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Nomex posted:There's no reason you couldn't get an even bigger service than that. As long as the power company has the capacity, you could get 220v 1000a if you wanted. Actually, that's just about what you'd need to fast-charge a 300 mile battery (which in the Tesla Model S means just over 80kWh). Though by the time electric cars get to where they all come with 300 miles forth of batteries, we'll probably see a decent number of public fast-charging stations. Which we will of course need anyway if electric cars are ever to be usable for long trips. There's also the possibility of keeping a massive supercapacitor bank and using that to fast-charge a battery. It'd probably be better for the power grid not to have people turning 160kW chargers on and off all over the place.
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Jan 19, 2012 03:13
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Colonel Sanders posted:Apparently KIA is planning an EV called "Pop". It's ugly as sin, about the size of a smart car, and has a range of 100 miles. The good news it can recharge in 6hrs on 230V, or 30 minutes with "high voltage". Speaking of Smart cars, they've got an electric version in production. Specifically, one with a pathetically weak motor and no provision for charging in under eight hours. That might be forgivable if they were going for a low-cost alternative to the Leaf, but instead they're leasing it for $599 a month when you can lease a Leaf for about $350 a month.
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Jan 21, 2012 19:39
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roomforthetuna posted:Yeah, I was shocked to find that 'Smart' cars are almost less fuel efficient than lumpy things like Nissan Cubes / Kia Souls - I thought the whole point of them was efficiency, but apparently it's actually "being cute/impractical" instead. Also more expensive to buy, so that's both the reasonable justifications for calling it "Smart" gone. Actually, Smart cars were originally designed for European cities where that size car is the norm, and you can park perpendicular to the street. There are plenty of places in the US that look as if something as small as a Smart car would be nice to have, but in practice its small size probably won't help you all that often (parking perpendicular to the street is generally illegal in the US, and you can't quite fit two Smart cars in an average parking space). The European version does get legitimately good gas mileage (something like 50-60mpg, I think), but the company apparently couldn't be bothered to make much effort to maintain that as they were adapting it for American emissions standards. Though at least the Smart was relatively inexpensive, which makes it all the more baffling that they'd make the electric version cost more than its primary competitor (which, in the eyes of many people, is already too expensive for what it does). The only logical explanation is that they're specifically targeting yuppie trendwhores who care more about appearing environmentally friendly than being environmentally friendly. Even then, I'm pretty sure a lot of those people would rather have something that's at least fairly pleasant to drive.
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Jan 22, 2012 03:26
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Denzine posted:It appears to be comparing $30k and $40k vehicles to ones sometimes half of their price then saying it will take a very, very long time for fuel savings alone to make up the difference. I'd like to see a cost of ownership study which factors in all the maintenance items and common points of failure (engine oil, spark plugs, PCV valves, O2 sensors, that sort of thing) that don't exist in electric vehicles. Though that may have to wait until electric cars have been on the market long enough to gather meaningful data on long-term reliability (particularly concerning the batteries).
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Dec 13, 2012 00:27
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Suqit posted:I did it. I ordered a Fusion Energi. Now what we need is for Ford to offer radar cruise control in the C-Max. After all, they are trying to compete with the Prius V, and their radar unit is half as expensive as most others.
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Feb 18, 2013 01:47
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Suqit posted:I dismissed the Volt because it only seats 4 and there are 5 of us. Have you looked at the Ford Fusion Energi? We have one on order. The Fusion Energi also offers adaptive cruise control, which can be great for long trips.
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Apr 2, 2013 16:11
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You know how some concepts for super-efficient cars have the side rearview mirrors replaced with cameras and screens? Tesla is planning on actually doing that with their upcoming Model X crossover: http://www.teslamotors.com/modelx Given how many people don't know how to adjust mirrors properly, this sounds like a nice thing to have. illectro posted:My wife just has a bad habit of crashing into fixed objects and then denying responsibility. Then wait for the [mostly] autonomous version to come out: http://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/artificial-intelligence/tesla-working-towards-90-autonomous-car-within-three-years For that matter, Nissan is even planning to offer an autonomous Leaf by 2020: http://cleantechnica.com/2013/09/17/new-autonomous-electric-nissan-leaf/
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Sep 19, 2013 02:31
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Powercube posted:We have to watch for pedestrians, why can't they loving look before crossing! As I recall, the initial no-noise complaints came from blind people.
