EV Concept Truck

Keep taking your blue pills kid.
You're just another sucker.

 

Guys, stop taking the bait.

 

TFL finally got a Rivian R1T and created a new channel called TFL EV.

https://youtu.be/yPyKlVU6LVI

 

I like the look of the new Frontier overall. But after seeing one up close I am not sure what they did with the hood. They don't so much have a hoodline but more of an overhang on the sides. And I also really like the Tacoma EV concept. Good things coming. Rivian is simply ugly, but sounds like a good platform. Not for me with the tiny bed, however.

 

Smoked it!

https://youtu.be/mkhPNFHkBes

 

Thor Industries has introduced a concept EV Airstream.

https://www.thorindustries.com/innovation-estream

 

Hey, that's pretty cool. I didn't read the whole thing but I assume it has it's own built in battery pack, propulsion and brakes? That would be a game changer for towing with EVs. It'll be interesting to see how it interfaces with the tow vehicle. One thing for sure is they will be $$$.

 

"How are all those combustion engine bans going to work out?"

This interview is worth less than 20 minutes of your time.

https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/videos/how-are-all-those-combustion-engine-bans-going-to-work-out/

 

eFuel?

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a35577611/porsche-synthetic-efuel-clean-emissions-testing/

 

This is wild!

https://youtu.be/RaGVoB4Zn-Y

 

https://youtu.be/Zce-wC__kkU

 

I wonder how that $0.31 per KWh at Electrify America compares to other charging options? That is a lot more than the typical residential rate... but then you can't take your house with you.

 

Rivians can pop wheelies in 2wd

 

It's scary to know that people would buy this thing for this reason...
Remember, at last check, no rock or tree was capable of charging up anything.
You're going to have to wrap that thing in night camo to hide it when you sneak into people's yards to charge it.

 

Rivian is building up their charging network. They built some chargers near some trails in Moab.

 

Just thought it was an interesting fact. I need more range than they can currently offer, especially with 5 gallons of gas on board with me. But I still think they're cool

 

Interesting article from market watch in 2020. Says there is about 115k gas stations in the US. I looked at US department of Energy to see how many EV chargers there are and surprisingly it says 46,587. I would have to imagine they are counting each station as one even though they have multiple pumps while on the flip side counting each individual charger. That being said, there were a bit more EV chargers out there than I expected.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/h...how-many-will-there-be-in-10-years-2020-02-16
https://afdc.energy.gov/fuels/electricity_locations.html#/find/nearest?fuel=ELEC&country=US

 

You could be right. Although the other factor could be the many EV charging locations where normal gas pumps don’t exist. Work places, shopping centers, parks, etc.

Edit: I looked at the list in my area where there locations with multiple chargers. Found one that was listed multiple times (two chargers, two entries), and others that were only listed once.

 

Out here, I see them sprinkled among Target stores sometimes. No one ever uses them though.
My son's Tesla knows where to go find one if it needs to. He put a charger into his place and his work has chargers for their guests / employees.
Other than that, in this town of 40,000 peeps, our Target is the ONLY place to charge one of those damn things.
A good number of Lambos, Corvettes, Jags, Mercedes rigs running around though.

 

There are going to be lots of challenges with charging infrastructure for sure. Multi-family buildings... city neighborhoods with unassigned street parking, etc. Even most of our single family homes... how many chargers will you have or need? Imagine having extended family over for a holiday stay with 5 or 6 cars. Then for the commercial charge points on interstate highways you'll need multiples of them to the number of gas pumps multiplied by a factor of how much longer it takes to "fill" a battery as compared to gassing up. In town maybe not quite that many since some will be charging at home and work. Charging rates will get better but hard to see how it can ever rival a gas pump for speed. Then the pricing. I keep wondering how the charging $ rates will be determined and if it turns out we end up paying as much per mile as gasoline... unless we charge at home. But then utilities could slap on fees to support building out the infrastructure. Lot of unknowns going forward. We are going to be living in interesting times.

 

For the solutions, all one needs to do is look to those countries with greater population density than the US or Canada that have the same or greater rates of BEV adoption. One would think that China and many European countries would be the most suitable starting point. So, how are they resolving the aforementioned charging problems?

 

The "hidden infrastructure" goodies no one ever thinks about.
Knowing the Feds like we do, what are the chances they looks at new battery owners as yet another form of tax money input.
You know it's going to happen.
I just read somewhere that battery car interest in the US is floundering compared to Europe.
That's fine with me as they have never been spot on about anything.
People here are waking up to the fact that charging stations, "unique taxing adds", battery disposal are major things no one has answers for.
It's still in it's novelty stage and will be for quite sometime.
In Europe, the train system was picked as it's standard form of people mover so going to Ecars is a little easier to digest.
Here, the train system is not the defacto standard, cars are and Ecar infrastructure is nothing more than someone's wet dream.

