Bentley / VOLVO say, no pistons after 2030

[aerohead]

Both Volkswagen's Bentley Division, and Geely's Volvo have announced that all sales will be BEV by 2030.
Volvo will sell only online, and 'dealerships' will be for servicing.
SEMA partners are working on a line of custom, faux exhaust systems for BEVs, with embedded amplifiers and 120-dB weatherproof transducers, which can be programmed to generate the acoustic signature of any ICE vehicle, ranging from a Trabant, to a Hennessey Venom f5. ( For pedestrian safety of course )
And ARMANI, CHANEL, and Tiffany & Co. will be offering boutique, signature, designer electricity, at kWh prices of, 'if you have to ask, you can't afford it '.
Free home oscilloscopes will allow clients to monitor the designer sine waves as they wheel in from jewel-encrusted transformers.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

All that obsession with the BEV-only approach sounds quite troublesome, even though it's possible to get rid of reciprocating engines as long as hybrids increase their overall market share. Would be quite interesting to say the least if some scaled-down turboshaft engine makes its way into some Volvo, Bentley, Rolls-Royce, whatever, as long as it's coupled to either a proper CVT (which is better suited to the fixed-speed nature of gas turbines) or a so-called e-CVT similar to Toyota's HSD.

[freebeard]

There's always the Wankel.

[Stubby79]

Originally Posted by freebeard

There's always the Wankel.

You’ll go blind doing that!

(Though not in my experience. Need to gather more data!)

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by freebeard

There's always the Wankel.

Wankel in theory is interesting, and there were some developments of Wankel Diesel-powered engines which could've been suitable even for aircraft, but with a gas turbine there is the advantage of enabling the usage of compressed air for auxiliary systems such as HVAC (through air cycling instead of the vapour cycling which is more common on cars).

[Isaac Zachary]

Ya, the BEV future seems pretty cool. And we really miss our Nissan Leaf. But there definitely seems to be a lot of hurdles to overcome first before that utopian future comes to be, or before I buy another BEV. At best I think a cheap BEV for around town while keeping an ICEV for long trips makes the most sense. But I don't see a Bentley, Volvo or Tesla being a cheap EV for around town any time soon. And even a used Leaf seems just out of my price range.

[Hersbird]

Well that's like 3427 more BEVs sold every year, 265 outside of Sweden.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by Isaac Zachary

Ya, the BEV future seems pretty cool. And we really miss our Nissan Leaf. But there definitely seems to be a lot of hurdles to overcome first before that utopian future comes to be, or before I buy another BEV.

I don't believe the "BEV future" will succeed outside what could be considered an urban bubble. With many people actually living in rural areas around the world, and suburbs outside the U.S. often not featuring the same level of amenities or easy access to services, it's not easy to overcome the limitations of a BEV in order to enforce a one-size-fits-all approach.

At best I think a cheap BEV for around town while keeping an ICEV for long trips makes the most sense.

Considering many households won't afford more than one vehicle, a plug-in hybrid may remain the easiest option. Sure sometimes an ICE might seem to be a dead weight to be carried around, but in a hybrid it might get downsized enough to not be much of a burden.

[Isaac Zachary]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

With many people actually living in rural areas around the world, and suburbs outside the U.S. often not featuring the same level of amenities or easy access to services, it's not easy to overcome the limitations of a BEV in order to enforce a one-size-fits-all approach.

And at the same time some are saying that COVID is going to cause a wave of people to move out of the cities and into the rurals. Then again, giving up McDonald's, Super Walmart and EV's would be a tough price to pay to move out of the city.

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

Considering many households won't afford more than one vehicle, a plug-in hybrid may remain the easiest option. Sure sometimes an ICE might seem to be a dead weight to be carried around, but in a hybrid it might get downsized enough to not be much of a burden.

True. And having just one car in a family actually makes a lot of sense to me. The main reason I own two vehicles is ironically my insurance is cheaper with two cars than with just one. Even cheaper than the cost of the yearly tags. But of course now I have to pay for tires and oil changes on two cars.

I do wish more plug-in hybrids were made available. It looks like people are pushing for all electric or nothing. I just wish I had an EV option for around town so I didn't have to cold start my engine and not let it get up to running temps so often. Although looking into some sort of enclosed pedal powered vehicle would probably be the best thing to do than to look to EV technology for such short distances. Maybe something big enough for the wife and kids.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by Isaac Zachary

And at the same time some are saying that COVID is going to cause a wave of people to move out of the cities and into the rurals. Then again, giving up McDonald's, Super Walmart and EV's would be a tough price to pay to move out of the city.

I'm not so sure if more people would move into the rurals due to the Covid, but it does sound quite tempting sometimes. When it comes to Walmart and McDonald's, sometimes resorting to local businesses for supplies (and maybe a tavern for convenience food) is not so much of a burden.

I do wish more plug-in hybrids were made available. It looks like people are pushing for all electric or nothing.

It's mostly the marketing and politics pushing for all electric or nothing. Most people don't really seem to care about it.

I just wish I had an EV option for around town so I didn't have to cold start my engine and not let it get up to running temps so often.

Makes sense.

Although looking into some sort of enclosed pedal powered vehicle would probably be the best thing to do than to look to EV technology for such short distances. Maybe something big enough for the wife and kids.

Not so sure if your wife and kids would be so excited to follow that approach, even though some sort of enclosed rickshaw with electric assistance wouldn't be so out of question.