Interesting new Cobra Jet

drive_55_not

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Those electric cars ain't no joke,,

Guy had a souped up TESLA at ZMax last summer running mid 10's.

Those Tesla's are expensive as F$$k and butt ugly ..

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tjm73

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I think this is a way to try to sooth the angry Mustang fan base over the Mustang Mach E naming gaff.

"Look how fast it is! Isn't that cool? Aren't electric Mustangs cool?"

I mean it's interesting. EV performance is pretty amazing but the same issues still exist with charging, range and up front costs.

And the Mach-E is still ugly and not a car, so still not a Mustang. Should have called it the Ford EnRG.
 

drive_55_not

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I think the reason Ford kept the Mustang name is due to them dumping all cars and only keeping the Mustang in the future. Simple naming structure KISS ..

It doesn't bother me..

As for EV cost,, Funny thing I looked at the 2018 Chevy Bolt ,, It was a cute little car but the only packages any dealers around me had were the up scale ones and they MSRP'd at 44k ??

I will agree with Elon Musk about an EV paying for itself in gas savings. I drive 80 miles round trip to work and I keep cars at least 10yrs so an 35k EV would eventually result in a net gain for me on gas savings. Provided there's no major non-warranty work needed.

As for the EV performance,, Yep, that Tesla was definitely slowing down by the end of the night.

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Juice

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Look up some FormulaE racing.
I raced electric rc cars in the 90s. And range was the biggest obstacle there too. Performance was never a question. lol
Range & charge time. Once those issues are solved, that will be the end of internal combustion.
 

MrBhp

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I guess as long as it can run at least a quarter mile and make it back down the return road to the pit, it's range is good enough. ;) I can imagine teams, instead of a thrash rebuild between rounds, they instead change out battery packs. Which might be an idea for EV's in general. Have quick change batteries. You pull into a service station, they go to work putting fresh batteries in while you enjoy a hot dog and 40 oz. It would take some re-thinking on how the system is put together. And probably just another stupid idea.
 

tjm73

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That is the fastest simplest path to address real range anxiety, but it would require industry wide battery and voltage standardization to be feasible. I doubt that will happen.

Then there is the whole I have a brand new battery pack but you just swapped in a battery pack that's almost due to be out of service issue.

Then there is the whole you need enough people to buy into the product scheme to make it financially viable for "fuel" stations to stock enough battery packs for service and the cost of hiring and training and paying people to swap battery packs for customers becasue the battery packs will be too heavy and bulky for the average person to safely swap them in a self-serve situation. Some sort of fork lift will be needed.
 
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AndrewNagle

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I guess as long as it can run at least a quarter mile and make it back down the return road to the pit, it's range is good enough. ;) I can imagine teams, instead of a thrash rebuild between rounds, they instead change out battery packs. Which might be an idea for EV's in general. Have quick change batteries. You pull into a service station, they go to work putting fresh batteries in while you enjoy a hot dog and 40 oz. It would take some re-thinking on how the system is put together. And probably just another stupid idea.
Like propane tanks at the convenience store
 

Juice

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1000 hp, 1800 lb/ft of torque..
They've gone plad...
 

LikeabossTM

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That is the fastest simplest path to address real range anxiety, but it would require industry wide battery and voltage standardization to be feasible. I doubt that will happen.

Then there is the whole I have a brand new battery pack but you just swapped in a battery pack that's almost due to be out of service issue.

Then there is the whole you need enough people to buy into the product scheme to make it financially viable for "fuel" stations to stock enough battery packs for service and the cost of hiring and training and paying people to swap battery packs for customers becasue the battery packs will be too heavy and bulky for the average person to safely swap them in a self-serve situation. Some sort of fork lift will be needed.
AI and automation would be cool on the last point. I'm thinking like a combination burger King drivethru and automatic car wash. But car wash is robotic battery swapping machinery underneath drivethru with database of vehicles battery configs.

I'll take a Whopper, onion rings, and a fresh battery pack please.

Then back on the road.
 

drive_55_not

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Then there is the whole I have a brand new battery pack but you just swapped in a battery pack that's almost due to be out of service issue.


