Octopus Overlords

Jeff V wrote:

Zaxxon wrote:

Jeff V wrote: Can we take them on long road trips yet?

I'm not sure whether Jeff V can, but lots of people have no problem with Teslas, at least.

So they can take them on 1000 mile + road trips? Is the time to charge them down to the same as filling a tank with gas?

coopasonic wrote:Something like 30-40 min stop every 3 hours or so as long as there are superchargers on your route. Not optimal, but worth consideration.

How often do you make 1000 mile road trips? I did a 500 mile one way drive with my gas car this summer... I don't think I'll drive 1000 at any time ever. I've done 800+ 3 times in my life and two of those were with my car on a trailer behind a rental truck.

hepcat wrote:I'm not sure how this would even be worded on the JeffV List (if I had the energy to still maintain it). Would it be failure to achieve perfection immediately? Or simply "electric bad!"?

stessier wrote:

Jeff V wrote:

Zaxxon wrote:

Jeff V wrote: Can we take them on long road trips yet?

I'm not sure whether Jeff V can, but lots of people have no problem with Teslas, at least.

So they can take them on 1000 mile + road trips? Is the time to charge them down to the same as filling a tank with gas?

Yes, they go much more than 1000 mile road trips. No, not as fast as a gas tank, but as fast as stopping for a snack/meal. Again, this is for non-JeffV humans.

Jeff V wrote:

stessier wrote:

Jeff V wrote:

Zaxxon wrote:

Jeff V wrote: Can we take them on long road trips yet?

I'm not sure whether Jeff V can, but lots of people have no problem with Teslas, at least.

So they can take them on 1000 mile + road trips? Is the time to charge them down to the same as filling a tank with gas?

Yes, they go much more than 1000 mile road trips. No, not as fast as a gas tank, but as fast as stopping for a snack/meal. Again, this is for non-JeffV humans.

No, he mentioned replacing all cars, which means all uses. My current car has been on 3 trips more than 1,000 miles away, and a whole bunch greater than 300 miles. Taking an hour break every few hours just won't cut it. And aren't most electric cars still in the <100 mile range? I seem to recall the Chevys aren't even suitable for commuting to work, I'd run out of power before I made it home.

Jeff V wrote:
No, he mentioned replacing all cars, which means all uses. My current car has been on 3 trips more than 1,000 miles away, and a whole bunch greater than 300 miles. Taking an hour break every few hours just won't cut it. And aren't most electric cars still in the <100 mile range? I seem to recall the Chevys aren't even suitable for commuting to work, I'd run out of power before I made it home.

em2nought wrote:Maybe "The Donald" can get VW and Germany to take all of our future Syrian immigrants in exchange for giving them a "bye" on this one.

Jeff V wrote:

stessier wrote:

Jeff V wrote:

Zaxxon wrote:

Jeff V wrote: Can we take them on long road trips yet?

I'm not sure whether Jeff V can, but lots of people have no problem with Teslas, at least.

So they can take them on 1000 mile + road trips? Is the time to charge them down to the same as filling a tank with gas?

Yes, they go much more than 1000 mile road trips. No, not as fast as a gas tank, but as fast as stopping for a snack/meal. Again, this is for non-JeffV humans.

No, he mentioned replacing all cars, which means all uses. My current car has been on 3 trips more than 1,000 miles away, and a whole bunch greater than 300 miles. Taking an hour break every few hours just won't cut it. And aren't most electric cars still in the <100 mile range? I seem to recall the Chevys aren't even suitable for commuting to work, I'd run out of power before I made it home.

hepcat wrote:

em2nought wrote:Maybe "The Donald" can get VW and Germany to take all of our future Syrian immigrants in exchange for giving them a "bye" on this one.

I simply cannot stress how important it is for you to keep your day job.

hepcat wrote:

em2nought wrote:Maybe "The Donald" can get VW and Germany to take all of our future Syrian immigrants in exchange for giving them a "bye" on this one.

I simply cannot stress how important it is for you to keep your day job.

Brian wrote:

Volkswagen will dismiss the R&D chiefs of Audi and Porsche and its top manager in the United States where the carmaker has been found manipulating diesel emission rules, a senior source said on Thursday.

Audi R&D boss Ulrich Hackenberg, Porsche's Wolfgang Hatz and VW's U.S. chief executive Michael Horn will be dismissed at a meeting of the supervisory board on Friday, the source said.

