Quote:
Originally Posted by RedDevil
The whole point of the car is the drive for efficiency without compromises.
No cheap solar cells but expensive ones to get that 50% extra power.
No back window to enhance the space available for solar cells. Cameras should do.
No drive train and linkages but hub motors; if the latter cause problems they need to be sought out and fixed, not avoided by taking a less efficient approach.
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Absolutely every single thing in life is about compromises. Nothing can be done without sacrificing something else. With time, you sacrifice an infinite number of things once you choose how to spend it. With solar cells, you sacrifice having a lower center of gravity by placing more weight at the worst place on a vehicle (the roof), you sacrifice the ability to sell the vehicle in the US because our laws require a rearview mirror, you sacrifice affordability because high efficiency solar cells are expensive. You sacrifice durability and repairability because solar cells are fragile and would be extremely difficult to repair if damage occurred. There is an opportunity cost placing the cells on the vehicle instead of a fixed location where it would generate several times more electricity...
I'll put aside the compromises for using hub motors for now.
There's zero chance of a 100k annual production. I expect less than 100 total to ever sell.
As Vman alludes to, if the real point is to pollute less, then the best bang for the buck is improvements in the vehicles that are most widely sold. It doesn't matter if a car gets a bazillion MPG if they only sell 5 of them. The earth doesn't care.
To reiterate, I'm interested in the engineering and technology, but have no expectation of the vehicle meaning anything in terms of the environment, or causing a disruption in transportation.