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Nov 13, 2013 03:34
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Advent Horizon posted:Can somebody hurry up and make an electric 4 wheeler I could use to plow? I don't need range, I don't need to take it hunting, I just need a plow for my driveway. The duty cycle is terrible for a gas engine. There are these, though I don't know how well they work for plowing: http://www.ecoeatv.com/ http://www.polaris.com/en-us/ranger-utv/side-by-sides/ranger-ev-avalanche-gray/features http://www.evepic.com/off-road/
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Nov 22, 2013 21:57
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bull3964 posted:Regardless, you are going to have to get over the feelings. We're 3-5 years out from widespread semi-autonomous vehicles. Humans are being phased out of the equation. Within a 20 years, the only time you'll be taking control is on side roads or weather so bad as to disable the sensors. It looks like Tesla went ahead and released the autopilot system ahead of schedule, making it a standard feature of every Model S produced thereafter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MO0vdNNzwxk There's been no mention of them making drivers keep their hands on the wheel like Mercedes and Acura.
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Dec 26, 2014 02:38
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sanchez posted:His target dates are hilariously bad. The Model X was supposed to be out in 2013, but was delayed until what has become Q3 2015 to help make the company profitable in 2013, which has now been pushed to 2020. At least their autopilot system was released ahead of schedule.
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Jan 15, 2015 00:00
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Goober Peas posted:The Volts' oil guesstometer supposedly takes oil age and ICE mileage into consideration (2 years max life allowed) . It's only had ~5700 miles of actual duty. I wonder if this thing would be good to have: http://www.amazon.com/Lubricheck-Motor-Oil-Tester-Contaminated/dp/B00HBAG9AC/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
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Jan 16, 2015 23:23
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I just noticed Hertz is renting the Model S through their Dream Cars program at certain California locations. I'd be tempted if they ever got one of the new ones with the autopilot system.
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Jan 29, 2015 02:53
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angryhampster posted:On the plus side, lower-end electrics and PHEVs are pretty cheap on the used market. You can pick up a used Volt with less than 30k miles for $15-17k in my area. I was briefly tempted to trade in my Prius for a C-Max Energi, but there's no way I'm giving up adaptive cruise control.
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Feb 1, 2015 20:36
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Boten Anna posted:Electric cars in general have way fewer moving parts and while I doubt what mechanical work has to be done on a Tesla would be cheap, service is still along the lines of "change air filter and rotate tires". The more worrisome thing that we don't have any good data on yet is how long until your average battery pack plummets in capacity and will we have cheaper/better batteries in time for it to not cost close to or over 5 digits when that happens? Well, Tesla is building their ginormo battery factory in Nevada, and they say they're still on track to start it up next year (with the intent of producing a car with a 200+ mile range at roughly the same price point as the Leaf). By the time the their cars start needing replacement batteries in significant numbers, the cost should be well below whatever it would be now.
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Apr 17, 2015 00:36
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KozmoNaut posted:They're less expensive than in other countries (because they are exempt from the 150+% tax+registration fee), but they're not really cheap-cheap. It brings the price of a Tesla Model S down to around a BMW 5-series level (including tax and registration), so around 600K NOK or $80K. Well, there's also the fact that Tesla is working on a 200 mile range car to sell four roughly the price of the Leaf. On the other hand, once gasoline starts going out of style, letting electric cars drive in bus lanes may no longer be feasible.
