Tesla crate motor

50C8DAN

Well I should have guessed this was coming!  https://www.motortrend.com/news/tesla-crate-motor-ev-conversion-small-block-v-8/

BTW it is a legitimate "motor" not an "engine"

superwasp

Interesting. It may be coming, but I don't think it's going to be as popular as ricey exhaust on a Subaru.
At 25-30k for just the motor, I just don't see them 'flying' off the shelf. 
Although, I would love to see them end up in a bunch of Subarus. ?

Old Fogey UK

So we'll all be saved ! Praise be to Saint Greta the Doom Goblin !
What will Musk invent next ! An electric hamburger so that we won't end up eating grubs after all ?

OK, the rant is over now 

dholck

Oh, come on you Luddites.  I often thought, over the years, that conversion to electric would be neat.  Yes - as in all other electric vehicle applications - the technology is not there yet.  Batteries are too heavy and too expensive.  People are working feverishly on battery technology and hopefully will figure it out someday.  
If the Greenies really get a foothold, it might be; 'go electric or park it'.  
All I know is that if I show up in a 34 Terraplane coupe with side-mount and skirts, everybody will think it is cooler than any Tesla you can bring.
[I am sorry in advance if the terms "Luddites" or "Greenies" are somehow culturally insensitive, exert male privilege, or represent any other cancelable offense.] 

ken1962

All I know is if you can develop a motor package that can slot in like replacing an engine with say a chev 350 electrical motor power plant... You'll make millions... 

pseftoncomcastnet

"A separate conversion kit offered by EV West includes what sounds like the same 400-kW Tesla Model S motor along with a different (more stock-appearing) gearing setup; it runs $11,900."

This is starting to look very attractive!

ken1962

Well we went for a weeks holiday to queensland for a week or sun and beach. When we grabbed the hire car it was an electric hybrid Toyota After spending a week driving around it changed my mind about electric cars. It was fun cruising around with a silent vehicle. We did just over 600km using $22 in fuel. It's rather strange seeing the rev counter sitting on 0 then 1000 revs for a few minutes then back to 0...all while cruising at 110km...l'll still keep the hudson on gas but I'm seriously thinking of changing my current mode thats for sure... Cheers ken 

50C8DAN

Let's be a little cautious on that $11.900 number!  

Note:  the battery and control unit for the setup appears to be sold separately, and all of the components will be available individually.

If this is running true to form you are looking at another $8 to $12K for the battery pack and ? for the control unit.  At about $25K it does not look so compelling as it may seem.

I am all for hybrids but all electrics are only for in town in my opinion.  There are way too many issues the least of which is our creaky electric grid that needs updating from coast to coast.  I am not in the mood for rolling blackouts while folks charge their cars.

superwasp

50C8DAN said:

I am all for hybrids but all electrics are only for in town in my opinion.  There are way too many issues the least of which is our creaky electric grid that needs updating from coast to coast.  I am not in the mood for rolling blackouts while folks charge their cars.

Totally agree. I live in the suburbs of a major US city. The big city just announced they won't permit new house builds with natural gas lines beginning in 2030. They have to be all electric. I just don't see the grid being ready for all electric cars AND homes in 9 years. My dad had a good point the other day.... A lot of this sounds like the promise of cheap N clean nuclear power of the 70s......

Old Fogey UK

I'm not going to get into the MMGW debate but these electric "solutions" seem awfully wrong when they aren't really the answer in environmental terms.

I saw Michael Moore's film and can't get out of my head the pictures of those African kids working in the Chinese-owned cobalt mines.

On a more practical point, I doubt very much whether our socket wrenches are going to be much use when we come to try fixing these electric motors - even if they can be repaired.

Glowplug

dipping my toe into this discussion too.... Gosh when do we humans realize the ":GOOD THINGS" are all based on the dollars someone else can pocket.  Old Fogey... being a part of the rechargeable battery biz for more than a decade... the biggest lie ever told is it is the cleanest way to power with out harm to the environment ... NOTHING is free.  EVER... pulled back my toe... and now retiring the rant once more.   

pseftoncomcastnet

Plainly electric propulsion is where the major manufacturers are placing their bets and where the world is going. I wonder who's going to be first to retrofit a Hudson to electric power. Really eager to see how it's accomplished!

superwasp

Oooh. We have a thread for that. Someone is trying to mate a Tesla motor to a Hudson. It's been a while since gave us an update though.

Old Fogey UK

Don't count on electric sweeping the board as soon as its proponents say it will happen.

Covid is impoverishing the world so, in reality, there just isn't going to be the cash around for all the electrification that will be needed.

50C8DAN

I had this discussion with a friend of mine about EVs and the battery issues.  My comment is that just like economics there is not such thing as a free lunch (thank you Milton Friedman).  Only 14% of CO2 emissions come from ICE, Something like 48% is from power plants!

 https://www.prageru.com/video/whats-wrong-with-wind-and-solar/

Old Fogey UK

50C8DAN said:

I had this discussion with a friend of mine about EVs and the battery issues.  My comment is that just like economics there is not such thing as a free lunch (thank you Milton Friedman).  Only 14% of CO2 emissions come from ICE, Something like 48% is from power plants!

 https://www.prageru.com/video/whats-wrong-with-wind-and-solar/

To put things into perspective, that's 14% of the 4% of CO2 emissions attributable to human activity and CO2 is a "trace gas" in the atmosphere.
Maybe we needn't be in such a rush to implement a solution of questionable viability with vast economic consequences ?

superwasp

Good point. I think 'green' has become a buzz word to be leveraged by those standing to make a profit from 'green' products. I seldom find arguments in favor of certain 'green' products accompanied by data comparing the 'green' product to the alternatives. When data is presented, it's usually incomplete. That's been my experience. 

50C8DAN

Although a bit of a departure, it is still in the same vein.  I have been a staunch recycler from way back.  My parents used to have us recycle all of the glass we collected to take to a local glass factory and this was in the 70s.  I followed this all along during my adult life and now this is what I find out!

https://moneyweek.com/economy/global-economy/602081/why-its-not-worth-recycling-plastic?amp

superwasp

Oh, that's interesting. I like the term 'greenwashing'. This reminds me of an interaction a had at work about 10 years ago. We saved our spared out batteries from test equipment (9volts) and gave them to the battery vendor as part of their recycle program. A program they invited us to participate in. I asked the rep one day how the heck they recycled those little 9 volt batteries. He looked at me, laughed, and said, "Easy, I just dump them in the trash." "No one can recycle those things."

oldcarnut

I once asked a friend who worked for a major company how they properly disposed of fluorescent light bulbs. His answer - 2 guys out back with a hammer and a 55 gallon drum!!! 

pseftoncomcastnet

Afraid that some incorrect/misleading statistics are being thrown about here. In 2018, 28% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions were generated by the transportation sector, 27% by electrical generation (https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/sources-greenhouse-gas-emissions).