Frunk Thoughts or Engineering Disaster

[Calliope]

Wow, that seems small - my MYLR frunk seems huge in comparison! It carried an entire Costco load home for me on one trip.

 

[randmness]

Seems like the Chevrolet Bolt is the answer to small-footprint EVs, but its relatively slow "fast" charging may be a turn-off for those who want to go on road trips. Of course there is also the issue of lack of availability when GM got burned by LG batteries...

But, in the US, it does seem like most companies are shifting to big SUVs and the like for EVs, like they are for ICEVs. Or luxury sedans like the Lucid Air and Mercedes-Benz EQS.

Some of the cars definitely look like they just took the engine out of the old ICE platform and left everything else the same.

Yea, I'm kinda curious to see how the designs change once most cars on the road are EVs, connected vehicles, etc etc. I imagine the size of EVs today is largely a factor of the battery technology. As that improves, along with safety advances, I would assume you can get to a point where you can fit the same interior space into a much smaller footprint vehicle (at least compared to an ICE vehicle.)

There's alot of things from ICE cars that dont necessarily need to move to EVs. Excluding performance vehicles, one of the biggest reasons for the engine sitting up front (with all the various components) is for cooling. In the absence of an engine, do these components still need to sit up front? On top of impact dispersion, one of the purposes of the firewall (in ICE cars) is to keep the engine from crushing the passengers. In the absence of an engine, and minimum/no components upfront, I wonder if we could get to the point where the firewall (and whatever it looks like in the future) is basically the "front" of the car. We're already seeing other departures (lack of engine influencing dash design/visibility, interior designs no longer needing to account for transmission tunnels or exhaust, etc etc) from traditional design so I'm really curious to see what happens from here. These are my shower thoughts. Thank you for coming to my TED talk

 

[3sr+buyer]

Yea, I'm kinda curious to see how the designs change once most cars on the road are EVs, connected vehicles, etc etc. I imagine the size of EVs today is largely a factor of the battery technology. As that improves, along with safety advances, I would assume you can get to a point where you can fit the same interior space into a much smaller footprint vehicle (at least compared to an ICE vehicle.)

On the other hand, the US vehicle market may not actually be that interested in space efficiency. Minivans are very space efficient, but there are far fewer on the market than less-space-efficient SUVs, the vast majority of which never tow or go off-road. Indeed, in the EV sector, minivans are relatively late entries, and the first most obvious minivans (ID.Buzz and Canoo) are marketed with a "cool" factor rather than as practical minivans. Perhaps the Model X was trying to be a minivan without looking like a minivan, though the falcon-wing doors are a lot of trouble just to avoid having a minivan's sliding doors.

 

[Mateo83]

I was at Audi the other day and was surprised by all the "stuff" under the frunk. The salesman just walked away as I stared at. And zero shame with the 10k markup posted.

 

[tengtengvn]

Huyndai and KIA also left the chat.

 

[Calliope]

I use my frunk is when I'm transporting frozen food home from the store in the winter (since its not insulated), and I'm not driving directly home.

Thanks for this idea I hadn't considered - today (temp of 5C) I used it for refrigerated food when I had several hours between shopping and getting home. It worked great.

 

[dmccorkle33]

The Mercedes EQS - You are not "Allowed" to open the front hood. They hide the latch behind a panel. To fill washer fluid there is a cutout in the front driver quarter panel

 

[8rain]

Having owned a Mach E and AWD ID.4 before seeing the light and ordering the M3P, do not think for a second that those messes under the frunks stays isolated to what you can’t normally see. Both of those cars are a decade behind Tesla, and they are NOT gaining on the leader right now. They are clueless on how to engineer an end-to-end EV — but they have managed to assemble some like they‘ve made ICE vehicles for ages. This is an improvement over their legacy vehicles due to the powertrain, but the software is their achilles heel. They will never change their ways enough to compete for the lead, but they will do enough to appease commodity auto buyers.

 

[3sr+buyer]

The Mercedes EQS - You are not "Allowed" to open the front hood. They hide the latch behind a panel. To fill washer fluid there is a cutout in the front driver quarter panel

shows how to open the EQS hood and what is under it. Note that the EQS hood does not have the usual struts or prop rod to hold it up.

