017, 08:04:58 PM »
A spray of "essence of skunk" might suffice.  ;D
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #2056 on: July 04, 2017, 08:21:14 PM »
Updating the "green car life cycle" data, and looking towards the future.

A Tesla is greener than you think and getting greener – a look at manufacturing
Quote
... what was true 5 years ago for electric vehicles is not the reality today and that in turn won’t be representative of the future.  Electricity is getting cleaner, cars are getting lighter, recycling is improving, and batteries are becoming more energy dense.  All of this makes manufacturing an EV more sustainable.  The big question is how quickly and how much can they improve? ...
http://www.teslarati.com/tesla-greener-think-getting-greener-look-manufacturing/
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #2057 on: July 04, 2017, 09:42:27 PM »
San Francisco’s traffic planners weren’t expecting rise of Uber and Lyft when it drew up a blueprint for more bus- and bike-only lanes — and less space for cars
http://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/matier-ross/article/SF-s-traffic-planners-weren-t-expecting-rise-11262399.php
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Bob Wallace

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #2058 on: July 05, 2017, 02:45:38 AM »
Randy Carlson has an article up on the coming Tesla battery powered tractor (puller for 18-wheel tractor trailer).   

https://seekingalpha.com/article/4085696-will-tesla-disrupt-long-haul-trucking?isDirectRoadblock=false&uprof=46&utoken=9c57e2785061ee2f037d014ce7fbc3e2

Note: Seeking Alpha hosts some really terrible articles.  But Randy has published some interesting thought pieces on Tesla.  He did a very good job of predicting the Model 3 well before Tesla started releasing info.

Mathiasdm

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #2059 on: July 05, 2017, 07:05:36 AM »
The first question to ask is whether there is pent up demand to drive more.  Are people not driving as much as they would like because it costs too much per mile?

I'd guess that most people are already driving as much as they would like to drive.  Many would love to drive less.
That's a good question. While I would intuitively agree that most people don't want to drive more and would prefer to drive less, in practice, there's a phenomenon known as 'induced demand', which always seems to come back to bite city planners that decide to widen roads or add new roads. If you widen the road or add new roads, more people will use a car, rather than alternative forms of transportation.

It also works on other systems though, and that's where things get interesting... Here in Belgium, we have a concept of 'cycle highways' (I know, it also exists in other countries, as mentioned in this thread), which also show the existence of induced demand. If you improve the transportation options for cyclists (by adding separate, safe lanes and cycleways), more people will cycle.

You can see this in the following dataset: http://geoviz.ugent.be/
The cycle highway between Antwerp and Brussels is ready until Mechelen (you can clearly see the line going down), and there's also a mostly complete cycle highway from Leuven to Brussels.


I haven't given a lot of thought about bikes and pedestrians.  But I would think that the system could create 'bike highways' where groups of bikes could ride non-stop on a few major routes.  As long as you're within the pack the side street and turning traffic could stop and let you pass.  (Ride through 'windows' lasting X minutes.  If you don't make it through with the pack you're trailing you'd be at the head of the next pack.)

The bike highways might run on roads parallel with the main traffic routes when possible.  Car traffic might be limited to one way leaving room for bike lanes in both directions.  The only cars driving in the lane might be ones going only a block or two.  Put the car and parking lanes on one side of the street, bike lanes on the other.
Why not give them dedicated 'bike highways', rather than having them shared with a normal major route? A major principle in safe and efficient cycling is dedicated infrastructure.

(My apologies if this is starting to diverge from the cars topic. Perhaps we should move it to the bikes topic?)

numerobis

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #2060 on: July 05, 2017, 02:37:06 PM »
Quote
And at intersections, pedestrians and cyclists should have the right of way.

Limited right of way.  Like now when we have periods when crossing the street is OK - crossing lights.  If we don't limit then it would be impossible to drive on some streets during some hours.  The intersection would just be an extension of the sidewalk.

If it's impossible to drive on some streets during certain hours, close those streets to automobile traffic.

Why aim for the extreme car culture prevalent in the US, even with autonomous electric cars? Individual cars require devoting a lot of space and energy to cars.

