Tesla to Texas: How Do You Like Us Now?

[Nash B.]

A $200 phone is a common product to sell. A $70k status symbol...isn't.

You basically have apple people and everyone else. and most of the everyone else tried apple and hated it.

You can argue any point you want but 15 years from now, we still won't be buying electric cars because they are the new perfect solution.

Your argument is that they should just give up because it was tried in the past and didn't work; they can't make it affordable so it's nothing more than a novelty or fad. The counterargument is a pretty successful company that started out with a model that didn't work, wasn't affordable, and looked like it would never be anything more than a novelty or fad.

And as for the Apple vs non-Apple, we'll be even better off if Tesla gets some competition in the electric vehicle market. It'll keep prices and quality in check.

[talisman]

A $200 phone is a common product to sell. A $70k status symbol...isn't.

You basically have apple people and everyone else. and most of the everyone else tried apple and hated it.

You can argue any point you want but 15 years from now, we still won't be buying electric cars because they are the new perfect solution.

70k cars are VERY common. You're making all these generalizations without any merit man. Come on.

[YALE]

It takes real hubris to declare an engineering problem as, "insurmountable." If the problems with electric cars were so impossible to overcome, the money going into them simply wouldn't exist.

[svauto-erotic855]

Do you mean the laws of thermodynamics?

Yep, just got an IPad and I am not used to how it changes things up on you.

[svauto-erotic855]

It takes real hubris to declare an engineering problem as, "insurmountable." If the problems with electric cars were so impossible to overcome, the money going into them simply wouldn't exist.

It doesn't take hubris; it takes a simple and objective look at the task at hand. There are areas where using an electric motor to move a car, truck, boat, train, etc is a good idea but this is not one of them. This is simply a waste of effort and resources that could better be spent of massaging conventional technology.

The CARB electric car mandate that spawned all of this nonsense was born of politics and nothing else.

[jw33]

Practically all locomotives are driven by electric motors. If someone can sort out the energy storage issues an electric motor driven passenger car can do just about everything as well as an internal combustion engine car and even has a couple of performance advantages.

Does anyone know how the air conditioning works on the Tesla cars?

[YALE]

Practically all locomotives are driven by electric motors. If someone can sort out the energy storage issues an electric motor driven passenger car can do just about everything as well as an internal combustion engine car and even has a couple of performance advantages.

Does anyone know how the air conditioning works on the Tesla cars?

Electric compressor, just like your house.

[YALE]

It doesn't take hubris; it takes a simple and objective look at the task at hand. There are areas where using an electric motor to move a car, truck, boat, train, etc is a good idea but this is not one of them. This is simply a waste of effort and resources that could better be spent of massaging conventional technology.

The CARB electric car mandate that spawned all of this nonsense was born of politics and nothing else.

I'm telling you, dude. If it were a fool's errand, real money wouldn't be behind it. It's the next step.

[svauto-erotic855]

I'm telling you, dude. If it were a fool's errand, real money wouldn't be behind it. It's the next step.

Environmentalism is a religion and the backers are either hucksters or true believers. The money comes from fools and the true believers. The only way for it to be the next step is if you are stepping backwards.

Electric has its place and it works very well in diesel over electric systems where weight is not critical. It also makes for a GREAT remote emissions mode of transportation in areas where pollution is very high and the commute is relatively short.

The real future is infinitely variable valve timing, microwave ignitions, long lived in cylinder pressure transducers, variable compression ratios, and low pressure forced induction to keep the dynamic CR at a constant level, and ultra high efficiency fast burn chambers. After that there is nothing more to be had from an Otto cycle engine because of the lose of efficiency caused by the need to throttle that type of engine and we will have to start tweaking diesel engines.

[YALE]

Environmentalism is a religion and the backers are either hucksters or true believers. The money comes from the fools and the true believers. The only way for it to be the next step is if you are stepping backwards.

Electric has its place and it works very well in diesel over electric systems where weight is not critical. It also makes for a GREAT remote emissions mode of transportation in areas where pollution is very high and the commute is relatively short.

The real future is infinitely variable valve timing, microwave ignitions, variable compression ratios, and low pressure forced induction to keep the dynamic CR at a constant level, and ultra high efficiency fast burn chambers. After that there is nothing more to be had from an Otto cycle engine because of the lose of efficiency caused by the need to throttle that type of engine and we will have to start tweaking diesel engines.

Sure dude, because those developments are perfectly adapted, and not overly complicated.

[svauto-erotic855]

Sure dude, because those developments are perfectly adapted, and not overly complicated.

I used to work for a company that was working on all of those things and we knew that we would not see fruits of our research for 20 + years. The concepts are simple but the details are what get ya. In cylinder pressure transducers are a reality now but they do not have a long life span yet. Ultra high efficiency chambers are here but the man at the forefront of their development and one of my heroes (Google Jim Feuling) died young and no one else has his understanding of the combustion event so they have been cast aside. Low pressure forced induction is also here to stay. Can you say Eco-boost?

[YALE]

I used to work for a company that was working on all of those things and we knew that we would not see fruits of our research for 20 + years. The concepts are simple but the details are what get ya. In cylinder pressure transducers are a reality now but they do not have a long life span yet. Ultra high efficiency chambers are here but the man at the forefront of their development and one of my heroes (Google Jim Feuling) died young and no one else has his understanding of the combustion event so they have been cast aside. Low pressure forced induction is also here to stay. Can you say Eco-boost?

I guess we'll see what wins out. Ecoboost isn't the same as constant pressure/compression ratio stabilization.

[svauto-erotic855]

It was the best that they could do and still keep the engine affordable. Give them some more time and the Eco Boost may evolve into something more.

[YALE]

Now that I buy. Just don't be too surprised when solid state batteries hit the scene.

[svauto-erotic855]

I got that from the horses mouth; I have family members on the design team.

I am also looking forward to solid state batteries since I love to build own flashlights and lasers but even the best projections have them at only 9% of the energy density of gasoline.