Volkswagen Bets Big On Electric Cars, Plans 30 Models By 2025 (usatoday.com) 179
An anonymous reader writes: German automaker Volkswagen plans to deliver 30 electric plug-in models by 2025. The new plan comes in the wake of a devastating emissions scandal that cast doubt on the future of its once-beloved diesel cars. It also exposes the immense challenges that the company will face internally. Volkswagen CEO Matthias Mueller suggested that Volkswagen Group, whose brands include Audi and Porsche, will "significantly" reduce the number of models it makes and will slash almost $9 billion in spending annually to bolster the bottom line.
Saab story (Score:4, Insightful)
2025 headline "VW Fails Ozone Test" (Score:2)
brush motors banned, millions of cars sidelined.
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It would be more appropriate to talk about politicians not understanding enough of chemical reactions to make sensible regulations. Either the diesel engines break one side of the regulations, or the other. None of the car companies could make a diesel engine that passed the regulations, VW did it by cheating, but no company was able to do it without cheating in some way.
For those who still want diesel (Score:2, Interesting)
They can buy the optional two cylinder range extender to stink up the air.
Actually that is the proper way to make an electric car until storage tech gets beyond the stone age. It doesn't require anything beyond the existing infrastructure, so it can *just work*
Range extender (Score:2)
They can buy the optional two cylinder range extender to stink up the air. Actually that is the proper way to make an electric car until storage tech gets beyond the stone age.
No reason a range-extender should be two-cycle. Two-cycle are noisy greasy polluting engines, not really good for much except lawn mowers.
Actually, since a range extender engine can be optimized to run at a single speed, doesn't need to provide torque at low RPM, and needs to provide electrical efficiency rather than mechanical power, you don't really even need an internal combustion engine-- I'll suggest using a small Stirling engine.
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"They can buy the optional two cylinder range extender to stink up the air."
Why not pull one only when one needs it, it could have additional storage capacity and small enough for the back of the garage.
Or build one yourself a cheap trailer with a generator and place for stuff.
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I like the idea of a generator on a trailer for when range is needed. But it's probably not a DIY job, as there's the problem of how to get the electricity into the batteries whilst motoring. EV battery packs have sophisticated battery management systems that have to cooperate in the charging. If the car is in drive mode, it's probably not in charge mode.
On the other hand maybe you could input power on the regenerative brakes input. Dunno.
Just saying it might not be as straight forward as as simple hook up.
Re:For those who still want diesel (Score:5, Insightful)
That's not the only problem. Not all of us live in houses with garages. I live in an apartment complex with assigned parking. If I were to get an electric vehicle I have no clue how the hell I'd charge it.
I mean, don't get me wrong, I think electric vehicles are the future and I'd love to be able to drive a plug-in hybrid, but at present I have absolutely no way to charge it and that needs to change before electric cars can roll out to the entire population.
Re: For those who still want diesel (Score:2, Insightful)
Don't worry. They'll sneak little tiny diesel generators in all of them that pollute 10 times more than a regular diesel engine.
Re: For those who still want diesel (Score:4, Informative)
They'll sneak little tiny diesel generators in all of them that pollute 10 times more than a regular diesel engine.
Diesels used as generators can generate less pollution, because they can run at an optimal constant speed.
Re: For those who still want diesel (Score:5, Funny)
You're standing in the way of blind rage, sir.
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Just an absurd comments which brought me a minimal amount of amusement made way more amusing by the fact that someone clearly thought I was serious.
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They still suck compared to large generators. Wires are old tech.
Re:For those who still want diesel (Score:5, Informative)
That's not the only problem.
Not to mention places like Los Angeles, where our infrastructure is shit, power rates keep climbing, and we have multiple brown/blackouts during the summer months just from A/C usage alone. They're talking up to two weeks of blackouts this summer due to the Aliso Canyon fiasco. Just what we all need, electric cars that we can't charge because the power's out, and can't afford to charge because we've already got second mortgages just to keep the house cool when it's 110 outside. Electric cars are a great idea, but some places just aren't prepared for a massive influx of them.
Re:For those who still want diesel (Score:5, Insightful)
If your electric grid has regular blackouts, electric cars are the least of your problems. Sounds like a third-world problem to me.
Signed,
a Canadian.
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If your electric grid has regular blackouts, electric cars are the least of your problems. Sounds like a third-world problem to me.
Signed, a Canadian.
I wouldn't call them regular (yet), but far more than you'd expect from the second most populous city in "the greatest nation in the world", for sure. Don't even get me started on the condition of our roads.. and the sidewalks...!!
