Mercedes says its electric concept has 620 miles of range and seats made with mushrooms

Robert59

Robert59

Well-known Member
Location
Now I live in Tennesee. Did live in Michigan.
Mercedes has unveiled a new all-electric concept car, the EQXX, that the company claims can go 620 miles on a single charge. The futuristic luxury car is also made with a host of innovative recycled and sustainable materials including mushroom fibers, ground up cacti and trash such as food scraps.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/03/business/mercedes-eqxx-concept/index.html
 

I'm sitting here watching The Weather Channel. I-95 coming to Washington D.C. has been shut down now for over 24 hrs. 95 miles. With cars & semi's stuck. Some of the people are calling T.W.C. & telling how bad it is with cars almost running out of fuel to keep warm. I wonder how they go to the bathroom?

NOW, put any electric car in there. When you run out of battery, how do you keep warm & how do you get to the next charging station? Have to hire a wrecker to pull you there at high $$$

We are NOT ready for total electric vehicles. If you had one in Ky. where the power has been out now for over 2 weeks, how would you charge one?

I believe in the Hybrid, like the Toyota Prius. I had one & I could drive all through town on battery. Then when it got down so far the gas engine would take over & start charging the battery. Mine would get 58 to 62 miles a gallon in town & 55 miles out on main highways. It had an 11-gallon gas tank.

Now I got a 2018 Dodge Durango, it gets 24 mpg in the summertime. Now in winter, it's down to 16 mpg. Thinking of trading again for a Prius.

My wife & I could go to a store in winter with a full-charged battery, I would park & go in the store & she kept warm with just the power out of the battery heating the car for 1/2 hr.
 
Tom 86 said:
I'm sitting here watching The Weather Channel. I-95 coming to Washington D.C. has been shut down now for over 24 hrs. 95 miles. With cars & semi's stuck. Some of the people are calling T.W.C. & telling how bad it is with cars almost running out of fuel to keep warm. I wonder how they go to the bathroom?

NOW, put any electric car in there. When you run out of battery, how do you keep warm & how do you get to the next charging station? Have to hire a wrecker to pull you there at high $$$

We are NOT ready for total electric vehicles. If you had one in Ky. where the power has been out now for over 2 weeks, how would you charge one?

I believe in the Hybrid, like the Toyota Prius. I had one & I could drive all through town on battery. Then when it got down so far the gas engine would take over & start charging the battery. Mine would get 58 to 62 miles a gallon in town & 55 miles out on main highways. It had an 11-gallon gas tank.

Now I got a 2018 Dodge Durango, it gets 24 mpg in the summertime. Now in winter, it's down to 16 mpg. Thinking of trading again for a Prius.

My wife & I could go to a store in winter with a full-charged battery, I would park & go in the store & she kept warm with just the power out of the battery heating the car for 1/2 hr.
Click to expand...

Never thought about an all electric car stuck long term in traffic, but that's a huge concern. Another thing that hasn't been considered is the amount of grid infrastructure upgrading that'll be needed if everyone has a car charging overnight.
 
Tom 86 said:
I'm sitting here watching The Weather Channel. I-95 coming to Washington D.C. has been shut down now for over 24 hrs. 95 miles. With cars & semi's stuck. Some of the people are calling T.W.C. & telling how bad it is with cars almost running out of fuel to keep warm. I wonder how they go to the bathroom?

NOW, put any electric car in there. When you run out of battery, how do you keep warm & how do you get to the next charging station? Have to hire a wrecker to pull you there at high $$$

We are NOT ready for total electric vehicles. If you had one in Ky. where the power has been out now for over 2 weeks, how would you charge one?

I believe in the Hybrid, like the Toyota Prius. I had one & I could drive all through town on battery. Then when it got down so far the gas engine would take over & start charging the battery. Mine would get 58 to 62 miles a gallon in town & 55 miles out on main highways. It had an 11-gallon gas tank.

Now I got a 2018 Dodge Durango, it gets 24 mpg in the summertime. Now in winter, it's down to 16 mpg. Thinking of trading again for a Prius.

My wife & I could go to a store in winter with a full-charged battery, I would park & go in the store & she kept warm with just the power out of the battery heating the car for 1/2 hr.
Click to expand...
If a gas powered car runs out of gas while stuck in traffic, won't it need towed? And, how many people who don't understand the dangers of carbon monoxide die in an electric powered car while trying to keep warm?
As far as the areas "without power for weeks"... how are they pumping gas? With a generator? Can't a generator be used to charge electric vehicles the same as powering a gas pump? Won't the same small solar cell that powers traffic signals, campers, etc. power a battery charger for an electric vehicle. While people are waiting in line for gasoline, can't I be charging my EV with a solar powered charger?

