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http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/04/magna-mitsubishi-show-off-electric-vehicle-concepts-in-geneva/
Discuss.
Discuss.
Hahaha.
Seriously, though. Electrical cars still have a long way to go before they can rival cars using ICE. Sadly.
Seriously, though. Electrical cars still have a long way to go before they can rival cars using ICE. Sadly.
I love my internal combustion engine; I don't want to trade it for anything.
That... is why you fail. ;)
Tosh, my 1982 V12 "ICE" will be what I drive for the next 60 or so years. Many of us will keep driving them simply because we love how they feel.
And sound.
Very true, though I had to put in a custom intake and exhaust system before I really discovered the XJS's distinct growl and, above 3000 rpm, roar.
An awful lot of restriction on both ends of the engine on most cars.
An awful lot of restriction on both ends of the engine on most cars.
I like efficiency, and there are few things more efficient than electrical motors when the topic is 'make things spin using the energy form of your choice'.
Now we only need cheaper and more efficient batteries.
Now we only need cheaper and more efficient batteries.
>>>>>>> "efficiency"Hybrids ftw.
And the 'whatever i like is better' discussion aside,
most ICEs neither sound good, feel good, or are, well, that cool at all.
And the 'whatever i like is better' discussion aside,
most ICEs neither sound good, feel good, or are, well, that cool at all.
Hybrids? Sadly, their actual efficiency is below that of standard automobiles.
You're 100% on target about ICEs in general, though.
Hooray for fuel cells.
You're 100% on target about ICEs in general, though.
Hooray for fuel cells.
Hm, well i won't pretend to have done extensive research but i thought it was bit better.
At least fuel consumptions figures seem to indicate it.
Guess i'm wrong?
Fuel cells'd be nice too.
At least fuel consumptions figures seem to indicate it.
Guess i'm wrong?
Fuel cells'd be nice too.
Well...
The problem with hybrids is that they are heavier than both ICE-only or EE-only cars, because they have to house both engines.
This is okay when you drive within city limits, because the usual stop-and-go traffic allows the recuperative brakes to convert the kinetic into electrical energy. Driving on freeways, however, requires you to only accelerate once (ideally) and then keep nullifying the air resistance, which does not allow any recuperation of energy. It's a nice idea, but it does not really work, much like E85.
The way to go to achieve maximum efficiency in individual transportation is to separate the generation and/or storage of energy from the transformation into rotational energy.
The problem with hybrids is that they are heavier than both ICE-only or EE-only cars, because they have to house both engines.
This is okay when you drive within city limits, because the usual stop-and-go traffic allows the recuperative brakes to convert the kinetic into electrical energy. Driving on freeways, however, requires you to only accelerate once (ideally) and then keep nullifying the air resistance, which does not allow any recuperation of energy. It's a nice idea, but it does not really work, much like E85.
The way to go to achieve maximum efficiency in individual transportation is to separate the generation and/or storage of energy from the transformation into rotational energy.
most ICEs neither sound good, feel good, or are, well, that cool at all
"Coolness" aside, the great thing about the ICE--at least a hand rebuilt and tuned V12--is that you can know exactly what each sound and feeling it puts out means. Sort of like you can pick you the various instruments in a given musical performance, you can hear and feel what the cams, the injectors, the distributor, the bearings, the pistons, and the exhaust note are doing, and when they're doing it in relation to eachother. Just by turning the engine on and running it, you know just about everything you need to know about its health. The wrong sound or vibration, or the right one at the wrong time, and you know it. More importantly, you can feel it, like music, without thinking about it.
I've yet to see anyone feel that way about an electric motor or a fuel cell. I'm sure both are wonderful for what they do--but life is too short to use such a toneless, disposable piece of junk for your personal transportation.
"Coolness" aside, the great thing about the ICE--at least a hand rebuilt and tuned V12--is that you can know exactly what each sound and feeling it puts out means. Sort of like you can pick you the various instruments in a given musical performance, you can hear and feel what the cams, the injectors, the distributor, the bearings, the pistons, and the exhaust note are doing, and when they're doing it in relation to eachother. Just by turning the engine on and running it, you know just about everything you need to know about its health. The wrong sound or vibration, or the right one at the wrong time, and you know it. More importantly, you can feel it, like music, without thinking about it.
I've yet to see anyone feel that way about an electric motor or a fuel cell. I'm sure both are wonderful for what they do--but life is too short to use such a toneless, disposable piece of junk for your personal transportation.
I see tosh.
Lecter, I'm sure you know your hand rebuilt and tuned V12 that well.
Most people wouldn't know what engine they have, and they prolly have a pretty average one, much less how well it's working if it literally spoke to them.
I'm prolly not better either.
