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Volvo signals 'end of the solely combustion engine-powered car'

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31–40 of 149 posts

Re: Volvo signals 'end of the solely combustion engine-powered car'

#31

Can we please standardize charging stations to not require a person to manually establish a connection? It seems that it would pose such an awkward and unnecessary hurdle. Especially in the coming age of self driving cars. Every time you arrive or leave you have to remember to (dis-)connect the charger. Why not just have some kind of inductive energy transfer or I dunno... something. Edit1: Heh, this could work I gue…

All modern electric cars can trivially have enough 'parking assistance' AI to line them up exactly with a charging port (which could be, for example, beside or even under the car). The car can then trigger the charger to connect, and when you get in the car and start it it can trigger the charger to disconnect. All that is needed is standardization effort, and an up-front security review e.g. cars 'sign on' with a pr…

The other day I tried parking assistance on my Volt, 3/5 times it was flawless. 1 time it happily parked in the middle of two spaces, and another time it couldn't detect a low curb and a hollow tube sticking out and would have happily ran them over if it didn't require manual acceleration and braking...

I don't think manually plugging in a charger is a big deal

Re: Volvo signals 'end of the solely combustion engine-powered car'

#32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Plugin hybrids do seem to offer the best of both worlds right now.

My problem with them is that they don't offer the greatest benefit of electric: the simple drive train. No thousands of moving part kept moving by a handful of fluids and rubber pulleys all needing meticulous care. With the hybrid you get the best of both worlds in convenience and range but the worst in maintenance. Battery aging? Check. Expensive combustion engine service schedules? Check.

People keep saying that electric cars are inherently more reliable but Tesla has worse-than-average drivetrain reliability.

Re: Volvo signals 'end of the solely combustion engine-powered car'

#33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think they're mutually exclusive. When level 5 self-driving is available, it won't be too difficult to add a wheel back and have modes where the self-driving capability maintains safety for other drivers on the road, but allows the driver to assume some risk for their own car and personal safety. Different modes could allow the driver to accept different levels of risk to themselves and of their car, while st…

This here is one of the reasons why I think manual cars will never go away, or at least they won't be banned outright - new cars will have enough systems to stop you from crashing in almost every situation, while allowing you to "drive" - so why ban it?

to give counterpoint to both of you on some topic (ie I think you both are wrong on it :))

why people want fully automated car? simply to do something else then stare blandly for hours ahead - sleep, reading, watching movies, playing with other passengers... basically anything you can do while seated. this will be great improvement for and why people would want manual mode? well if you ever drove a proper car (say bmw/porsche and better - it is not so much function of just raw power rather than overall handling and responsiveness), then you know the experience on non-congested road outside of cities is not comparable with usual mundane driving. Not at all. It is pleasure, it is joy, it is fun and in some cases adrenaline.

this might not be strong enough reason for 'premium' car companies to survive, or at least not all of them. but I can't imagine Lamborghini or Ferrari going out of business just because of that. there will be exceptions in one way or the other, that's for sure. Otherwise it means losing 100s of thousands of highly qualified jobs just on EU market.

Re: Volvo signals 'end of the solely combustion engine-powered car'

#35
post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Douglas Adams on the internet affecting media in the 2000s: ”It's like trying to explain to the Amazon River, the Mississippi, the Congo and the Nile how the coming of the Atlantic Ocean will affect them. The first thing to understand is that river rules will no longer apply.” Wide-scale fully automated cars will change everything. First, I think fewer people will personally own cars, perhaps a small fraction. Vehicl…

As an aside, the Congo and the Amazon used to be the same river before the Atlantic came along... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_River#Geology

TIL! Thanks!

Re: Volvo signals 'end of the solely combustion engine-powered car'

#36
post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My problem with them is that they don't offer the greatest benefit of electric: the simple drive train. No thousands of moving part kept moving by a handful of fluids and rubber pulleys all needing meticulous care. With the hybrid you get the best of both worlds in convenience and range but the worst in maintenance. Battery aging? Check. Expensive combustion engine service schedules? Check.

People keep saying that electric cars are inherently more reliable but Tesla has worse-than-average drivetrain reliability.

I'm sure ev reliability will be bad for years as it's young technology but all the more reason not to duplicate risks by having two separate drivetrains.

Re: Volvo signals 'end of the solely combustion engine-powered car'

#37

Can we please standardize charging stations to not require a person to manually establish a connection? It seems that it would pose such an awkward and unnecessary hurdle. Especially in the coming age of self driving cars. Every time you arrive or leave you have to remember to (dis-)connect the charger. Why not just have some kind of inductive energy transfer or I dunno... something. Edit1: Heh, this could work I gue…

Regarding the charging stations & related accessories, wait till Apple make its own electric car and I absolutely P_R_O_M_I_S_E you that action #1 on their agenda is to ensure that they use their own cables and fuses!!!!! (that will cost x20 the competition's accessories of course). Joking apart, this is good news for Humanity and planet Earth!

But will they include strain relief on the cable?

Re: Volvo signals 'end of the solely combustion engine-powered car'

#38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Plugin hybrids do seem to offer the best of both worlds right now.

My problem with them is that they don't offer the greatest benefit of electric: the simple drive train. No thousands of moving part kept moving by a handful of fluids and rubber pulleys all needing meticulous care. With the hybrid you get the best of both worlds in convenience and range but the worst in maintenance. Battery aging? Check. Expensive combustion engine service schedules? Check.

Huge weight gain, with associated efficiency and handling compromises? Check

Re: Volvo signals 'end of the solely combustion engine-powered car'

#39

Plug in ignores one very large population: people who live in apartments. Unless the apartment builders start to consider charging stations sufficient to the population, plug-ins are pointless. A hybrid works since I don't need a plug.

Ubitricity offers street charging from lampposts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKaEhBjt1ls

Re: Volvo signals 'end of the solely combustion engine-powered car'

#40
post #27
post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Diesel engines can be ran on DME (dimethyl ether) with a redesigned fuel system. DME is clean and its's storage requirements are nearly the same as for LPG: pressurized containers at 0.5 MPa (roadbike tyre pressure). Volvo Trucks has partnered with Oberon Fuels and converted several trucks to run on DME. http://www.volvotrucks.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/VTC/Corpo... Also Mack Trucks is looking into DME as an alterna…

And where would the DME come from? It would still produce CO2 when burnt, even if there are less toxic byproducts. If created from atmosphere CO2 it most likely would use way more electricity than a battery powered car.

What are the feedstocks for DME? There are so many: food waste, dairy manure, landfill gas, natural gas and methanol.
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