There are still issues during natural disasters for charging EV's. But, there are also issues with gasoline powered vehicles during those times. As more and more EV's are produced and on the roads, challenges to charging those vehicles will be addressed.
 
EV's are going to become the primary type of vehicles in another decade or two. However, there needs to be a Lot of issues resolved before they can fully replace gas/diesel vehicles. For them to be practical, for most, they must have a range of well over 200 miles, be rechargeable within minutes, instead of hours, and charging stations need to be as common as current gas stations, etc. Presently, they are only really usable for those living in an urban area, and having a overnight charging station at their home. Plus, our electrical grids need to be substantially upgraded before that extra load can be sustainable.

For now, probably the Most practical vehicle, during this transition, is a Hybrid.

Personally, I think a more practical solution to fossil fuel vehicles would be Hydrogen power....but that, too, has many issues to resolve before it would be useful.
 
Patch said:
If a gas powered car runs out of gas while stuck in traffic, won't it need towed? And, how many people who don't understand the dangers of carbon monoxide die in an electric powered car while trying to keep warm?
As far as the areas "without power for weeks"... how are they pumping gas? With a generator? Can't a generator be used to charge electric vehicles the same as powering a gas pump? Won't the same small solar cell that powers traffic signals, campers, etc. power a battery charger for an electric vehicle. While people are waiting in line for gasoline, can't I be charging my EV with a solar powered charger?

There are still issues during natural disasters for charging EV's. But, there are also issues with gasoline powered vehicles during those times. As more and more EV's are produced and on the roads, challenges to charging those vehicles will be addressed.
Click to expand...
True. But to charge an E.V. you need something over 90 volts DC As that's what the batteries are in them. a solar unit would not put out enough power. When we had our ice storm here & power was out for over 2 weeks people took gas generators to gas stations so they could pump gas for gas vehicles.

A gas generator puts out 120 or 220 volts AC So that would not charge an E.V. You need D.C. current. They are working on lots of new things & maybe in 10 years an E.V. will be a good thing. The price of one now is out of my range, unless you want the Chevrolet EV or cracker box only good for 60 miles.

I saw a good cartoon on F.B. a few months back, it showed an E.V. pulling a small trailer with a gasoline backup generator on it to charge the E.V. if they couldn't find a place to charge it. :giggle:
 
Don M. said:
EV's are going to become the primary type of vehicles in another decade or two. However, there needs to be a Lot of issues resolved before they can fully replace gas/diesel vehicles. For them to be practical, for most, they must have a range of well over 200 miles, be rechargeable within minutes, instead of hours, and charging stations need to be as common as current gas stations, etc. Presently, they are only really usable for those living in an urban area, and having a overnight charging station at their home. Plus, our electrical grids need to be substantially upgraded before that extra load can be sustainable.

For now, probably the Most practical vehicle, during this transition, is a Hybrid.

Personally, I think a more practical solution to fossil fuel vehicles would be Hydrogen power....but that, too, has many issues to resolve before it would be useful.
Click to expand...
Don;
So true what you said. I just saw a TV program on things of the future. They showed a Wankel engine that works great on Hydrogen, Better than gas. They are working on this also as Hydrogen is easier to get out of the air or water. Also don't need our Electrical grid updated which will take over 50 years they said.

Con's are harder to store, have to have a very thick tank on a vehicle as the liquid Hydrogen would explode in a wreck. When transferring from a Hydrogen station to a vehicle needs a person trained in how to do that, because when transferring hydrogen it's very cold & can freeze your body parts very fast.
 
Tom 86 said:
True. But to charge an E.V. you need something over 90 volts DC As that's what the batteries are in them. a solar unit would not put out enough power. When we had our ice storm here & power was out for over 2 weeks people took gas generators to gas stations so they could pump gas for gas vehicles.

A gas generator puts out 120 or 220 volts AC So that would not charge an E.V. You need D.C. current. They are working on lots of new things & maybe in 10 years an E.V. will be a good thing. The price of one now is out of my range, unless you want the Chevrolet EV or cracker box only good for 60 miles.

