sf78 wrote on 2021-04-17, 07:36:
I don't think the environment is the main thing with electrics. It's the immediate throttle response and very low maintenance costs compared to combustion engine. The technology is also very simple (not many moving parts) so it will most likely last longer if engineered properly. Optional extras also give you neat functions to control your car with a phone app that hasn't been available in normal cars.
Having all the torques in the world immediately is not something I would consider safe - there's going to have to be sensors and logic to control wheelspin, especially where I live in the winter. We're trading moving parts complexity for soft-switches, logic, and more processors. As we all know today, computers are infallible and silicon lasts forever! 😜 But seriously, wiring corrodes. If an ABS sensor goes on my ICE car, yeah OK not the greatest, but if some sensor is not getting a pulse to the wheel control module on an electric car, the car will likely just shut down, period. I'm not advocating driving a car in a deteriorated state, but in an emergency, the choice should be there. I had to drive my car off country roads in a snowstorm after I hit a 2x4 (or something) and it pinched and crushed my brake lines. I knew what happened, but there's NO WAY a tow would get out to where I was if the car shut down due to the problem. I had full control of the engine, and the front brakes ( 50/50 split front rear dual master cylinder on a RWD car, not the typical X circuit on FWD cars) and the knowledge of how the car performs in this state, and slowly and carefully, got out to a main road. After checking the brake fluid reservoir, the front half of the circuit was still full, so I decided to drive it home like this, where I replaced a $15 section of the brake line. I somehow doubt (and don't want to find out on the back of my own skin) that a sensor-studded EV would allow me to limp home, and if so, in a crippled state that might inhibit full control of the car, it itself making the software choice to limit the hardware for "safety". What am I gonna do on the side of the road? Bust out my Pii and hack it? The point here is that modern cars, more and more, relinquish control to presets and silicon - you are no longer an operator, but a passenger with suggestions, which don't have to be followed.
Furthermore, those "optional extras" that allow me to control my car with my phone is something pointless, and borders on safety concerns. If I can control it with my phone, tell me, assure me, it is 100% safe and that no one can ever control it with their phone?
No, the only control of my car I want is with my hands and feet, and then, as directly to the car as possible. Either that, or no control at all and the car drives me around, and this is mandated for all on a redundant network and everything is monitored, insurance is standardized, vehicle power is classified, and otherwise stratified in such a way as to ensure uniformity (and blandness - sounds.... very Marxist:P) . Remove all autonomy and replace it with a input-less mode of transport. This kills privacy, and puts our lives even more in the hands of gov't and corporations. With the way my gov't is handling the COVID situation, (and previous IT endeavours - google Phoenix Pay 🤣, not to mention SNC Lavalin) they have a long way to go before they get my trust. I'll be dead before they get it, and until then, I'll keep cars I can control, service, and maintain myself, be it ICE or electric (eventually, when I have to)
(proceeds to die in a car accident 😜 )
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