 

[Bouba]

I really like my frunk...it’s handy and also a secure place to store things.....but...if someone were to say to me, ‘you could have a couple of battery packs instead of the frunk to either give you more range or an extra deep footwell for the back seat....’

 

[Bouba]

I remember one of the first EV adopters who was on a trip and was unable to find a charger. Seems that he ended up tossing wires, which he had stripped a little near the middle, up and over power lines. These he connected to an inverter he carried which he then connected to his car. He was one of the first to attempt (and succeed) in driving an EV across the country. Thankfully we don't have those problems now.

It’s certainly a very economical way of traveling

 

[mangrove79]

Installed the EVOffers auto-frunk kit a few weeks ago, and loving it every day. Not only is it good for groceries, and take-out food, it's much easier to open/close in a tight space. Unlike the trunk, the open/close process doesn't swing beyond the existing length or height of the vehicle. It's the perfect size for my gym/tennis bag. And any smelling workout clothes/shoes won't stink the cabin.

 

[SteelClouds]

On my most recent road trip of 1,500 miles, my M3 frunk was the holder for all the stuff I brought and really hoped not to need. breaker bars, sockets, jack pads, portable power pack, etc..etc..etc. It was nice not having to move it all out of the way each time I opened the trunk but it was readily available IF I needed it after and not buried under luggage

 

[8rain]

On my most recent road trip of 1,500 miles, my M3 frunk was the holder for all the stuff I brought and really hoped not to need. breaker bars, sockets, jack pads, portable power pack, etc..etc..etc. It was nice not having to move it all out of the way each time I opened the trunk but it was readily available IF I needed it after and not buried under luggage

I like this. I would think to leave charging cables, but why not things like a tire pressure gauge/compressor, snow scrapers, extra umbrella, etc.? Keeps the trunk area clearer for the more frequently needed stuff.

 

[Bouba]

On my most recent road trip of 1,500 miles, my M3 frunk was the holder for all the stuff I brought and really hoped not to need. breaker bars, sockets, jack pads, portable power pack, etc..etc..etc. It was nice not having to move it all out of the way each time I opened the trunk but it was readily available IF I needed it after and not buried under luggage

If you need the power pack because 12v system fails...how will you open the frunk?

 

[voyager]

All electric cars, particularly SUVs, look like the ICE merely has been replaced, including Teslas.
IMO, the EV could lead, should lead to new architectures and layouts.

That's why I like the Nissan Ariya. No storage any more upfront, and a 'bonnet section' that's
barely noticeable for a SUV. You could also call it 'cab forward' design. Actually, like a larger
BMW i3.

 

[SteelClouds]

If you need the power pack because 12v system fails...how will you open the frunk?

Different pack.. the one in the frunk is a portable solar generator. Big battery with 110 V outputs, 12 outputs and 5 volt out puts.. inputs are solar cells or AC for wall charging.. I have a small pack in the car with a 12 volt battery and leads for that. But I had the 12 battey replaced by Tesla just a few weeks before the trip with this in mind. If it fails, I have bigger issues

 

[SteelClouds]

I'll be honest.. what worries me the most on the road trip is a flat that I cannot repair with a plug. Some of the roads here are pretty damn barren with crappy coverage. The spares available for the car were back orderd with April delivery dates.. I did see some hacks using a Hyundi spacesaver but I didnt have time to to buy one.. get it.. test it etc.

 

[sleepydoc]

If you need the power pack because 12v system fails...how will you open the frunk?

There’s an external connection to open the frunk:

Model 3 Owner's Manual | Tesla

Learn how to open and close the front trunk and access the cargo area.

www.tesla.com

 

[Bouba]

There’s an external connection to open the frunk:

Model 3 Owner's Manual | Tesla

Learn how to open and close the front trunk and access the cargo area.

www.tesla.com

Well, that is extremely interesting I didn’t know that the charging terminals are in with the towing eye...very clever.
Also good to know that if I ever find myself locked in the frunk, there is a button inside to release the lid....how I might fit in the frunk wasn’t covered in the manual