It does not help that many new vehicles are built like shit and have complexity for the sake of complexity. Electronic door latches, pop-out door handles, having everything controlled via a clunky, outdated, atrocious GUI, etc etc. These problems are not unique to EV’s but a lot of EV’s are going to have them just because they are brand new vehicles.
Yeah I’m sad that the rise of EV’s coincides with just how extra cars have become in recent years. If you sold me a mid 90s Honda Civic hatchback with an electric drivetrain, no internet connectivity, no electric door handles or touch screens, I’d be happy with it.
I so want to EV-ify my Honda Element. I’ve never met a vehicle that had it’s same compact/utility/ease of use combination, and Honda ain’t even making them no more…
One thing that I always thought as crazy was the amount of electric and electronic shit these modern EVs have. Bitch, weren’t you supposed to save battery for driving? Why are you putting a light show when I’m supposed to be focused on the road?
Eh, something like that probably draws about half a kilowatt, and it would be hard to shed all of that functionality (I think the Mitsubishi i-Miev might, but also reverse cameras are a requirement in cars now so you can’t get rid of the screen)
For comparison, my car has about a 65kwh battery. I probably use maybe 20kilowatts when driving, but there are lots of variables there. If my half-kilowatt estimate is reasonably accurate, you can run it alone for about 130 hours.
Could you imagine taking an old school Square body and making lighter with the very basic modern amenities like power windows and MAYBE a basic touch screen radio. I know aerodynamics and safety are why they aren’t around but find a way to make it work and that stuff would sell to some of the more stubborn people. Like you said strip all the nonsense out and make it basic.
Dude you could fit a literal ton of batteries into a squarebody. In my 76, the engine bay has enough room to comfortably fit multiple full grown adults inside of it with the V8 engine in place. You could probably fit 3 small block V8s in there without doing anything but removing the inner fenders.
The pop-put door handles thing gets me. Like why do I need to push one end of the handle in, then pull it the rest of the way out on the opposite end? It’s so backwards and convoluted.
Just give me a damn handle I pull out to open the damn door. Why is it so hard?
I bet they add all that dumb shit so it breaks and you have to buy a new car after all the bells and whistles are busted and you cant open your doors or trunk, since the motor is so much more reliable and needs less maintenance.
It’s just more pronounced in EVs right now because there’s been a huge rush to build EVs and a lot of manufacturers are in their first or second year of offering them. Tesla fares relatively well because they’ve pumped out millions of cars for several years and they focus only on EVs. Meanwhile the EV shitboxes being rushed out by Ford and Chrysler are… shitboxes.
The brand graph is useless here because many of these brands make gas and EV cars. I want to know how the Nissan Leaf fares, for example. They’ve been making it for years. Has it reached the same reliability as other Nissan cars?
It does not help that many new vehicles are built like shit and have complexity for the sake of complexity. Electronic door latches, pop-out door handles, having everything controlled via a clunky, outdated, atrocious GUI, etc etc. These problems are not unique to EV’s but a lot of EV’s are going to have them just because they are brand new vehicles.
I bet if they made an EV without all that crap it would be crazy reliable.
Yeah I’m sad that the rise of EV’s coincides with just how extra cars have become in recent years. If you sold me a mid 90s Honda Civic hatchback with an electric drivetrain, no internet connectivity, no electric door handles or touch screens, I’d be happy with it.
One of my retirement dreams is to build electric remakes of classic cars, complete with authentic exhaust noises
Ford has that crate electric motor that can live in front of a manual transmission
What’s it called?
https://performanceparts.ford.com/part/M-9000-MACHE
oh man that would be sick! I hope you achieve your dreams.
If you make the exhaust noises a menu option I can turn off or on, I will buy one.
No, you will get a basic, simple switch. No menus. No touchscreens.
Make it a toggle switch under a cool red cover and I’m in
Yes. I change my request to this.
