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Re: Teslas
Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2018 10:38 am
by Mito Man
JLv3.0 wrote: Tue Aug 21, 2018 10:36 am
I guess I should have titled the thread "all electric cars that don't have a real engine as well".
But you haven’t driven the supercar that oozes sexual dominance and prowess that is the BMW i3.
Re: Teslas
Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2018 10:39 am
by JLv3.0
I haven't driven any of them. I've used hoovers and electric drills in the past though, if that counts. Equally as interesting to me. In fact - electric drills are more interesting.
Re: Teslas
Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2018 11:02 am
by duncs500
You can get some pretty sweet electric drills.
Re: Teslas
Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2018 11:19 am
by Mito Man
My impact driver which I use instead of a drill has double the torque output of the Mito at 180Nm

Re: Teslas
Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2018 11:24 am
by Richard
What happened with the idea of charging stations where they just dropped the battery out of the car and put a new one in?
IIRC it was said to be quicker than brimming a similar sized petrol car
Re: Teslas
Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2018 11:33 am
by Rich B
Richard wrote: Tue Aug 21, 2018 11:24 am
What happened with the idea of charging stations where they just dropped the battery out of the car and put a new one in?
IIRC it was said to be quicker than brimming a similar sized petrol car
who standardises the battery design though? Would BMW be happy letting Mercedes do it and then have a Mercedes battery powering their car? Or would Ford be cool with Renault designing it to fit their existing chassis, but not Fords...etc...etc...
It’s not like F1 when you’ve got one overriding board to decide the parameters for everyone.
Re: Teslas
Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2018 11:33 am
by Richard
I meant Tesla. I thought Tesla were doing that for Model S
Re: Teslas
Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2018 11:35 am
by Simon
It was a tech preview. It still is AFAIK.
The point is though, even if you contain it to one manufacturer, would you want your brand new Tesla having it's battery swapped for a possible years old one without the full capacity?
Re: Teslas
Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2018 11:37 am
by duncs500
I thought the idea was that you rented the battery anyway?
Re: Teslas
Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2018 11:43 am
by Mito Man
I think they’ve given up on it since we’re mere years away from having batteries that recharge in minutes.
Re: Teslas
Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2018 11:56 am
by Richard
Simon wrote: Tue Aug 21, 2018 11:35 am
It was a tech preview. It still is AFAIK.
The point is though, even if you contain it to one manufacturer, would you want your brand new Tesla having it's battery swapped for a possible years old one without the full capacity?
I’d guess the swapped battery would have your original warranty? Also, you’d presumably be swapping batteries fairly regularly?
Re: Teslas
Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2018 12:20 pm
by Simon
Dunc, yes. But I don't see it happening. Too much capital investment req'd vs normal supercharger stations (the swapped batteries also have to be stored and recharged too don't forget.
Mito. Flow batteries, yes, but I've yet to accept they're so close to mainstream.
Richard, Probably.
Re: Teslas
Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2018 12:35 pm
by simon_g
Richard wrote: Tue Aug 21, 2018 11:24 am
What happened with the idea of charging stations where they just dropped the battery out of the car and put a new one in?
IIRC it was said to be quicker than brimming a similar sized petrol car
Tesla showed it off as a tech concept, seemingly as a "faster to refuel than a petrol car" stunt. It's never had a hope in hell of being a viable way of refuelling an electric car.
I go back and forth on Tesla - Elon Musk can be a cock, and I can see a future where they remain a very niche player for cars but melt into the background as a massive battery/tech supplier. That said, it feels like most of the other car manufacturers have been caught out by the market shift - lots of talk about plans for future models (all 2 or 3 years away), very few getting good EVs out in any quantity. Meanwhile Tesla are churning them out right now, they have an enormous factory making their own batteries and built a proper viable charging network (still over twice as fast as any others in the UK). They have a huge advantage while everyone else is dragging their feet.
Re: Teslas
Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2018 12:51 pm
by simon_g
Rich B wrote: Tue Aug 21, 2018 11:33 am
who standardises the battery design though? Would BMW be happy letting Mercedes do it and then have a Mercedes battery powering their car? Or would Ford be cool with Renault designing it to fit their existing chassis, but not Fords...etc...etc...
The German car makers can't even make their own batteries - a planned joint effort started by Daimler to manufacture in Germany (going in together to improve efficiency, reduce cost) wound down shortly before the diesel emissions scandal stuff came to light. Now they have to buy everything in piecemeal from overseas - enough to get Merkel very concerned and it's at least part of why you can't buy a VW GTE any more. Can't imagine them ever agreeing to a common battery design and packaging.
https://www.theverge.com/2018/8/15/1768 ... tery-cells
There's some interesting economics going on - battery supply is going to be a huge issue for many car manufacturers as they all scramble to secure enough for their plans.
Re: Teslas
Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2018 1:10 pm
by V8Granite
Tiff Needell drives a Tesla Race Car.
It is as dull as they get, it’s the best example I’ve seen about how dull they make very impressive acceleration
Dave!
Re: Teslas
Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2018 1:15 pm
by JLv3.0
Ever been driven in one? In fact - who on here has?
The way it whirs away from a standstill is momentarily impressive (of course it was being driven normally; I know they're capable of crazy acceleration) but as soon as you get going it becomes either very dull or actually rather unsettling that it's not making anything more than a whirring noise.
Incredibly one-dimensional and dull, and stupid and gay.
Re: Teslas
Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2018 1:27 pm
by Richard
simon_g wrote: Tue Aug 21, 2018 12:35 pm
Richard wrote: Tue Aug 21, 2018 11:24 am
What happened with the idea of charging stations where they just dropped the battery out of the car and put a new one in?
IIRC it was said to be quicker than brimming a similar sized petrol car
Tesla showed it off as a tech concept, seemingly as a "faster to refuel than a petrol car" stunt. It's never had a hope in hell of being a viable way of refuelling an electric car.
I go back and forth on Tesla - Elon Musk can be a cock, and I can see a future where they remain a very niche player for cars but melt into the background as a massive battery/tech supplier. That said, it feels like most of the other car manufacturers have been caught out by the market shift - lots of talk about plans for future models (all 2 or 3 years away), very few getting good EVs out in any quantity. Meanwhile Tesla are churning them out right now, they have an enormous factory making their own batteries and built a proper viable charging network (still over twice as fast as any others in the UK). They have a huge advantage while everyone else is dragging their feet.
That Tesla charging network is where a lot of the value comes from
Re: Teslas
Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2018 1:30 pm
by Richard
JLv3.0 wrote: Tue Aug 21, 2018 1:15 pm
Ever been driven in one? In fact - who on here has?
The way it whirs away from a standstill is momentarily impressive (of course it was being driven normally; I know they're capable of crazy acceleration) but as soon as you get going it becomes either very dull or actually rather unsettling that it's not making anything more than a whirring noise.
Incredibly one-dimensional and dull, and stupid and gay.
Most people don’t care about more than that though
- Fast away from the lights
- Calm and quiet
- Green credentials
- Looks nice
For a lot of people (maybe most) that’s what they want from a car
Re: Teslas
Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2018 1:32 pm
by JLv3.0
Depressing, isn't it. Like all the fun has been sucked out of the process and no-one gives a shit.
Re: Teslas
Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2018 1:34 pm
by Richard
I’m not sure people have ever really cared, especially less so now since you don’t really get “bad” cars anymore
If people cared, you wouldn’t see so many Renault Kapturs on the road...