The first to think that people will want to wait 30 minutes to a few hours to charge their car during a road trip.

 

On board genset gas or diesel powered with 600 mile range and you never have to charge if you choose not to do so. Google chevrolet volt, go go. Though I think toyota, honda or nissan will beat em to market. Its the way of the future. Hp wars are so passe'. Its time for the electric wars.
Chevrolet Volt - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Unlimted clean fusion power is only 40 years away. Battteries are the only answer to this nations oil gluttony. What are we 5% of the global population but somehow its rational that we burn 25% of the worldwide oil production? Dont think for a second that a battery powered car cant be fast as all hell. Unlike gasoline engines electric motors make peak torque from 0 rpm.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MN98...eature=related
Its time for the mileage wars!

 

I disagree, I think compressed air is the "here and now" solution that has all the same 0 wait to charge benifets of gasoline with NONE of the downsides of battery power.

Air Car - First Air-Powered Car - Zero Emissions - Behind the Tech - Popular Mechanics

You can buy this car TODAY and get over 100miles on $4 worth of electricity.....But they ain't for sale here

The only problem is that neither are feasible with our overly stringent safety standards.

 

That is only slightly better than a vw,similar to the rabbit, already for sale in europe that gets 72mpg is street legal and already in production. If the price of diesel hadnt spiked so high recently you would get more miles per dollar out of it than this air car you are referencing.
I havent looked that hard at air but at 4 dollars per 100 miles its already twice as much as they are claimed it is to charge a battery. They claim from 1 penny to 2 pennies per mile on battery depending. Air is a novelty and I doubt it will every be anything more. Much like the early boiler systems used on vehicles in the early 1900s. Can you imagine having to start a fire in your cars boiler 30 minutes before you leave to get the pressure up? Also once the air is gone what do you have? The same problem electric cars suffer from. You need some form of on board charging system. I bet running a compressor on gas adds up to more than 4 dollars per hundred miles.

 

The same thing you have with a gasoline engine. A quick fill up at a service station. You can't do that with a battery.

We had thew whole battery vs gasoline thing hammered out 100yrs ago. There's a reason we went with gasoline

 

Batteries lifespan isn't the greatest either (used in forklifts every day) each charge last a little less than the last and replacement cost are outrageous. Figuring in replacement batteries every few years and the savings ain't so great.

 

The F150 is actually lighter than a similar build Tundra. Plus the '09 F150 is suppossed to be even lighter. So it'll make the 2nd loudest thud!

 

Plus the ground and water toxins created while producing the battery is horrible. When in need of replacement, how will the old batteries be disposed of? I'm sure many could find their way into landfills.

 

What do you do with your lead acids when your done with em? Do you take em to the landfill or do you trade em in for the core charge?

Electric vs Gas. Well, there really is no comparison. Gasoline powered vehicles are horribly ineffecient. Possibly as little as 12% of the fuel burned is transfered to forward motion. How efficient is the charging and discharging of electric in comparison? How long are these batteries supposed to last and how fast do they lose maximum charge capacity? What becomes of them when they are no longer any good?

Something worth debating. The lifetime pollution of gas over battery including costs of ownership and operation. Dont forget the vox polution during transfer of fuel from tank to tank. I would even like to hear numbers on polution and energy costs of producing and maintaining solar cells. Mainly because no one talks about it and im very curious. Can solar cells put out more power than it takes to produce them? Do they in fact offset pullution or are they just a bandaid?

I aint no greenie. My 2 stroke snowmachine makes more hp than my current family car. My last truck made 500+ hp. Im watching the price of oil climb and am trying to make sound financial decisions that will save money in the longrun for my retirement. Gas guzzlers out, fuel miesers in.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/m...v29/ai_9388217
http://www.grinningplanet.com/2004/1...ng-article.htm
Hard numbers are hard to find but it appears that electric has 3x the efficiency of gas. The batteries are recyclable and they produce significantly less polution over the lifetime of the vehicle. Using domestic coal instead of eastern oil does sound very tempting to me. We could cut our oil imports to 0.

 

I agree, there is no real data on battery life, replacement cost, etc, so it's hard to say right now how much is to be gained.

 

How much lighter?

Currently the Tundra is the biggest porker at 4610 base curb weight, but the F-150 is not far behind at 4570. This is for regular cab, short bed, V-6 base models. The Tundra does include A/C, A/T and huge 255/70R18 tires. "3/4 Ton" trucks used to weigh less than that empty and had double the payload.

Jim

 

True the F150 isn't lighter by much, but the '09 F150s have been reported to be roughly 500lbs lighter per model across the board. Now the Screw won't be nearly 500lbs lighter, being the cab is being made larger, but it is still lighter than the 04-08 model F150 Screw.

Wonder where all the weight in the Tundra is located. From my comparing the two trucks, it's not in the sheet metal. Now the F150 doesn't have thick sheet metal, but it's thicker and stronger than what they have on the new Tundras.

 

Bigger wheels/tires are part of it. The rear axle is also beefier than other base trucks. Where is the F-150 going to loose 500lb?

Jim

 

How about the totally unneed fully boxed frame? It's a 1/2 ton for god's sake. It would probably do just fine with smaller axles as well. I have heard of very few 8.8 failures. Use lighter materials.

Mike

 

I dont think I would buy a truck that didnt have a boxxed frame again. Some weight penalties are worth paying.