Sales of the GM Volt.

[Fusion]

It's not technologically advanced.

[rwh11385]

It's not technologically advanced.

Uh huh. Because it's not technology that manages the batteries, but magic?? Ignorance.

I'm not an engineer, but I can't believe that there's no way to reduce fuel consumption in current engines to 50%. If I had all the money that was spent on hybrid dead-ends, I'm pretty sure I'd come up with something.

[nando]

why would you drive one of those new-fangled ottermobiles when I can keep driving my horse driven cart for 1/10th the price?

:p

[Wiglaf]

horses are EXPENSIVE!!

[rwh11385]

"The ordinary 'horseless carriage' is at present a luxury for the wealthy; and although its price will probably fall in the future, it will never, of course, come into as common use as the bicycle." - Literary Digest, 1899

"The horse is here to stay, but the automobile is only a novelty—a fad."
- Advice from a president of the Michigan Savings Bank to Henry Ford's lawyer Horace Rackham. Rackham ignored the advice and invested $5000 in Ford stock, selling it later for $12.5 million.

[nando]

horses are EXPENSIVE!!

I know! we had like 4 of them at one point. It was probably cheaper back in the day when everyone had them, but one little scratch on their leg and you're looking at hundreds in vet bills..

[mrsleeve]

^

Bull shit you dont have to call the vet for 99% of what they are going to get into. Cuts Nicks, light colic most minor eye problems you can handle your self. Just get some yellow goop Equtate triple antibiotic smear it on there, if its bad you put a vet wrap on it and let them go about their day. minor eye issues, might have to call vet for the goop you need (most have always just let us come get it) and a fly mask. You might have to stall them for some things that they need to keep from moving around and some Bute, but you dont need to call the vet for much. Last farm call we had other than for travel papers was to put one down that mashed his brain on the driveway being stupid (she would not let me just shoot it) .

Yeah they are pricy we have 4 right now I think and all I know she just spent a huge pile of money on 2 new Tennessee Walkers.

[Farbin Kaiber]

Serious. The only thing I call a vet for is getting their teeth floated.

[u3b3rg33k]

I've got six horses. they get tired quick on 105F days like this. And they don't have AC, and apparently it's not cool to leave a horse with heat exhaustion tied up outside a movie theater.

[Fusion]

Uh huh. Because it's not technology that manages the batteries, but magic?? Ignorance.

I've seen the battery management for LiFePO batteries, including the option to show everything in the provided software, and though it is really cool, its far from "advanced" considering laptop smart battery management is decades old.

Most people who drop their jaw do it because they don't have it in their car, because their car doesn't need battery management software.

All of this technology can be bought (for years now) and can be setup at home as fast as a small wired computer network.

And regardaing my thoughts on the answer more likely being lower fuel consumption:

Sonex Research Company of Maryland, USA, believes much better fuel efficiency will be achievable when the Sonex Controlled Auto Ignition (SCAI) system is fully developed for Gasoline Direct Injected (GDI) engines using no spark ignition or throttle. The Sonex GDI Combustion System could improve fuel mileage by at least 25%. Dr. Andrew Pouring, a former chairman of the Dept. of Aerospace Engineering at the US Naval Academy, in his research found that pistons can be modified to carry a chemical charge that initiates combustion from one cycle to the next, thus eliminating the need for spark plugs. High compression, typical of diesel engines, is no longer needed to make the fuel ignite; in fact, the chemistry causing this auto ignition process exists only at lower compression ratios.

You can find many other technologies being developed, that maintain curent engine power outputs / displacement, but highly reduce fuel consumption.
(and I don't mean magic youtube bullshit)

[mrsleeve]

Serious. The only thing I call a vet for is getting their teeth floated.

yeah but floating will only work for so long before you have to call the dentist in. I dont count the dentist as a vet call. The little woman's uncle is one of the 2 guys that really pioneered the field and developed most of the tools and techniques for equine dentistry. I guess this is why we dont have too many farm calls lol we have one of the best horse vets in the country in the family, a he can call us in scrips as he knows vets that live near us lol

[rwh11385]

I've seen the battery management for LiFePO batteries, including the option to show everything in the provided software, and though it is really cool, its far from "advanced" considering laptop smart battery management is decades old.

