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Old 10-02-2020, 01:12 AM   #52 (permalink)
redpoint5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hersbird View Post
I agree it takes a specific amount of energy to accelerate a specific mass to a specific speed, but wouldn't doing it slowly be covering a greater distance using the same amount of energy? Also the longer you are at the higher speed the longer you have greater aero drag?

Low power EVs don't sell because they are still expensive. If you are spending $40,000 you want to accelerate like a $40,000 455 hp Camaro. If they were $15,000 you wouldn't care if they accelerated like a $15,000 Versa.
That's why I said "practically no difference". There's zero people in the world that would want a less powerful EV because it would force them to accelerate slower and thereby spend less time at their cruising speed, thereby extending their range from 200 miles to 200.1 miles.

A person can always travel slower to reduce aerodynamic drag and thereby travel more efficiently. In an EV, I'd be inclined to travel faster because the cost of electricity per mile is peanuts, even at high speed.

EVs have drawbacks mostly pertaining to the fact that a battery is like a super expensive but very crappy fuel tank. They have to appeal in other ways to make up for that significant drawback. You're right that an expensive and slow EV has little appeal to people. Tesla realized this early on and chose to leverage the things that appeal to people.
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