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May 8, 2015 01:07
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Mange Mite posted:I'll try to put this simply since this isn't finance chat. Currently, Tesla does not make money on cars while GM does. This can be sustained because investors are mostly sold on the hype and continue to give Tesla money, whereas GM does not have as good a reputation and a lot more debt. There's also the fact that major established companies like GM are often more concerned with making next quarter's financial statement look good than staying competitive over the long term (generally at the demand of greedy shortsighted investors). So anything that would take much more than a couple of years to pay for itself can be a tough sell, even if it'd mean getting in on the ground floor of something that will almost inevitably replace most of their current products within our lifetime. Though to be fair, it would kind of suck to spend several billion dollars on a battery factory, only to subsequently discover that it's no good for whatever nanotech voodoo ends up replacing today's lithium batteries. quote:The thinking is that eventually economies of scale and new technology will drop the price of Telsas to something that normal people can afford. I'm skeptical whether this will happen because the cells they're using are already pretty mature technologically and produced in really large volumes, and there's a limit to what economies of scale can do for you. Not that large when you consider that EVs currently account for a tiny percentage of the overall auto industry. For them to become more than a novelty, battery production is going to have to go way up. silence_kit posted:If the governments of the world seriously commit to wind and solar energy generation, something like this could be used to use/store the excess electricity the intermittent sources generate. I'd imagine supercapacitors would be even better, on account of their far higher charge/discharge performance and cycle life. Their energy density is currently crap, but it's not like that'd be much of a problem for something that's staying in one place. Cockmaster fucked around with this message at 22:41 on May 17, 2015 |
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May 17, 2015 22:39
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Mange Mite posted:Tesla loses money making their cars and is not profitable. Even Tesla itself states that they do not anticipate turning a profit in the next 5 years. Companies that aren't startups can't afford to lose money like that Isn't that mostly because all their revenue gets reinvested towards the goal of making cars that commoners like us can afford (such as with the $5 billion battery plant)?
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Jul 10, 2015 21:39
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CAT INTERCEPTOR posted:Yes, that's exactly what is going on. The cars themselves are running at a profit and has been for two years, but there a lot of capex being spent. There's the SUV and the new cheaper model coming along and being tooled up - there's not just the gigafactory but other plant and equipment to expand. And now I've been hearing that they're planning on bringing out a new Roadster when they're done with all that.
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Jul 23, 2015 02:50
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Speaking of batteries, it looks like MIT has developed a new battery which could utterly erase at least two of the issues with EVs: https://news.mit.edu/2015/solid-state-rechargeable-batteries-safer-longer-lasting-0817 Their battery (based on swapping out the liquid electrolyte of today's batteries with a solid) offers a fairly modest improvement in energy density, but it offers other advantages: -Effectively no risk of bursting into flame -Improved cold weather performance -Lifespan approaching that promised by supercapacitors (hundreds of thousands of cycles) The article didn't mention graphene or nano-something-or-others, so hopefully it'll be easier to mass produce than all those other future batteries we've been teased with. I wonder how hard it'd be for Tesla to retool their battery factory to crank out something like this. Not accounting for future advancements in battery technology in an investment of that magnitude would be a pretty nasty fuckup.
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Sep 11, 2015 23:16
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Boten Anna posted:These sound pretty neat too, like I wonder if they don't heat up as much under heavy use and charging, too, which would be nice for cell phone batteries. While 20-30% increase in density isn't an earthshattering improvement, it's certainly a sizable one. If it lets cars avoid the need for complex heating and cooling systems, that in itself would probably offer about 20-30% more energy in a given size pack.
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Sep 13, 2015 00:32
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Subjunctive posted:Do you mean that a fifth of a vehicle's power goes to cooling the battery? No, I meant that the space used for cooling hardware could instead be used to hold more batteries.
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Sep 13, 2015 02:19
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Boten Anna posted:Ugh that kind of thing is why I kinda hate hybrids. They often end up being a weird mix of the worst of "both worlds". Apparently the plugin option is like god expensive but it can only go 11 miles? Like, why? Rumor has it the 4th generation Pruis will increase the plug-in range to something useful (around 30 miles).
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Sep 21, 2015 23:34
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http://www.wsj.com/articles/apple-speeds-up-electric-car-work-1442857105 Apple has just formally confirmed that they will in fact, be working on an electric car, with a planned launch date sometime in 2019. Contrary to previous rumors, they won't be aiming for Google-level autonomy right away (though it is still a long-term goal). What are the odds that they'll actually end up with something worth a crap? 2019 is far enough out that Tesla could beat them to market with the Model 3 by a year or two. If they're not aiming for real autonomous driving, what could they bring to the table that'd attract interest?
