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Originally Posted by redpoint5
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.
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?
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1% of US Sales, world wide sales, or something else? Not sure what your 1% number is referring to. I know in some countries, it is now over 50% of sales. (Norway)
How do you think a transition from ICE to BEV will look like? That during a transition, it would not start at a low percentage and build? And that some where during that transition it will have still less sales, but more and more manufacturers make more models available in some electrified format?
Sure the Jeep Wrangler plugin hybrid is pretty weak, but still they are making it, something some people thought would never happen...
Money spent with no guidance, limits, goals, or guiding force will result in nothing but spent money. But as companies invest in battery technology because batteries are driving so many consumer electronics right now, any advancement would be a huge payday. So, this keeps companies investing, but it has to show promise, improvements, and technology does advance. If you had not noticed, the pace of change has picked up lately.
If you want to talk about what is wrong with the US Healthcare and cancer research, I have some ideas, but that is not relevant to EVs.
Cargo goes on planes as well, and there the cargo is not always on palettes, sometimes it is in funky shaped boxes to match the curvature of the plane.
Semis have to move cargo cost effectively, which will mean competing with other forms of transport.
RE: Docks
Are you trying to be funny? I mean, the trucks will have to be used on roads as well... is that a reason it cannot be aerodynamic? Also true with docks.
There are planes that have flip-up noses, swing up or to the side tails, and there are trains that load from the side very quickly... It is kind of shocking when you look into it, you can find all kinds of examples of how to move cargo into and out of a vehicle that is aerodynamic. And some of them could even be adapted to tractor-trailers.
All warehouses used to all be on train spikes and trucks were only for local distribution...but that is not true anymore here in the US, but world wide... well, some countries kept up on keeping train technology up to date, so train is faster, cheaper, and a better way to travel in many countries.
Passenger train travel in the US is not even comparable to how competitive cargo rail.
Here is a report on Train cost for cargo.
Air travel is only better for some because of the speed. If I wanted to ship iron ore or coal, by air hardly makes any sense.
Weight, density, and priority are all factors now.