You can choose where to live (Score:4, Insightful)
Not to mention places like Los Angeles, where our infrastructure is shit,
Hey if you choose to live somewhere where the power infrastructure sucks that's on you. LA is a fine place but most of the US doesn't have much difficulty getting power reliably. If it's a big problem for you there are lots of other places in the US where you can live a very happy life.
Just what we all need, electric cars that we can't charge because the power's out, and can't afford to charge because we've already got second mortgages just to keep the house cool when it's 110 outside.
If the power is out charging your car is probably the least of your problems. Get a backup generator and charge your car that way if it's such a concern to you. Works fine and if it's big enough you can power your house at the same time.
Electric cars are a great idea, but some places just aren't prepared for a massive influx of them.
There isn't going to be a massive influx of them. It's going to take many years for them to gain enough market share to really cause heartburn on the grid. Plenty of time to upgrade the grid. Plus you'll see lots of hybrids before you see lots of pure electrics most likely.
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Hey if you choose to live somewhere where the power infrastructure sucks that's on you. LA is a fine place but most of the US doesn't have much difficulty getting power reliably. If it's a big problem for you there are lots of other places in the US where you can live a very happy life.
If the power is out charging your car is probably the least of your problems. Get a backup generator and charge your car that way if it's such a concern to you. Works fine and if it's big enough you can power your house at the same time.
I didn't choose to live here. I grew up here, family moved down here in '84. It's hard to just pick up and move after 30+ years. Our infrastructure didn't suck back then, but the region has just built and built and built, and I don't recall them ever building a new power station. In fact, they shut down our only nuke plant a couple years ago. They are adding wind/solar, but only out in the deserts. I doubt any of that power makes it past Palmdale or the inland empire. Our problem here is the generally mild
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If you've been living there the whole time your present circumstances have been brewing... maybe you've been voting for the wrong lizards?
Own your choices (Score:2)
I didn't choose to live here. I grew up here, family moved down here in '84. It's hard to just pick up and move after 30+ years.
If you are an adult then you absolutely have chosen to live there. Its a big world and if you just want to stay in one tiny corner of it for your whole life that's fine but don't pretend you had no choice in the matter. If the power is a problem then move or work to fix it. If it isn't a problem then stop complaining about it. Moving isn't really difficult at all if you are motivated to do it. I've moved about every 5 years for the last 25 years and have lived in 4 different states. Not a big problem
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If you are an adult then you absolutely have chosen to live there. Its a big world and if you just want to stay in one tiny corner of it for your whole life that's fine but don't pretend you had no choice in the matter. If the power is a problem then move or work to fix it. If it isn't a problem then stop complaining about it. Moving isn't really difficult at all if you are motivated to do it. I've moved about every 5 years for the last 25 years and have lived in 4 different states. Not a big problem unless you make it one.
Oh stop moving the goalposts. You were talking specifically about a power outage. 99.9% of the time you'll never need to charge an electric car with a standby generator but it is an option if you need it. If there isn't a power outage (which is most of the time) then it isn't a problem. Buying an gas guzzling, polluting car for the 1 or 2 days a year the power goes out is just poor decision making. That's like buying a 24 foot box truck as your daily driver because you want to haul lumber twice a year. It doesn't make any sense.
I haven't chosen to live here. I've chosen not to move away. For someone like me, it's a lot harder to move away from friends and what little family I have left, as well as my job, network of supplemental job opportunities, etc. My dad moved around quite often because the grass was always greener.. I chose to stop moving with him, because that's not how I want to live my life. I find it interesting that this has gone from my opinion that this area isn't a great spot for an explosion of electric cars, to me
and you are wrong, depending on conditions (Score:2)
I could have had a V8 (Score:2)
Hey, if you choose to drive an electric car, that's on you.
Yes it is. Do you have an actual point to make?
I'll stick with a nice V8 myself.
And my Tesla will smoke your "nice V8". Enjoy your slow, noisy, smog machine.
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Traction contest. How wide are your tires? Has anybody tubbed a tesla yet?
Re:For those who still want diesel (Score:5, Informative)
They're talking up to two weeks of blackouts this summer due to the Aliso Canyon fiasco.
Obvious solution: Charge your car at night, when the ACs are mostly off, and there is plenty of cheap base load power.
I have an electric car, and it is preprogrammed to start charging at 2am.
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Obvious solution: Charge your car at night, when the ACs are mostly off, and there is plenty of cheap base load power.
