Piston engines are the future for cars - electric motors are not

[Karim D. Ghantous]

Unless we get a revolution in electric cell technology, electric cars have no future. Lithium-ion is not going to cut it. Piston engines, OTOH, continue to improve. See Mazda's SCCI engine, which basically induces a controlled knock with a lean air:fuel mixture:

(13:46)

Then there are cars like the BMW E38 7 Series. Why buy a new car when you can buy a perfectly good one secondhand?

(23:38)

 

[Alex Zeder]

We get a revolution in electric cell technology. The mechanical age is over.

 

[Nick Morrison]

Have you ever driven in an electric car? They are like 1000x better. Even the budget Chevy Bolt goes 0-60 in 6.5secs, as quick as our Mini Cooper S. And the Tesla plaid can go 0-60 in a ludicrous 2 seconds.

Also read this article, about a world with electric cars:

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/08/business/energy-environment/norway-electric-vehicles.html

Norway is almost entirely electric, and Oslo is apparently eeriley silent, with incredibly clean air.

Embrace the future my friend.

 

[Zack Birlew]

I wonder when we could get to the point where a drop of gasoline would be enough to run a car for a week but to have that capability we may as well be on electric. I think the big thing is to stop with the pump tricks and just put some solar and wind chargers in the designs of the cars to get a nice basic charge going at all times and while driving. Until they get better environmental chargers there would need to be charging stations but there has to be something to increase their range and utility beyond carrying spare charging batteries in the trunk at all times.

 

[Karim D. Ghantous]

We get a revolution in electric cell technology. The mechanical age is over.

Are you referring to fuel cells, perhaps? Or new battery tech?

Have you ever driven in an electric car?

The very best car I have ever driven was a 1997 Audi A4. I owned one for a few years until I decided to get rid of it in 2022. I got a ride in a BMW E65 7 Series once. Lovely car. It even had a car phone!

As for the future, I embraced it in 2003 when I got my first DSLR, a Nikon D1. I wish I had waited until digital actually became truly superior to film. I blame myself only.

Anyway, I have no issues with turning on a dime if I have to. I waited until the iPhone 4S before buying a smartphone, for a variety of reasons. I was right to do so. As far as cars go, I am in no rush.

I wonder when we could get to the point where a drop of gasoline would be enough to run a car for a week but to have that capability we may as well be on electric. I think the big thing is to stop with the pump tricks and just put some solar and wind chargers in the designs of the cars to get a nice basic charge going at all times and while driving. Until they get better environmental chargers there would need to be charging stations but there has to be something to increase their range and utility beyond carrying spare charging batteries in the trunk at all times.

I see some problems with your reasoning. If we can get 100mpg, or 200mpg, or whatever, then why exactly should we move to electric cars? Also, solar panels on cars are inadequate and will be more trouble than they are worth. Maybe if we get 90%+ efficiency, that can change. But even then, there are big problems that cannot be waived away.

If solar panels can be made out of 100% metal, then we have something. But that is a separate issue, not related to cars.

 

[Bill Ravens]

People tend to forget that EV's are not a magical free source of power. The power comes out of the wallplug. In other words, you pay for the power with your electric bill. Pres. Biden has noted that if everyone in the US had an EV, the utility companies would not be able to provide enough electricity with the current infrastructure. Meaning, many new power producing facilities would have to be built, presumably either atomic power or fossil fuel fired. And who is going to pay for these facilities? You can be sure they won't come for free.

 

[Michael Hastings]

People tend to forget that EV's are not a magical free source of power. The power comes out of the wallplug. In other words, you pay for the power with your electric bill. Pres. Biden has noted that if everyone in the US had an EV, the utility companies would not be able to provide enough electricity with the current infrastructure. Meaning, many new power producing facilities would have to be built, presumably either atomic power or fossil fuel fired. And who is going to pay for these facilities? You can be sure they won't come for free.

There's also solar, wind, geothermal, hydro that can be added as well. Atomic, frowned on for years, also seems to be making a comeback.