Toyota patents plans for EV with manual transmission and clutch • Hacker News Board

Re: Toyota patents plans for EV with manual transmission and clutch

#31

Post by chiefalchemist » Mon, Sep 05, 2022, 2:12 PM UTC

superchroma wrote: post #20

I can't decide whether this is dumber than Dodge making a huge deal about how their new EV Dodge Charger (car not car-charger, oh my god, what a branding screw up) makes authentic loud V8 noises, but they're definitely both stupid. Can we just fast forward to the future where EVs glide around silently and people look both ways before crossing the road?

It's not all about pedestrians. Take Harley Davidson motorcycles for example. The sound is the brand. It's what people buy (into).

Not saying that's right or wrong. Only that it's not strictly a pedestrian thing.

Since in EVs it's more or less simulated, it would make since to have more than one setting and one of those to be off.

p.s. The Dodge Charger has been ine of Dodge's most successful model. Gazillions of recognition has been invested in that model. They're not going to abandon that. In fact, the name makes more sense as an EV.

Re: Toyota patents plans for EV with manual transmission and clutch

#32

Post by rthomas6 » Mon, Sep 05, 2022, 2:17 PM UTC

ytdytvhxgydvhh wrote: post #10

rthomas6 wrote: post #6

I suppose I'm not the target market for this. To me this is just added complexity that increases cost and likelihood of something breaking. I'm still waiting for someone to make a "battery on wheels", an electric car with no extra bells and whistles. I think it could end up being so cheap to own, and also extremely reliable, since electric cars need no transmissions, and almost no maintenance of any kind for that mat…

> I'm still waiting for someone to make a "battery on wheels", an electric car with no extra bells and whistles. Didn’t you already find it with the Leaf? Or is a base-model Leaf still full of lots of unnecessary farkle?

Yes. But they stopped making it like that. The new Leaf base models are $28k minimum, have lane assist, auto braking, high beam assist, smartphone integration, 8" multi touch display, voice recognition, and more. I paid around $12k in 2017 for a used 2015 Leaf. You can't do that anymore.

Re: Toyota patents plans for EV with manual transmission and clutch

#33

Post by pjc50 » Mon, Sep 05, 2022, 2:17 PM UTC

rthomas6 wrote: post #6

I suppose I'm not the target market for this. To me this is just added complexity that increases cost and likelihood of something breaking. I'm still waiting for someone to make a "battery on wheels", an electric car with no extra bells and whistles. I think it could end up being so cheap to own, and also extremely reliable, since electric cars need no transmissions, and almost no maintenance of any kind for that mat…

> an electric car with no extra bells and whistles

You can have this, but you have to import it from China, and the minimum level of bells and whistles required to legally operate it on the roads in the US is incredibly high.

Re: Toyota patents plans for EV with manual transmission and clutch

#34

Post by dylan604 » Mon, Sep 05, 2022, 2:19 PM UTC

superchroma wrote: post #20

I can't decide whether this is dumber than Dodge making a huge deal about how their new EV Dodge Charger (car not car-charger, oh my god, what a branding screw up) makes authentic loud V8 noises, but they're definitely both stupid. Can we just fast forward to the future where EVs glide around silently and people look both ways before crossing the road?

The Dodge Charger has been around a lot longer than EVs. It is has also recently been announced they are discontinuing the Charger as an ICE model.

Re: Toyota patents plans for EV with manual transmission and clutch

#35

Post by dylan604 » Mon, Sep 05, 2022, 2:21 PM UTC

nottorp wrote: post #3

Funny that it's coming from the same Toyota that puts CVTs with no discrete gear steps in their gas cars and doesn't try to hide it...

I had a 2015 model car without a CVT, but it was replaced with a next year model with a CVT after the non-CVT was totaled in a wreck. The 2 cars drove/felt completely different. It took some time to understand why (I'm not a grease monkey), but I'm not really sure I ever liked the CVT model.

Re: Toyota patents plans for EV with manual transmission and clutch

#36

Post by rthomas6 » Mon, Sep 05, 2022, 2:23 PM UTC

LBJsPNS wrote: post #14

willis936 wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This comes up in every HN EV thread. Why not convert a mid 20th century car to EV?

No air bags, seat belts, crumple zones, etc...

Cars from the 2000s had all of this and were much cheaper than cars now.

Re: Toyota patents plans for EV with manual transmission and clutch

#37

Post by schuke » Mon, Sep 05, 2022, 2:26 PM UTC

superchroma wrote: post #20

I can't decide whether this is dumber than Dodge making a huge deal about how their new EV Dodge Charger (car not car-charger, oh my god, what a branding screw up) makes authentic loud V8 noises, but they're definitely both stupid. Can we just fast forward to the future where EVs glide around silently and people look both ways before crossing the road?

If Charger is a name too mundane for the digital world, perhaps Super Charger would up the game a little bit ? Oh wait…

Re: Toyota patents plans for EV with manual transmission and clutch

#38

Post by Fiahil » Mon, Sep 05, 2022, 2:26 PM UTC

superchroma wrote: post #20

I can't decide whether this is dumber than Dodge making a huge deal about how their new EV Dodge Charger (car not car-charger, oh my god, what a branding screw up) makes authentic loud V8 noises, but they're definitely both stupid. Can we just fast forward to the future where EVs glide around silently and people look both ways before crossing the road?

> makes authentic loud V8 noises

I'm so glad this monstrosity is not cleared for European roads.

Re: Toyota patents plans for EV with manual transmission and clutch

#39

Post by falcor84 » Mon, Sep 05, 2022, 2:28 PM UTC

rossmohax wrote: post #4

It is not the first time when product simulates imperfections of the past technology to make product more authentic in customers eyes. Film color,lenses defects, lots of "analog" audio effects and now cars.

On a sidenote, here's a controversial opinion - electrically-powered analog clocks are silly and we should discontinue making them.

Re: Toyota patents plans for EV with manual transmission and clutch

#40

Post by ramesh31 » Mon, Sep 05, 2022, 2:28 PM UTC

nottorp wrote: post #3

Funny that it's coming from the same Toyota that puts CVTs with no discrete gear steps in their gas cars and doesn't try to hide it...

>Funny that it's coming from the same Toyota that puts CVTs with no discrete gear steps in their gas cars and doesn't try to hide it...

CVT is, theoretically, infinitely superior to a traditional geared automatic transmission. They got a bad wrap at first (just like traditional automatics) when they were introduced, but the tech has matured and they are extremely reliable now.