Phx-Suns.Net

I was torn between putting this here or in miscellaneous fun stuff.

Just for fun, Toyota is developing an EV with a manual transmission
https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/16/business ... index.html
…In Toyota’s case, according to a patent application filed in the United States in late May, the car would have no actual multi-speed transmission. Instead, a shifter would be connected to sensors and a central computer programmed to mimic the feel of a car with a manual transmission. Since not all cars with manual transmissions are the same – they have different engines and different transmissions with different numbers of gears – the central computer would be programmed to imitate a specific sort of manual transmission car. To complete the experience, the driver will have a clutch pedal in addition to the usual brake and accelerator.

Drivers will even be able to “downshift,” a process also known as engine braking. That’s when the driver selects a lower gear and releases the clutch pedal without pressing the gas pedal at all. Then, the friction of the unpowered engine slows the car without the driver having to use the brakes.

Toyota’s virtual manual transmission includes programming that will allow drivers to realistically experience using it badly, up to a point. If the driver doesn’t “give it enough gas” or selects the wrong gear the car will shake and buck, just like a gas-powered manual transmission car would. The car’s computer will limit how far the shaking will go to avoid taxing the battery.

I thought this was pretty silly.

Lithium is used to make car batteries. The US produces about 1% of the worlds lithium and has to import the rest from other countries like Australia, Chili and China. The US is in the process of switching to electric vehicles and sorely needs lithium. Right on cue they have found the worlds largest lithium reservoir in a dormant volcano in Nevada.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech ... ra-US.html
As of 2022, the average battery-grade lithium carbonate price was $37,000 per metric ton, meaning the volcano is potentially sitting on $1.48 trillion worth of the precious metal.

That's definitely good news, but we'll figure out how to sell it to foreign investors for pennies on the dollar.

It’s good and bad news. It would make the US much less dependent on foreign sources like China. It’s located on sacred Indian grounds and that might be a problem.

Nodack wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 12, 2023 12:24 pm

It’s good and bad news. It would make the US much less dependent on foreign sources like China. It’s located on sacred Indian grounds and that might be a problem.

You said it was inside a dormant volcano, but it's sacred Indian grounds too? Oh boy

It's not in a reservation, so the government if they feel the need to, will dismiss those claims. Of course, there will be a number of NGOs that will fight that, and eventually one person will figure out how to consolidate it and profit off it, while lining the pockets of politicians to exploit it for themselves.

Lithium is like gold right now and we have so little in the US. Production of electric vehicles has ramped up considerably. Of course this will go through. I guess they didn’t just discover this yesterday. This has been a thing for awhile I guess. It’s a Nevada mining company but it’s largest shareholder is a Chinese company that mines for lithium.

The company mining the site
https://www.lithiumamericas.com/usa/thacker-pass/

Nevada government site on it.
https://ndep.nv.gov/land/thacker-pass-project

Wkepedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thacker_P ... %20Lithium.
The Thacker Pass Lithium Mine is a lithium clay mining development project in Humboldt County, Nevada, which is the largest known lithium deposit in the US and one of the largest in the world.[5][6][7] There has been significant exploration of Thacker Pass since 2007. The Bureau of Land Management issued a Record of Decision approving development of the mine in January 2021. Construction began in March 2023 after an emergency appeal was denied by the court.[8] The project site would cover 18,000 acres (7,300 ha), with less than 6,000 acres (2,400 ha) of that being mined,[9][10][11][12] on a site 21 miles (34 km) west-northwest of Orovada, Nevada within the McDermitt Caldera.[4][5][13] The mine is a project of Lithium Nevada, LLC - a wholly owned subsidiary of Lithium Americas Corp, whose largest shareholder is the world's largest lithium mining company, Chinese Ganfeng Lithium.[14][11] At full capacity it would produce 66,000 tons annually,[2][4][6] equivalent to 25% of the current (2021) demand for lithium globally, which is expected to triple over the next five years. Development of the mine is driven by increasing demand for lithium used in electric vehicle batteries and grid storage of intermittently generated electricity from sources such as solar power or wind power.[7][3] In late January 2023, car giant General Motors announced it would invest $650M in the mine project, giving GM exclusive access to the first phase of production.

Electric Planes, Once a Fantasy, Start to Take to the Skies
https://dnyuz.com/2023/11/03/electric-p ... the-skies/

I have talked about this before. EV’s charged by just driving down the street.

New technology installed beneath Detroit street can charge electric vehicles as they drive
https://apnews.com/article/wireless-roa ... a12b190d9a
Crews have installed what’s billed as the nation’s first wireless-charging public roadway for electric vehicles beneath a street just west of downtown Detroit.

Copper inductive charging coils allow vehicles equipped with receivers to charge up their batteries while driving, idling or parking above the coils.

The quarter-mile segment of 14th Street will be used to test and perfect the technology ahead of making it available to the public within a few years, according to the Michigan Department of Transportation.

Wouldn't it be cool if we could drive cross country without a single stop to charge?

