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Post by walnut on Sept 24, 2020 13:15:35 GMT
I looked at electric cars. We bought a Honda Passport. We can fill the tank with gas in 10 minutes. Range for us is critical. We often have to drive 300+ miles in a day. In all types of weather conditions. Best place for electric cars is on a racetrack. That type of potentiometer power suits both road tracks and drag strips. They might be unbeatable. Real world, not so much. Not for me at least.
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Post by nautonnier on Sept 24, 2020 14:39:38 GMT
I looked at electric cars. We bought a Honda Passport. We can fill the tank with gas in 10 minutes. Range for us is critical. We often have to drive 300+ miles in a day. In all types of weather conditions. Yes sudden requirement to drive a long distance is something that people in hurricane country are used to. I watched as one of the recent up the spine of Florida hurricanes was approaching and people from the Keys and Dade county were subject to mandatory evacuation and were going as far as Georgia. When that happened Musk actually sent an 'increase your range' instruction to Teslas. If you run the batteries right down you brick the cars. As the wave of evacuees came up to central Florida we had outer bands of the storm and power failures not good if you have an electric car that needs to sit for 40 minutes on a power supply.
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Post by nautonnier on Sept 29, 2020 14:18:21 GMT
"Recently Auke Hoekstra and Professor Maarten Steinbuch published a study that claims electric vehicles already emit less than half the CO2 of combustion engine vehicles.
Professor Gautam Kalghatgi wrote a critique of this new study, claiming that the advantages of electric vehicles were smaller. We approached Mr Hoekstra with a request to react to this criticism. Professor Kalghatgi in turn reacted to that and we gave Mr Hoekstra the final word.
Professor Gautam Kalghatgi says that since much of the world’s electricity comes from fossil fuels, carbon dioxide emissions are simply being moved from driving electric cars to charging their batteries. And once the impact of obtaining the resources required to build electric cars is taken into account, he thinks they may even be worse for the environment."www.thegwpf.org/content/uploads/2020/09/Kalghatgi-Hoekstra-EVs.pdf
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Post by nautonnier on Oct 26, 2020 12:31:18 GMT
"The explosive problem of 'zombie' batteries
The Environmental Services Association (ESA), which represents waste firms like Biffa, Veolia and Suez, says too many batteries are going into either recycling bins or black rubbish bags, where they are easily damaged by sorting equipment and start to burn - so-called "zombie" batteries.
The ESA has launched a campaign called Take Charge which encourages people to dispose of batteries properly.
"Unfortunately, the majority of batteries thrown away in the UK at the moment are not put in the proper recycling bins. Fires caused by carelessly discarded zombie batteries endanger lives, cause millions of pounds of damage and disrupt waste services," says Jacob Hayler, executive director of ESA."www.bbc.com/news/business-54634802H/T to TallblokesTalkshop
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Post by nautonnier on Dec 14, 2020 11:23:06 GMT
" The curse of 'white oil': electric vehicles' dirty secret
The race is on to find a steady source of lithium, a key component in rechargeable electric car batteries. But while the EU focuses on emissions, the lithium gold rush threatens environmental damage on an industrial scale
Lithium is key to this energy transition. Lithium-ion batteries are used to power electric cars, as well as to store grid-scale electricity. (They are also used in smartphones and laptops.) But Europe has a problem. At present, almost every ounce of battery-grade lithium is imported. More than half (55%) of global lithium production last year originated in just one country: Australia. Other principal suppliers, such as Chile (23%), China (10%) and Argentina (8%), are equally far-flung.
Lithium deposits have been discovered in Austria, Serbia and Finland, but it is in Portugal that Europe’s largest lithium hopes lie. The Portuguese government is preparing to offer licences for lithium mining to international companies in a bid to exploit its “white oil” reserves. Sourcing lithium in its own back yard not only offers Europe simpler logistics and lower prices, but fewer transport-related emissions. It also promises Europe security of supply – an issue given greater urgency by the coronavirus pandemic’s disruption of global trade."More here> www.theguardian.com/news/2020/dec/08/the-curse-of-white-oil-electric-vehicles-dirty-secret-lithium
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Post by nautonnier on Dec 26, 2020 9:27:55 GMT
"Stuttgart Air Quality Measurements Show Diesel Engine Bans Have Had No Impact!
