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Originally Posted by ldjessee00
Now we are transitioning from fuel burning in ICE to batteries and electric motors. There will be segments that will say EVs will never compete with ICE... until that is not true any more. Will that be in 5 years or 10 years? Depends on the battery tech that Tesla has been paying lots of researchers to work on the last few years... and other people trying to find new battery tech to compete with Tesla. As more and more money gets poured in to this research, the more niches EVs can fill, until it is just impractical for most people to even own an ICE.
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Are we transitioning? I think it will happen, but 1% of vehicle sales is hardly a transition.
It's a myth to think that money spent = results. The fact that money is invested to improve technology is no guarantee that it will pay off. Look at US healthcare vs dollars spent. Look at US education vs dollars spent. Look at cancer research for "the cure". The universe has placed limitations on us, and you can't buy your way out of that.
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I agree it could be so much better and every time I see the flat backend of a semi trailer, it just makes me cringe. Some of the aero forms and flaps that are added to the back help some, but I think the industry will need to adopt a standard form that is more compatible with an aerodynamic shape. Even if it is for diesel or hydrogen semis, they will need the increase in efficiency... or someone will realize that trains are just so much cheaper and money will go into developing trains (adopting some of the tech from Europe and Asia, since they have continued to invest in trains)...
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Tractor/trailers aren't made to slip through the air; they are made to move cargo. That cargo comes on pallets. Pallets are square. The trailer has to interface with a loading dock... all this to say there is room for improvement, but solutions have to keep in mind the purpose in the first place, which is to move stuff.
Trains in the US might be fine for certain routes, but you always have to have trucks to move stuff to warehouses, and then from warehouses to stores. Ever look at train ticket prices to travel? They are comparable in price to airline travel yet much slower... and that's the subsidized price. If air travel is better, why would moving cargo via train be any better?