Autonomous EV taxis reduce the space by about half once adopted at a systemic level (reduced parking needs and slightly reduced traffic). Cycling reduces the space needed by a factor of ten.

Energy wise, EVs reduce by a factor of three or four compared to ICEVs, plus a bit better from lower traffic when most cars become autonomous. Cycling or walking nearly eliminates the energy requirement -- they might be net negative given the reduction in healthcare costs compared to driving.

Autonomous EVs are great compared to human-driven ICEVs, but can't hold a candle to walking or cycling.

Bob Wallace

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #2061 on: July 05, 2017, 03:34:18 PM »
To some extent I agree with you.  But on a practical level we need to find a way to move vehicles efficiently through our cities.

With self-driving cars we should be able to greatly reduce on street parking which can free up area for pedestrians and cyclists.


Sigmetnow

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #2062 on: July 05, 2017, 06:31:09 PM »
Daimler announces new $740 million battery factory in China for Mercedes-Benz’s EVs
https://electrek.co/2017/07/05/daimler-battery-factory-china-mercedes-benzs-electric-cars/

But they will only be assembling battery modules and packs -- not manufacturing the cells themselves.
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #2063 on: July 06, 2017, 03:32:14 AM »
Tesla 3 hits the road this month.  And now it's going to be interesting to see how other car manufacturers respond.  Do they have some announcements that they'll make in order to try to take some attention away from Tesla?

Oh, yes!  Here's Volvo's attempt.  "All new models after 2019 will be electrified" -- which means old ICE models will still be made.  And they include "mild hybrids", which are not electrically-driven at all.  So, really a non-announcement. ::) But they have to have something in hand when customers hear about the Model 3 and ask, "When are you going electric?"

Volvo is adding electric motors to all its future vehicles starting in 2019
https://electrek.co/2017/07/05/volvo-is-adding-an-electric-motor-to-all-its-future-vehicles-starting-in-2019/
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ghoti

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #2064 on: July 06, 2017, 04:04:00 AM »
Volvo's announcement managed to fool most mainstream media outlets I saw - most headlines claimed Volvo was going only electric.

Bob Wallace

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #2065 on: July 06, 2017, 04:10:57 AM »
The RE and EV knowledge pool is not very deep among mainstream media.

I heard a MSM reporter state that the Tesla 3 will cost $35k - after the federal subsidy.  And bemoan the lack of a sub $30k option.

Sigmetnow

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #2066 on: July 06, 2017, 03:22:43 PM »
Bloomberg New Energy Finance updates its global long-term Electric Vehicle Outlook (EVO) forecast, predicting much faster growth:
Quote
“The EV revolution is going to hit the car market even harder and faster than BNEF predicted a year ago. EVs are on track to accelerate to 54% of new car sales by 2040. Tumbling battery prices mean that EVs will have lower lifetime costs, and will be cheaper to buy, than internal combustion engine (ICE) cars in most countries by 2025-29.”
https://about.bnef.com/electric-vehicle-outlook/

But Electrek argues Bloomberg is still being very conservative:
Quote
... Once all-electric powertrains, due to the falling cost of batteries, reach cost parity with internal combustion engines before accounting for cost of operation (gas and maintenance savings), there will be virtually no reason for buyers to want gas-powered cars over battery-powered cars.

At the rate battery costs are falling, it will happen soon (between 2020 and 2025) and the industry should transition their production capacity over the following 10 years.

While France just announced an initiative to ban petrol and diesel cars completely:
Quote
France’s new environment minister, Nicolas Hulot, has announced a series of measures today aiming to make France a carbon neutral country by 2050.

The most radical one is a ban on petrol and diesel cars in 2040.

Several countries have suggested goals and have explored mandates to discourage the sales of gas-powered cars in the future, but France is aiming for an actual ban.  It’s later than others’ goals, like Norway aiming for 2025, but again, those are just goals while France is talking about a government enforced ban.