Germany's Bild newspaper earlier on Thursday reported the dismissals of Hackenberg and Hatz.

VW, Audi and Porsche all declined comment.

In its final report, published in December 2014, the truth commission described the case of Volkswagen employee Lucio Bellentani.

"I was at work when two people with machine guns came up to me," the communist activist said. "They held my arms behind my back and immediately put me in handcuffs. As soon as we arrived in Volkswagen's security centre, the torture began. I was beaten, punched and slapped." According to lawyer Rosa Cardoso, 12 employees at the Sao Bernardo do Campo site near Sao Paulo were tortured, while others were laid off and placed on blacklists.

When the allegations were published in the truth commission's report last year, Volkswagen said it was "pursuing any indication of possible involvement of the employees at Volkswagen do Brasil in human rights violations during the period of military dictatorship".

Jeff V wrote:I seem to recall the Chevys aren't even suitable for commuting to work, I'd run out of power before I made it home.

coopasonic wrote:

Jeff V wrote:I seem to recall the Chevys aren't even suitable for commuting to work, I'd run out of power before I made it home.

I walk past a row of Chevy Volts on my way out of the parking garage in the morning. They get parking right next to the handicapped spots where they are plugged in loading up on free electricity provided by my employer. If the 40 miles they get out of that is not enough to get them home, the gas engine under the hood is happy to finish the job. The problem with the Volt is the same as the problem with the Tesla... I can't afford one (well I could afford a Volt but I am not paying that much for a car that ugly).

Jeff V wrote:
My employer does not have such a thing. Of the 9 locations where I have responsibility, they provide a bike rack at only one, so I don't really envision this happening, ever.

Brian wrote:

Jeff V wrote:I just don't see it happening in my lifetime (remember, we were promised flying cars by now!)

coopasonic wrote:

Jeff V wrote:I just don't see it happening in my lifetime (remember, we were promised flying cars by now!)

We were also promised the end of the world. One of these promises is more likely to come to fruition than the other. Side-note: Cars that fly are a thing, they are just expensive. Terrafugia and Aeromobil both have working prototypes and are happy to take your down payment now.

Jeff V wrote:
I think we're still several quantum leaps in technology before electric cars are practical enough for most people.

Jeff V wrote:

coopasonic wrote:

Jeff V wrote:I seem to recall the Chevys aren't even suitable for commuting to work, I'd run out of power before I made it home.

I walk past a row of Chevy Volts on my way out of the parking garage in the morning. They get parking right next to the handicapped spots where they are plugged in loading up on free electricity provided by my employer. If the 40 miles they get out of that is not enough to get them home, the gas engine under the hood is happy to finish the job. The problem with the Volt is the same as the problem with the Tesla... I can't afford one (well I could afford a Volt but I am not paying that much for a car that ugly).

My employer does not have such a thing. Of the 9 locations where I have responsibility, they provide a bike rack at only one, so I don't really envision this happening, ever.

I think we're still several quantum leaps in technology before electric cars are practical enough for most people. I think gas prices have to be much higher and oil reserves more critical before there is adequate research funding to make this happen. I just don't see it happening in my lifetime (remember, we were promised flying cars by now!)

hepcat wrote:I honestly believe the technology will be there within the next 5 years to make electric cars competitive with their gas powered brethren. Now, whether or not the people who make their money off the current mode of transportation will allow it to gain a real foothold is another matter entirely.

Toyota's (NYSE: TM) Mirai is an electric sedan powered by a hydrogen fuel cell, a device that chemically extracts the energy from hydrogen gas to produce electricity.

It's a clean technology -- the only "exhaust" is water vapor -- but producing hydrogen affordably isn't exactly a clean process right now. That has led many green-car enthusiasts to disparage Toyota's effort.

Toyota says that fuel cells are superior to the batteries used in electric cars like Tesla Motors'(NASDAQ: TSLA) Model S. As Toyota sees it, electric-car batteries take too long to recharge -- and that will keep battery-electric cars from ever breaking out into the mass market.

Toyota scientists say that fast recharging isn't realistic. But this past week, Audi showed off an electric SUV with Tesla-beating range that can be fully recharged in less than an hour. It'll be in production in about two years, the company says.

Coming in Late 2015
...
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