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shakran · 06-08-2009, 02:25 PM

it will require standardization, yes, but then so did the internal combustion engine. Engines can be designed to run on anything from bunker fuel to gasoline to kerosene, to steam, and so forth. In the early days of cars, you had kerosene, coal, wood, gas, and other fuels powering vehicles. Yet all cars today run on the same fuel, most on the same octane level of that fuel, thanks to standardization. (yes, I know about diesel but there still aren't enough of those to count). Tesla, being the forefront of the "this isn't a toy" electric car world, is in the position to set that standard.

Just off the top of my head, what if the batteries were mounted on a skidplate on the bottom of the car. The skidplate could have deployable landing gear (casters). Hit a button in the car, the landing gear deploys, a flap or door opens in the side and the filling station employee tugs on the battery cart, pulling it from the vehicle. He then rolls a charged cart into place, clicks it in, and the car retracts the landing gear. We'd have to go back to more of a 1950's model of fuel stations, where an employee fuels the car, but that wouldn't be such a bad thing anyway. I'm tired of cleaning my windshield myself

Yes, it would take more time and effort than sticking a gas nozzle in the car, but it would also save the consumer a lot of money while not requiring him to pull over and twiddle his thumbs for 3 hours every 150 miles waiting for a charge.

The best solution right now, anyway, would be some sort of slow-release capacitor that would either directly feed the motor(s) or that would be rapid-charged at the station, and then charge the batteries at normal rates. We'd have to get around the fire hazard, of course.

But it's also important to remember that most people use their cars most of the time to go 5-10 miles to work, and then 5-10 miles back home, with maybe a stop at the store on the way. If an electric car's price point was low enough, it'd be good to have an electric commuter car, with a gas-powered car for those long road trips.

Imagine how much fuel savings there would be if we only used gasoline for long trips. All those cars belching fumes and drinking gas in rush hour replaced with electric. That seems like a pretty good goal to go after, to me.

06-08-2009, 02:25 PM	#13 (permalink)
shakran Tone.	it will require standardization, yes, but then so did the internal combustion engine. Engines can be designed to run on anything from bunker fuel to gasoline to kerosene, to steam, and so forth. In the early days of cars, you had kerosene, coal, wood, gas, and other fuels powering vehicles. Yet all cars today run on the same fuel, most on the same octane level of that fuel, thanks to standardization. (yes, I know about diesel but there still aren't enough of those to count). Tesla, being the forefront of the "this isn't a toy" electric car world, is in the position to set that standard. Just off the top of my head, what if the batteries were mounted on a skidplate on the bottom of the car. The skidplate could have deployable landing gear (casters). Hit a button in the car, the landing gear deploys, a flap or door opens in the side and the filling station employee tugs on the battery cart, pulling it from the vehicle. He then rolls a charged cart into place, clicks it in, and the car retracts the landing gear. We'd have to go back to more of a 1950's model of fuel stations, where an employee fuels the car, but that wouldn't be such a bad thing anyway. I'm tired of cleaning my windshield myself Yes, it would take more time and effort than sticking a gas nozzle in the car, but it would also save the consumer a lot of money while not requiring him to pull over and twiddle his thumbs for 3 hours every 150 miles waiting for a charge. The best solution right now, anyway, would be some sort of slow-release capacitor that would either directly feed the motor(s) or that would be rapid-charged at the station, and then charge the batteries at normal rates. We'd have to get around the fire hazard, of course. But it's also important to remember that most people use their cars most of the time to go 5-10 miles to work, and then 5-10 miles back home, with maybe a stop at the store on the way. If an electric car's price point was low enough, it'd be good to have an electric commuter car, with a gas-powered car for those long road trips. Imagine how much fuel savings there would be if we only used gasoline for long trips. All those cars belching fumes and drinking gas in rush hour replaced with electric. That seems like a pretty good goal to go after, to me.