I saw a good cartoon on F.B. a few months back, it showed an E.V. pulling a small trailer with a gasoline backup generator on it to charge the E.V. if they couldn't find a place to charge it. :giggle:
Click to expand...
Check your facts! EV vehicles can be charged by simply plugging in to your home electric outlet. They require 115 volt AC current. (Not DC!!!) There are a number of solar powered generators on the market designed for things like operating your camper/RV off the grid. Many are 3000 watt rating which is way more than enough to charge your EV. Yes, they can be pricey. ~$2,000. With one, though, you can not only charge your EV but run a home furnace blower or electric space heaters. If I were to purchase an EV, I would also pick up a solar generator. If we lost power in our home, I could keep pipes from freezing, cook meals, and keep my EV charge while people's gas powered vehicles were running out of gas while waiting in line for a generator powered gas pump.
https://news.energysage.com/solar-panels-and-electric-cars-can-i-use-solar-to-charge-my-vehicle/
 
Well, I love the combustion engines but the innovation in this is amazing!
I applaud the creativity and the design!
Whatever minds made this into reality are of innovative genius!
It's beautiful!
 
Tom 86 said:
I'm sitting here watching The Weather Channel. I-95 coming to Washington D.C. has been shut down now for over 24 hrs. 95 miles. With cars & semi's stuck. Some of the people are calling T.W.C. & telling how bad it is with cars almost running out of fuel to keep warm. I wonder how they go to the bathroom?

NOW, put any electric car in there. When you run out of battery, how do you keep warm & how do you get to the next charging station? Have to hire a wrecker to pull you there at high $$$

We are NOT ready for total electric vehicles. If you had one in Ky. where the power has been out now for over 2 weeks, how would you charge one?

I believe in the Hybrid, like the Toyota Prius. I had one & I could drive all through town on battery. Then when it got down so far the gas engine would take over & start charging the battery. Mine would get 58 to 62 miles a gallon in town & 55 miles out on main highways. It had an 11-gallon gas tank.

Now I got a 2018 Dodge Durango, it gets 24 mpg in the summertime. Now in winter, it's down to 16 mpg. Thinking of trading again for a Prius.

My wife & I could go to a store in winter with a full-charged battery, I would park & go in the store & she kept warm with just the power out of the battery heating the car for 1/2 hr.
Click to expand...
Oh please.

There was interstate travel before there were a lot of gas stations. The guys go on the side of the road, remember son face away from the wind 😂, or in their cars and use beer cans 😂😂😂. The girls/woman, as in the old times, open both doors, sit on the edge of the door rim, and there you go.

However, if grandma is in the car, she opens her purse, and gives everyone an Attend-same as if baby is in the car, have diaper, will use. Cause, you got to go when you got to go.
 
Patch said:
If a gas powered car runs out of gas while stuck in traffic, won't it need towed?
Click to expand...

No. Gas cans.
Patch said:
Won't the same small solar cell that powers traffic signals, campers, etc. power a battery charger for an electric vehicle. While people are waiting in line for gasoline, can't I be charging my EV with a solar powered charger?
Click to expand...
It would take weeks to charge a car using solar panels that small.
Patch said:
There are still issues during natural disasters for charging EV's. But, there are also issues with gasoline powered vehicles during those times. As more and more EV's are produced and on the roads, challenges to charging those vehicles will be addressed.
Click to expand...

They will be, but it will take time and a lot!!! of petroleum products will go into the building of the infrastructure ...unless there are solar/wind powered plants producing solar/wind components, solar powered shipping to bring rare earth metals needed for batteries from child labor pits in Africa (we desperately need better battery tech), solar/wind powered heavy machinery to erect solar/wind stations and upgrade transformers in the existing grid to handle the extra load of home charging for those who cannot afford the really big solar array currently needed to charge a car off grid or don't have dependable weather.

I love solar and have pretty much gone to it as back-up for power failure with two 1,000 watt solar generators, solar lights, a seriously great sun oven ...but realize from maintaining all these things that going green for transportation is more of a challenge than most people realize.
 
I see these climate change weather related disasters happening more and more in the future. Our country needs to look ahead and prepare, having gone through the big artic freeze here in Texas last February certainly makes one realize just how unprepared we are. We need leaders that are serious about Climate Change and all the consequences it brings. Yes, it is challenging, but it needs to be put in high gear, sometimes I feel we are doomed because of lack of progress.
 
Even if you're not a climate changer, we aren't making anymore dinosaurs; so sooner or later, there won't be much gas PERIOD. It's better to start improving electric cars, while we have some developmental time.
While some still argue about climate change, I believe most of the world has moved on. due to scientific evidence for, and the lack of credible scientific evidence against climate change.
And it's no longer "in the future". It is happening now. We are experiencing warmer temperature across the globe. Some scientists have made predictions, but we really don't know where the tipping points are, nor what their repercussions will be.
In the history of man, we don't do well with climate variations.
 

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