 

That's just it. They don't have it figured out but, they're pushing it none the less.
In every society, there's always some who push something on the vast majority for the purpose of personal greed.
They won't talk to you about the negative stuff and anyone who brings it up is chastised for doing it.
You really want to reduce carbon footprints? go after China and India.
They are producing coal based energy plants faster than you can count and they don't care what anyone thinks.
Fossil fuels are in everything including your wife's lipstick, your little water bottle with the drinking gizmo on top, the trim on your Toyota, everything.
It's not going away.
The ICE is an engineering masterpiece and very efficient for what it does and it still can get better.
Make them prove to you that battery cars are better in everyday, then have them show you and sign on the bottom line to us.
No IFs ands or buts allowed.
It's all a money grab and political gas lighting.

 

China being a dictatorship will do it by edict. Not sure how the EU is handling it. The US is kind of unique in that we have both very densely populated areas and other areas that are almost uninhabited. Both present extremely different challenges. Electrification is certainly coming but I don't believe that anyone can yet tell you what it will look like... and the transition will be very messy.

Also, being the cynic that I am, I believe that the main loser in all this will be, as usual, the consumer. We are going to have to suffer through a messy transition where the main activity is corporations figuring out how to game the system to pass along the costs to customers so they can be as profitable as possible. In the end we will have less capable vehicles that cost as much or more to own and operate as gassers. It may be a cost we have to accept and pay to address climate change... that is unless they keep burning coal and other fossil fuels to make the electricity. LOL. But that is a whole other discussion. Interesting times...

 

Climate change is not political. It's a fact. What *will* be political is how influence is used, bought, and sold for corporate profiteering and to game the system along the way.


[QUOTE=".
It's all a money grab and political gas lighting.[/QUOTE]

 

Agreed

That said, I very much appreciate folks either informing or reminding us that individuals, corporations or governments will attempt to profit from this paradigm shift. And, that they all will attempt to manipulate the process to better suit their wants and needs.

Guess what? Every paradigm shift has been like that. You don't think these entities influenced and benefited from every major transportation paradigm shift in history? This is nothing new.

The focus needs to be on public engagement and how it is our civil duty to make sure the benefits are shared among the people.

I want a BEV vehicle because I believe the science of climate change and I wish to reduce my carbon footprint while continuing to participate in many of the activities that I have come to enjoy. I'm well aware that certain sections of society will seek to profit from my desire. Therefore, it's my duty to remain conscious of this fact, think critically of what I'm told by whom and base my decisions on facts from reputable sources, while avoiding discounting opinions that differ from mine simply for that reason.

All points are valid until they're proven inaccurate.

 

Yup, I agree. The govt. needs to establish and supervise the framework for this to play out equitably... i.e., no Enron or monopoly situations. And I am always amazed by the number of abstract anti govt comments or talk about taxes in the abstract when that is usually minor compared to the other private sector manipulations and factors that cost consumers far more. But "the govt" is an easy target to make facile attacks on, I guess.

I would love to have a BEV as a DD. It would be perfect. But not yet for road trips, unless it is a Tesla that has dedicated and under used charging stations...at least for now. As for Trucks, the new Tundra, especially the hybrid, will turn out to be a major improvement in efficiency over the old V-8. I know, I love V8s too, but just can't see myself driving anything that gets 14 MPG. And not just for the cost of fuel.

 

Study of BEVs costing less to own and operate than ICEs

https://atlaspolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Total-Cost-of-Ownership-Analysis.pdf

 

BEV charging stations article

https://www.fastcompany.com/9071743...readmills-gardens-and-solar-panels-but-no-gas

 

I don't have time to read this now but by strict fuel costs this is simply not the case... unless all or most of your driving is local where you can charge for cheap at home. I just did a comparison using a Mustang Mach E on one of my typical road trips and it came out in a dead tie with my gas guzzling Tacoma. 1050 miles, 50 gallons of gas @ $3.50 in the Tacoma, and 420 KWh charging in the Mach E at $0.41/KWh, which is Electrify America's standard rate. Total cost for each ~ $175. EA has a $0.31/KWh rate for members but that requires a monthly fee which would only be worth paying if you needed to charge away from home regularly. And even that is far more than you pay at home. I know... ICE's have other costs, oil changes and other higher maintenance, in theory. But that mostly goes away when you DIY it like I do.

IMO, the mileage ratings on EVs need to be revised to show cost per mile not this nonsense MPGe or whatever. I believe that people are going to be unpleasantly surprised to find they are paying as much for E fuel as for gas. Or really even more. In my above example same class cars like the standard hybrid RAV 4 or even an ICE CR/V would be far cheaper to drive on that 1050 mile road trip than the Mach E.

Part of the problem is that this is all new. People are used to gas prices so they see $4.00/gallon and say OMG. But that 0.41/KWH, which is at least that bad, gets a shrug. Because they haven't done the math.

Thing is, the new Tundra will do as well as my Tacoma which is equivalent to the Mach E. Again, this just fuel costs. The problem is that we are going to be gouged like this by the companies that run the charging points. You can count on it.