That's what i meant by 'most'.
In other words, that is 'coolenss' essentially.
It's cool if you know your engine like that.
So... yeah.
[edit]of course you prolly don't really care what other people know or not. hm.
And on a personal preference side, i'd rather not hear my engine at all.
Tho on the other hand... there are times when it might just be cool too feel that engine :)
Lecter, I'm sure you know your hand rebuilt and tuned V12 that well.
Most people wouldn't know what engine they have, and they prolly have a pretty average one, much less how well it's working if it literally spoke to them.
I'm prolly not better either.
That's what i meant by 'most'.
In other words, that is 'coolenss' essentially.
It's cool if you know your engine like that.
So... yeah.
[edit]of course you prolly don't really care what other people know or not. hm.
And on a personal preference side, i'd rather not hear my engine at all.
Tho on the other hand... there are times when it might just be cool too feel that engine :)
Lecter you sound like a modern day Yeats. And not the poetic version :)
Most people don't know how 99% of the world they live in works, and abuse mediocre, mass-produced "good-enoughs" until they need to buy another.
But the lack of taste permeating almost every aspect of the lives of the general populace is no reason to join them. So, of course I don't care about the general sleepiness of other people. As long as they create minimal disruption in my life, they're free to be as mindless and unthinking as they wish.
And Gav, that's a low blow, even for you ;)
But the lack of taste permeating almost every aspect of the lives of the general populace is no reason to join them. So, of course I don't care about the general sleepiness of other people. As long as they create minimal disruption in my life, they're free to be as mindless and unthinking as they wish.
And Gav, that's a low blow, even for you ;)
I wish I knew more about my internal combustion engine, but I plan to learn so I can restore my old Jeep. I'm afraid my current Jeep doesn't fit the "sounds good" category, though it doesn't miss it by much; and while a few ICEs truly feel amazing, I would take the feel of all but the very worst, nearly-dead ICEs over any electrical engine even if it provided impressive acceleration. That sound and feel is just satisfying however you look at it. And Lecter's dead-on about the diagnostics; even if I don't have the knowledge to pin down any problem I at least can tell immediately when a problem arises.
"Quench my thirst with gasoline!"
"Quench my thirst with gasoline!"
I suppose I should clear up that I'm not advocating the retention of the ICE as the dominant powerplant of public, or even private, transit. If the bulk of the population wants to zip around in composite-shelled, motor-driven, battery powered toys, I'm all for that. It will make the odds of my 2.5 ton Jaguar surviving a crash with another driver all the higher, and make the air my ICE and I both breathe all the cleaner. Looking at them is unlikely to offend my sense of aesthetics more than modern cars do now, so that element is a wash.
But like my firearms, the keys to my car will have to be pried from my cold dead hands. Getting behind the wheel, pushing the pedal down, and being pressed back into the leather as all 4800 pounds of long, low car effortlessly slides from 80 to 120 is worth every penny of gas/smog tax I'll ever pay :)
But like my firearms, the keys to my car will have to be pried from my cold dead hands. Getting behind the wheel, pushing the pedal down, and being pressed back into the leather as all 4800 pounds of long, low car effortlessly slides from 80 to 120 is worth every penny of gas/smog tax I'll ever pay :)
You'll be targeted by carbon-dioxide-seeking missiles, turning your 2.5-ton Jaguar into scrap, because by then, using an internal combustion engine will be a crime worthy of capital punishment (for both driver and vehicle). Your widow(?) will weep bitter tears of remorse at your funeral and howl, "If only he had given up that silly, noisy, smelly object, he could still be with us today." Your children will turn away with a disgusted expression on their faces and deny being related to you.
Do you want that? No? Then save yourself today! Buy...
err, I don't know. I like the Lightning, myself. It's a tad expensive, though.
Seriously, though. Sound design is important for EE cars, as well, plus, you can control it that much easier. For instance, a railroad engine can hum a melody (with a few constraints, for instance tonal range) when accelerating, using the pulse-width modulation circuitry. You could make an electrical car do just that, if you so fancied.
Also, I wanted to say that I cannot close myself to the allure of a well-designed ICE car, either. But my heart really lies with anything electrically powered.
Do you want that? No? Then save yourself today! Buy...
err, I don't know. I like the Lightning, myself. It's a tad expensive, though.
Seriously, though. Sound design is important for EE cars, as well, plus, you can control it that much easier. For instance, a railroad engine can hum a melody (with a few constraints, for instance tonal range) when accelerating, using the pulse-width modulation circuitry. You could make an electrical car do just that, if you so fancied.
Also, I wanted to say that I cannot close myself to the allure of a well-designed ICE car, either. But my heart really lies with anything electrically powered.