Thread: Won’t be retro...

Originally Posted by TB

I know this is OT but I’m sorry, this is a total fantasy.

Better take over here -> https://www.aulro.com/afvb/general-c...ev-skates.html

Or

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/alternate...exploding.html

Dont know about anyone else but i'm growing tired of the EV/other vehicle comparisons, untill this vehicle is released and we have the full compliment of models available can we not just stick to what has been officially released so far.

Originally Posted by TB

I know this is OT but I’m sorry, this is a total fantasy. Even at its most intense, the sun does not provide enough power (and I mean that in the technical sense of Joules per Second reaching the surface of the car) to drive a vehicle that offers the kind of utility most of us require from our cars and trucks.

I’ve got a pretty good PV installation on my house that on a full sun day can generate 40kWh of energy. That’s less than 2/3rds of a charge of a typical Tesla EV’s battery.

Any future in which we’re relying on collect-your-own solar energy to power transportation is a dystopian disaster scenario. Even attempting to centralise and scale up doesn’t much alter the conclusion... it’s better but still hopelessly insufficient.

You're assuming someones need to recharge a completely spent battery each day and not having a storage system at home too. For most people, a good PV system with home battery storage would allow them to top up their battery each night with ease. GB does exactly this - his EV Lightweight is his daily driver and he doesn't spend a cent running it. All depends on your use. There isn't one model that will work for all, but a range of solutions depending on what peoples needs are. No point saying it can't happen, it is on the way like it or not. Adapt to make life easy or hard during that transition - which will take years, so I think most people are worrying about nothing to be honest.

Re-read the part of manic’s post that I responded to. His claim was about solar powered cars “taking over”. That’s the fantasy.

Of course there are niches where a lightly-used EV that returns to base every day could be recharged from a large-enough PV array paired with stationary energy storage of some kind, and in some of those it might even make financial sense. But as a model for transforming the entire transportation sector? No way, not ever. There is a ridiculously large amount of solar energy reaching the earth, but it’s diffuse and intermittent whereas a car needs energy that’s dense and on-demand.

I do love EVs, BTW. I’ve had a reservation on a Model 3 for over 2 years and I’m looking forward to finally placing my order. I’ll be installing a home charger (probably 32 amp single phase) on an off-peak tariff and paying an extra 6-ish cents per kWh to source all the energy from GreenPower accredited generators.

But ultimately, because of the vast quantity of energy that civilised life requires and the diffuse/intermittent nature of wind and solar and the limited availability of hydro and the shooting-your-own-foot idiocy that is burning biomass, I believe the future of clean energy involves a large fraction of nuclear.

I’m hoping to convince my wife to become a two car family (we currently have a manual diesel Golf that she can’t drive, in addition to the two LRs). The Tesla model 3 for most day-to-day city life needs and initially the D4 for off-road or large load or just “need two cars today” scenarios. If the new Defender is as good as I hope then one of those would replace the D4 after a while... but no way could it be an EV for the kinds of use I want to put it to. Mostly likely not a PHEV either, because of the compromises in weight and carrying space.

There are ways to cleanly produce diesel or petrol substitutes on a large scale using non-fossil-fuel feedstocks and sufficient electricity (ideally IMO from nuclear). I think ICE vehicles using those cleanly-produced fuels will be the mainstay for our rural/remote use cases for many many years to come, simply because of the high energy density and low-tech low-pressure infrastructure required to handle liquid combustible fuels.

Give that man a medal. He used the N word that so many have an irrational fear of. Clean Nuc is the sensible way forward.

Cheers

yeah....How about a DeLorean with a Mr Fusion power-source? I saw that in a move on TV once so it must be true. Could probably give it 2 inch lift without too much trouble.

Originally Posted by loanrangie

Dont know about anyone else but i'm growing tired of the EV/other vehicle comparisons, untill this vehicle is released and we have the full compliment of models available can we not just stick to what has been officially released so far.

Agreed

Some more pics, from LR/dealers instys, didn't see these on LR media website

Love the first shot