DeLorean considering all-electric reboot • Hacker News Board

Re: DeLorean considering all-electric reboot

#331

Post by elihu » Sat, Jan 23, 2021, 8:31 AM UTC

taneq wrote: post #221

elihu wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't expect stickshift EVs to be common either, but still I think it's surprising that no one has made a non-luxury-car EV that isn't direct drive. Manual transmissions seem like a pretty mature technology at this point. For any car company that already makes a manual transmission car it would be easy to do. They might change the design a little (maybe 3 speeds instead of 5, and use sturdier gears and different ra…

Yeah, I'd have thought a DC motor plus a two-speed transmission would be a no-brainer for the budget end of the market (at least until high power AC drives come down a bit) but maybe not. What batteries are you using for the RX-8?

DC motors are great if you want the most power with the least price, but for a daily driver AC has a few advantages. AC motors are usually zero maintenance because they don't have brushes to wear out, and it's a lot easier to support regen (which I've heard actually makes a big difference to driving experience; people expect the car to slow down when they take their foot off the gas, and it's disconcerting for it to just keep rolling forward like a freewheeling bicycle).

AC motors and motor controllers are generally more expensive than, say, a Warp9 and a Zilla, but the price difference is gradually dropping. Probably the price difference between AC and DC for a major manufacturer is even smaller than what's available retail to hobbyists doing conversions. And I think more and more conversions are being done with repurposed Tesla and Leaf drive units.

A small, cheap AC motor attached to a 2 or 3 speed transmission would be a lot of fun to drive, I think. No need for a reverse gear even. Maybe not even a clutch or flywheel, if you can match the motor speed with the transmission electronically.

My batteries are about 450 pounds of lithium iron phosphate cells. That's generally what's recommended for conversions. Used Tesla packs have much better energy density, but they're more dangerous and need liquid cooling and are awkwardly shaped. I couldn't think of a good place to put them in the RX-8 where they'd be safe.

Re: DeLorean considering all-electric reboot

#332

Post by CorrectHorseBat » Sat, Jan 23, 2021, 10:03 AM UTC

Tor3 wrote: post #219

gambiting wrote: post #209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At least here in Poland you can only take the exam in the car provided by the testing centre, you can't have the exam in your own car(with some exceptions like when you need to have a car adjusted to your disabilities)

I believe that's the case all over Europe. That the US apparently or supposedly allows taking a car driver's license exam in your private car is.. extremely surprising.

Not the case in Belgium. The test center has no cars, you take the exam in your own car or the car of the driving school.

What would be the issue? It's the same car you practiced in.

Re: DeLorean considering all-electric reboot

#333

Post by spicybright » Sat, Jan 23, 2021, 10:12 AM UTC

amelius wrote: post #241

EvanAnderson wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My father has one (restored) that I've driven a fair amount. I really like the car, but I just can't see it as a daily driver. (For a taste comparison, my '99 Nissan Maxima was probably my most comfortable car, both for passenger comfort, and for the driving experience.) The DMC-12 is a hotbox in the summer and the stock AC just can't keep up. That's my biggest memory. Rolling the window down would be fine, except th…

> The DMC-12 is a hotbox in the summer and the stock AC just can't keep up. Did you turn on the flux capacitor?

Nice comment, you really added to the conversation!

Re: DeLorean considering all-electric reboot

#334

Post by blippage » Sat, Jan 23, 2021, 11:38 AM UTC

This will require that the electricity grid generates an extra 1.21 gigawatts, though.

Re: DeLorean considering all-electric reboot

#335

Post by taneq » Sat, Jan 23, 2021, 11:45 AM UTC

throwaway0a5e wrote: post #246

toomanybeersies wrote: post #222

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In Europe, manual transmissions are generally preferred because they're cheaper, not because they're more fun to drive.

Manual transmissions are preferred because on a continent where 1L engines drag around 4000lb cars (because displacement taxes) being able to shift when you want (as opposed to just having to live with whatever gear the OEM engineers who have emissions to consider think you should be in) translates into a much improved driving experience. They're marginally cheaper but the real key is that they let the consumer side…

I thought the cars did that for you by detecting emissions tests and switching to 'emissions mode' just for the test?

