Recent content by Reykjavik

I think control of the fake engine noise should be given to the owners of the car. Have a setting somewhere that lets you turn it on, and even select the kind of sound you want, and then modulate it to the throttle. But just putting it in as a default is annoying. The default sound should be the...

So all batteries have the same efficiency? All, inverters? All Motors? All transmissions? If weight is so important, why is the heaviest production electric vehicle also the fastest and the longest range?

Going lightweight is not as important as having a good drive train. Having an efficient drive train means more of the energy that leaves the battery actually makes the car go, and more of the cars kinetic energy makes it back to the battery with regen. Good aerodynamics are important, but being...

I think a hybrid wind/electric boat is a great idea. Adding solar panels may not be worth it, but it is also worth looking at.

Going to a station is less convenient than plugging in at home. People will use the battery only for most of their driving, especially if the battery range is more than 50 miles or so.

The headline should read "Op-Ed: Chevrolet Bolt Makes 200-Mile, $30,000 Electric Car A Reality – Congratulations Tesla". Chevy making a 200 mile range EV for $30,000 dollars is exactly what Tesla wants to happen, it is the reaction they have been working to catalyze since the roadster. Elon...

I think self driving cars will replace buses, but not subways or commuter rail. Trains are just really efficient, and when well implemented they are pretty popular. People like to joke about how the NYC subways are gross and full of weird people, which is true to an extent, but people still ride...

I think the need for driver competence will diminish more quickly than actual driver competence. As long as we still require drivers to know how to drive to get their license, and make sure that the AI controlling the car doesn't do things that are dangerous for a human to do and teach the...

I don't see a big advantage for a plug in hydrogen hybrid over a plug in gas or diesel hybrid. I think biofuels are more promising than hydrogen, especially at small volume like it would be if 99% of driving is done on electricity from the grid. It is easier to transport the fuel and it is less...

This isn't going to shock Tesla. This is what Telsa's mission is. Elon Musk got involved in EVs because existing manufacturers failed to innovate, and failed to move towards sustainable cars. Now, instead of raking in all that innovation cash, they are going to be anywhere from a half a...

Reducing the fuel requirement doesn't just save on fuel costs, it also means you can use smaller fuel tanks and a smaller engine, and it makes re-usability much more realistic. The plan according to the article is to actually use a jet powered aircraft that is launched by the rail gun system...

I just don't think the battery swap is better than the supercharger. It depends on what the price ultimately is, but if it costs as much as it does to fill up a tank of gas, I don't see the value. Imagine you pulled up to a gas station, and someone offered to buy you half a tank of gas on the...

Even at 6 kWh of thermal energy to refine a gallon of gas, you could run a turbine, transmit the electricity, and charge an EV enough to go a good distance. I'm not sure how efficiently the fuel for refineries could create electricity, but I'd expect it to be similar to natural gas, perhaps a...

The difference is in the amount they are spending. Tesla is spending a huge amount of money on the gigafactory and on new products, while other companies have a huge amount of money in bringing out next years version of the same lineup with slightly better performance, slightly better mileage...

It may become more feasible in the future, if one of those thrusters that don't require fuel turns out to actually work, it becomes much cheaper to get things from LEO up to higher orbits. If they can be made small enough, they can also provide attitude control indefinitely. It then becomes...