Make it a three position switch. On, off, and “make the noises with your mouth”
I want mine to sound like the cars from the Jetsons sometimes, and other times the sound of Snoop Dogg making car noises and giggling.
I so want to EV-ify my Honda Element. I’ve never met a vehicle that had it’s same compact/utility/ease of use combination, and Honda ain’t even making them no more…
I have a 1980’s 4x4 that needs an engine, and I am so very tempted to make it electric. It’s as bare bones as a vehicle gets.
That would be a fun project for sure. If you’ve got the funds, the time, and the space, I’d say go for it!
The bigger problem is, it’s small and light that I’m not sure it could hold the batteries.
They should be. They’re orders of magnitude less complex than ICE vehicles as far the driverrain is concerned.
One thing that I always thought as crazy was the amount of electric and electronic shit these modern EVs have. Bitch, weren’t you supposed to save battery for driving? Why are you putting a light show when I’m supposed to be focused on the road?
Eh, something like that probably draws about half a kilowatt, and it would be hard to shed all of that functionality (I think the Mitsubishi i-Miev might, but also reverse cameras are a requirement in cars now so you can’t get rid of the screen)
For comparison, my car has about a 65kwh battery. I probably use maybe 20kilowatts when driving, but there are lots of variables there. If my half-kilowatt estimate is reasonably accurate, you can run it alone for about 130 hours.
Not to mention much more affordable.
Yeah, it’s fucking dumb having all this shit added that I don’t want and I have to pay for it.
We need a new manufacturer for the common man.
Yes! A true car of the people, almost like a volkswagen!
…wait that’s a car company too? And they’re part of the problem?
Could you imagine taking an old school Square body and making lighter with the very basic modern amenities like power windows and MAYBE a basic touch screen radio. I know aerodynamics and safety are why they aren’t around but find a way to make it work and that stuff would sell to some of the more stubborn people. Like you said strip all the nonsense out and make it basic.
An EV with crank windows, a parking break lever for mad j turns, and a standard double din radio so I can upgrade it like it’s the 9ps again.
Sign me up
No. Same interior but with an electric motor
Dude you could fit a literal ton of batteries into a squarebody. In my 76, the engine bay has enough room to comfortably fit multiple full grown adults inside of it with the V8 engine in place. You could probably fit 3 small block V8s in there without doing anything but removing the inner fenders.
Imagine. No software, just a potentiometer regulating how much current goes into the engines.
That’d be one beefy potentiometer capable of handling hundreds of amps of current.
I know it wouldn’t be a potentiometer, as it is extraordinarily inefficient, but you get the idea
The pop-put door handles thing gets me. Like why do I need to push one end of the handle in, then pull it the rest of the way out on the opposite end? It’s so backwards and convoluted.
Just give me a damn handle I pull out to open the damn door. Why is it so hard?
Flush door handles improve aerodynamics by reducing drag.
That’s true, but also dumb at the same time.
The benefit of reduced drag applies regardless of mode of propulsion.
So really, it’s complexity for complexity sake.
not really, because gas engines are so inefficient outside of their ideal RPM range that a little extra drag is barely noticeable.
Hence why they have transmissions that ensure they’re in a favourable RPM range at all times.
I bet they add all that dumb shit so it breaks and you have to buy a new car after all the bells and whistles are busted and you cant open your doors or trunk, since the motor is so much more reliable and needs less maintenance.
Yeah. I like a nice big touchscreen for infotainment and navigation, but everything else should still be knobs, buttons, and sliders on the dashboard.
It’s just more pronounced in EVs right now because there’s been a huge rush to build EVs and a lot of manufacturers are in their first or second year of offering them. Tesla fares relatively well because they’ve pumped out millions of cars for several years and they focus only on EVs. Meanwhile the EV shitboxes being rushed out by Ford and Chrysler are… shitboxes.
The brand graph is useless here because many of these brands make gas and EV cars. I want to know how the Nissan Leaf fares, for example. They’ve been making it for years. Has it reached the same reliability as other Nissan cars?