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June 9, 2008 at 4:10 PM #220644June 9, 2008 at 5:04 PM #220510
Eugene
Participantis it really that difficult to simply produce *normal* vehicles that are electric/hybrid powered? as simple as a motorized bicycle to a battery powered vw? where are the PRACTICAL engineers shoehorning electric systems into existing platforms? do we really needs vehicles that look like insects, have no trunk space or rearward visibility?
They had very good reasons to go with this weird shape. Your freeway cost per mile ~ cross-sectional area times coefficient of drag. 2x the coefficient of drag = 2x cost per mile = 2x the amount of batteries you must put in the vehicle to achieve the same range = 2x battery weight, price, time to recharge. They are claiming 120 mile range with 10 kwh of batteries (at 55 mph). That’s HUGE. By comparison, conventionally shaped GM Volt will have 40-60 mile range with 16 kwh of batteries. Prius conversions typically achieve 4-5 miles per kwh.
How do they do that? Aerodynamics. Their weird shape has Cd that’s supposedly 5 times lower than a Hummer and 60-70% lower than a typical economy car.
Notice that there are no rear-view mirrors or wipers. Those are very bad for aerodynamics. Instead of rear-view mirrors, they have cameras and monitors.To quote their CEO from one of their videos, “typical windshield wiper mounted on a vehicle has the same drag profile as this entire car”.
June 9, 2008 at 5:04 PM #220606Participantis it really that difficult to simply produce *normal* vehicles that are electric/hybrid powered? as simple as a motorized bicycle to a battery powered vw? where are the PRACTICAL engineers shoehorning electric systems into existing platforms? do we really needs vehicles that look like insects, have no trunk space or rearward visibility?
They had very good reasons to go with this weird shape. Your freeway cost per mile ~ cross-sectional area times coefficient of drag. 2x the coefficient of drag = 2x cost per mile = 2x the amount of batteries you must put in the vehicle to achieve the same range = 2x battery weight, price, time to recharge. They are claiming 120 mile range with 10 kwh of batteries (at 55 mph). That’s HUGE. By comparison, conventionally shaped GM Volt will have 40-60 mile range with 16 kwh of batteries. Prius conversions typically achieve 4-5 miles per kwh.
How do they do that? Aerodynamics. Their weird shape has Cd that’s supposedly 5 times lower than a Hummer and 60-70% lower than a typical economy car.
Notice that there are no rear-view mirrors or wipers. Those are very bad for aerodynamics. Instead of rear-view mirrors, they have cameras and monitors.To quote their CEO from one of their videos, “typical windshield wiper mounted on a vehicle has the same drag profile as this entire car”.
June 9, 2008 at 5:04 PM #220622Participantis it really that difficult to simply produce *normal* vehicles that are electric/hybrid powered? as simple as a motorized bicycle to a battery powered vw? where are the PRACTICAL engineers shoehorning electric systems into existing platforms? do we really needs vehicles that look like insects, have no trunk space or rearward visibility?
They had very good reasons to go with this weird shape. Your freeway cost per mile ~ cross-sectional area times coefficient of drag. 2x the coefficient of drag = 2x cost per mile = 2x the amount of batteries you must put in the vehicle to achieve the same range = 2x battery weight, price, time to recharge. They are claiming 120 mile range with 10 kwh of batteries (at 55 mph). That’s HUGE. By comparison, conventionally shaped GM Volt will have 40-60 mile range with 16 kwh of batteries. Prius conversions typically achieve 4-5 miles per kwh.
How do they do that? Aerodynamics. Their weird shape has Cd that’s supposedly 5 times lower than a Hummer and 60-70% lower than a typical economy car.
Notice that there are no rear-view mirrors or wipers. Those are very bad for aerodynamics. Instead of rear-view mirrors, they have cameras and monitors.To quote their CEO from one of their videos, “typical windshield wiper mounted on a vehicle has the same drag profile as this entire car”.
June 9, 2008 at 5:04 PM #220652Participantis it really that difficult to simply produce *normal* vehicles that are electric/hybrid powered? as simple as a motorized bicycle to a battery powered vw? where are the PRACTICAL engineers shoehorning electric systems into existing platforms? do we really needs vehicles that look like insects, have no trunk space or rearward visibility?
They had very good reasons to go with this weird shape. Your freeway cost per mile ~ cross-sectional area times coefficient of drag. 2x the coefficient of drag = 2x cost per mile = 2x the amount of batteries you must put in the vehicle to achieve the same range = 2x battery weight, price, time to recharge. They are claiming 120 mile range with 10 kwh of batteries (at 55 mph). That’s HUGE. By comparison, conventionally shaped GM Volt will have 40-60 mile range with 16 kwh of batteries. Prius conversions typically achieve 4-5 miles per kwh.
How do they do that? Aerodynamics. Their weird shape has Cd that’s supposedly 5 times lower than a Hummer and 60-70% lower than a typical economy car.
Notice that there are no rear-view mirrors or wipers. Those are very bad for aerodynamics. Instead of rear-view mirrors, they have cameras and monitors.To quote their CEO from one of their videos, “typical windshield wiper mounted on a vehicle has the same drag profile as this entire car”.