Also, those goals generally refer to the end of new petrol car sales, but Hulot is actually talking about a phase-out period starting now. It is being reported as “all petrol and gas cars” and the minister actually said “the end of the sale of petrol or diesel vehicles between now and 2040.”
https://electrek.co/2017/07/06/france-ban-petrol-diesel-cars-2040-electric/
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #2067 on: July 06, 2017, 03:48:45 PM »
The RE and EV knowledge pool is not very deep among mainstream media.

I heard a MSM reporter state that the Tesla 3 will cost $35k - after the federal subsidy.  And bemoan the lack of a sub $30k option.

The knowledge is limited amongst most ordinary people, as well. But when they start hearing more about electric vehicles... and visit that Tesla "electric car dealership" out of curiosity...  and take a test drive of a performance version of the Model S or X (which Tesla is supplying to all of its outlets, for loaner and test drives, specifically for the Wow factor)...  people will be hooked.

So many owner stories on the Tesla website start with people knowing nothing about EVs... taking a test drive... then swearing they would never go back to petrol.

https://www.tesla.com/customer-stories

And EV owners are the most powerful advocates for the technology.
« Last Edit: July 06, 2017, 03:53:58 PM by Sigmetnow »
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oren

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #2068 on: July 06, 2017, 04:42:42 PM »
"Everybody" (at least middle-aged men) knows Tesla is a very cool car, but pricey. This could easily change with model 3.

ritter

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #2069 on: July 06, 2017, 06:12:00 PM »
I'm now at 10,000 miles with my Leaf. While the car is very "vanilla", I really like it. It's smooth, quite and fairly nimble. It handles my 60 mile round trip commute easily with 20-25% of its battery left when I get home. Maintenance so far has consisted of a tire rotation. I do have a backup gas burner (small truck that also serves as the household crap hauler) that I've called on a couple of times for longer range trips. The Leaf is currently supplied (as is my house) with 100% geothermal energy, so it's about as clean as it gets.

As of now, the long-term plan is buy out the lease in 2 years and hand it off to my daughter who will be hitting 16 at about that same time. It will likely be replaced by a used Bolt. A 200 mile range would serve 99.9% of my driving.

magnamentis

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #2070 on: July 06, 2017, 06:17:09 PM »
@oren

less pricy and less cool exactly as usual IMO which does not take anything away about tesla starting to produce cars for a greater public.

Sigmetnow

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #2071 on: July 06, 2017, 07:39:07 PM »
Tesla “Gigafactory 1” update. "...workforce has definitely grown exponentially during the first half of the year."

https://electrek.co/2017/07/06/tesla-gigafactory-1-new-aerial-picture-model-3-production/
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Bob Wallace

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #2072 on: July 06, 2017, 07:58:17 PM »
Quote
But Electrek argues Bloomberg is still being very conservative:

I agree with Electrek.  I think the uptake of EVs will be swift.  And due to multiple drivers, of which cost is only one.

First, there's economics.  EVs should soon be cheaper to manufacture than ICEVs.  That may  happen starting tomorrow when the Tesla 3 begins production.  If not then, probably within two years as economies of scale kick in and the Tesla manufacturing system is fine tuned. 

At first purchase prices may stay high because demand will likely outstrip supply.  Over a short period enough new EV options should appear so that sales competition brings down profits to ordinary levels.

Then include the much lower operating/maintenance costs.  An EV will pay for itself with fuel and maintenance savings over the life of the car.

Second, EVs will give millions of people something they can personally do to lower carbon emissions.  If they can drive an EV for the same or less than a gasmobile lots of people will gladly do so.  Millions are likely to be willing to pay a modest purchase price premium in order to cut their personal carbon footprint.

Corporations and governments are going to 'green' their fleets.  Saving money and being more responsible are major selling points.  Lots of cities are setting goals of lowering their carbon emissions.

Third, cities are going to get serious about air quality.  By switching buses and other municipal vehicles to electric and by dissuading fossil fueled vehicles inside the city they will be able to greatly improve the quality of life and lower healthcare costs.

Fourth, self-driving.  Older people and women are the largest purchasers of new cars.  And, I'm guessing, will be much more interested in a self-driving car than younger males.  (As an 'older', I have my Tesla 3/Y money set aside while I wait to see if they can actually drive themselves.)

