Saw my first cybertruck in person the other day. I will admit it was bigger than I thought it would be but its still just not for me. I am still hoping the Canoo is more of an option when its time for me to get a new truck.
BEV Pickup Trucks
- Thread starter boomfire
- Start date
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I’ve been seeing a lot of cryptobro trucks around lately. I’m all for BEVs and we do need to figure out how to electrify heavy duty vehicles, but I don’t see how these are a good use of resources for the 95% of people who are just driving them to Target to pick up an HDMI cord.
Couldn't the same could be said for all large pickups? They are serious overkill for grocery shopping, but for some families, it's all they've got.
Yes, but the Tesla seems an overtly ostentatious display of over consumption hiding behind green washing. It’s a green washed Hummer. If a family needs a truck then I don’t have any issues with them using one that fits their needs. Hopefully we’ll see more reasonable BEV trucks for normal truck type uses. But this a luxury purchase for people to drive around the suburbs to show off. If I start seeing contractors loading one up at the hardware store then I’ll change my tune but I doubt these will ever really be used as a truck.
EbS-P
Minister of Fire
That is true. But it's still a more efficient use of resources than driving a similarly sized truck or suv powered by gas or diesel for the same task.
Couldn't the same be said for 90% (or more) of the large pickup trucks or SUVs owned by people in the suburbs?
saw something the other day. semi running on electric motors,but the motors are powered by a genset on board , like a locomotive for trains. no storage battery, Supposedly considered green as the ice unit is not technically the motive force.
I bet they get a lot more starting torque and higher overall efficiency that way. I'm honestly surprised it took this long since it's been the standard on locomotives for 60+ years, probably just due to weight/cost. Still not green or renewable but higher mpg is always a good thing.
I thought the volt has always had a battery, no?
What blades is describing is not a hybrid but a standard diesel-electric drivetrain for a semi truck.
Yes, but from my understanding it had an on-board gas generator for when the battery was empty. The wheels were not (ever) propelled directly by ICE. The only power source driving the wheels was electric.
It was also my understanding that the on-board generator was able to produce enough juice to keep driving. Moreover, it was so well-tuned (optimized single RPM ICE) that it was a highly efficient system (relative to other ICE, of course).
Okay, I'll be honest, had thought that was how all hybrid cars worked. Apparently not, and car makers have been making their hybrid drivetrains overly complicated for many years. TIL
Anyway, the part that you mention about optimized single RPM generators, combined with the superior low-speed torque of electric motors is the reason diesel-electric locomotives are a thing and have been around forever. I was just remarking that it does make a lot of sense to use the same setup on long-haul semi trucks as well, assuming the amount of weight and space used on-board are manageable.
EbS-P
Minister of Fire
this is best explanation of all the systems and how they work together.
All (non-plug-in) hybrids I have driven (not owned) had direct connection from the wheel to the ICE power source, rather than ICE -> electric power -> electric motor. That was solely the original Volt AFAIK.
(I am less familiar with the more modern plug-in hybrids, so I may be behind the knowledge curve there.)
The BMW i3 is set up this way with a small generator as a range extender.
The Volt normally also runs solely electric with the ICE as a range extender but under special conditions the ICE can be coupled to the drivetrain. This is when the battery is fully depleted. The ICE then can supply both the traction motor and is connected to the ring gear. This reduced power mode was a bit rough and speed was reduced in the Gen 1 Volt. We experienced this one trip going up a steep hill 4 passengers and with no battery charge. We had only had the car for a month at that point and didn't know about mountain and hold modes which keep battery reserve to avoid this condition. It was disquieting to say the least because the motor revved up to very high rpm and stayed there regardless of vehicle speed. We got a small charge at the hotel that night and drove home in hold mode with no more drama.
GM: Yes, the Volt's gas engine can power the wheels - Autoblog
2011 Chevrolet Volt – Click above for high-res image gallery
www.autoblog.com
The Gen 2 Volt has a more elegant solution that works much more smoothly and quietly. The ICE can assist more readily when a lot of power is needed (ie: accelerating at freeways speeds going up a mountain pass). The combo is smoother, quieter, more efficient, and almost transparent. Having owned both, the Gen 2 is a much nicer drive.
Okay, thanks for correcting/clarifying. I was unaware the ICE motor could be driving the drivetrain - though it seems this was not commonly done.
Didn't know the BMW did this too.
I have no beef with current set ups; whatever works is fine with me. I liked the Volt thinking as it prevented range anxiety.
Didn't know the BMW did this too.
I have no beef with current set ups; whatever works is fine with me. I liked the Volt thinking as it prevented range anxiety.
David explains this newly evolving relationship of the Cybertruck.
It's captioned "Includes AI" so I would assume that is the case.
