A couple of interesting articles

Dr.Jeff said:
I'm not into alternative fuel vehicles so I don't really pay too much attention to this, but I seem to be hearing there are more and more hydrogen fueling stations being built. Especially in certain parts of the country. That surprised me because I kind of had the impression the whole hydrogen thing had pretty much died out already. Apparently not. My guess is they are more for fleet vehicles and such.
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There are about 68 stations in the US. Almost all of them are in California. There is one between Los Angeles and San Francisco, one…
 
Somewhere we discussed the Singer Porsche before. I don't recall the thread content that brought it up or what the specific reference was, but.....

This is a video that was embedded into a great article I read about Singer Porsche. However the video is even better than the article so I'll just link it:

 
Another EV article about a "retro" vintage vehicle conversion. But this time it's different. The company is going to produce new vehicles that are a copy of a vintage design, and make it electric. As much as I like odd vehicles, and wagons or small vans in particular, I'm not completely on board with the styling of this van:

www.autoweek.com

This Retro EV Van Is Headed for Production

A UK-based startup has revived the Morris name and design in developing an EV delivery van, but just how large of a market is out there?
www.autoweek.com www.autoweek.com
 
Although I'm not interested in EV's, they have been brought up many times in various articles within this thread. So I'll add another one. This time it is arguing why you should NOT convert your vintage car to electric power. Some of the logic is dependant on the owner's use if the car, and therefore a little overstated. But actually a fair amount of it is on point and valid.

www.hotcars.com

The Real Reason Why EV Conversions For Classic Cars Doesn’t Make Sense

While the electric revolution is ongoing, there are valid reasons why classic car owners should think twice before converting their car to an EV.
www.hotcars.com www.hotcars.com

Especially the part about the environmental tradeoffs; the eco destruction from manufacturing the batteries and other components that go into converting a car to electric, versus the amount of emissions a minimal use hobby car will typically create (with a ICE). That is a real factor for production of all electric vehicles and one of the reasons many authorities say synthetic (bio) fuels will be the next answer after the electric trend dies out (and it will, like all fads).
 
The author is spot on about the eco impact argument. Viewed more broadly though, deconstructing anything that works and rebuilding it with different components is not eco friendly unless it actually reduces future energy consumption, emissions, toxicity, etc. to a point where there is a net reduction. This is true in many contexts like home improvement, consumer technology, appliances, etc. Americans especially replace things that are still useful with new things solely because they are new. Short of abstaining from owning any given item in the first place, the next best thing you can usually do is use one that has already been built and keep it serviceable for as long as possible.

I can appreciate the originality argument for a classic car too, but only to a point. I met a guy at Cars and Coffee today with a 1950s Chevy pickup. He kept the straight 6, repaired rust, and made the interior close to new condition, but the truck kept its overall patina. Overall, it was an extremely original vehicle. As we talked he let me in on concessions to drivability. Radial tires instead of bias ply tires were one, but the most radical was a full syncro-mesh 5-speed transmission from a Chevy S-10 in place of the original 3 speed. The original shift lever was retained and a different driveshaft was needed, but aside from that it was an invisible modification that made the vehicle vastly more usable. Would this transmission be objectionable to the author? What about a V8 swap like Icon does with various trucks and off roaders?

I am far from a purist, but as a designer/engineer I like to look at things through the lens of design intent. If I’m going to change something, I would like it to make sense in context. I probably would not change the hydro-pneumatic suspension on a Citroen. That said, if my goal was to to campaign it on a race track, I might.

If I wanted to daily drive a souped up (yet low maintenance) Land Rover Defender in London, then an EV swap would make that possible. I would not call it eco friendly though unless I used components from the junkyard and also abstained from buying a new EV and keeping it from being built in the first place.
 
Just as the first Otto cycle engine was not the recipient of all the engine development we’ve come to enjoy, the first batteries are far from the last. This article about solid state batteries claims that it’s possible to store the double the amount of energy in the same volume and weight of a current day battery.
 
There is an article in a recent Grassroots Motorsports magazine about racing the Tesla 3. Even for non-EV car guys like me it was pretty interesting.
 
Dr.Jeff said:
Although I'm not interested in EV's, they have been brought up many times in various articles within this thread. So I'll add another one. This time it is arguing why you should NOT convert your vintage car to electric power. Some of the logic is dependant on the owner's use if the car, and therefore a little overstated. But actually a fair amount of it is on point and valid.

www.hotcars.com

The Real Reason Why EV Conversions For Classic Cars Doesn’t Make Sense

While the electric revolution is ongoing, there are valid reasons why classic car owners should think twice before converting their car to an EV.
www.hotcars.com www.hotcars.com

Especially the part about the environmental tradeoffs; the eco destruction from manufacturing the batteries and other components that go into converting a car to electric, versus the amount of emissions a minimal use hobby car will typically create (with a ICE). That is a real factor for production of all electric vehicles and one of the reasons many authorities say synthetic (bio) fuels will be the next answer after the electric trend dies out (and it will, like all fads).
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EV is a fad?

Never lived with one, have ya?
 
tvmaster said:
Does that relate to the article he posted? Is it possible the article is correct, ie synthetic fuels will be the future, not batteries? Beats me - my DeLorean is broken and can’t reach 88…
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Synthetic fuels are for people who cant imagine not having to go somewhere to fuel and pay whatever someone says its going to cost.


Burning **** to make a piston go up and down 4 times making power only one is so 1880. Its time to evolve.
 
Chris-St Louis said:
Synthetic fuels are for people who cant imagine not having to go somewhere to fuel and pay whatever someone says its going to cost.


Burning **** to make a piston go up and down 4 times making power only one is so 1880. Its time to evolve.
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The article only discusses classic cars, not ALL cars. Obviously, going forward, modern motoring will change. duh.
 
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