The battery will just about get you from Fort Worth to Dallas.
JeffT ....
LMAO ... But don't be so skeptical. I think DFW has a charging station.
Rub a Dub
Elon Musk, And The CyberTruck That Homer Built
by Simon 42 Replies latest social current
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RubaDub
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JeffT
I'm not skeptical. All you need is cord that reaches from where you are to where you're going.
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wozza
It looks like a pregnant Marty McFly car , so angular.
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waton
manby comments sound like sour grapes. This guy has a habit to send his favoured vehicles into space, and perhaps this configuration is actually deigned in other versions to also serve as an all terrain (Martian) to be used on his planned space missions.The American Motors 'Gremlin' does not compete here.
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hoser
Electric vehicles are definitely the way forward, but I personally think Elon Musk is a dreamer. Gm and Ford’s electric trucks are projected to come out in 2021. Why would I send Musk a check sight unseen for a pickup truck when I can go to my local General Motors dealer take one home after a test drive.
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road to nowhere
I want a Foden steam wagon
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Simon
Toyota have a new RAV4 coming out next year which is a PHEV - a Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle. That's a small ICE (internal combustion engine) combined with a battery and electric motor which can be plugged in to charge (as well as self-charging). The plug-in part means the battery and electric motor can be larger than the normal hybrid which gives it 310 horses with 0-60 of 5.9s (2nd fastest in Toyotas range, after the Supra) but still 90 MPG. And it looks like a regular SUV instead of a clown-car. You can go on long trips, because it can charge itself on the way, but you also have a 40 mile full-electric range which itself could cover many people's daily commute. The regenerative braking can often extend this depending on how you drive with it using the ICE when it makes sense for efficiency or power.
Hybrids are far more practical and realistic than all electric because until you have ultra-fast recharge or replaceable batteries, you will always have anxiety going on a long drive or road trip. I watched a video of someone reviewing a road-trip in a Tesla and they were trying to make out it was no problem but it looked like a stressful nightmare with long-stops where they recharged and slow driving to eek out the range. All-electric and charging stations only work when there is a relatively small number of people using them. It doesn't need many more to make them even more impractical than they already are.
The only all-electric vehicle I'd consider right now is an e-scooter, for mucking about.
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RubaDub
Hybrids are far more practical and realistic than all electric because until you have ultra-fast recharge or replaceable batteries, you will always have anxiety going on a long drive or road trip.
Simon ...
I did have my share of engineering classes in college but my major was not engineering. But I could never understand why this type of hybrid is not more common. Even BMW does it with the i3, an electric car with a small 2 cylinder motor that adds range and charges the battery as you drive.
Since cruising on flat terrain may require only 30-50 horsepower depending on the size/weight of the vehicle, why not have a small (50-75 hp turbo) under the hood to provide enough energy to cruise and yet charge the vehicle at the same time. A small diesel would, IMO, be even better, though a bit more expensive.
When going up a hill or passing, the electric kicks in. When going down the hill, most of the energy would be used to charge the battery and of course the regenerative process when putting on the brakes would further add to the recharge process.
Granted, it may not be the best choice of technology for cruising through the Rockies all day but for 90% or more people that live in flatter terrain it would be a winner. It's no different from living here in the southern part of the US. Trying to find an SUV (other than a Jeep Wrangler) that is 4 wheel drive is difficult to do. Go a few hundred miles north where snow is common, then its hard to find an SUV that is not 4 wheel drive. Difference places, different types of cars.
But I agree that there would be stress (and time) involved in finding a place to recharge a car if you are not on a highway, especially at night.
Rub a Dub
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waton
They are running a car at 628+ miles a hour in Elon's home country right now. with his wedge shape offering I would not be surprised if they put one of his rockets in that bed and go for a "truck" speed record.
re bullet proof side windows, they just cratered, held in their frames. standard truck windows would have crumbled in thousand pieces.