I have an electric car, and it is preprogrammed to start charging at 2am.
A/C runs 24/7 here during the summer, usually. It's still well into the mid 80's on many nights, and we've had some rather strange humid spells lately. Of course I'm not saying we'll have nightly blackouts, but as we add more and more housing (and now electric cars,) to the grid.. things are not going to get better. We do have time of use rates, where it's cheaper at night, but holy hell.. I would not want to run central air during the summer daytime with their day rates. For those of us who work from home,
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Jesus, where in LA do you live? Do you live in the IE or eastern SFV and are saying LA? When I lived in LA 10 years ago I only wished I had central air maybe 10 days out of the year.
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Jesus, where in LA do you live? Do you live in the IE or eastern SFV and are saying LA? When I lived in LA 10 years ago I only wished I had central air maybe 10 days out of the year.
West SFV area. It gets bloody hot here. The past 5 years have really seen a ramp up in extreme temps. I think it hit 115 here a couple years ago, 110 for several days at least every year. We certainly don't benefit from any sea breeze. And those Santa Anas...
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OK that makes sense. It does get hot out there... it's a completely different climate experience compared to douchbags like me who live on the Westside...
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In addition, this will enable multiple power companies to go ahead and invest into energy plants for you. Hopefully, they will be smart and do nukes so that you can handle your AC loads.
Sadly, so far, VW has sucked ICE tail pipes will designing their crappy EVs. Basically, if they continue on that path, then in 2 years, it will no
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Actually, if VW designs these right, they will be charging in the middle of the night. IOW, they will simply use the grossly underutilized grid and power plants from that time. In addition, this will enable multiple power companies to go ahead and invest into energy plants for you. Hopefully, they will be smart and do nukes so that you can handle your AC loads. .
It'll be interesting to see what happens if the night loads begin increasing from many electric vehicles charging. As far as I know, all of the fossil fuel plants here are natural gas. They're supplemented by solar and wind out in the deserts and canyons. Solar is obviously a no go in the dark, and the winds usually die down at night. Residential solar is becoming more widespread, which causes the daytime generation needs to drop, but nighttime to remain the same. I wonder if we'll ever come to a point to w
Re: For those who still want diesel (Score:2)
Re: For those who still want diesel (Score:2)
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In particular, southern Cal is stealing a lot Colorado water and pulling down the reservoirs fast. Instead, coastal Cal up to 200 miles inward should be coming from the ocean. The only way to do that inexpensively is via nukes.
We have enough water here in so cal for reasonable purposes. What we don't need is the nut and rice farming in the central valley that uses an unholy amount of water for produce that just gets exported. Many of us are tearing out our lawns to save water, but it's the agriculture that's unsustainable at the current rate.
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Look at this map of CA's water. [wikimedia.org]
What you see is that the Colorado river is supplying LA and San Diego. NONE of this goes to Ag. Right now, LA/SD are pulling 2-5x the amount of water that they are entitled to. In particular, between the 2 cities, both are pulling down the reservoirs at a frightening rate. As it is, Colorado has never even used our part of the water, so, LA/SD usage is WAY OUT OF LINE.
My understanding is that normally, your usage of Colorado is about 20
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There is (was) a massive amount of ground water in the San Joaquin valley. Instead of pumping it and sending it south, they used it for absolutely wasteful agricultural purposes. They've used so much, that the ground has sunken by almost 30 feet in places. So, instead of pumping and using our own water to service the south, we take it from the Colorado. Now that the ground up north has dried up and collapsed so that it couldn't hold the same amount of water even with biblical flooding, the farmers are all c
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Bikinis.
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They also need to be able to charge to afford a respectable range quickly... and it should be as quick and convenient to do so as it is currently to fill up a car with gasoline.
If I have an electric car, but accidentally forget to plug it in overnight when it needs it, I may not even be able to make it to work the next day at all... where with a gasoline car that is too low on gas to get to work, I could just make a brief stop at a gas station on my way there, at a cost of perhaps only an extra 10 minute
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Not all of us live in houses with garages. I live in an apartment complex with assigned parking.
Can you charge it at work? Many employers, at least in the SF Bay area, are putting chargers in the employee parking lots.
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Oh, probably, but that would mean I'd have to actually go to work and I'm mostly a telecommuter these days. (Meaning I don't have to drive at all, which is even more eco-friendly!)
My employer does have charging spots. Eight of them, I think.