I listened to a discussion of self-driving cars yesterday. It was the presenter's opinion that we are unlikely to see self-driving ICEVs (or at least many).  If you want a car that drives itself then your opion is likely an EV.

People bought washing machines because they saved labor.  They switched from B&W TVs to color TVs because the picture was in color. 





All these technology switches had a single driver.  EVs will have multiple.

Sigmetnow

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #2073 on: July 06, 2017, 09:39:37 PM »
Quote
But Electrek argues Bloomberg is still being very conservative:

I agree with Electrek.  I think the uptake of EVs will be swift.  And due to multiple drivers, of which cost is only one.

First, there's economics.  EVs should soon be cheaper to manufacture than ICEVs.  That may  happen starting tomorrow when the Tesla 3 begins production.  If not then, probably within two years as economies of scale kick in and the Tesla manufacturing system is fine tuned. 

<snip>

Musk's new obsession is building "the machine that builds the machine," using "physics first principles" to design the next generation of factory: an "alien dreadnought" that does not even resemble today's factories, and outputs something like 3 to 5 times faster than the fastest vehicle factories today, due to increasing automation.

As compared to, say, the one "slow" line in Michigan producing Chevy Bolts.  ;)

As other auto companies update or build new factories to make the switch to EVs, they must include similar efficiencies.  The same way established rocket companies, who laughed at the idea of reusable rockets, now see their old way of doing business about to be made obsolete.

Exciting times!

http://tech.firstpost.com/news-analysis/tesla-is-increasing-the-speed-of-model-3-production-by-changing-assembly-line-strategy-373007.html
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #2074 on: July 06, 2017, 10:05:11 PM »
U.S (almost) coast to coast in an EV: under 52 hours -- including (Super)charging!

2830 miles (4,554 km)

New EV Cannonball record set in a Tesla Model S
https://electrek.co/2017/07/06/tesla-model-s-cannonball-ev-record/
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TerryM

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #2075 on: July 06, 2017, 11:38:54 PM »
I'm now at 10,000 miles with my Leaf.
...
 The Leaf is currently supplied (as is my house) with 100% geothermal energy, so it's about as clean as it gets.
...
As of now, the long-term plan is buy out the lease in 2 years and hand it off to my daughter who will be hitting 16 at about that same time. It will likely be replaced by a used Bolt. A 200 mile range would serve 99.9% of my driving.


Congratulations!
Wonderful to hear from those that have taken the plunge, then resurfaced to tell us of what lies ahead. What a wonderful way to start your daughter out, she truly represents the vanguard of those that may never buy a single gallon of gasoline - or diesel.
Terry

Bob Wallace

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #2076 on: July 07, 2017, 12:27:00 AM »
"alien dreadnought"

If Musk has called it right then Tesla is going to have a multi-year headstart on everyone else.  (Assuming no other company has been developing the same capability behind closed doors.)

That should mean that Tesla can manufacture and sell their EVs cheaper than other companies for several years, crank out tons of them, and grab a large market share.

As long as car companies don't deliver lemons there tends to be a lot of brand loyalty.  If Tesla gets a lot of satisfied customers they're likely to hang on to them.

(SpaceX launched three rockets in 12 days.  I think two of the three were recovered.  The payload for the third was so heavy that all the fuel had to be used to reach orbit.  No fuel left for a recovery.)


ritter

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #2077 on: July 07, 2017, 12:39:01 AM »

Congratulations!
Wonderful to hear from those that have taken the plunge, then resurfaced to tell us of what lies ahead. What a wonderful way to start your daughter out, she truly represents the vanguard of those that may never buy a single gallon of gasoline - or diesel.
Terry

Thanks. Just trying to share some real world info on a currently attainable EV. Teslas are sexy as hell but I'd rather pay my mortgage.  ;)

Sigmetnow

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #2078 on: July 07, 2017, 01:30:30 PM »

Congratulations!
Wonderful to hear from those that have taken the plunge, then resurfaced to tell us of what lies ahead. What a wonderful way to start your daughter out, she truly represents the vanguard of those that may never buy a single gallon of gasoline - or diesel.
Terry

Thanks. Just trying to share some real world info on a currently attainable EV. Teslas are sexy as hell but I'd rather pay my mortgage.  ;)

The LEAF is selling amazingly well, considering a new, longer-range version is due later this year.  People are getting some crazy good discounts.