I can see an EV lane on big city freeways in the future as more and more roads are added. If you lived and worked in that city you might not ever need to charge. Maybe if you only drove on EV roads, maybe a cheaper vehicle without any battery that just uses the road to power the vehicle. An EV with no battery. Got to be cheaper to build. A lot less weight.

I just drove to Vegas for Thanksgiving and was grateful to get out and stretch my legs every couple of hours. Maybe in the future you won’t need to stop ever. Maybe the tech that they are working on that self drives gets perfected and your seat becomes a bed and you can just sleep while your vehicle takes you safely to your destination.

Superbone wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 30, 2023 12:52 pm

Wouldn't it be cool if we could drive cross country without a single stop to charge?

I know Toyota is a few years away (likely 3 tops) from a solid state battery produced capable of between 700 and 800 miles of range with a 75% fast charge in 10 minutes.

AmareIsGod wrote: ↑

Fri Dec 01, 2023 8:05 pm

Superbone wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 30, 2023 12:52 pm

Wouldn't it be cool if we could drive cross country without a single stop to charge?

I know Toyota is a few years away (likely 3 tops) from a solid state battery produced capable of between 700 and 800 miles of range with a 75% fast charge in 10 minutes.

I’ll take a Tacoma like that…. Those trucks are solid and the values hold really well with gas, but with electric? Wow.

It’s happening.

New road plans promise to ‘charge electric vehicles while driving’ – people are calling it a ‘tremendous evolution’
"This will be one of the most sustainable, one of the most conservation-minded roads in the world"
https://www.the-sun.com/motors/9886069/ ... evolution/

The Central Florida Expressway Authority (CFX) confirmed the approval of an expressway development between the counties that would link Highway 27 and State Road 429

"We will have the roadway which will be equipped with these coils that can charge electric vehicles as they travel over them."

“So, think about with your smartphone you put on a charging pad. It's very similar technology to that, only on a grander scale.”

The cutting-edge tech was developed in partnership with companies ASPIRE and ENRX.


Although the catch is that the charging will only initially work for a fleet of test vehicles — the goal is to charge any EV that drives on State Road 516.

“It's going to be a tremendous evolution when you have vehicles and trucks that are electrified, that can travel over roads and never have to plug in,” Hutchings stressed while speaking to WESH.

“It's exciting times, definitely.”

https://www.cfxway.com/agency-informati ... lot-study/

I didn’t know where to put this so instead of starting a new thread I put it here. There s a new trend of car makers sharing driving data with insurance companies without drivers knowing about it and their rates going through the roof. Hard braking, fast acceleration, taking turns fast and any speeding will reflect on your insurance rates with some with perfect records being denied insurance because of it. One guy took his Corvette to a race track to test it out. Bad move. No more insurance for you.

Automakers Are Sharing Consumers’ Driving Behavior With Insurance Companies
https://dnyuz.com/2024/03/11/automakers ... insurance-
companies/

Your car may be ratting you out to your insurance company
Connected data services may share more than you realize
https://www.autoblog.com/2024/03/11/you ... e-company/

Car insurance companies have found a sneaky way to raise your rates
https://www.thestreet.com/automotive/ca ... your-rates

Your car might be secretly recording every drive you take — and sending data to your insurance company
https://www.businessinsider.com/cars-re ... ort-2024-3

When oversharing goes bad and become thought crimes? Seems Orwellian.

In2ition wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 12, 2024 9:52 am

When oversharing goes bad and become thought crimes? Seems Orwellian.

That's what I said when my friends sent me a link. Big Brother is watching us.

Elon Musk brags about his new roadster being able to go from 0-60 in under a second. If you bought one and went with Tesla insurance they would raise your rates the second you tried to go 0-60 in under a second. I don’t know if you travel the freeways in Phoenix but, I would estimate the average MPH being driven in good traffic to be well above the speed limit by a ways.

Nodack wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 13, 2024 12:51 pm

Elon Musk brags about his new roadster being able to go from 0-60 in under a second. If you bought one and went with Tesla insurance they would raise your rates the second you tried to go 0-60 in under a second. I don’t know if you travel the freeways in Phoenix but, I would estimate the average MPH being driven in good traffic to be well above the speed limit by a ways.

With the way people drive out here these days, I'd be risking my life anytime I tried 0 to 60 in under a second. I'll stick to 0 to 60 in 3.2 seconds.

AmareIsGod wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 13, 2024 4:05 pm

Nodack wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 13, 2024 12:51 pm

Elon Musk brags about his new roadster being able to go from 0-60 in under a second. If you bought one and went with Tesla insurance they would raise your rates the second you tried to go 0-60 in under a second. I don’t know if you travel the freeways in Phoenix but, I would estimate the average MPH being driven in good traffic to be well above the speed limit by a ways.

With the way people drive out here these days, I'd be risking my life anytime I tried 0 to 60 in under a second. I'll stick to 0 to 60 in 3.2 seconds.

It's rough but I'll have to live with my 4 seconds flat in my gas powered Camaro for now.

I use a sun dial to measure my 0 to 60.