Good one.
More on EV's, the government, and weight:
More on EV's, the government, and weight:
Quote:
Despite hearing corporate and government actors praise the merits of electrification for years, a sobering reality appears to be taking hold. Despite boasting exquisite torque delivery and the ability to benefit from at-home charging, the public is beginning to doubt their status as economical and environmentally sound transportation. EV prices haven't fallen as promised, battery mining turned out to be rather contentious, and the vehicles themselves continue getting heavier resulting in some record-setting curb weights that are likely serving to undermine roadway health and automotive safety.
While the weight issue may be more pronounced among EVs, it's hardly limited to them. Just about every modern vehicle outweighs its ancestors by a staggering amount and a National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) study has claimed that an extra 1,000 pounds increases the chance of crash fatalities between vehicles by 47 percent.
Quote:
Whereas combustion vehicles have porked up due to an overall increase in sizing and standard features, electric vehicles currently weigh a lot primarily due to battery implementation. EV batteries are exceptionally heavy and many models have already embraced a lot of other lightweight components in an effort to offset that mandatory heft. Sadly, there's only so much that can be done without sacrificing other aspects of the vehicle's performance.
From Automotive News:Quote:
"It's a vicious cycle," said Sam Abuelsamid, e-mobility analyst at Guidehouse Insights. "If you have a 9,000-pound vehicle versus a 6,000-pound vehicle, you need bigger brake rotors and calipers. You've also got to have heavier wheels and tires as the vehicle goes up in weight."Quote:
Besides the heavy batteries, EVs have gained weight because they are over-engineered for safety, according to experts.Quote:
"No one wants to have a fire, and no one wants a vehicle that isn't crashworthy," Detroit teardown and cost guru Sandy Munro told Automotive News. "There is over-engineering, and it's being done to ensure that if something does go wrong that lives won't be in jeopardy."
"If you look at the [EV] skateboard chassis and squint, it looks a lot like a body-on-frame with a top hat," Munro continued. "There's not much we can really do to reduce weight when you move to a skateboard, which has to have quite a bit of structural integrity because it is carrying the load."
Modest weight saving could be accomplished by removing some of the sound-deadening materials, shrinking the battery, and yanking out some of the sensing equipment required for advanced driving aids. But then you'd be left with low-range electric with none of the trendy tech and some of the worst NVH issues imaginable. People wouldn't go for it on combustion vehicles and assuredly wouldn't on an allegedly premium EV.