Tesla tested a battery swap pilot program and determined it really didn't work for that basic reason ..

The swap took less than 10 minutes but the the replacement could've either either been fresher or considerably older than your original and the Tesla battery management software did not match with the replacement pack and got confused at times ..

I would imagine any manufacturer would have the same issue.

.
 

MrBhp

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Would possibly turn into the way it is with fuel stations. Word gets around quickly when a particular brand is of a lower quality, or a particular station seems to have issues with performance. (Some type of ED treatment may be in order) I guess you wouldn't actually own the batteries, similar to the propane tank analogy. The manufacturers would have to standardize now. Or they could just go ahead and release the next gen battery now. The one that's been shelved for years so they can squeeze the market through controlled saturation.
Doubtful any thing will change drastically. It will all trickle down at the predetermined time.
I do hope the longevity thing is fixed soon, so more people will go EV. Leave all the dino juice for our slow I.C.E.'s.
 

tjm73

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Storage is a physics issue. Density is the problem. You just can't store enough electricity in even 10 times the volume of a gas tank as the energy equivalent of fuel will hold.

Need a different way to overcome the physics. Range really isn't an issue any longer. They can get 250-300 miles on a charge. On a long trip that's 3.5-4.25 hours of driving at 70mph. Let's call it 4 hours. At 4 hours into a drive you should be stopping to take a break anyway. In a gas car you would need fuel and snacks and to stretch your legs and to hit the bathroom. Driving around home is a non-issue now with ranges available.

So the issue to solve is rapid recharge. If you could charge in 15-20 minutes and be back on the road for another 4ish hours to the next stop. That's game over for a lot of ICE cars.

It would be interesting if you could somehow liquefy electricity. Or perhaps charge at very very high voltage. Both things, I've read, that are being researched. You'd have to manage heat as moving high voltage makes heat.

The most likely path is a new battery tech that allows exceptionally high voltage charging while releasing the stored energy at lower voltages.

But it won't matter for now. Because with gas so cheap the incentive to research will fall away.
 

Juice

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Who stops every 4 hours to rest? Let me give you two senarios.

The drive to Watkins Glen for me is a tic over 5 hours. If I trailer my electric car to the track, can I make each session? How about driving it there? It would add almost an hour to the trip.

Long trips, like 1000+ miles. (Sturgis, Daytona, etc) We stop for fuel, food, and bathrom brakes. And alternate driving straight through.

Each time you stop for 20 min, that adds 40 min to your arrival time.

Right now, electric can be a daily driver to get to work. Still cant really take a long trip.
I have not seen a Tesla or anything 100% electric at an HPDE event.

Can I tow my 6x10 enclosed trailer with an electric? What will that do to the range?
 
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Juice

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The second half of going electric, cost. And I will throw some rough math out there.
If I keep driving what I have @20-ish mpg, I burn about $1000/yr driving to work. I have no car payments.
Electric, I would have a monthly car payment and higher insurance costs. Say a low $350/month car payment. When do I break even in saved fuel costs? Cause the first 5 years of ownership of the electric I am spending roughly three times on the E ride vs keep putting gas in what I alreaxy have.

Not like I haven't given this any thoght. lol
 

tjm73

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I didn't say it makes sense for everyone or every use. The average person/ family however it is close to breaking even against ICE cars. When the economics equalize or invert people will switch. They can talk about the environmental impact all they want. Some people will switch to be "green" but most converts will switch because it'll cost less to operate.

EV for towing just isn't going to happen anytime soon. Hybrid maybe but the cost and weight of the tow vehicle will be obscene.

If you travel with younger kids, you don't even travel 4 hours without stopping. Ten minutes after insisting they didn't need to go to the bathroom and I'm cranking down I95 on our way to Disney one of my kids announced that they had to go to the bathroom "badly". This happen more then once going to Florida and coming home.

Regardless, EV will not replace gas anytime soon. It will just become an alternative car option. I think we will see families with two or more cars have one for traveling and an EV for commuting/ local stuff. If I could switch my DD for an EV economicly, it would make sense as in the two years I've had I I have not yet been more 60 miles from my house with it. If I travel, it's with the camper and demands we use my truck.
 
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