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

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

#71

Post by ClassyJacket »

jlebrech wrote: post #9
worldsayshi wrote: post #6

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…

they had battery swapping stations, it would mean a "charge" in under a minute. but it needs a much greater infrastructure.

A Tesla battery weighs 550KG. It's an insane amount of space, energy and equipment - and obviously can't be standardised between different shapes and sizes of car.

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

#72

Post by hackeraccount »

rciorba wrote: post #51
agumonkey wrote: post #45

Shouldn't it be mandatory for ICE car manufacturers to make hybrids only ? It would push the market up, simplify through less options and help ecology and health in the process.

It should be mandatory to hit MPG and emission targets, not to force a certain technology.

That sort of do that now in the U.S. with CAFE. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_Average_Fuel_Economy

I'm not a huge fan personally. If this is really something the country is interested in then just raise the gas tax and let people figure out how to respond to that.

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

#73

Post by hjalle »

alkonaut wrote: post #26
tonyedgecombe wrote: post #16

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.

Couldn't you get at least a simpler drive train if you only used the engine as a generator?

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

#74

Post by jbms »

chongli wrote: post #29
worldsayshi wrote: post #6

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…

The problem with inductive charging is that it's inefficient. This means it'll take longer to charge and produce a bunch of extra waste heat. For a battery as large as an electric car's, this could be a considerable cost.

93% efficiency at 1kW and 30kW wireless power delivery (from AC plug to vehicle, not 93% only for the transmission): http://www.deltaenergysystems.com/en/Wireless-Charging-Syste...

This is very close to systems that are using cables and connectors.

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

#75

Post by greedo »

freehunter wrote: post #64
agumonkey wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

First, companies lied about emissions. Second, hybrid would probably tone down emissions in cities tremendously, even consumption. I have no actual data, but the amount of time spent at low speed or waiting is staggering. A tiny DC motor + regenerative breaking is great.

The lying about emissions thing only became a problem because the testing wasn't sufficient enough to catch the cheats. Companies are going to cheat, they're going to lie, they're going to skirt as much regulation as they can. That's a fact of capitalism, companies are going to do whatever they can to make as much money as possible. It's the job of government inspectors to make sure the regulations are being followed…

Not sure cheating, lying and skirting regulations are a fact of capitalism so much as a fact of any economic system. Many Soviet factories lied to meet quotas, both numerical and qualitative.

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

#76

Post by ccozan »

ClassyJacket wrote: post #71
jlebrech wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

they had battery swapping stations, it would mean a "charge" in under a minute. but it needs a much greater infrastructure.

A Tesla battery weighs 550KG. It's an insane amount of space, energy and equipment - and obviously can't be standardised between different shapes and sizes of car.

I remember in movies about old times, you would arrive with your horse-powered cart at a such station, they changed the horses, and off you go.

I guess this is similar. Make batteries standard shape and size, just the power may vary. After all, the gasoline/diesel is the same all over the world and is made after some international standards.

I think we are looking wrongly at the energy source of an electric car. If we assume electric power as raw oil, then the battery is a refinement of this electric power in form of an chemical power. Then in this case the unit of "power" is not the electricity but the battery holding the power to run the car.

If you look from this angle, then the battery is obviously the unit that you need to load/unload from the "gas" station.

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

#77

Post by jlebrech »

ccozan wrote: post #76
ClassyJacket wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A Tesla battery weighs 550KG. It's an insane amount of space, energy and equipment - and obviously can't be standardised between different shapes and sizes of car.

I remember in movies about old times, you would arrive with your horse-powered cart at a such station, they changed the horses, and off you go. I guess this is similar. Make batteries standard shape and size, just the power may vary. After all, the gasoline/diesel is the same all over the world and is made after some international standards. I think we are looking wrongly at the energy source of an electric car. If w…

and you'd rent batteries in watt/hr, whatever's available at the station.

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

#78

Post by jlebrech »

ccozan wrote: post #76
ClassyJacket wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A Tesla battery weighs 550KG. It's an insane amount of space, energy and equipment - and obviously can't be standardised between different shapes and sizes of car.

I remember in movies about old times, you would arrive with your horse-powered cart at a such station, they changed the horses, and off you go. I guess this is similar. Make batteries standard shape and size, just the power may vary. After all, the gasoline/diesel is the same all over the world and is made after some international standards. I think we are looking wrongly at the energy source of an electric car. If w…

A rental company could do this with full teslas. just hope into a fully charged one and leave the old one to charge.

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

#79

Post by ccozan »

abrowne wrote: post #37
HenryBemis wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

Actually a magnetically holding cable would make sense in the context of a loading station for electric cars.

Some stupid guy will drive forgetting that the power cable is still attached.

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

#80

Post by leojg »

seanmcdirmid wrote: post #67
okket wrote: post #10

Maybe this has something to do with the new Chinese owners? Maybe they see the future differently? And also, maybe, these owners have a somewhat privileged access to the largest battery production in the world?

Not wrong, but the reasoning is off. China has basically mandated from the top a huge push in electric vehicles. This hmeans everyone has to ramp up on their tech. Toyota was for example hugely caught off guard because they were betting on hydrogen. Geely and other Chinese companies are quicker to receive these signals.

why not both? hydrogen cells seems to me as a great tech with a lot of potential.

They can be used in situations where electrical chargers are not avaiable.

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