So while it might work for - well, up to eight employees out of - I dunno, say a thousand - clearly it's not a solution it everyone starts getting an electric car. And they do get used, I generally see cars parked and charging with them when I do go in to the building.
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clearly it's not a solution it everyone starts getting an electric car.
Obvious solution: As more people drive electric cars, install more charging stations.
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"That's not the only problem. Not all of us live in houses with garages. I live in an apartment complex with assigned parking. If I were to get an electric vehicle I have no clue how the hell I'd charge it."
And even all those old apartment complexes got electricity, plumbing, Internet, Phone, natural gas and whatnot.
They'll go with the time, they always have.
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This is going to be the big challenge in the next few years. Some places are installing rows of chargers on every street and in every car park. Most urban roads already have the wiring in place for street lighting.
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Big bright HPS street lights are 400W. LED ones are about 100W.
I doubt the wiring is significantly overbuilt. LED retrofits would give you 300W (not a lot) per lamp for charging, then you'd have to work out metering.
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Sure, but there are trenches/pipes for the wiring for when it needs periodic maintenance. Parts of the UK and some European countries are trialling charging sockets on lamp posts.
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Depends on the details. I've seen them pull cable and protective conduit in one pass with a plow like thing. I any case the conduit isn't likely big enough for cable to support lots of chargers.
But as I said, pulling cable and conduit isn't that big a deal. It will get done.
I still say the charger parking spots should be the 'bad ones'. If the only good parking spot is a charger spot, I won't hesitate to park my V8 in it. It's not like a cripple spot.
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How many cops are there in your world?
I might install a dummy charge connector.
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Then don't buy electric and buy diesel or gas instead. Wow that was tough to solve!
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Then don't buy electric and buy diesel or gas instead. Wow that was tough to solve!
You mean exactly what I'm doing?
The story is about VW moving over to mostly electric vehicles, and the problem is that the infrastructure for that just doesn't exist and isn't likely to exist in the next decade - the time period they're apparently planning on doing the move.
We'll see. I'd love to think that in 10 years I'd be able to go all-electric, but I don't think it's going to happen.
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At least you have assigned parking. Here in the city you park your car on the street, trying to find a parking place when getting home after work can be a challenge. You can be parked a block or two, away from your appartment, sometimes on another street.
And that's in summer. In winter it's a nightmare...
Will the city install hundred of thousands of charging stations on the residential streets? Otherwise there's no way we can have electric cars.
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I agree, this will be one of the more difficult hurdles to overcome. The most obvious solution is to have outlets (even 110) close to the parking spaces, but I don't know how one would provide the incentive to get it done. For early adopters (we're certainly in that stage), kindly try to work out a solution with your landlord. It could become a valuable amenity. Offer to pay some or all of the installation cost. On a recent trip, at the place I was staying I stayed topped up using 110V at 12 amps drivin
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When you're paying $25 a gallon, you may reconsider your position.
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It's going to become increasingly irrelevant what you think of these measures. Carbon will be priced, and if you want to keep driving gas guzzling vehicles you will pay more and more and more and more.
The universe doesn't owe your driving habits any favors. Your bizarre linking of liberty to the price of gas is merely the product of your own stupidity and selfishness.
But you'll adapt, bitching and sniveling like a little child the whole time.
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No, you haven't. You've been hearing it for about 40 years, with each new succession of modeling making it clear that emissions are creating greater and greater effects. You're just too much a child to want to listen. You want to believe God or the Invisible Hand or whatever would never allow your precious long-chain hydrocarbons to cause that kind of damage.
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The current generation MX-5 has 155hp in the US model, 129hp in the UK/Europe model; and it's verified by Guinness as the best-selling sports car of all time. It doesn't get 50mpg in the US though. Our version gets 27/34/30mpg (City/Highway/Combined.)
https://www.fueleconomy.gov/fe... [fueleconomy.gov]
Grandparent is most likely on the other side of the pond and has the has the European version, which is rated at 35.8/57.6/47.1mpg. (Holy crap!!!)
https://www.mazda.co.uk/cars/m... [mazda.co.uk]
I have a Skyactiv Mazda 3. And I routinely be
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Flog it harder. You can get your (milage down/smileage up) if you try.
Put a gear in it, go big. You can remake that into a 'speed'.
Well that solves one problem (Score:3)
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You can ignore reality and believe that legal fantasy if you want. Personally this whole EV craze seems to me to be putting the cart before the
Electric vehicle power sources (Score:2)
All cars result in emissions.
