Ponderings on the proposed Fering Pioneer

[Escape]

18 hours ago, miketomcat said:

This is my other concern we need to find more/better ways of making electricity to sustain the route we're currently going.

Mike

Exactly this! Luckily there seems to be some renewed interest in nuclear. Even the greens are now realizing building new gas (or coal) plants is not really a sustainable answer.

I have heard fusion research is making progress as well. 🙂 

[Snagger]

Yep.  The UK, and probably other nations, need those mini-nuke generators like those proposed by RR, and they’re needed in a hurry.  It is incredible how stupid most European politicians and bureaucrats (that includes the UK) have been in their policies over national energy resources, as well as other critical industries, with none self-reliant or having basic resilience to disruption.

[cackshifter]

I don't think politicians realise the scale of the problem. To replace just cars use of oil, a quick calc shows we need at least another 15GW. To replace domestic gas boilers at least another 10GW. On a good day wind does about 5GW, more recently about 1GW. This is ignoring trucks, motorbikes, diggers etc, and industrial gas use, eg bakeries. Then there's getting it distributed. If you are going to charge 2 cars overnight, run a heat pump and cook a meal, you'll need more than the normal 100 amp single phase supply. So 3 phase everywhere? And thicker cables.

[missingsid]

The Hadron Collider wastes 1.3TWh per year, the total power output of France is 500TWh per year.

Why don't we turn that carp off before it creates something that the arrogant scientists can't fix!

[Bowie69]

Absolutely.

[simonr]

On 9/17/2021 at 9:57 AM, miketomcat said:

Range is the problem with all electric vehicles. Until I can do the 700 odd mile trip to the mother-in-law without it taking two days because of charge times

Some would consider that as an advantage!  Two days less, spent with Mother in Law - what's not to like?

 

[simonr]

This car has some interesting ideas.  Some of them will carry forward to production vehicles, but this is, of course, a prototype so I don't imagine a production version will look much like it.

I like the idea of using a fabric skin on some parts.  The idea is obviously as old as the hills - but has gone out of fashon.  Not everything needs to be skinned in metal.

Weight is one of the biggest issues for EV's as it directly impacts range & torque required.  Obviously it does equally with any vehicle - but people focus on range (as Mike commented on) far more than MPG for an ICE car.  To increase the range, you have to add battery capacity which costs - that being the other thing people focus on.  A super lightweight vehicle is the obvious answer - you increase the range and reduce the cost (maybe not in the case of this, but in general).

One thing I really like is the union flag tailgate.  Strikes me it would be very easy to make a Defender tailgate with similar bracing.