Electric car thread

[facthunter]

Haven't seen one in a dark colour. Seen Blue.  Nev

[red750]

The one across the road from us is grey. Also a few red ones about. 

[spacesailor]

White ' was ' bad in the Old days of heavey fog .

spacesailor

[facthunter]

Fog make you sick did it?  Nev

[spacesailor]

Yes !.

Fog combined with smoke,  made " smog " ,

killed a lot of people in the forties & fifties. 

You couldn't see your ' hand ' at arms length,  in front of you , in the daylight .

Hopefully like the Killer cold winters , smog is long gone. 

spacesailor

[red750]

Huge problem with the next generation of electric cars: 'Not there yet'

 

They've been branded the way of the future, but driverless cars must first overcome two major hurdles before we're likely to see them in Australia.

 

In "an ideal world", all vehicles on the road would be both electric and driverless, resulting in massively reduced rates of car ownership, fewer accidents and cleaner airways, one of the country's leading urban mobility experts said. But, there are two main obstacles we must first overcome before we get there.

 

Read the full report here.

 

 

[Jerry_Atrick]

That was an interesting article and I hope it was the journo rather than the professor himself. EVs and driverless technology are not coupled nor dependent on each other. The challenges for EVs are different to the challenges for driverless technology; the two things to over come (which is better light/contrast differentiating sensors for dawm/dusk and one would also think, night; and AI models to process data from those sensors for lane changing are all about self-driving technology. These can equally be applied to ICE vehicles, hydrohen vehcles and even pedal vehicles (well. maybe not the latter).

 

I would have thought one of the key challenges for EVs was charging infrastrcutre and possibly charging times; and possibly electricity generation/distribution/storage over geagrpahically dispersed areas; not whether the senors for the driverless tech is working. (range seems to have been more or less sorted, at least compared to comparable ICE vehicles). And of course, the shift from purchase proce mentality to total cost of ownership mentality.

 

And I would question if the desire is to have every vehicle on the road an EV? I am still not sure of all that energy density packed in large batteries for semi trailers and road trains, for instance. Nor am I sure it is poractical for large station vehicles where carrying spare electricity in the battery equivalent of Jerry cans (I guess they aren't on the roads normally, though).

[red750]

There are also problems with Teslas when the backup battery which controls the door locks etc., dies. Here are two reports:

 

Arizona woman trapped in her Tesla.         Toddler trapped in Tesla in scorching heat.

 

[Marty_d]

It defies logic that any vehicle (or any other enclosed space for that matter) where humans use and have the potential to get trapped in, would not have a manual way of opening the door from the inside.

That doesn't help the toddler of course, but you can always put a rock through the window from the outside.

[Jerry_Atrick]

When Corwn Casino forst started, I recall a woman leaving her toddler inside who dies (let me look it up). Do you know, I can't find it, so maybe it was someone who did throw a roock through the window. Let me look that up. (https://www.theage.com.au/national/court-lets-casino-pair-keep-child-20030902-gdw9rl.html). It was 20 years ago and few few Grange's as well as many lesser wines have taken their toll (not Toll!)

 

This is not an EV issue - it is a Tesla, or more generically, an engineering issue. There are many ICE cars today that have all sorts of automation. Traditional car designers tend to have more experience in the safety systems that get people out of trouble.

[old man emu]

Just some advice if ever you have to rescue a child or dog from a locked car. Smash one of the moveable windows, not the fixed quarter windows. It is cheaper to replace the glass of a moveable window than the fixed ones. 

[facthunter]

Check with your panelbeater on that one. AVAILABILITY is another aspect. Nev

[old man emu]

Geez! That's what a panel beater told me. And of course, any replacement part for a car could suffer availability problems.

[spacesailor]

What about the " availability " of that child. 

The cost to the car owner way's little against the life of the child. 

spacesailor

[spacesailor]

What about the " cost &  availability " of that child. 

The cost to the car owner weight's little against the life of the child. 

spacesailor

[facthunter]

Windscreens are a lot easier to get than side windows and will install quicker. Nev

[Chris Tarran]

True, but they are much harder to break for access if they are laminated (as are virtually all windscreens these days).  They have to be punctured and then cut. 

 

In the SES access to a crashed car is through a side or rear window, if there is any left.  In most serious prangs all the glass is completely gone except for the windscreen which may be damaged but is usually still bonded into its frame.

[red750]

On 17/05/2024 at 8:35 PM, old man emu said:

Seems people trust the Chinese more than they trust the Yanks.

Many Teslas are manufactured in China.

[kgwilson]

ALL the Teslas in Australia are made in China. A mechanical door opening mechanism from the inside of the vehicle that over-rides the electronic locking mechanism as it is on my Chinese made EV is a good thing. I also have a manual key to get in from the outside. This is pretty common in modern cars.

Edited Monday at 11:50 AM by kgwilson

[old man emu]

Tis is an interesting explanation of how a lithium battery works and how current research is making the present style of battery outdate. The presenter doesn't seem to be pushing a pro lithium battery agenda, but you'll soon tell me if he is. I thought that this video shows how the technology is making some progress.

 

What I also found interesting, but which was not expanded upon, was what process happens in a lithium battery to initiate thermal runaway.

 

 

[old man emu]

Seems this discussion is being hamstrung by the lack of information being given to the public on the present state of battery development.

 

I don't know this bloke's credentials so can't judge the content.

 

 

[red750]

Mercedes EV recall

[Litespeed]

On 24/06/2024 at 11:51 AM, spacesailor said:

What about the " availability " of that child. 

The cost to the car owner way's little against the life of the child. 

spacesailor

You can guarantee that I would smash the window on the driver's side front first, as many new cars will not open other doors unless the driver's in openable due to the locks.

 

Then I would smash the window rear opposite to the child if needed to access. 

 

I would absolutely smash the rear quarter windows as a Fuck you to the owner for endangering a child or animal. Yes, I know they are hardest to replace, that's the point.

 

If they have any windows left they are going to be lucky.

 

I have zero tolerance for such car drivers and yes I have smashed windows before to save a dog.

 

If it's a child or disabled person on board,  they may discover them having a icecream with me and their car in ashes.

 

It's that serious and if you endanger lives, I will fuckem up.

 

I am a pacifist but do have a limit.

[nomadpete]

Just make sure you activate your phone camera first. You'll need evidence for your court case.

[old man emu]

49 minutes ago, nomadpete said:

You'll need evidence for your court case.

Yep. Break one window and it's OK. Break two or more and it's Malicious Damage and a court appearance.