Why not a solar panel trickle charger?
I seem to recall one of the Japanese cars had a solar powered fan that circulated interior air out so the passenger compartment didn't get deathly hot and kill off the kid and dog while mom was busy getting soused and flirting with the local barflies. Wonder why that never caught on? Perfect never-fail promo campaign: For the kids. 8\
nb
If I owned one, I would be inclined to install a small propane gas generator, solar cells or whatever to keep the battery up when I parked the damn expensive toy somewhere for an extended period. O_o
TDD
SO you propose to keep a "go to the airport" car around? Seems that would increase your transportation budget significantly.
And they're junk.
A real system was std on Mazda 929s. I knew I'd remember which car if I thought about it:
"................The solar ventilation system uses solar cells that are embedded in the glass sunroof to power fans that remove hot air from the inside the car when it is parked. In hot summer weather I found it to be noticeably effective, plus it allows the air conditioner to cool more quickly the inside to a comfortable temperature. When parked in the sunlight on cooler days the solar system automatically diverts the power generated by the cells to the battery and "trickle" recharges it."
nb
Tesla Motors should get the plans from NASA for nuclear power cell to keep the battery charged. ^_^
TDD
So instead of electrocuting emergency workers they can nuke 'em?
Um, if it works after being put through the shock of a rocket launch and harsh environment of space travel, it might be suitable for a more mundane application. ^_^
TDD
I don't fly very often, but when I do, I get a ride to the airport. It's about 8 miles from my house. The Tesla might not work for your lifestyle, but it would for mine. I mean, except for the sticker price part.
Maybe. The good news is that it wouldn't raise the price of the car.
No, it certainly wouldn't work for my lifestyle, unless it were free (along with insurance and registration).
Most people are retarded.
Duhaaaa, how du U noe dat? O_o
TDD
Excellent point. What's really equally troubling is why they didn't build in some sort of voltage-regulated system that disconnects the "parasitic" load of the car when the battery approaches self-destruction. I would think the average driver would rather have the car go dormant and need resetting than go completely dead, costing the owner $40K in replacement costs. Design decisions (flaws?) like that *have* to make you wonder about what other unusual (perhaps catastrophic) design choices Tesla Motors made with their cars.
I suspect from the description of a 100' extension cord not providing sufficient charge to one of the failed cars that the Tesla requires more power to keep charged up than a reasonable amount of solar cells could deliver.
Perhaps a design that included an emergency battery (a much cheaper, smaller unit) that kicked in when the main battery dropped to dangerous levels. A problem like this could really put the kibosh on Tesla sales, a fact they seem to acknowledge by not thoroughly disclosing how expensive running out of charge can be. Five reports of total battery failure costing $40K is four reports too many.
-- Bobby G.
What's more likely to happen is that Teslas, Volts and other electric cars will cause long-term parking lots to offer more expensive spaces that provide outlets for keeping electric cars charged up.
As for nuclear fuel cells, I don't see it happening. One of the more serious issues in trying to protect the US from a "dirty bomb" is all the nuclear fuel cell and reactor powered weather and telemetry stations and lighthouses the Russkies built for remote places like Siberia. Many have been looted and some of the small, trailer-sized "weather" stations have been lost completely.
Some nuclear proliferation experts feel these abandoned Soviet nuclear devices pose a great threat. In addition to the looted and lost weather stations, the Russian nuke sub fleet is rotting away:
Let's hope the people in charge of this operation do a better job than the State Department did in designing a safe room in the Libyan Embassy. A "safe room" without an independent air supply can't stand up to a can of gasoline yet so many of them are designed that way. A freaking SCUBA outfit could have kept our ambassador alive. I suspect this latest screwup is going to turn out to be an outgrowth of the ongoing war between the State Department and the Pentagon about security funding. The last incident I recall was the Blackwater shooting in Iraq that brought about serious consequences and changes in US-Iraqi relations.
-- Bobby G.
The battery low voltage disconnect is available for regular cars, boats, RVs and such now. It seems like it would be fairly easy to adapt for the Tesla.
LOL...
I always wondered how to quote Sylvester Stallone in print.
nb
Classic Bobby G. suffering from H.I.S.I., pronounced "hissy". It stands for (H)umor (I)rony (S)arcasm (I)mpairment. People with that particular mental disease are said to have H.I.S.I. fits and often put on a big display of pseudo-intellectualism about the subject at hand when they fail to see the humor or bizarreness of statements made by someone who is attempting to pull their leg. It's also called The Mr. Data response in some circles. ^_^
TDD
The darn thing won't even roll with dead batteries and the door locks are probably electric too. My old 1967 Renault could be hand cranked with the jack handle if the battery was dead and no way to push start. Perhaps a hand crank inertia starter like a WWII fighter plane to provide enough power to get the evil thing unlocked. ^_^
TDD
"parasitic"
It really makes you wonder what they were thinking. One thing that comes to mind is that *they* didn't even know about the totally dead battery issue until it happened to them on prototype vehicles well into the production cycle. Prototypes are usually constantly in use and not likely to be parked in airport lots for two weeks. It could have escaped detection until it got into the wild.
It would be interesting to read all the confidential internal email about the issue and how it was discovered. Those communications may eventually surface if some pissed off owner decides to sue them and goes on fishing expedition with subpoenas in a civil suit. Telsa may be faced with settling or revealing engineering mistakes made in the design. A couple of dozen replacement batteries might be better for them in the long run than continuing stories of people having to pay $40K because of a dead battery. That concept doesn't seem to sit well with people. As the article said, you can insure your car for all sorts of stupid things you might do, but not letting the Tesla's batteries go flat. That turns buying one into a pretty risky proposition because who among us hasn't had a dead battery in their lifetime?
-- Bobby G.
They could play it up as a feature. The car that's impossible to steal without a flatbed and six strong men. It's clearly a problem they need to figure out how to solve. If I had a Tesla I would sure prefer it to shed its parasitic load way before its battery committed suicide. I'd rather have to go fetch a portable generator to recharge a nearly dead battery than have to somehow get the car to Tesla for a 40K battery exchange. Apparently their design engineers disagree.
What *should* worry them is how bitter (and talkative) bricked Tesla owners will be. That could have an impact on sales way beyond what it might cost to fix those bricked Teslas. While they are at it, they could get signed NDA's saying the owner would have to reimburse Tesla for the cost if they talked about the settlement. That's what a lot of other companies do when they get their t*ts caught in the wringer.
-- Bobby G.
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