EV news. Hybrid News. A Path Forward.

US Seeks New Lithium Sources as Demand for Batteries Grows

https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news...ources-as-demand-for-batteries-grows/2749997/

 

I am imagining road trips with a mid size truck and 40mpg. Anyone else?

 

No

What percentage of midsize truck buyers take those midsize trucks on roadtrips?

 

This aged well, lol.

 

I know tons of people that travel in their mid- and full-size trucks. It’s not uncommon.

 

Yeah, I'm probably in the minority here when it comes to road tripping. It would be interesting to see what the majority of truck buyers do with their trucks, the industry would most likely have those statistics.

Most people who do road trip with a truck, probably are not that concerned about mpgs. If they are they would probably chose another vehicle in which to road trip.

 

I’d say anyone who buys a Tacoma (or truck in general) wasn’t too worried about economy in the first place.

 

That would be nice!

I road trip mine an awful lot, every other weekend during the camp/dirt bike season, and a few couple week long ones throughout the year, bought it over a Subaru wagon because it swallows gear better and has a greater tow rating. While I can certainly afford the fuel, would be nice if it got 40 mpg, Hell I be happy with a solid 30, just so I wouldn’t have to stop as often. Know a guy who has a diesel LC 80, that consistently gets 25 mpg and has 1000 mile range.

Even my wife says what a great road trip vehicle it is, only down fall is the fuel economy.

 

Primary road-trip vehicle in this house

 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesm...electric-cars-go-three-times-further-by-2024/

 

I'll be sold on BEVs when Space-X can build a functioning battery electric rocket that can land a person on the moon.

I don't think that is asking too much. The moon isn't in deep space, heck it does not even have to be Tesla. They are the most likely example of space exploration company I can think of, and they also build BEVs.

 

You need massive amounts of thrust to propel a rocket to orbit and that’s not how electric engines work at all. That said, electric (ion) engines have powered spacecraft well beyond the moon. One went into orbit around Ceres which is 1160 times further from the Earth than the Moon.

 

No rocket, but feasible, perhaps using a nuclear battery.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_elevator#Powering_climbers

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_battery

which powers the Mars rovers.

https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/spacecraft/rover/power/

 

Certainly not apples to apples comparison.

Maybe I understand your logic - race cars develop technology that we find in production vehicles one day. Big but, I think we have a space elevator before we have electric powered rockets - and the electric propulsion will not get vehicles into space - rather they will propel vehicles once out of atmospheric drag. But I'm not a rocket scientist (anymore)

 

The electric space crafts are not rechargeable. They are most likely a one way vessel, is there any organization that can recover a space craft?

The battery electric powered crafts are most likely the only thing that will function where they are being used.

You even mentioned those electric crafts are useless with out a rocket, that can not be powered by an electric battery, to get them where they need to go.

I'd like to see an electric rocket, the technology isn't there yet, and may never exist.


On a side note, and I wasn't trying to point this out, but BEVs are not sustainable with out ICE technology and the fuel needed to keep them running.

 

It's the future. If they can repair engines, transmission etc. an electric drive should be a cake walk. I would buy an electric Tacoma in a heart beat with a charger in the garage. Automotive tech for 38 years electronics tech for 15 I have no fear of the future and managed to keep up with it all those years.

 

There are electric air craft company's out there ight now.

 

Take a generator with you. Electric motor breaking has been around for decades pretty much every thing train, buss and electric vehicle has them. Think about this the power grid is a giant battery in essence.

 

Ever heard of solar panels? Electric spacecraft are very much rechargeable. The usual killer for electric/ion drive engines is running out of the element that is ionized to provide the propulsion.

 

So you’re saying the production line leading up to final product to include the grid supplying power will never transition from ICE reliance?