Explain to me how an electric car getting it's power from a nuclear power plant is generating emissions. I have three nuclear plants withing a 4 hour drive of my house and they provide a very substantial percentage of the electricity in my state so I could easily claim that my electric vehicle is effectively 100% nuclear powered. I'm exaggerating of course but you get my drift. Your point isn't silly but it's a lot easier to control emissions at a power plant than it is to control them from 100,000 tail
Re:Well that solves one problem (Score:5, Informative)
Just... wrong.
Even if you get all of your electricity from dirty coal (like Colorado), it is still cleaner to drive an electric vehicle than a 35 mpg gas car because coal fired power plants are much more efficient than gas or diesel car engines and electric cars are much more efficient in using that electricity.
Plus, as we retire dirty coal plants, electric cars get even cleaner.
http://www.ucsusa.org/clean-ve... [ucsusa.org]
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Even if you get all of your electricity from dirty coal (like Colorado), it is still cleaner to drive an electric vehicle than a 35 mpg gas car
Also, if you really care you can often buy green power for a little more. When I lived in Colorado my Nissan Leaf ran primarily on wind and hydro power. Not because I cared so much but because I charged it primarily at work, and my employer cared enough to pay the premium for renewable energy. I could have done the same at home for a power bill about 20% higher.
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I run my Tesla on electricity from my solar panels so very low emissions (and low cost, too).
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Since you obviously didn't read the link to my efficiency calcs, here they are again:
An ICE engine can hit about 30% efficiency. An automatic transmission is about 90%-95% efficient (pretty impressive considering it's just squirting fluid at a turbine).
Newer coal plants are about 40% efficient. Natural gas plants are abo
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Less than 50% of Colorado's electricity comes from coal. Just 5 years ago, we got 65%. BUT, wind has really come on strong, so, it is dropping.
But, I agree with you otherwise.
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Sorry, didn't mean to pick on Colorado. The EIA shows Colorado as having a high percentage from coal.
Good to see the percentage of renewables rising.
Re: Well that solves one problem (Score:2)
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There is an older study [howstuffworks.com] that looked at the environmental impact of producing a Prius versus producing a Hummer.
The answer might surprise you. According to an in-depth study by the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory, hybrid cars do, in fact, require more energy to produce than conventional cars, emitting more greenhouse gases and burning more fossil fuels during the manufacturing process. The production of hybrid batteries, in particular, requires much more energy than producing a standard car battery and results in higher emission levels of gases like sulfur oxide [source: Burnham et al].
But do the environmental impacts of hybrid vehicle production outweigh the long-term benefits of driving a cleaner running automobile? That answer is a resounding "no." If you drive both a conventional and hybrid car for 160,000 miles (257,495 kilometers), the conventional vehicle requires far more energy to operate and emits far more greenhouse gases over its lifetime, significantly canceling out any imbalance during the production stage [source: Burnham et al].
Basically, to be that awesome "green citizen", you'll need to drive that electric car near 160,000 miles. Something that would take ~10 years or so to do. A more recent [nerdwallet.com] study looks at cost of ownership and appears to have an approximately $10k difference between gasoline and electric over 5 years.
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The older study is of hybrid cars, not battery EVs. Hybrid cars have an IC engine and only marginal electric use.
More relevant studies of BEVs vs ICE shows a slight increase in manufacturing CO2 (15-45% depending on model) which is quickly eliminated by electric efficiency and reduced CO2. Electric cars emit about half the CO2 over their lifetime compared to an ICE car.
http://www.ucsusa.org/clean-ve... [ucsusa.org]
http://www.greencarreports.com... [greencarreports.com]
pushes the emissions out of sight (Score:2)
unless every new power plant is wind, solar, or wave, there will be MORE emissions. just not where the tailpipe-sniffers are tailgating you.
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unless every new power plant is wind, solar, or wave, there will be MORE emissions. just not where the tailpipe-sniffers are tailgating you.
More emissions than what? If you mean "more emissions than if everybody rode a bicycle instead", then sure, I agree with you. But if the choices come down to driving an electric car vs driving a gas-powered car, then you're simply wrong [wired.com]. Even an electric car powered entirely by coal plants results in fewer emissions than a gas-powered car -- and coal plants are being shuttered on a regular basis, so that worst-case scenario is becoming less common all the time.
Not to mention that moving the emissions awa
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They may even create travesties like the plug in prius (w/ 11mi range; not even worth plugging in).
Maybe useless for you, but I'd love to be able to go 11mi on just electric. That would cover at least 50% of the mileage I do with my current car.
