OT Musk and the truck

So tonight Musk and his truck will be on the Jay Leno's car show

https://www.cnbc.com/jay-lenos-garage/

I am fan of automation and really enjoy cars/trucks so when they are brought together its really cool, I think I have seen every Jay Leno's shows and this one should be great.

I think I will be getting a CyberTruck (if I can find one) or the Hummer

I like cars and trucks, but I am not a fan of the lifted DeLorean.

OkiePC said:

I like cars and trucks, but I am not a fan of the lifted DeLorean.

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LOL, I think its cool... yes maybe a little over the top, the Hummer is 'less' https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a30898104/gmc-hummer-ev-confirmed-2022/

I had a Hummer (H2) and it was a great car but the new one is more just like a Chevy or any other, I like the shock and awe factor... I drove a Mini van for years and when I walked out in the parking lot from Walmart I could not tell what car was mine, if I get the Cybertruck I will see my truck

I'm just not quite there yet. I'm way too utilitarian when it comes to vehicles. My daily driver is a 2000 Saturn SL with 298000 miles on it. All I have stuck into it outside of consumables is an alternator, several suspension parts and several wheel bearings. If electrics start showing me that kind of longevity I will start buying. I think the economics are already in the electrics' favor in terms of total cost of ownership if the longevity is there. Assuming a cumulative 35 MPG and an average $3.00 for gas plus oil changes, the cost of the fuel and the adjusted cost of the vehicle would already get me into an electric...if it will last.

Keith

HAHA, fuel savings!!!
Im glad gas is cheap now.
My daily driver, this time of year is a 79Chev C10 Step side. A 450 Horse Power 383 stroker motor makes it bad *** enough to pass anything but a gas station.
Far from the old rig it was when I bought it since the restoration but it probably has accrued over a million miles in its life.

I too want an electric vehicle, but not till it can 100% reliably bring me on a minimum 3 hour trip, in a snow storm and keep me warm to boot. Just like my gas burning 4x4 will in the depths of February to go to a mid night call in.

I imagine the cybertruck could live up to this expectation but the price tag..... eghh!

Looks cool
But the shape does not seem very practical for a Pick-up

I'm an 80/20 guy. I can hang on to a POS gas car for the few cases I outpace the range of an electric. The 50 mile round trip from home to work and back shouldn't be a problem even in the dead of winter.

Specific to the CyberTruck, that just isn't my look. I'm more of an F-16 guy than an F-117 guy.

Keith

In my expert opinion (sarcasm).............
I think the real future is hybrid...
I cant get over the charging station thing. If you run out of juice there is no instant fuel..

jimtech67 said:

I cant get over the charging station thing.

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They are just about on every corner up here and I think I would just use the one at my house

jimtech67 said:

In my expert opinion (sarcasm).............
I think the real future is hybrid...
I cant get over the charging station thing. If you run out of juice there is no instant fuel..

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The real future is Mr. Fusion

Which would be safer and more feasable than the engine developed (originally in the 1670's but tried again in the 30's or 40's) that ran on gunpowder.

It wont be long now.....
https://electricgt.com/.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=RDCMUCEe7dmonT8QIBwbd2l9gxIA&v=sC9bC3e6_mY&feature=emb_rel_end.

OkiePC said:

I like cars and trucks, but I am not a fan of the lifted DeLorean.

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"lifted DeLorean" That's funny.


My daily driver (company car) is a Tesla S 90D and I love it. Have even driven across the county a few times.


I used to have a 96 GMC Sierra for towing my car trailer. I would consider a Tesla truck for towing again but I have not seen any number on range if I am pulling 6500lbs. With the S I only have to stop 3 times a day when going across country. I fear the truck I would have to stop at every charger on the way.

Stuck at home doing no commuting, my Model 3 LR full battery lasted six weeks of occasional errands. I drove up to the Supercharger in Lynnwood, spent 45 minutes buying groceries at the Fred Meyer, and went from 50 miles range to 310 for $20.

Before the virus hit, we took it to visit my wife's parents on the Olympic Peninsula. Full battery, didn't even have to Supercharge. And her anxiety over visiting (her dad's pretty sick) was soothed by being able to watch Netflix on the touchscreen while parked on the ferry.

Her mom has been caring for her dad full time for a couple of years with almost no breaks at all. She showed an unusual interest in the car, so we took a little drive.

