Chris RE tsal went bankrupt, after delivering some cars and accumulating more than a million dollar backlog in repairs---googl elon musk tesla motors
I was just at the apple store today where they gave me a new battery , my lithium battery heated up expanding beyond the housing designed to hold it, interesting the variables, involved in lithium batteries and their rates of expansion
@trashercharged .Sorry for my hard-headed statements. GMC (or one of their companies) did build diesel power generators (electric part was built by GE).I have friends that love trucks and we do manufacture a variety of electric trucks in US, but used for utility , not performance.Thank you for all your points and I apologize if I was out of place.I just see EVs as "city cars" , "go to work" and "baseball mom" vehicles, because many of us do not make more than 40 miles per day.As far as price ...it is ridiculous , but some speculators are hitting on lithium and buying futures of it.
Please accept my sincere apologies if I wrote things out of place, or used caps lock.I have been in electronics for a very long time and I have seen things dor , or supresses for whatever reason it was.Thank you for your comment.It really took most of my thoughts and put them in a nice and precise form.All that you write about is true , maybe except nuclear reactors...where I would have some comments ,as far as safety is concerned.There is also a hot water problem and other things.But a whole thing is not about nuclear reactors , but about mounting a "brick wall" opposition to EVs.You know that my favourite scientist of all times was Nikolai Tesla and most of his patents and inventions are still suppressed.He was thinking a tleast 50 years ahead of time and he was a dreamer and realist(strange connection indeed) at the same time.Maybe my fascination with him made me who I am and influenced my thinking.We should give all science a chance. Take mp3 players.Most people love them and use them , not even realizing that a sound they hear has only 5% of original material sounding as it did , when it was created in a studio.The rest is digitally created "hush".
Not all new ingenous inventions had an easy way to a market, yet we have millions of them now and some we take for granted.I enjoyed every word of discussion with you and I thank you for this super interesting discussion.It means a lot to me that someone understood my point(s) of view.Cheers,
Dennis, your comments about the vast sea of safety regulations, warranty support, litigation, dealer parts support, unions and, most of all -- coming up with a design that will appeal to 70,000 people a year for five years -- are right on target.
Chris PE said "Well....interesting comments. First of all GMC does not build trains and NEVER did. <snip> When people buy $50.000.00 trucks they can afford 40,000.00 EV. NO DOUBT - END OF DISCUSSION.Cheers,Chris"
You're wrong - Google GM's Electro-Motive division which they just sold a few years ago.
And sure, I can afford a $40K EV instead of my $40K (not 50K) truck, but can it carry 6 passengers, 1 ton in the bed, tow a boat / car hauler / camper / Boy Scout trailer / Church trailer, etc so I can help those of you that opted for the EV instead move, haul that load of whatever for you, take your kids camping / boating or on whatever scouting / church youth activity you signed them up for?
Point is, not all truck buyers are soccer moms that never haul a real load or go off-road. For some of us, the EV just doesn't do the job.
BTW, I knew the other post was to Jackie-I was just throwing in some thoughts. Appreciate your clarification though-blog communication is often tricky.
Anyway, if I can avoid hitting my CAPS LOCK all the time I wanted to comment on your earlier post.
Nuke power-yes it is expensive upfront, but amortization is the point. Apparently the Germans are finding that, regardless of the initial costs other sources of power are amortizing better than solar and wind.
Solar friends-one thing that many folks miss in these comparisons is the human factor. Your friends with the solar panels are hobbyists who are utilizing not only the power of the sun but their own knowledge, effort, abilities, time etc that greatly improve the cost situation. Great for them that it is working out well, kudos to them. They have, I assume, made some lifestyle adaptations to compensate for any quirks to the power delivery. And that is valid.
The power companies have to deliver reliable power for a varied group of users and deal with govt regulations, inspections, peak demands, safety issues and all the issues involving the employment of large numbers of people and maintaining the infrastructure for delivery. It won't be free or easy.
This same issue comes up with the electric car hobbyists. They compare what they have done in their garge with the auto industry and can't see why no one is offering 1500 lb, $15k car that goes 100 miles on a charge. They seem to be genuinely mystified. But they aren't having to build to the vast sea of safety regulations, providing warrenty support, dealing with litigation, dealer parts support, dealing with unions, building and maintaining plants, and trying to come up with a design that will appeal to 70,000 people a year for 5 years while sharing the same platform with six other vehicle lines and amortizing the platform over a twenty year run and several million customers. What these guys do in their spare time is cool-but it is a long way from the challenges of running a successful car company.
Chris, you really seem to be a good guy and sincerely care about your positions. I really respect that. Just a peice of advise on message structure. When you (and many others) use highly charge imagery (nuke plants= "super bombs", IC engine cars= "stinky, oily monster") a lot of people who might otherwise listen to you will just tune you out.
Example: my wife and I and our kids (6 & 9) live about 20 minutes from a nuclear reactor. Frankly it never worries me at all. We are far more likely to be killed be a tornado or lighting or crushed by a semi on the interstate. And newer nuke plant desigsn are far safer. The only real disaster I am aware of were in countries (USSR for example) with serious issues on quality and maintainence.
I'm not saying nukes are the answer. But they are a viable option to me.
And modern cars are far cleaner than tose of just a few years ago-and will get better. EVs are a very long way from being ready, it is possible that CNG may play a bigger role near term but I suspect that gasoline/diesel IC will dominate for the next 25 years or more.
I try to keep in mind that solutions can't be built around what we think other should do, but have to take into account what they likely will do. Hoped for idealic "solutions" that will not happen do not help as much at all, we need realistic changes that can be implimented.
With LEDs dropping in price virtually every year, automakers have begun employing them, not only on luxury vehicles, but on entry-level models, as well.
The 3D printing revolution seems to have a knack for quickly moving technology ahead by way of collaborative effort and even a little friendly competition -- all of course in the name of scientific advancement.
Advantech has launched a new series of motion-control I/O modules to meet the increased demands that come with more distributed industrial systems that require control of a growing number of axes and devices.
Using almost 200 light-emitting diodes in the front and back of the new 2014 CTS, Cadillac designers are showing how LEDs can change the character of a vehicle.
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A quick look into the merger of two powerhouse 3D printing OEMs and the new leader in rapid prototyping solutions, Stratasys. The industrial revolution is now led by 3D printing and engineers are given the opportunity to fully maximize their design capabilities, reduce their time-to-market and functionally test prototypes cheaper, faster and easier. Bruce Bradshaw, Director of Marketing in North America, will explore the large product offering and variety of materials that will help CAD designers articulate their product design with actual, physical prototypes. This broadcast will dive deep into technical information including application specific stories from real world customers and their experiences with 3D printing. 3D Printing is
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