Quote:
Originally Posted by sheepdog 44
And that's probably what's needed for a cheap long range EV.
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That's the most effective means to keep the battery cost down for a given amount of range. The 1996 Solectria Sunrise could seat 4 people and got a 150-200 mile real-world range with a 28 kWh pack of NiMH batteries, and set a 373 mile range record being hypermiled in the Tour De Sol. James Worden, the designer, claimed it would have ben a $20,000 car in mass production. None of the major automakers were interested in pursuing it, and refining it into something sellable at that price point.
Nissan could have gotten similar range with its 2009 Leaf without adding greatly to the cost, if it focused on streamlining it. Instead, it got an 80-100 mile range with its mediocre 0.28 drag coefficient(about average compared to all other cars of the same model year), and typical driving was greatly more stressful on the battery than need be due to the discharges being much deeper than they would have been if it had more range, and is part of the reason its battery pack didn't hold up so well.
Quote:
Originally Posted by freebeard
Tesla will become a robot company that does cars and batteries.
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If it fails to build an affordable and efficient platform, it may end up being pushed out of the car market altogether.