A 72-year-old Finnish grandmother, it turns out, can stomp the accelerator pedal just fine.

geniusintraining said:

... when I walked out in the parking lot from Walmart I could not tell what car was mine, if I get the Cybertruck I will see my truck

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I solved that issue by getting a Ram 2500HD LONG BOX quad cab and an ORANGE CAR. I have no problems

A few things to think about when talking about any electric vehicle we need to look at the entire package

They need a good supply of electricity either from a powered rail or an overhead power system, I think we can all agree is not a practical solution for an automobile.
So that leaves a battery. Let’s face it battery technology today is not up to the task. Even with today’s modern batteries they are still limited in their ability to store large amounts of energy. The highest range on the current battery system is about 400 miles then they require a recharge. The last time I looked even on a quick charge they require 8 to 10 hours connected to charging station. I travel that would mean that rim in a gas powered vehicle that would easily be completed in 10 to hours would now take well over 24 hours and at least one overnight stay.

There were several proposals that were suggested one was to have battery changing stations along the main routs . you just pull in maybe get a bite to eat and change batteries and you are back on the road similar to the way we exchange LP gas bottles. But that would mean that all the batteries would need to be same but that’s not realistic even vehicles from the same manufactured have different batteries.
One proposal I saw was to recharge on the run. Here as you drive down the road a recharge vehicle would pace you and pug a charging cable into your vehicle similar to the way we refuel aircraft in mid air. Then pace you for the next 50 to 75 miles until the charge is complete. Does anybody really think that’s a good solution. Keep in mind that the US is the only country that refuels aircraft in midflight and then only with the most skilled pilots.
There was a proposal a few years back. A New private highway system just for EV’s. it would have induction coils embedded in the road or as part of the divider. The EV would pick up power from the imbedded coils as you drive. That idea was not receiver well and I never heard of anybody looking into it.

Now let’s look at the battery technology
The eneverionemliest’s don’t want to talk about this but we must consider everything when looking at EV’s.
The best batteries used today contain exotic minerals that are both rare and toxic to humans and the environment. Access to these minerals at this time is controlled mostly by China. Most of these minerals are mined in third world countries by both child labor and slave labor. Most of the free world has a prohibition on doing business with those companies. Those that do use modern equipment cause more pollution from the equipment used to mine it then you could ever save using the batteries.
The environmental effect is a net loss.
These batteries will need to be replace sooner or later all batteries do, even the Skylab batteries have been replaced.
The replacement cost of the batteries is not cheap I can replace the engine on a car cheaper than the battery on an EV
Then you have the disposal cost of the old wore out battery. The EPA states you must properly dispose all batteries. A standard car battery cost 10 to 20 dollars to dispose them today, don’t get caught just dumping them. I can’t imagine what it will cost to dispose of an EV battery.
We have not addressed the increased fire hazard with large storage batteries today’s emergency services just don’t know how to handle them and there are no standards so each encounter will be new and unique.
Until these problems are addressed and solver the EV will be limited to a few local locations.

As few years ago New York City proposed to upgrade their entire Taxi fleet to a new modern fleet. You would think that would be an ideal opportunity for an all new EV fleet to help with the ever growing pollution from combustion engines. But EV’s were not even considered they went with the same technology they have been using for over 100 years. So much for embracing the new clean future.

As for the EV truck “Really” it’s just a show. The majority of it’s load capacity will be used just to carry the battery, very little would be left for real work. The range would be limited to local delivery only.
A better option would be a long proven technology that it cheep and readily available
That would be LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) its already being used across the country. It triples the life of the engine very low emissions. And best of all it’s doable now not years from now. There are actually fleets of trucks that have been running on LNG for years and most of us don’t know about it.
The US is the world’s largest supplier of both LNG and crude oil. If you follow the news we are actually giving it away just to keep the wells open and in production. We could see gas drop below $1 a gal. in the US

Don’t get me wrong EV’s have their place and a definite future but as with everything we must evaluate their abilities and application carefully. Local deliver trucks like UPS, FEDEX, Amazon Postal Delivery, School buses they have time to recharge over night even for the average person that only need it for local trips.
Other places a Hybrid would be a better choice.

I think they should have considered bringing back the old electric trolleys here in the North East . We already have electrified rail system in my area so the startup cost would be minimal. Amtrack already runs electric trains. Up to the 1960’s or so the trolleys were popular In most cities. Sometimes the old ways are still better.

As for Tesla self driving EV they are one of the new comers to the industry. Goggle dropped out a short time ago.
GM and Ford have both been in the industry for many years. Both have built complete simulated towns to test their system and both agree that they are not ready to be released to the public yet. I did see that Pennsylvania a few months ago approve limited road testing on public roads in the Pittsburgh area. The one question to ponder is what going to happen when the computer system screws up and crashes into a buss full of kids and kills 20, are we still going to say it’s a good thing.
We all work with technology every day but we must not forget that the priority must always be the health and safety of the people. We all need to evaluate the complete system with the priority for safety.

I apologize for the length of his post but I don’t see how you can evacuate any system without including all the information available. And we have not even touched on the electric generation but we will leave that for another time / post