electric cars

Sustainability · 03-11-2009, 05:35 AM

Is it true that the batteries used in electric cars are reusable? I here they will be made from recyclable material.

deathrazor · 03-11-2009, 11:04 AM

Replying to spam bot again, don't mind me.

No, they are not currently reusable. In fact, the pollution caused by the mining of the materials used to make the batteries is worse for the environment than running a large SUV over the entire course of its lifetime.

Blackraven · 03-11-2009, 11:25 AM

Same here.

Though theoretically electric cars generally are supposed to have higher energy efficiency compared to any internal combustion engine (modern ICEs of today only top out at 25% max.). That's from an energy consumption point of view though.

In regards, to environmental issues, electric batteries contain harmful chemicals. That and the process of producing the batteries still emits more pollutants which outweigh any benefits that it offers in pollution reduction (as what deathrazor said).

In short, MORE WORK needs to be done to fix this problem and improve on it.

Eight · 03-11-2009, 08:29 PM

The problem with electric cars has almost never been a conceptual one -- it has always been an issue of lack of R&D. Cars that run on renewable power = good idea. Sadly we have no fucking clue how to make that idea a reasonable reality!

Blackraven · 03-15-2009, 09:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eight

The problem with electric cars has almost never been a conceptual one -- it has always been an issue of lack of R&D. Cars that run on renewable power = good idea. Sadly we have no fucking clue how to make that idea a reasonable reality!

Agreed.

Plus, with crude oil prices at extreme lows atm (less than 40 dollars per barrel???), it's gonna take a really long time before more R&D and resources are spent on developing electric vehicles.

DeusExMachina · 03-16-2009, 08:08 AM

Biggest problem with electric cars is the energy per weight ratio.

A car battery on a full charge for a 4 door sedan typically has about 4 million joules. Which is the same energy as half a gallon of gas. Half a gallon of gas is about 5 pounds and a car battery is about 50.

A car battery probably can't output more than 6000 watts which is 8.5 horsepower. You would need at least 10 of these batteries working in parallel just to get a small car moving.

Blackraven · 03-16-2009, 09:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeusExMachina

Biggest problem with electric cars is the energy per weight ratio.

A car battery on a full charge for a 4 door sedan typically has about 4 million joules. Which is the same energy as half a gallon of gas. Half a gallon of gas is about 5 pounds and a car battery is about 50.

A car battery probably can't output more than 6000 watts which is 8.5 horsepower. You would need at least 10 of these batteries working in parallel just to get a small car moving.

Indeed.

And not only this but hydrogen-powered vehicles are still plagued with tons of problems atm (mainly those involving the transportation of hydrogen fuel which is extremely volatile). However, I think BMW is working round-the-clock to try and fix these errant problems.........though it will take a while. Granted, we should see ever increasing improvements over each generation esp. with their upcoming Hydrogen 7 concept using the new-gen BMW 7 series (codenamed F01/F02).

deathrazor · 03-16-2009, 11:16 AM

Too bad Honda already beat EVERYONE to the punch with the FCX Clarity. Every other hydrogen car has to play catch-up with it, since the majority of them are concepts, not being driven daily by normal consumers.

Beer Can · 03-16-2009, 12:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blackraven

Indeed.

And not only this but hydrogen-powered vehicles are still plagued with tons of problems atm (mainly those involving the transportation of hydrogen fuel which is extremely volatile). However, I think BMW is working round-the-clock to try and fix these errant problems.........though it will take a while. Granted, we should see ever increasing improvements over each generation esp. with their upcoming Hydrogen 7 concept using the new-gen BMW 7 series (codenamed F01/F02).

Do you have any idea what you're actually talking about?

1. Hydrogen fuel is not "extremely volatile"... at least not in the way you are thinking. Observe:

Quote:

vol⋅a⋅tile [vol-uh-tl, -til or, especially Brit., -tahyl] Show IPA
–adjective
1. evaporating rapidly; passing off readily in the form of vapor: Acetone is a volatile solvent.

Yes, Hydrogen fuel will tend to turn to a gaseous form in open air. Now, if you intended to say "explosive" or "flammable," then you're wrong. Indeed, it is flammable, but actually LESS so than gasoline. The Hindenburg incident? It only occurred because some dipshit didn't get the right tar to hold the canvas of the blimp together. My point is, transporting hydrogen fuel is NOT an issue.

2. I highly doubt BMW is "working round-the-clock" to fix issues that don't really exist. Even if there were any real problems with working with hydrogen, I'd imagine their number one priorities right now more involves not going bankrupt in this world economy, instead of working on some projects that may take a few years to yield a single penny's worth of revenue.

3. Of course, if auto companies are smart, it WON'T take more than a couple years (i.e. when the economy recovers) to get out the hydrogen cars. As deathrazor alluded, Honda's already rolling out the Clarity to some customers out in California. They don't have time for improvements with each generation... they need to leap ahead in order to even catch up to Honda, let alone overtake them.

4. Furthermore, even though gas prices are pretty low right now, it's only because of the economy, and the auto companies have to know it. Remember this past summer when they were at record highs? We're running out of oil here. If companies like Ford don't hurry up on the hydrogen cars, they're going to find themselves in even more trouble than they are now. Let's just hope they can pull themselves out of this rut before the oil runs out.

m335h73r of PBJ · 03-16-2009, 01:00 PM

The problem with Hydrogen isn't the useage of it in vehicles. It's the transportation of large quantities as well as the human error involved with letting thousands of asians and indians use it in their Nissan Quests.

m335h73r of PBJ · 03-16-2009, 01:01 PM

Note: A Nissan Quest isn't a vehicle. It's an embassy.

deathrazor · 03-16-2009, 02:10 PM

I agree with what Leno has said before: in the future, the daily runabout will be a hydrogen car, but we will still have gasoline/petrol for our weekend playthings.

Blackraven · 03-17-2009, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deathrazor

Too bad Honda already beat EVERYONE to the punch with the FCX Clarity. Every other hydrogen car has to play catch-up with it, since the majority of them are concepts, not being driven daily by normal consumers.

You may have a point and the more I hear about it, the more I start to appreciate this vehicle even more. Anyways, here's a report regarding the vehicle (JDM version shown though it doesn't differ much in terms of spec)
YouTube - Honda "FCX Clarity" Fuel Cell Vehicle : DigInfo [CC]

Quote:

Note: A Nissan Quest isn't a vehicle. It's an embassy.

Hehe lmao

And even on a serious note, the Nissan Quest is still kinda lame IMHO. Dunno about you guys but I'd take the Presage over it anytime (even if they may not be in the same class)

Quite a lot of these in Japan and even portions of Hong Kong and Macao. I just wished they had an LHD version of it so that they could sell it to places such as where I'm from.

deathrazor · 03-17-2009, 10:56 AM

I would never drive a car like that. Ever. Way too big.

DeusExMachina · 03-17-2009, 08:57 PM

Well this spambot actually warranted a decent discussion

Hydrogen gas I believe is the next best alternative energy aside from corn alcohol.