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Sep 25, 2015 03:11
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Tesla just put out a new software update, this one enabling their highway autopilot feature: http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/216079-teslas-upgraded-autopilot-ships-with-this-weeks-version-7-software-upgrade If they keep expanding their Supercharger network, I'll have to consider eventually getting a Model 3. I don't suppose they're planning some sort of SUV/crossover variant of it like the Model X? Collateral Damage posted:Imagine what could have been. I've often wondered if there'd be any possible way to make that thing work (preferably without giving you cancer in places you never knew you had).
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Oct 16, 2015 02:40
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Un-l337-Pork posted:This is a PR nightmare waiting to happen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrwxEX8qOxA. Tesla is just a few idiots away from disaster. They programmed the autopilot so that the path of what it assumes to be the car ahead of you would take precedence over the actual lane markings (which were not obscured in any way)? And it can't tell the difference between a car traveling ahead of you and one coming towards you? Even by beta standards, that's messed up. Hopefully, it shouldn't be too hard to fix.
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Oct 22, 2015 00:26
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Phuzun posted:Thought you are supposed to keep your hands on your wheel? Doesn't take long to tighten your grip versus moving your hands in addition to the time it takes to react to that sound. So many idiots are going to off themselves for our entertainment, though. Some Romanian guy almost did that with the Mercedes lane keep assist: http://mercedesblog.com/testing-s-class-active-lane-keeping-asssist-rear-bench/
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Oct 22, 2015 01:51
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Phuzun posted:Excellent. Didn't realize Mercedes had that during as well, looks like they put some more thought into it, or just more safety. They introduced it on the 2014 S-class. It's probably just set up so that the steering controller only looks at the lane markings.
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Oct 23, 2015 22:44
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Stefan Prodan posted:What do you guys think of leasing a model S, like even if you could afford to buy one? I know that like generally leases are pretty bad deals especially if you think you'd be willing to keep the car for 5-8 years or whatever as I probably would, but I just think like since we have no idea what these cars will be like once they are 8 years old or if Tesla will possibly underestimate how much depreciation they have, leasing might make some sense until we figure out what the long term reliability and resale value are? Well, Elon Musk does keep boasting nearly to completely autonomous driving in three years. That may be pretty ambitious, but it's not that improbable that there'd be some major improvement to their technology in that time.
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Oct 26, 2015 00:56
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Mange Mite posted:Isn't their technology basically a licensed copy of Mercedes' tech? The basic idea of using computer vision to recognize lane markings (used in lane departure warning/lane keep assist systems) has been around for quite some time: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lane_departure_warning_system
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Oct 26, 2015 03:03
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Subjunctive posted:And required very detailed map information, I believe. Yeah, my understanding is that the cars are pre-loaded with detailed 3D scans of every roadway they're going to drive on. I can't imagine that being a practical solution for a final consumer product - even if Google managed to scan all the millions of miles of roads in the US, a few cars would inevitably run into newly built or modified roads before they could update their fancy 3D maps.
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Oct 27, 2015 01:19
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Linedance posted:It's not some foreign concept business model. At least they aren't forcing you to spend $10k on an options package you want nothing else from in order to get it, which is a major annoyance with every other manufacturer. Hell, it's less than what Toyota charges for the Advanced Technology Package on the Prius (which is only offered on the top trim level, and is basically a much less advanced version of the stuff in the Tesla autopilot system).
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Oct 29, 2015 02:18
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Some idiot fired up the Model S autopilot and climbed into the back seat: http://bgr.com/2015/11/09/tesla-autopilot-video/ In response to all the videos of people doing drat near everything they said not to, Tesla has announced plans to limit when the autopilot can be engaged (now word yet as to how). CommieGIR posted:Correct position errors with an IMU/INU like an aircraft. Some of the Alpine in-dash navigation systems actually have that feature, though that may be just for handling temporary signal loss (say, in a tunnel). The high quality IMUs used to actually enhance GPS data cost thousands of dollars (though that may just be due to low volume production).
