Interceptor

EV's are not going away. Just avoid the ones from England made by Lucas.

bajaman

Lol...the 'Prince of Darkness'...
I know Lucas well, having been a British sports car nut for years...

larslindroth

The problem is NOT the technology at the moment, but that it doesn't make sense for most potential users due to purchase price. I remember 20 years ago when Leonardo DiCaprio and his dad came into Toyota of Hollywood and bought several of the first Toyota Prius sold in the U.S. They were small ugly cars with lots of limitations and I was thinking: only rich people and celebrities will be crazy enough to buy these things, and for quite a while that was the case. When Larry Smith, of Scarab fame, 15 years ago invited me to check out the Torqeedo electric outboard for sailboats and dingies, those days it was the same thing, everything made sense except the price. The Norwegians are a very well-to-do people due to their government's offshore oil income the last 40 years, pretty much unlimited hydroelectric power, and a seafaring cosmopolitan trade heritage. This is the only reason they have a society that has the means to already have in use large, fast, fully electric ferries and other commercial boats. For the average Thor Eriksson, the Goldfish X9 with an 800 hp electrical motor is not doable, but the 150 hp electrical outboard is and will be on their ribs to play with during weekend boating excursions already this coming summer. Only a few wealthy Swedes and Danes will buy them as a status novelty to show off to friends at next summer's vacation-home parties. However, the technology is already here, and in a couple of years it will be almost as user-friendly and logistically practical as fossil fuel driven boats. My guts are telling me that the biggest hurdle for any electrical vehicle/vessel to be the new norm will continue to be battery cost and re-charging station networks. Most Western nations won't be able to raise the capital to go electrical for quite some time. Our societies are past our prime and have so many other costly problems that need to be addressed first. 50 years ago pretty much any American working class family could afford to get a smaller family boat and head for the lake. That will sadly not be the case in the future and it starts to look as grim for many Europeans too. Going to the beach wearing the life vests will be as close to boating even most Vikings will come.

phragle

iTrader: (3)

I think the E Cig Vaporized...

Wildman_grafix

About 10-12 years ago there was a electric Diesel hybred cruising catamaran out. The top was covered in solar cells, had a small wind driven generator as well. The engines used the bell-housing as a motor/generator so when on pure fuel it charged the batteries.

It could also run pure electric or a combo with the electric helping the motors.

I think they said in combo mode at 8-10 knots it got mileage in the teens. Was a Australian company, can’t remember the name.

SabrToothSqrl

It's here!


Not replacing my Formula 292 any time soon, but that looks so cool.

1Zoom

The motor technology is here, batteries have been the hold up. Although batteries have become better, liquid cooling and size/weight and amp/hours have been the curse. Right now there are a couple of tests being conducted on batteries half the size and weight with two to three times the capacity. This will be a game changer, as Tank said don’t be surprised, they may be closer than you think.