malcolm

Keeping some sort of generator OUT of the Whitestar is going to be a really tough challenge. Maybe too tough.

But let's be positive. What suitable high volume processes and applications are coming online which might help to provide solutions for a BEV Whitestar within the next 5 years?

Starting with....

http://mcgroup.co.uk/news/2007/10/31...%20Panels.html

and, going back a couple of years...

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/vehicles..._alm_fy05.html

malcolm

UK company recycles carbon fibre:-

http://www.milledcarbon.com/whoweare.html

http://www.milledcarbon.com/prodrange.html

malcolm

Survey from 2005 into Large-Scale Application of High Temperature-resistant Plastics in Motors and Gears

http://www.frost.com/prod/servlet/pr...pLabel=FcmCtx4

TEG

They used to say "the future is plastics", but I think ceramics are perhaps still waiting to find more uses.

http://machinedesign.com/ContentItem...amicParts.aspx

Brake rotors, turbo scrolls, the list goes on.

TEG

Media.Ford.com: New Ford hybrid electric car tops 70 MPG

(Very low CD. Very lightweight materials. Camera rearview mirrors. Variable ride height. etc.)

[ Keep in mind that it was announced in 1999... ]

malcolm

Ok, I know, I know.

At some point this thread ceases to be CPR and starts becoming necrophilia...

http://www.rmi.org/images/PDFs/Trans...anuAdvComp.pdf

Report from 2002. The Revolution was developed by Hypercar Inc. At the time it was intended to run on a fuel cell, but the analysis suggested that the design would achieve "nearly 60% lighter weight with high structural performance and cost competitiveness at 50,000/y production volume."

vfx

According to this Ousted Tesla exec was behind gas-electric car idea | Green Tech blog - CNET News.com it was Martin's idea for the Whitestar as a serial hybrid.

As a fan of an all EV Sedan (they are talking about both) I would love to get Martin's thinking on this.

Is it a stop gap until batteries get enough range or an inevitable tech to combat the fears of those who are scared of being stranded in an EV?

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The world loves to be deceived.

Cobos

Since this is "official" information now maybe asking Martin on his blog if he can say something about it? Though looking at the friendly attitude toward the Volt, from Tesla, this might be the reason for it?

Cobos

PS: I did get a chuckle out of the "use discarded Lira for money" comment from the Cnet writer. I remember as a 12 year old on vacation in Italy paying 1 200 lira for a big ice cream cone :)

Hunter

I guess I just don't follow the premise of this thread. Why is it such a hard job to build Whitestar without a generator? The pure BEV is a lot simpler...seems to me like it's a lot harder to build it with an ICE. Anyway, Tesla has said the BEV would likely come out before the REEV...

Boy I sure am itching to see this Whitestar info that's supposed to be coming "soon."

Kardax

Building an electric sedan is easy. But that's not the goal.

The goal is to build an affordable electric sedan. That changes everything. High-capacity batteries are expensive, so in order to use fewer of them, you have to use lightweight materials and efficient aerodynamics while still keeping it visually appealing and useful to mainstream customers. Balancing all those together is what makes building an electric sedan that you can profitably sell incredibly difficult. It's never been done.

Using a generator adds complexity, but the materials costs go way down because you can use a battery pack with a fraction of the capacity. Fuel tanks are relatively cheap at any size.

-Ryan