I hope Nissan will spend more of their advertising on the LEAF this year, to make more people aware of it.  Things have changed so much, they won't even need to include a polar bear this time.  EVs are not just for eco-hippies any more.  :D
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ritter

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #2079 on: July 07, 2017, 05:40:26 PM »
The LEAF is selling amazingly well, considering a new, longer-range version is due later this year.  People are getting some crazy good discounts.

I managed an $80/month lease with no money down and $1500 toward a 220v changer after rebates. The timing was almost perfect with the VW settlement on the TDI (my former car--imagine a wagon with manual transmission that was fun to drive and returned 50 mpg on the highway--too bad about the emissions thing). I would love to have held out for a Bolt but figured for the price, might as well begin the experiment! We do own a gas family car but I won't ever commute on anything but electric again.

Sigmetnow

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #2080 on: July 09, 2017, 12:57:17 AM »
 This is from March, but I don't find that it has been posted here before.

Can Sully Transform the World of Self-Driving Cars?
  The Drive interviews Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger about autonomous cars, driver distraction and a certain Hudson River water landing.
Quote
...
In a recent interview, Sully made clear three simple messages: 1) we need real standards for self-driving cars, 2) the industry needs to reboot its approach to semi-autonomous cars, and 3) drivers education “is a national disgrace.”
...
http://www.thedrive.com/tech/8300/can-sully-transform-the-world-of-self-driving-cars
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #2081 on: July 09, 2017, 12:49:41 PM »
One year ago, after the unprecedented number of advance reservations for the car, Elon Musk accelerated his already aggressive plans and said he was aiming for first production of the all-electric Tesla Model 3 in July 2017.  Here is the first production vehicle.  (It's Musk's.)

Tesla Model 3: pictures of the very first production unit at the factory
https://electrek.co/2017/07/09/tesla-model-3-production-pictures/
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Bob Wallace

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« Reply #2082 on: July 09, 2017, 04:07:21 PM »
That's a good looking car.  I might have to buy one.  I hope they offer a nice shade of red.

I'm waiting to see if self-driving is developed enough for the car to drive itself on well-marked roads.  (I figure I can keep it together to do the few miles of unpaved road to my house.  It's the long, boring drives that are becoming less enjoyable.)

And I want to see how much cargo room the M3 has.  I expect to visit a showroom in the next couple of months to check out a M3 in person.

I just read an article written in March of this year that claimed that Tesla would not be able to produce the M3 in 2017....    ;D

Sigmetnow

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #2083 on: July 10, 2017, 10:08:52 PM »
And here's the flip side of the EV business today.  Everyone saw this coming except Faraday Future itself.

Faraday Future gives up on its $1 billion EV factory, says it’s looking for something else
https://electrek.co/2017/07/10/faraday-future-ev-factory-2/
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TerryM

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #2084 on: July 11, 2017, 04:28:37 AM »
And here's the flip side of the EV business today.  Everyone saw this coming except Faraday Future itself.

Faraday Future gives up on its $1 billion EV factory, says it’s looking for something else
https://electrek.co/2017/07/10/faraday-future-ev-factory-2/


Sigmetnow
You can't imagine how impressed I am when I see you writing something negative about a subject you're so passionate about.
Nuff Said
Terry

Bob Wallace

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #2085 on: July 11, 2017, 06:54:48 AM »
From early on it seemed to me that the people behind Faraday were suffering from delusions of grandeur.  They set out to build a very expensive factory without first making some EVs and getting them in the public's hands.  FF seemed to want to skip the first decade of work that Tesla put in and jump right into the center ring of the Big Top. 

(Which has also folded up.)

Sigmetnow

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #2086 on: July 11, 2017, 08:50:50 PM »
And here's the flip side of the EV business today.  Everyone saw this coming except Faraday Future itself.