Green lie gets exposed…
With a Corona lockdown in Stuttgart and diesel engine bans, one would think the fewer diesel cars on the streets would lead to less air pollutants. But far from it! Air measurement values remain unchanged through the significantly reduced traffic volume!
Diesel car driving bans together with the reduced car traffic caused by the lockdown have shown to have had no effect on the values provided by air measuring stations.
Reduced traffic volume shows no affect
The diagrams for nitrogen dioxide of the past days show fluctuation around values of between 40 and 50 µg/m3. Germany’s most famous measuring station, the Stuttgarter Tal Am Neckartor, showed a nitrogen particulates concentration of 44 µg/m3 at 10 a.m. on Dec. 21st."notrickszone.com/2020/12/25/stuttgart-air-quality-measurements-show-diesel-engine-bans-have-had-no-impact/It also exposes a green methodology. Decide on a 'safe' limit for some measurable metric that is below what is currently the case. Then claim that the metric is that high because of { name something the greens want to ban} and that { scary result} will happen if the metric remains at such a high level. Have the sheeple demand that a ban be put in place. See this in Greater London with low polluting vehicle zones - seems it doesn't work
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Post by nautonnier on Dec 30, 2020 22:45:22 GMT
"World Leading Engine Expert: Combustion Engine Remains The Future, “Hydrogen Will Be Nada” By P Gosselin on 30. December 2020
In a very recent interview, Germany/Austria’s top automobile engine expert Prof. Dr. Fritz Indra says hydrogen fuel cars will amount to “nada” because of the high inefficiency and costs. The same applies to e-vehicles.
No to government engineering
The Austrian engineer also says German and European policymakers are making a big mistake by prescribing to the industry what drive technology to use. “They can give us the targets, but they have to leave it up to engineers to find out how to best reach the targets, and to build a car that is affordable to the buyer.”
Electric battery cars no match for the combustion engine
Indra also says electric cars offer little to be desired, saying that although the efficiency from battery to transmission is high, no one is looking at what happens before the battery and after the transmission, which he calls “an inexcusable error.” In the assessment of battery powered vehicles, Indra describes the problems of range and battery disposal that still profoundly plague electric battery vehicles."More here: notrickszone.com/2020/12/30/world-l-eading-engine-expert-combustion-engine-remains-the-future-hydrogen-will-be-nada/
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Post by nautonnier on Jan 16, 2021 0:57:20 GMT
"US Government Urges Tesla to Recall 158,000 Vehicles Over Safety Fears
An alleged computer hardware design defect in 158,000 Tesla Model S & X vehicles will cause important systems such as windshield de-fogging, turn signals, and the rear view cameras to malfunction after five to six years, according to the US Department of Transport.
Watchdog urges Tesla to recall 158,000 Model S, X cars to fix knackered NAND flash that borks safety features
Firmware updates aren’t enough to tackle worn-out memory
Katyanna Quach Thu 14 Jan 2021 // 23:40 UTC
The US Department of Transport has recommended Tesla recall 158,000 Model S and Model X vehicles after an investigation found worn-out NAND flash memory can cause the cars’ rearview cameras to fail.
The dept’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) launched a probe into Tesla’s failing digital storage in June. In November, it concluded Model S and Model X vehicles built between 2012 and 2018, are at risk of several issues, ranging from the rearview cameras blacking out and an inability to defog windshields, as well as the loss of turn signal chimes and other audio alerts.
The problems all stem from the hardware that powers the car’s infotainment system, also known as the media control unit (MCU): it includes an Nvidia Tegra 3 system-on-chip with 8GB of eMMC NAND storage. Over the course of five or six years, according to the NHTSA, this consumer-grade flash reaches its program-erase cycle limit. They will be unable to reliably store data, and this renders some of the car’s functions inoperable when the MCU fails."More here: wattsupwiththat.com/2021/01/15/us-government-urges-tesla-to-recall-158000-vehicles-over-safety-fears/
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Post by nautonnier on Jan 24, 2021 14:21:26 GMT
"Not As Green As You Think - Global EV Push Sparks Cobalt Chaos
BY TYLER DURDEN SUNDAY, JAN 24, 2021 - 7:35 Global cobalt prices per metric ton are up more than 20% since the beginning of this year as increasing electric vehicle demand has strained global supply chains.
WSJ spoke with auto and battery experts about cobalt, a metal found in lithium-ion batteries. Besides EVs, the blue metal is found in virtually every consumer electronics like cell phones, laptop computers, and tablets.