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Buy a Volt. Depending on the year, goes up to around 50 miles on electric. Great car too, many have 150k+ miles with no loss in battery.
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Kind of silly, but that is what happens when you get fucking MBAs in the field.
Re:Well that solves one problem (Score:4, Informative)
TFA, as usual, is short on details but this may give a hint:
"The bet on fully electric vehicles will be paired with an investment in battery technology,"
(They have also announced that they are building their own battery "Gigafactory".)
A "fully electric" vehicle has no ICE engine. A hybrid has ICE and electric.
BEV is Battery Electric Vehicle (no ICE).
Plug-in Hybrid is an ICE engine hybrid electric that usually has a small battery which you can plug in to charge.
It will be interesting to see what they come up with. They pretty much single-handedly killed the diesel car and now they are scrambling to put something together so they can regain some green street cred.
I wish them luck.
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They currently have two BEVs, the eGolf and eUp. Both kinda suck, offering nothing much to make you buy one over a Leaf or Zoe or even an i3. They both suffer from being ICE cars with an EV system shoved in them. Hopefully their future efforts will be more competitive.
"30 models" really means "no models" (Score:2)
1) It's electric and hooks up to the standard charging stations
2) It can run 150 miles after eight years in the cold (the wimpy 80-100 mile range in perfect conditions on your eGolf is shit)
3) You get some "self driving" features in there (this is my commuter car and I want to be napping, not driving)
However, this "30 models" boast looks like bullshit tossed up to distract the regu
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Better to collect dust than rust.
Willingly? (Score:3)
So is this with or without the looming threat of billions of dollars in fines?
https://news.slashdot.org/stor... [slashdot.org]
=Smidge=
Check out the eGolf. Then consider. (Score:2)
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What about the PodRide? [indiegogo.com] It should cost under USD$4K, one seater, 25km/h, 60km electric range and human-powered mode for exercise.
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When taxpayers stop spending $5.3 trillion a year to subsidize fossil fuels, I'll start to worry about renewable subsidies.
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When taxpayers stop spending $5.3 trillion a year to subsidize fossil fuels, I'll start to worry about renewable subsidies.
Good, then you can worry now, because we're not spending that money... You've been lied to, or you choose to believe a lie...
Re:Check out the eGolf. Then consider. (Score:4, Informative)
The IMF is a reputable organization.
http://www.imf.org/external/pu... [imf.org]
You, on the other hand, are just some random person on the internet.
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If you look at the link, about 1/3 of the USA number is 'Global warming', 1/3 is 'Local Air Pollution' and 1/3 is 'Other Vehicle Externalities'.
IMF is being used to distribute propaganda. Ham fisted and childishly unskilled propaganda. Where is the forth 1/3 for 'Endless war in middle east'? The fifth 1/3 for 'Think of the Children'?
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If you're worried about your taxes, most of the dollars go to support endless war in the middle east. If we didn't "need" the oil, we wouldn't "need" the war.
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Tax payers (and even non-payers, for that matters), already pay the pollution cost every time someone drives a petrol car. How is that any better?
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No wonder Democrats get into office... So many low information idiots willing to vote for them...
Are you saying republican voters are so much better in these Trump days?
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You seem to be the deluded one... It's amazing how someone clearly intelligent is so easily lied to. The subsidies are to encourage adoption. More adoption leads to lower prices. Lower prices and high adoption negate the need for subsidies, and so they are removed. This is nothing new or scary or misunderstood (well, apart from by you). This is how technology advances. I get it - your hobby is under threat, and that makes you scared and/or uneasy. It's OK that your hobby is a side-effect, a technica
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You seem to be the deluded one...
Says the pot head...
Headline from 2026 (Score:5, Funny)
Volkswagen has admitted cheating on it's emissions tests. When the vehicles are stationary and the steering wheel is not being moved, power from the battery is applied directly to the wheels. In normal driving, however, 80% of the power is diverted to a Power-to-Gas system, which is then dumped directly into the atmosphere for no apparent reason whatsoever.
Little tiny generator (Score:5, Funny)
I bet there'll be a little tiny box in each one, (like the one Nikola Tesla built) which generates enormous useful energy, from no apparent source... meanwhile causing untold pollution in nearby parallel universes.
Headlines... (Score:2)
innovation (Score:3, Informative)
Re: (Score:2)
What! We still have whales that we haven't killed?
Re: (Score:2)
I don't see why anyone would want one over a Volt.