Most people who drop their jaw do it because they don't have it in their car, because their car doesn't need battery management software.

All of this technology can be bought (for years now) and can be setup at home as fast as a small wired computer network.

Wow, I'm sure someone has looked over MarkD's shoulder and thought that programming ECUs was easy too. But controls is a complex area. Are you saying that because a laptop battery has been around for a while that electric cars must be simple???!?

Running and participating in an electric vehicle grand prix, it may seem simple to the simple person, but a good BMS is not cheap nor as assumed as on-lookers would think and the difference between limping about or running well (fast) and with good efficiency.

And that was just with running off a battery with no re-gen, or integration with an on-board generator, display and information center, etc.

Once again, like your assumption that ICEs could easily double their efficiency based on your ignorance of thermodynamic laws... your simplistic read of technology related to EVs leave you irrelevant to any intellectual discussion.

[Fusion]

No, the BMSs are nothing new and you (the customer) can buy hardware and software that is as user friendly and in the low hundreds of dollars. Don't know if that's expensive to you, but if someone spends ~10K on batteries, a couple hundred for a BMS is change.

LiFePO4 and LiIon BMS's are NOT new technology and have been used in various other applications ie. solar, my brother uses them on mobile BTS towers as UPS, Vodafone has been giving them to subcontractors for years now.

Compared to the technological breakthroughs that Mercedes-Benz presents every couple years, battery management in a Volt is very laughable.

[rwh11385]

No, the BMSs are nothing new and you (the customer) can buy hardware and software that is as user friendly and in the low hundreds of dollars. Don't know if that's expensive to you, but if someone spends ~10K on batteries, a couple hundred for a BMS is change.

LiFePO4 and LiIon BMS's are NOT new technology and have been used in various other applications ie. solar, my brother uses them on mobile BTS towers as UPS, Vodafone has been giving them to subcontractors for years now.

Compared to the technological breakthroughs that Mercedes-Benz presents every couple years, battery management in a Volt is very laughable.

Yeah, no one was using a BMS cheaper than a grand. And only rocking out $4k in batteries, so a predominant cost... and again, a vastly simpler application than an extended range EV. And without the concern for longevity of a consumer vehicle.... or you know, a crappy electronic device...

Funny you mentioned laptop batteries before, because GM is warranting the batteries, thermal management, charging, and electric drive components for 8 years / 100K... when was the last time you had a laptop or cell phone battery worked properly for longer than a year?!!?

Sorry that you think a brother with a battery backup has taught you everything you need to know about electric vehicle powertrain systems, just like reading a research study about a different cycle has allowed you to believe that current engines just have to be able to cut fuel consumption by 50%.

You can find many other technologies being developed, that maintain curent engine power outputs / displacement, but highly reduce fuel consumption.

You might want to stick to referencing studies that don't have their funding cut and desperately looking for new sponsors. They were talking in theory of boosting gasoline engine's thermal efficiency of 25-30% by 25-30%, which would only yield 31%-39% thermal efficiency - at the most optimistic! Igniting fuel by hopes and dreams doesn't change the fact that much of the energy is discarded as waste. Failure to understand the most basic concepts of engines, thermodynamics, etc. make you worthless in any such discussion.

DAPRA pulled the plug on your mentioned research company after they had only ran tests at partial power and said they could "totally" hit the target power with improved efficiency. Assuming that this was for the A160 Hummingbird (UAV that used a subaru engine, had DARPA projects, first flew in Nov 2002, and then they went with a turbine in 2007 and Sonex Research's DAPRA agreement promptly concluded soon thereafter). The Pratt & Whitney PW207D makes 572hp for them, not waiting for a company putting down 250hp and promising for 400hp at good efficiency.

[Fusion]

You're wrong. Your arrogant arguments falsely inferring opinions and level of intelligence fail to have a point. When all you do is google shit and then post someone else's experience as your own. The prime reason I quoted a seven year old article about Sonex was to see how you react. Exactly like I thought you would - without 0 prior knowledge/experience, you google it up and then represent what you read as if you had worked there for 20 years and you pretend to be very knowledgeable on the subject.

Keep posting monthly sales figures, it obviously makes you feel you're doing something special for the most retarded car in the world.