Faraday Future gives up on its $1 billion EV factory, says it’s looking for something else
https://electrek.co/2017/07/10/faraday-future-ev-factory-2/

Sigmetnow
You can't imagine how impressed I am when I see you writing something negative about a subject you're so passionate about.
Nuff Said
Terry

Terry,
Thanks.

Most EV news is good! ;) ;D

But even I have limits. ::)
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #2087 on: July 12, 2017, 01:51:38 AM »
The (near) future of supercharging:  40 stalls, solar panels, and... food trucks?

An exclusive look at Tesla’s plan to build largest EV charging station in the world with 40 Superchargers
https://electrek.co/2017/07/11/tesla-supercharger-largest-ev-charging-station-world/
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #2088 on: July 12, 2017, 02:09:29 AM »
Colorado signs on to U.S. Climate Alliance, joining states committed to exceeding Trump’s rejected Paris climate targets
Gov. Hickenlooper orders statewide greenhouse gas emissions cut
Quote
The order commits state agencies to work strategically with utilities on a voluntary basis to maximize use of renewable energy without increasing costs to taxpayers. It calls for a statewide electric vehicle plan by 2018.

Hickenlooper said Colorado will establish “charging corridors” along highways “to reduce range anxiety” – the fear among electric vehicle drivers that their batteries will die before they reach destinations. “You’ll be able to drive an electric car from Colorado to the Pacific, and from Denver to Moffat County without fear,” he said.
http://www.denverpost.com/2017/07/11/colorado-signs-us-climate-alliance-joining-states-committed-paris-climate-agreement/
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #2089 on: July 12, 2017, 08:28:34 PM »
China could field nearly half of new electric car models by 2020: study
Quote
Chinese automakers are on track to produce 49 of the 103 new electric car models that will be launched globally by 2020, as part of China's push to accelerate the switch to battery power from oil, according to a new forecast released on Wednesday.
...
By 2025, electric vehicle batteries should be close to even with internal combustion engines in terms of production costs, AlixPartners forecast. Lower battery costs could help boost consumer acceptance.
...
AlixPartners also cautioned that many of the roughly 50 companies it counts as contestants in the race to develop self-driving cars won't go the distance. "It's impossible to believe there will be 50 successful autonomous vehicle companies," Hoffecker said.

In the United States, AlixPartners said automakers will have to contend with funding investments in new technology against deep-pocketed technology industry players such as Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc, even as sales of cars and light trucks slide into a cyclical trough.

AlixPartners is forecasting that U.S. car and light truck sales will fall to 15.2 million vehicles in 2019, down 13 percent from the 2016 peak. Other U.S. analysts also predict a slowdown in vehicle sales during the next two to three years.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-autos-electricvehicles-study-idUSKBN19X0BW
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Bob Wallace

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« Reply #2090 on: July 12, 2017, 08:37:53 PM »
Quote
It's impossible to believe there will be 50 successful autonomous vehicle companies,

LG Chem is manufacturing the batteries, putting them in packs, bundling the packs with motors and controls, then shipping them to GM so that GM can manufacture EVs.

If we are willing to call GM the "manufacturer" then I can see the potential for dozens of EV manufacturers.  Coach builders.  Coach builders who purchase their running gear from a few companies like LG that do all the battery/drive stuff.  Coaches for young adults with no kids, for families, for older adults, etc.
--

Of course if we move heavily to robo-taxis there will be far less demand for "unique, fit my style" models.  We could see only a handful off models - a basic taxi and some number of specialized models.  A long distance driver - fully reclining seats and lots of windows.  A 'bring stuff home' model with lots of room for big box stuff.