June 9, 2008 at 5:04 PM #220673Participantis it really that difficult to simply produce *normal* vehicles that are electric/hybrid powered? as simple as a motorized bicycle to a battery powered vw? where are the PRACTICAL engineers shoehorning electric systems into existing platforms? do we really needs vehicles that look like insects, have no trunk space or rearward visibility?
They had very good reasons to go with this weird shape. Your freeway cost per mile ~ cross-sectional area times coefficient of drag. 2x the coefficient of drag = 2x cost per mile = 2x the amount of batteries you must put in the vehicle to achieve the same range = 2x battery weight, price, time to recharge. They are claiming 120 mile range with 10 kwh of batteries (at 55 mph). That’s HUGE. By comparison, conventionally shaped GM Volt will have 40-60 mile range with 16 kwh of batteries. Prius conversions typically achieve 4-5 miles per kwh.
How do they do that? Aerodynamics. Their weird shape has Cd that’s supposedly 5 times lower than a Hummer and 60-70% lower than a typical economy car.
Notice that there are no rear-view mirrors or wipers. Those are very bad for aerodynamics. Instead of rear-view mirrors, they have cameras and monitors.To quote their CEO from one of their videos, “typical windshield wiper mounted on a vehicle has the same drag profile as this entire car”.
June 9, 2008 at 6:42 PM #220565cowboy
ParticipantThe 120 mile range will not cut it. It needs to at least double to triple to make it practical.
June 9, 2008 at 6:42 PM #220661ParticipantThe 120 mile range will not cut it. It needs to at least double to triple to make it practical.
June 9, 2008 at 6:42 PM #220677ParticipantThe 120 mile range will not cut it. It needs to at least double to triple to make it practical.
June 9, 2008 at 6:42 PM #220708ParticipantThe 120 mile range will not cut it. It needs to at least double to triple to make it practical.
June 9, 2008 at 6:42 PM #220729ParticipantThe 120 mile range will not cut it. It needs to at least double to triple to make it practical.
June 9, 2008 at 7:20 PM #220570bsrsharma
Participanttypical windshield wiper mounted on a vehicle has the same drag profile as this entire car
Any science to back this up? Some of the drag claims are unrealistic. Besides, who commutes at speeds where drag is an issue? It is the start and stop that wastes energy – and that is why Hybrids work. Why aren't low drag vehicles being done by mainline auto companies? May be safety is more important than drag? Can these funny shapes get Government safety certifications & Insurance company approvals?
where are the PRACTICAL engineers shoehorning electric systems into existing platforms?
Just the airbag system and anti-lock systems consume hundreds of engineers to design & validate. I think getting a revolutionary new design on a highway to carry humans next to a 20 ton truck rolling at 70+MPH requires more than shoehorning electric systems into existing platforms.
June 9, 2008 at 7:20 PM #220666Participanttypical windshield wiper mounted on a vehicle has the same drag profile as this entire car
Any science to back this up? Some of the drag claims are unrealistic. Besides, who commutes at speeds where drag is an issue? It is the start and stop that wastes energy – and that is why Hybrids work. Why aren't low drag vehicles being done by mainline auto companies? May be safety is more important than drag? Can these funny shapes get Government safety certifications & Insurance company approvals?
where are the PRACTICAL engineers shoehorning electric systems into existing platforms?
Just the airbag system and anti-lock systems consume hundreds of engineers to design & validate. I think getting a revolutionary new design on a highway to carry humans next to a 20 ton truck rolling at 70+MPH requires more than shoehorning electric systems into existing platforms.
June 9, 2008 at 7:20 PM #220681Participanttypical windshield wiper mounted on a vehicle has the same drag profile as this entire car
Any science to back this up? Some of the drag claims are unrealistic. Besides, who commutes at speeds where drag is an issue? It is the start and stop that wastes energy – and that is why Hybrids work. Why aren't low drag vehicles being done by mainline auto companies? May be safety is more important than drag? Can these funny shapes get Government safety certifications & Insurance company approvals?
where are the PRACTICAL engineers shoehorning electric systems into existing platforms?
Just the airbag system and anti-lock systems consume hundreds of engineers to design & validate. I think getting a revolutionary new design on a highway to carry humans next to a 20 ton truck rolling at 70+MPH requires more than shoehorning electric systems into existing platforms.
June 9, 2008 at 7:20 PM #220711Participanttypical windshield wiper mounted on a vehicle has the same drag profile as this entire car
Any science to back this up? Some of the drag claims are unrealistic. Besides, who commutes at speeds where drag is an issue? It is the start and stop that wastes energy – and that is why Hybrids work. Why aren't low drag vehicles being done by mainline auto companies? May be safety is more important than drag? Can these funny shapes get Government safety certifications & Insurance company approvals?
where are the PRACTICAL engineers shoehorning electric systems into existing platforms?
Just the airbag system and anti-lock systems consume hundreds of engineers to design & validate. I think getting a revolutionary new design on a highway to carry humans next to a 20 ton truck rolling at 70+MPH requires more than shoehorning electric systems into existing platforms.
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