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No mention of the fact that by the time autonomous cars are a reality then internal combustion engines will likely be illegal as well? MPG figures are irrelevan

by zelos 9y ago

No mention of the fact that by the time autonomous cars are a reality then internal combustion engines will likely be illegal as well? MPG figures are irrelevant. Is it realistic to have a large, economically viable, electric RV with reasonable performance and a decent range? That's going to need a huge, expensive battery, surely?

matt4077 9y ago
I would think that larger vehicles should be easier, because their volumes grows at a cubic rate with size, while energy requirements only grow at ^2 (because the latter depends mostly on the wind resistance, which is a function of the front-facing area). But I remember reading that Elon Musk decided against electric trucks because the numbers just wouldn't work out. But maybe that had to do with the much higher weight of a loaded truck, whereas a camper is more similar to a really large car.
gambiting 9y ago
I think there's literally zero chance that combustion engines will be made straight up illegal, just like we haven't made steam engines illegal. They will fade into obscurity and be only used on special occasions, mostly because of raising fuel prices but also competitiveness from electric vehicles. I see no problem in someone firing up a combustion engine to power a vintage car if there is close to zero of them on the road. Even now you can see examples of it happening with some really really old tanks, which are only started up during shows and only if there is a tonne of funding for them, since they use a few gallons of fuel just to start. Once the fuel hits $20+/gallon there won't be any need to ban ICEs, they will push themselves out.
- dsfyu404ed 9y ago
  Why would fuel hit $20/gallon? If demand is low it's not worth taxing (either for the money or just to punish people for using it). It will just be harder to get. The countries that could soak up so much fuel as to raise global prices like that (China, India, etc) are also the ones where just making ICEs illegal is more politically possible and have the biggest local environmental incentives to do so.
  - gambiting 9y ago
    It might not hit $20/gallon wholesale, but it certainly can at the pump. Why would a gas station owner continue selling fuel at $3/gallon if he gets ten customers a day? A lot of gas stations will close, and those that won't will have to charge more to stay open.
    - dsfyu404ed 9y ago
      They'll either go out of business or switch to selling something else. It will be a niche like propane.

by zelos 9y ago

matt4077 9y ago

I would think that larger vehicles should be easier, because their volumes grows at a cubic rate with size, while energy requirements only grow at ^2 (because the latter depends mostly on the wind resistance, which is a function of the front-facing area). But I remember reading that Elon Musk decided against electric trucks because the numbers just wouldn't work out. But maybe that had to do with the much higher weight of a loaded truck, whereas a camper is more similar to a really large car.

gambiting 9y ago

I think there's literally zero chance that combustion engines will be made straight up illegal, just like we haven't made steam engines illegal. They will fade into obscurity and be only used on special occasions, mostly because of raising fuel prices but also competitiveness from electric vehicles. I see no problem in someone firing up a combustion engine to power a vintage car if there is close to zero of them on the road. Even now you can see examples of it happening with some really really old tanks, which are only started up during shows and only if there is a tonne of funding for them, since they use a few gallons of fuel just to start. Once the fuel hits $20+/gallon there won't be any need to ban ICEs, they will push themselves out.

dsfyu404ed 9y ago
Why would fuel hit $20/gallon? If demand is low it's not worth taxing (either for the money or just to punish people for using it). It will just be harder to get. The countries that could soak up so much fuel as to raise global prices like that (China, India, etc) are also the ones where just making ICEs illegal is more politically possible and have the biggest local environmental incentives to do so.
- gambiting 9y ago
  It might not hit $20/gallon wholesale, but it certainly can at the pump. Why would a gas station owner continue selling fuel at $3/gallon if he gets ten customers a day? A lot of gas stations will close, and those that won't will have to charge more to stay open.
  - dsfyu404ed 9y ago
    They'll either go out of business or switch to selling something else. It will be a niche like propane.