Sigmetnow

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #2091 on: July 12, 2017, 08:39:41 PM »
1,000 new EV charging stations coming along German Autobahn by 2020
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Germany has the ambitious goal to have 1 million electric vehicles on its road by 2020 and while it is seen as unlikely with just over 50,000 vehicles registered to date, EnBW says that it doesn’t want [lack of charging locations] to be an obstacle to achieving that goal.
https://electrek.co/2017/07/12/1000-ev-charging-stations-german-autobahn/
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #2092 on: July 12, 2017, 09:40:02 PM »
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

Bruce Steele

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #2093 on: July 12, 2017, 10:05:45 PM »
Sig, Re. Kettleman City supercharging station. There are several large solar arrays that have been built along Highway 41 that crosses the I-5 at Kettleman. The closest one is only about five miles north.
 It gets pretty hot there so an indoor lounge is necessary. Maybe tesla owners might bring some upscale restaurants to the rather truckstop fare currently available.
 Gas stations in Kettleman charge rather usurious rates for gas with a dollar a gallon higher than stations not on the interstate.

 

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #2094 on: July 12, 2017, 10:35:22 PM »
Sig, Re. Kettleman City supercharging station. There are several large solar arrays that have been built along Highway 41 that crosses the I-5 at Kettleman. The closest one is only about five miles north.
 It gets pretty hot there so an indoor lounge is necessary. Maybe tesla owners might bring some upscale restaurants to the rather truckstop fare currently available.
 Gas stations in Kettleman charge rather usurious rates for gas with a dollar a gallon higher than stations not on the interstate.

Kettleman City always seemed like it should have been in the Road Warrior movies. I was driven through it a lot as a kid. Summer time really was like hell.

Sigmetnow

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #2095 on: July 13, 2017, 03:54:44 PM »
Sig, Re. Kettleman City supercharging station. There are several large solar arrays that have been built along Highway 41 that crosses the I-5 at Kettleman. The closest one is only about five miles north.
 It gets pretty hot there so an indoor lounge is necessary. Maybe tesla owners might bring some upscale restaurants to the rather truckstop fare currently available.
 Gas stations in Kettleman charge rather usurious rates for gas with a dollar a gallon higher than stations not on the interstate.

Kettleman City always seemed like it should have been in the Road Warrior movies. I was driven through it a lot as a kid. Summer time really was like hell.

That may explain the food-trucks-even-though-fast-food-is-nearby. 8)
Quote
For example, it includes an area for food trucks to park right on the site so that owners have some more dining options when charging – though there are plenty of fast food joints within walking distance of the location. McDonald’s, Carl’s Jr., In-and-Out, Starbucks, Jack in the Box and Denny’s are all just around the corner.
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Sigmetnow

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« Reply #2096 on: July 13, 2017, 03:59:06 PM »
Mercedes adds battery pack production to another factory as part of electric car transition
https://electrek.co/2017/07/13/mercedes-electric-car-production/

Musk has also said he would like his future Tesla factories (locations to be announced later this year) to have battery and vehicle production at the same site.  Trend?
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Sigmetnow

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« Reply #2097 on: July 13, 2017, 10:21:52 PM »
Stay strong, China!

Virtually all automakers (except for Tesla) are asking China to slow down electric car mandate
Quote
...China, the world’s biggest car market, has somewhat of an aggressive ZEV mandate that would force Automakers to have zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) represent 8% of new car sales as soon as 2018 and quickly ramp up to 12% by 2020.
...
The “six recommended modifications” include slowing the rollout of the mandate by 1 to 3 years, reconsidering the penalty system if they don’t meet the quota, having credits not only for all-electric cars but also plug-in hybrid cars, and basically making the whole mandate weaker so that they don’t have to produce as many electric cars.

It’s not the first time that the auto industry banded together to weaken the rollout of electric cars. Virtually the exact same situation happened in an attempt to block EPA’s new fuel consumption standard in the US.
...
https://electrek.co/2017/07/13/automakers-but-tesla-china-slow-down-electric-car-mandate/
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Bob Wallace

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« Reply #2098 on: July 14, 2017, 08:05:39 AM »
Quote
Virtually all automakers (except for Tesla) are asking China to slow down electric car mandate
Quote

I bet BYD is not part of the 'virtually all'.  BYD is a battery company that makes EVs.

numerobis

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« Reply #2099 on: July 14, 2017, 04:29:17 PM »
A bunch of foreign (to China) automakers are asking China to slow down.

Hopefully China takes that as a sign to speed up.