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Nov 10, 2015 00:44
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Ranter posted:Shame Tesla pay is lovely compared to the rest of the bay area. They want all the skills but won't pay the going rate because "we're Tesla". I personally experienced this working with a recruiter for a position there. I've been wondering if there might be any worthwhile opportunities in their battery factory in Nevada (my background is in mechanical engineering, and I've been looking to get into robotics). Ranter posted:Presumably there is a ton of software being written into the cars themselves that the end users aren't interacting with though, right? For what it's worth, the push for autonomous cars should create quite a few programming jobs in AI and computer vision. Oh, and it looks like Tesla will be unveiling the Model 3 next March: http://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/autos/2015/11/20/consumers-see-tesla-model-march/76129270/
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Nov 22, 2015 00:09
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MrYenko posted:I don't disagree with THAT, but it also isn't what he said. If they can keep the featureset near that of the Model S, but smaller, lighter, and under $50k, they're going to sell as many as they can build. They haven't said a whole lot about what features they're planning on putting in the Model 3, aside from at least 200 miles of range. Though most of the noteworthy features of the Model S are based around relatively inexpensive parts, and they could probably reuse a lot of code from the Model S.
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Nov 22, 2015 01:05
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It looks like Nissan is planning to add some sort of highway autopilot to the Leaf pretty soon: http://www.topspeed.com/cars/car-news/nissan-unveiled-leaf-piloted-drive-10-concept-plans-autonomous-cars-by-2020-ar171582.html Now we just need them to improve the range to where one can meaningfully take advantage of that feature.
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Nov 23, 2015 03:35
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Ola posted:As we head into the age of the internet of lovely things, I feel strongly that cars need less computers, not more. About the Leaf charging thing, is it possible to have a timed electric plug? Like the ones that people use for switching lights on and off so it looks like they're home to burglars? You mean schedule your charging to take advantage of off-peak rates? I could've sworn the Volt had that feature. Beffer posted:Aromatherapy in your car. An important development for humanity building on the scented pine trees that hang from taxi drivers rear vision mirrors. We're living in the future, kids. The 2014 Mercedes S Class actually has that as an option.
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Nov 26, 2015 03:45
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Ola posted:I too think VWs only way out of their cheating mess is to take the lead on EVs. Electric SUV, Transporter and LT perhaps? A van for the professional market seems perfect for EV, a flat slab of a battery with a cargo box on top. They're already selling an electric Golf in select markets. I wonder if they'll start by expanding that.
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Dec 7, 2015 05:27
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Ola posted:I prefer the term enviro-mentally challenged. Joking aside, a truck is a pretty excellent platform for 4WD battery electric. But plugin hybrids are more likely to sell at the moment, and people seem to be good at actually plugging them in and trying to drive electric when possible. There are also hybrids on the market now which have the front wheels driven by the ICE and the rear wheel driven by an electric motor. It's not very powerful, but works well at low speed with low traction, snow, gravel etc. Hell, the Tesla Model X is rated to tow 5000 pounds, and it's based on the same chassis as the Model S. The problem is that if you want something which still has decent range under heavy load (as opposed to just a penis extension), you're going to need one hell of a battery pack. Battery prices are going to have to come WAY down (probably towards $100/kWh) before electric pickup trucks are remotely cost effective.
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Dec 24, 2015 00:19
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Ola posted:But that is a huge amount of people. Tesla buyers weren't all 5-series buyers who went green, many people who would never consider buying a car that size or in that price class jumped on it because they were enthusiastic about EVs. And many more people felt the same, but couldn't afford it. With the Bolt, many of those suddenly can. Consider that the only EV with a 200 mile range available for purchase today is a Tesla S70 RWD at $70,000 before incentives, the Bolt is almost half price. And while it's a bit apples/oranges to compare a huge family sedan with a compact crossover, for the market share that's still on the fence or looking to upgrade a 3-4 year old Leaf, the exact category of vehicle isn't as important as price, battery range and the "actually usable" factor (i.e. not a Roadster or a shoebox with wheels). Plus, we won't really know how a $30,000 price tag compares with gasoline cars until we find out what kinds of features we'd be getting. There hasn't yet been any official word for that sort of thing (though it's highly probable the Model 3 will offer autopilot similar to the Model S, making it the cheapest car with that feature by a wide margin).
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Jan 10, 2016 23:13
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