Re: DeLorean considering all-electric reboot

#336

Post by baybal2 » Sat, Jan 23, 2021, 2:05 PM UTC

Armisael16 wrote: post #17

elihu wrote: post #7

> National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has completed a regulation permitting low volume motor vehicle manufacturers to begin selling replica cars that resemble vehicles produced at least 25 years ago. Congress enacted a DeLorean Motor Company-backed bill backed by the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) DeLorean Motor Company, and others into law in 2015, which streamlined requirements for…

> They could even do a stickshift EV if they wanted to, though most car companies seem to not think it's worth the complexity/maintenance, and I get the impression that electric motors are hard on transmissions. Electric motors have a wider power band, so there’s less need for gear shifting. They could get more efficiency with multiple gears, but it’s be a smaller benefit than in an ICE vehicle. One of the big early…

> instant torque that an electric vehicle puts out just shreds a gearbox.

On other hand, you can put way more beefier gears, as you need less of them.

Re: DeLorean considering all-electric reboot

#337

Post by spacemanmatt » Sun, Jan 24, 2021, 7:29 AM UTC

KptMarchewa wrote: post #282

VLM wrote: post #267

Earlier quoted context omitted.

WRT fatalities its not apples to apples comparison as USA highways are incredibly expensive with concrete barriers between oncoming traffic and in Ireland the highways between cities are literally two lanes no barriers much like USA farm roads yet with interstate highway levels of traffic. Meanwhile the cars involved in the accidents are often unimaginably small and lightweight in EU. Rolling a typical Irish car off…

1) You're comparing 6 million people country with 300 million people country. 2) I've looked M4 and M7 in Ireland on Google Maps and they have two lanes each side with separation. 3) There is plenty highways in Europe with concrete barriers and few lanes each way.

> 1) ...300 million people

The urban density matters more than the country's population

Re: DeLorean considering all-electric reboot

#338

Post by taitems » Sun, Jan 24, 2021, 12:06 PM UTC

blueblisters wrote: post #207

taitems wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lots of EV manufacturers are investigating the "skateboard" model where you drop a chassis on a unified battery platform. VW has invested monumental amounts in this but I imagine will keep it all locked down to the VAG family. Perhaps they're open to licensing opportunities. Canoo ($GOEV) on the other hand is in the news for their skateboard platform being adopted by Hyundai/Kia and potentially being the base of the…

What are the biggest cost centers and differentiators for EVs? I have heard that a big reason why traditional automobile manufacturers are behind is because they don't have the software foundation that Tesla does. I imagine the "skateboard" integrates software, electronics, batteries and motors in a single platform, but will that be enough to counter Tesla's competitive advantage, while being able to differentiate th…

I see the skateboard as a stopgap measure for companies playing catch-up. Not everyone wants to dethrone Tesla, and even fewer are resourced to do so. VW has spent billions upon billions, in part as a mea culpa for dieselgate. How many others are willing (or even able) to invest in these massive battery factories, retrain ICE teams vs. making the pragmatic choice to slap your chassis on a licensed skateboard?

I guess there are further software parallels in the build vs buy debate.

Re: DeLorean considering all-electric reboot

#339

Post by brianwawok » Sun, Jan 24, 2021, 9:07 PM UTC

mrfusion wrote: post #252

chemmail wrote: post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

After a week you can judge pretty well. I use my brake pedal maybe once a week nowdays unless i'm driving alone and wanna feel some Gs.

Is it hard to switch back and forth between a normal car after that?

Brakes are easy compared to keys. I keep getting out of ICE cars and just leave them running. Whoa, you need to tell a car you got out? Why?

Re: DeLorean considering all-electric reboot

#340

Post by f430 » Sun, Jan 24, 2021, 9:59 PM UTC

nickik wrote: post #323

f430 wrote: post #312

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was not speaking specifically of DeLorean but the fact that more and more major manufacturers have begun testing the waters (none of the makers you listed I consider are major in anyway they will be crushed first along with Tesla). We are witnessing the calm before the storm which lot of Tesla fans seem to be be displaying myopia for. You simply don't know what these automotive giants are planning (possibly colludi…

I bet you I have spend much more time then you analyzing. And I know about all the different targets from all the different car makers. They actually have public plans of how many EV they will build (and very often they actually fall short of their own plans). More importantly I know about global battery capacity and how new capacity gets added and how much. I also know how much lithium, cobalt and nickel is mined an…

I guess what I'm arguing is not the current cars shipped and what Tesla can ship but that the automotive game is a long marathon.

Today's winner can easily be tomorrow's winner. What's wrong with arguing that Elon Musk might not be the all seeing eye and the demigod that his followers elevate him to?

We ARE in the biggest asset bubble in history, that might have to do with skewing the true value of a company that is considered worth more than the top 3 automakers combined.