Electric + Human-Powered Vehicles

[Irrev-Black]

I'd love to see and update and re-examination of the Comuta car and van variants.

With 2020s tech, they could be much more efficient.

https://jalopnik.com/before-tesla-there ... 1846846642

[Irrev-Black]

The real change in displacing internal combustion engines? Smaller EVs.

Compared to electric passenger cars, e-buses, and e-trucks, it’s electric bikes and trikes that are displacing the most oil usage – more than twice all of those larger EVs combined.

Impressively, those e-bikes are doing so with significantly less battery demand.

Shortages in the materials used to make lithium-ion batteries are affecting the entire EV industry and beyond, which puts an even larger emphasis on efficiency.

Electric bikes are more than 10x more efficient than electric passenger cars, meaning the same amount of battery needed for a 20-mile commute in an electric car could power an e-bike for over 200 miles. And that’s compared to normal electric cars. Vehicles like the new electric Hummer have enough battery on-board to produce 400 e-bike batteries!

Of course e-bikes and other micromobility vehicles aren’t a complete solution to our transportation problems, but they provide a potent alternative to many daily trips.

Where's my electric tuktuk?

https://volewica.blogspot.com/2023/09/e ... acing.html

[stevebrooks]

Posted this in the climate change thread, commercially available solar powered cars soon?

https://aptera.us/

[Irrev-Black]

Too much autonomy?

He said: "I realised something was wrong when I was coming up to a roundabout, and went to slow down - but it didn't do it. Then I heard a loud grinding noise that sounded like break pads - but because it was such a new car I knew it couldn't be a problem with them.

"I managed to get around roundabout going at about 30mph, and and then had long road ahead of me, so I assumed it would stop without me accelerating - but it didn't. I have mobility issues, so I couldn't even jump out - I was completely trapped inside the car going at 30mph.

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scot ... r-31099702

[stevebrooks]

Too much autonomy?

He said: "I realised something was wrong when I was coming up to a roundabout, and went to slow down - but it didn't do it. Then I heard a loud grinding noise that sounded like break pads - but because it was such a new car I knew it couldn't be a problem with them.

"I managed to get around roundabout going at about 30mph, and and then had long road ahead of me, so I assumed it would stop without me accelerating - but it didn't. I have mobility issues, so I couldn't even jump out - I was completely trapped inside the car going at 30mph.

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scot ... r-31099702

Now that's bizarre, but one thing I don't understand, why are all the emergency shut down options all software controlled? If your software goes wrong then that's silly, why isn't there a lever beside the drivers seat that you can pull that manually unplugs the battery? Surely some sort of emergency manual shutdown would make sense?

[Irrev-Black]

"I've got something to say
That might cause you pain:
If you drive your Tesla
In the Scottish rain,
I'm gonna let you down,
Leave you flat..."

Musky CarCo sings the Beatles.

https://www.edinburghlive.co.uk/news/ed ... k-27906242

[Irrev-Black]

They muskn't be very reliable, those Teslas.

mekka okereke :verified:
@mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io

@SkipHuffman @sheean @joby @fj @ajkandy @johnshirley2024 @carnage4life

Teslas are ironically, less reliable than other cars, despite being EVs.

Consumer Reports had them next to last in terms of reliability in 2021, bottom 3 in 2022, and still low in 2023.

https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-r ... on-2021-11

And a Tesla whistleblower alleges that it's even worse than that. Much worse.

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/12/tesla-w ... -said.html

[joele]

I have decided to bite the bullet thanks to issues with my current car and get a new one..

Will be electric as through most of the year after my house batteries are charged I still push 7-20kw back into the grid that I can push into a car battery instead and not feed anything into the grid.

I was hoping to wait for solid state sodium batteries but maybe still a few years away so will go with the best option being LFP (Lithium Iron Phosphate) which is the same as my house batteries.. That leaves very few options, the base MG4 (with very small battery), the three different BYDs (world leader in LFP) or the Tesla model 3 which uses a blade battery (supplied by BYD). I can't give money to Elon and besides I don't like the ergonomics of the Tesla cars.

Interesting problem they don't tell you with all the other car manufacturers using Li-Ion, it is VERY bad to drain the battery to 0 and filling to 100% is discouraged as will degrade the battery quickly (they recommend only regularly filling to 80%). LFP does not have those issues. Kind of makes their 'range' figures look like garbage.

Interestingly the Victorian governments tax on KM travelled has been found unconstitutional. Funny state, we don't have a rebate for electric cars like every other state in the country and were the only one currently imposing a levy to drive electric cars. sigh.. (though NSW and QLD were planning to introduce a levy in 2027).

[stylofone]

I have decided to bite the bullet thanks to issues with my current car and get a new one..

Will be electric as through most of the year after my house batteries are charged I still push 7-20kw back into the grid that I can push into a car battery instead and not feed anything into the grid.

I was hoping to wait for solid state sodium batteries but maybe still a few years away so will go with the best option being LFP (Lithium Iron Phosphate) which is the same as my house batteries.. That leaves very few options, the base MG4 (with very small battery), the three different BYDs (world leader in LFP) or the Tesla model 3 which uses a blade battery (supplied by BYD). I can't give money to Elon and besides I don't like the ergonomics of the Tesla cars.

Interesting problem they don't tell you with all the other car manufacturers using Li-Ion, it is VERY bad to drain the battery to 0 and filling to 100% is discouraged as will degrade the battery quickly (they recommend only regularly filling to 80%). LFP does not have those issues. Kind of makes their 'range' figures look like garbage.

Interestingly the Victorian governments tax on KM travelled has been found unconstitutional. Funny state, we don't have a rebate for electric cars like every other state in the country and were the only one currently imposing a levy to drive electric cars. sigh.. (though NSW and QLD were planning to introduce a levy in 2027).

I'll be interested to see what your assessment is. My current car is going strong, so I'm able to wait for better technology and clarity. But if I was in the market now, there's no way it would be a petrol burner, their time has passed.

[joele]

I'll be interested to see what your assessment is. My current car is going strong, so I'm able to wait for better technology and clarity. But if I was in the market now, there's no way it would be a petrol burner, their time has passed.

Yeah I can't bring myself to lock into another petrol car and novated lease FBT incentives for EVs is are too tempting, so I can be a early (but not super early) adopter (guinea pig).

Another cost that has to be factored in is a home charger, charging off a power point is not doable when it takes 33 hours to charge and charging off public charge points is 2-3x more expensive than charging at home (or over 10x if I am using my own solar power rather than feeding into grid)..

Test driving the BYD Atto 3 this weekend.. Will look at the BYD Seal too but I think the SUV shape suits more with kids even though it is thankfully a smaller dimension SUV. Prices are starting to come down thanks to BYD and MG, probably still need another 5 years of reductions to really take off though (hopefully Sodium Ion delivers on that front).