After the Tesla Pickup...

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This post has been edited to remove political commentary.

Oil built this country....If they were serious about reducing CO₂ emissions, they would be touting Nuclear.....If it's not better, it's agenda based propaganda....

If anybody on either side of the aisles actually gave a royal crap about "the planet" we would be producing energy for the grid with Thorium! Period! There is no need for further discussion!

I guess that could be true - an internal combustion engine is about 20% efficient while a gas turbine is 60%+ efficient. I have noticed however, that these studies Never show their work or underlying data. When I graduated from college that would be considered a guess, a hope, a fable, but not a legitimate study no matter whose name was on it.

I am not sure most of us would care to pay for proof of what we already know is true. How do we know its true? But if you do.....

https://web.a.ebscohost.com/abstract?direct=true&profile=ehost&scope=site&authtype=crawler&jrnl=18357156&AN=139515016&h=t5YVudZ7K%2B3%2F4q1G8rXuE2hRcTon1G2ulszQnMT0Ttr%2B4JQoSIly16yf6cHLzwhfwlbulXcNBkMuf%2BwRuk4wOw%3D%3D&crl=c&resultNs=AdminWebAuth&resultLocal=ErrCrlNotAuth&crlhashurl=login.aspx%3Fdirect%3Dtrue%26profile%3Dehost%26scope%3Dsite%26authtype%3Dcrawler%26jrnl%3D18357156%26AN%3D139515016

Math and economics.

If generating electricity using gasoline was efficient and cost effective its what we'd be using instead of coal or oil or NG.

Just because the car is smaller doesn't make it any more efficient. in most cases it makes it less efficient because you can't recoup any savings created by economies of scale with individual cars.

Just because something is more efficient doesn't make it a better choice automatically, there are other things to consider...Natural gas is cheap right now, that can only remain true for a finite amount of time....I might add your quoted 60% efficiency includes utilization of waste heat, not an apples to apples comparison of just generation....In any case the bottom line is cost of generation, what form of generation is the cheapest...If efficiency was the determining factor we would have nothing but nuclear generation...

..."Modern gasoline engines have a maximum thermal efficiency of about 20% to 35% when used to power a car."...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engine_efficiency

..."When the gas turbine is used solely for shaft power, its thermal efficiency is about 30%."

So... about the same....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas_turbine#Industrial_gas_turbines_for_power_generation

Oh, I agree with you SE, Nuke would be the best answer right now.

One of the things that makes fossil fuels less efficient has nothing to do with their energy conversion but how much is costs to get it to the point where it can be used as fuel. A cost almost always left out of the equation as if gasoline magically appears in the pump ready to use.

The other thing with fossil is the limited nature of the resource and the fact that it is subject to global whims. Something your society depends on should never be manipulatable by anyone but you. Kinda like high speed internet. It has gone past the time to be a source of income for the few as it is required by the many and thus become a public utility and not a luxury.

Change is hard, especially when it threatens your multibillion dollar income.

Showing my work and starting with 1 BTU at the generating station:

efficiency Item

.60 Gas turbine efficiency

.85 Generator efficiency

.90 transmission line efficiency

.90 Battery charger efficiency

.90 Battery efficiency

.90 electric motor efficiency

(.60x.85x.90x.90x.90x.90)=.33

33% efficiency is between a 20% gas engine and a 40% diesel. CO2 emissions? Somewhat lower than an IC engine if the fuel at the power plant is natural gas. About the same as an IC if the fuel is coal or oil.

When an electric car can do what this car does, cheaper, then it will be mainstream...

MSRP: From $18,700

MPG: Up to 30 city / 40 highway

Horsepower: 132 to 140 hp

Fuel tank capacity: 13.2 gal

Dimensions: 183″ L x 70″ W x 57″ H

So under $20k price

450 miles range

1 hp for every 20 lbs

seats 4