16 June 2019

Electromotive?

The "24 Hours of LeMans" has just come to completion.
The fastest cars on the circuit were hybrids... Toyotas with gasoline engines supplemented with electric motors. They added electric power to their internal combustion engine to total about 1000 horsepower.

There is now a racing series similar to "Formula One" that features electric cars. The cars are VERY fast, but WOW is it weird to hear them race around the circuit, hearing almost no noise but drivetrain whine!
Completing the "Formula E" race requires the use of TWO cars. When battery power on car #1 is depleted, the driver switches over to car #2 to finish the course. And that's the problem STILL with total-electric cars isn't it? Range.
And it's why we see a predominance of hybrids in the electric realm.

But boy, they are really pushing the idea of hybrids during this race. And like "anthropomorphic climate change", I still have my doubts.

I've heard horror stories about the waste left behind in the process of manufacturing these lithium batteries. And when the batteries reach the end of their lifespan, will the cost of replacing them make the overall cost of owning a hybrid (or electric) car cheaper than owning a car powered with only an internal combustion engine?
Only time will tell. We'll get there eventually, I'm sure.

Pardon me while I look around for the cheapest price on gasoline.





4 comments:

Well Seasoned Fool said...

Working as a medical courier (460 miles/day) my co-worker and I put over 200,000 miles on a Prius in two years. The route was almost entirely open road with minor city driving. We had zero problems with the battery. The route ran up to Wyoming, then Nebraska, and ended at DIA starting In Greeley, CO.

How well the batteries will hold up over time, in hot and humid climates, and heavy city driving I can't predict, but I foresee problems. Over that route we averaged just over 42 MPG. Not much better than the Corolla the Prius replaced (37 MPG).

A personal note. I will only drive a Prius if I'm paid to drive one.

The Old Man said...

You know me and my background. Batteries of that size are far worse for the environment than petrochemicals, as you know. Worse overall and there is not nearly the minerals needed to support a 35% renewable society much less 100%. There are exceptions but they are few and far between.

Ed Bonderenka said...

I've felt that way about batteries for years.
And in northern climes they can't hold a charge, so the "hybrids" are really just virtue signalling.
Granted, electric race cars are torquey and fast. For a short period of time.

Old NFO said...

10 years to 'make up' the cost difference, but you have to buy new batteries in 5 years... Sigh... And supposedly have to pay over $1000 disposal fee!