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.........Not because a farse though. Do it because you believe in the idea and in inovation. Oh and I get sick of propaganda.

I'd like to see a battery powered truck strong enough to pull an equipment trailer to a jobsite each day.


I also don't think spilled gasoline is nearly as bad as a spilled battery. How much oil does it take to make a plastic case for a battery anyway? I say quit making plastic crap and make gasoline



Well, we’ve got 2 motors for you then. One is 150kW, and 650Nm(450ft-lbs), is about 18 inches in diameter, 14 inches long and weighs about 150lbs. And, we’ve got a 200kW, 900Nm(663 ft lbs) that’s about an inch in each direction bigger and under 180 lbs. Will that do for hauling your stuff? Those motors are going into a new inner city bus project that we’re working on, that will have the ability to do a 70% recharge in 6 minutes and 100% in 10 minutes. They are tooling up production in Greenville, SC right now, and we’re building prototypes for them.

As for the spilled gasoline, one spark and kaboom. One spark with a battery, less likely. I am frankly more worried about a shade tree mechanic trying to tinker with the battery or our controller and cooking himself with 450 V and a few hundred Amps than I am a collision.

As for the last question about how much oil it takes, that’s kind of a moot point, and is a wash in the end. In the process of electrifying, you loose a gallon or more of motor oil, as well as some of the tranny fluid, plus the 10-15 gallons of petroleum products you have to put in each week or maybe twice a week. The battery casing is a ONE time investment in plastic, which by the way is 100% recycleable, we used to use reground plastic all the time in our electronics at Bosch as standard practice. Plus, many cars use plastic fuel tanks, which is about a third the size and plastic content of a battery case. Point is, if you’re going to build a vehicle to carry 4-5 people, you are going to use resources, which in the end is slightly favoring electrics when you look at how much simpler the driveline of an electric is over a gas or diesel engine. Which brings up another point, if a vehicle is cared for, the lifespan of that vehicle could be greatly increased. The motors are MUCH simpler to replace than a gas engine, as there are 4 cables, one for control signals, and the 3 phase leads from the control unit. Battery pack should be pretty easy to change out too if it’s designed right. Audi is already testing a fully electric version of their LeMans R10 race car and has done a battery swap in minutes. Not saying those items would be cheap, but dropping a new engine into a car or tranny is not cheap either, and is a lot more complicated to do (been there, done that and even though it was on a 73 F100 that had enough room to sleep in under the hood, it’s still not a simple procedure. Need be, I can lift out our motor by myself, not so on my old inline 6 300cid….

Now, as for your point about riding a motorcycle and getting 45mpg, well, you’ll get no argument from me there, although I still would like to talk Chip Yates into letting me ride his electric bike….