Ying Lu, an analyst at London-based commodity research firm Roskill, was quoted by WSJ as saying, "demand is not going to shrink any time soon, while the supply remains tight mainly due to logistics disruptions in South Africa during the pandemic."
As explained by InsideSources, every EV battery contains cobalt, with most of it mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
DRC has sustained years of destabilization as the Congo government and armed militants duke it out over the control of mines. Much of the DRC cobalt is then hauled to South Africa and shipped to China for processing."More here: www.zerohedge.com/commodities/electric-vehicle-push-sends-cobalt-prices-higher
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Post by nautonnier on Feb 1, 2021 17:45:59 GMT
"Tesla’s dirty little secret: Its net profit doesn’t come from selling cars Tesla posted its first full year of net income in 2020 — but not because of sales to its customers.
Eleven states require automakers sell a certain percentage of zero-emissions vehicles by 2025. If they can’t, the automakers have to buy regulatory credits from another automaker that meets those requirements — such as Tesla, which exclusively sells electric cars.
It’s a lucrative business for Tesla — bringing in US$3.3 billion over the course of the last five years, nearly half of that in 2020 alone. The $1.6 billion in regulatory credits it received last year far outweighed Tesla’s net income of $721 million — meaning Tesla would have otherwise posted a net loss in 2020.
“These guys are losing money selling cars. They’re making money selling credits. And the credits are going away,” said Gordon Johnson of GLJ Research and one of the biggest bears on Tesla shares."iowaclimate.org/2021/02/01/teslas-dirty-little-secret-its-net-profit-doesnt-come-from-selling-cars/
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Post by gridley on Feb 2, 2021 13:48:39 GMT
"Tesla’s dirty little secret: Its net profit doesn’t come from selling cars Tesla posted its first full year of net income in 2020 — but not because of sales to its customers.
Eleven states require automakers sell a certain percentage of zero-emissions vehicles by 2025. If they can’t, the automakers have to buy regulatory credits from another automaker that meets those requirements — such as Tesla, which exclusively sells electric cars.
It’s a lucrative business for Tesla — bringing in US$3.3 billion over the course of the last five years, nearly half of that in 2020 alone. The $1.6 billion in regulatory credits it received last year far outweighed Tesla’s net income of $721 million — meaning Tesla would have otherwise posted a net loss in 2020.
“These guys are losing money selling cars. They’re making money selling credits. And the credits are going away,” said Gordon Johnson of GLJ Research and one of the biggest bears on Tesla shares."iowaclimate.org/2021/02/01/teslas-dirty-little-secret-its-net-profit-doesnt-come-from-selling-cars/ I have to wonder though - how many car makers posted profits for last year? I'd expect something of a slump in sales.
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Post by sigurdur on Feb 11, 2021 19:17:40 GMT
Clearwater, Minnesota. Tesla charging station @ travel plaza. I fueled, got a muffin in 8 minutes. Hopped back into warm, 380 mile range vehicle.
Tesla. Feller sitting in vehicle. Plugged into charger. Stocking cap, parka clad with gloves on clutching steering wheel.
Temp was -13F.
I can't see myself EVER doing the Tesla shiver.
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Post by sigurdur on Feb 13, 2021 15:31:18 GMT
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Post by nautonnier on Feb 20, 2021 11:57:59 GMT
"Drivers who GIVE UP their cars will be offered £3,000 in 'credit' to spend on public transport, electric scooters and taxis under new green plans
Drivers will receive public money to abandon their vehicle for 'credits' Will be used on other modes of transport such as bicycles and electric scooters Credits will work on congestion-easing forms like public transport and car clubs"www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9281039/Drivers-offered-3-000-credit-cars-shift-greener-transport.htmlHere we go. They know that EV's will not replace ICE so now they are going to the demand side to see if they can persuade people to not have a car at all. You will own nothing and be happy???
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Post by nonentropic on Feb 20, 2021 19:03:57 GMT
As a policy it makes sense for the first time.
We in Auckland NZ have dreadful traffic, underinvestment for 3 decades and fast growth. If a motorway is opened after a 10 year design to build it is at 100% capacity in days after opening. Against all my instincts the conclusion that I have come to is that congestion related user charge system and ride sharing app are the only option that can change things in a 2 year time frame. plus building capacity.
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