Florida family drives into electric car problem: a replacement battery costs more than vehicle itself

My chariot is similar to this beauty. Hope it lasts me 40 years.
 

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GM is now producing batteries that consist of from six to 24 battery modules — each one of which contains about a dozen lithium batteries that look like oversized phone batteries, which are maybe 20 inches in length.

The advantage to this approach is that the entire battery pack doesn't need to be replaced if only one battery goes bad; only the individual dead battery has to be replaced. All GM electric vehicles will use the same batteries in different configurations, so repair shops can stock just the one type of battery and service a wide range of vehicles.

Here's a video describing it better than I just did...
 
I saw somewhere that in Scandinavia they are trialling the idea of having charging stations where you can drive your car in and the discharged battery is dropped out and replaced with a fully charged one in a matter of minutes. I can't remember much about the article but I think it was a single manufacturer equipping their dealers with the gear to do this.

One worry that I have with electric vehicles is that if you get stuck in heavy snow, you are going to get cold very quickly.
 

I had to replace the battery(s) in a Prius at 100,000 miles. A rebuilt cost about $1500. Came time to replace the car and I did the numbers. With gas prices as they were then and counting battery cost and the premium paid up front for the hybrid system, I didn't see there was that much to be saved, so went with a compact that in the end I like better than the Prius. That said, I expect our next car will be electric -- and at least Level 4 self driving if I should live so long.
 
SeniorBen said:
GM is now producing batteries that consist of from six to 24 battery modules — each one of which contains about a dozen lithium batteries that look like oversized phone batteries, which are maybe 20 inches in length.

The advantage to this approach is that the entire battery pack doesn't need to be replaced if only one battery goes bad; only the individual dead battery has to be replaced. All GM electric vehicles will use the same batteries in different configurations, so repair shops can stock just the one type of battery and service a wide range of vehicles.

Here's a video describing it better than I just did...
Click to expand...
I like a strategy of sub-unit removable modular multi batteries cells approach versus many individual batteries cells that can only be replaced as a single expensive replaceable battery system unit. As EV battery designs evolve, manufacturers are of course learning what does and does not work. Sub-unit batteries could be voltage/current monitored providing a better over understanding of weak and strong cells as they age while accumulating sub-unit cell lifetime data allowing better preventative maintenance.

The whole battery system replacement strategy has been looked at for years. A lot of things can go wrong, some of which won't be known till such systems are implemented. With batteries given their individual low cell voltages, a key issue is very low resistance conductor metal contacts that are not affected by contamination or vibration, especially at interconnects, thus a robust physical mechanical design of conductor connections is important.
 
dobielvr said:
Where do you put it? :unsure:
Click to expand...
The hybrid battery pack on my car is under the rear seat. Previous hybrid batteries were so large, more than half the trunk space was lost. Now there is no reduction in trunk space. But, hybrid batteries are charged every time the driver coasts or brakes, so the batteries don't have to be very large.
 
I have skimmed news of much smaller and safer nuclear energy technology being developed. Perhaps we can rubic cube reactors soon in the new flying cars.
 
Love my current car - 2017 Ford Edge Sport SUV - but although I bought it as my "last car", I have been known to cast covetous looks at the Ford Mach-E SUV.....maybe in a couple of years from now.....hmmmmm (as my spouse winces)
 

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