The End of Diesel Cars is Near?

[synchromesh]

Originally Posted by jvincent

And if you add the energy density of gasoline to that chart you realize why batteries are not the best long haul solution.

It was suggested in 2009, grid parity has been reached if you consider solar power panel advances and more specifically location.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by synchromesh

I was reading a National Geographic a year ago and I'd say you should avoid eating cats and cows that might have had too much diclophenac.

Meh, with my diet and lifestyle a bit of residual anti-inflammatory is the very least of my worries.

[synchromesh]

I frequent the bars frequently and most nights I try to get a vibe on this contentious issue amongst the crowd.


Personally, I prefer stability. Google search, I'm afraid doesn't show the slight possibility that the soot could theoretically cause global cooling.


On the other hand, nuclear disaster could be the most dangerous variable on this planet.


I'd say it is best to value diversity.

[synchromesh]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Meh, with my diet and lifestyle a bit of residual anti-inflammatory is the very least of my worries.

I thought you were taking the path of the vulture, rather than the path of an eagle.


I wouldn't be surprised on a grand scheme of things, we got some bird brains.

[Yardjass]

Batteries are already at the point where they can meet the needs of a large portion of the driving public. I could commute to work with an electric car without a problem and either rent one a couple times a year for long trips or just have a gas beater that I don't drive that much. Most of the country fits into this category.


I'd love to get a model 3 when it comes out. People are reporting operating costs on the volts, leafs, P85's, etc. that are significantly less than a gas car. That said, the car is valued significantly higher than my 86 and my state is very, very greedy with vehicle taxes. I would be paying more money to buy a car that would save me on fuel but then I would lose those savings and a lot more to personal property taxes every year. Needless to say, I won't be buying a model 3 when it comes out, or any other electric car for that matter. State government has disincentivized me to do so. I can rev out my 86 in very wasteful fashion on the way to work every day and still be saving money so what's the point?

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by Leonardo

I'll work on toning it down.

Oh, stop. Good stuff there!

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by Leonardo

Edit: Man I sound like a insufferable know it all. Sorry, it's just that battery tech is a topic that is directly related to my job and I get really excited. I'll work on toning it down.

It's ok, the batteries I work with get shot up into space and are expected to work for 15+ years via solar power.

Getting excited about stuff is good.

[MuseChaser]

FWIW, Leonardo, I, too, find the battery talk interesting. Tone it down at your peril...

Barry

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by jvincent

And if you add the energy density of gasoline to that chart you realize why batteries are not the best long haul solution.

This is the reality of the issue, chemical fuels beat the absolute shit out of everything else.

If there was a switch to turn off using non-renewable chemical fuels in all first world countries overnight and it got flipped, life would carry on after a few years of scrambling to cover the gaps. (which is why I'm a fan of Diesel, renewable bio-diesel is very real and very close, the emissions are still tricky, but not as terrible as all the recent scandals will have you believe)

If you flipped the switch for second or third world countries they would be sent back to the pre-industrial era with their only hope of recovery being generosity from the more advanced countries. Gasoline/diesel/ethanol needs to be beaten and that won't happen until you can store, transfer, and use a cleaner energy source as easily as a bottle of liquid fuel.

I think that's why hydrogen gets such a push from Japanese companies, they see their Asian neighbors selling fuel like this:




Replacing those bottles with reusable hydrogen cannisters is an easier concept to wrap your head around than hoping there is some mythical battery tech we just haven't figured out yet.

Or we could just embrace globalization and make a conscious effort to put the good of humanity over the profits of a few. *looks at 2016*

[Leonardo]

Originally Posted by strat61caster

It's ok, the batteries I work with get shot up into space and are expected to work for 15+ years via solar power.

Getting excited about stuff is good.

My product(s) have been to space too! On a few shuttle missions and to the Mir spacestation.

[Leonardo]

Originally Posted by strat61caster

:

Looks like a "gas station" in Hati. My wife went to Hati with a volunteer group, and brought back pics like this.

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by Leonardo

Looks like a "gas station" in Hati. My wife went to Hati with a volunteer group, and brought back pics like this.

Exactly, the vast majority of the worlds population gets fed their energy in this way, billions don't have consistent electricity (hell I didn't growing up in the US, thanks Enron).

Batteries have a massive mountain to climb.

[jvincent]

Originally Posted by strat61caster

This is the reality of the issue, chemical fuels beat the absolute shit out of everything else.

Yep.

[Leonardo]

Originally Posted by strat61caster

Exactly, the vast majority of the worlds population gets fed their energy in this way, billions don't have consistent electricity (hell I didn't growing up in the US, thanks Enron).

Batteries have a massive mountain to climb.

I agree, a huge mountain. It also has to become cheap enough for everyone to afford. Technology trickle down. From what I could tell from pictures and what my wife described, Hati runs on coke bottles of gas poured into almost broken down scooters. One power line running through the city that people would climb up and clip a wire to and get (steal) power for one light for their house. (dirt floors, cinder blocks, and corrugated roof)