Mark Tomlinson
01-17-2008, 11:26 PM
I just posted a question to Ian on the FlyTheRoad forum. I don't know if he'll catch it. My concern is that we're hearing a lot about how the vehicle will look, but the drive train and the frame need some serious engineering too.
Tesla Motors got caught with an under-engineered gearbox. Those in the know might argue it's because they went with two speeds instead of Martin Eberhard's original proposal of one speed. But the fact is they shopped it out to two different companies and neither could take the stresses of a full-torque-from-zero electric motor. That could easily have been true of a one-speed gearbox as well. Now they've shopped it out to two more suppliers and are going to ship the car with a crippled transmission and a promise to replace it.
Additionally, motor controllers, regeneration profiles, anti-lock braking profiles, traction control, and a host of other concerns require a great deal of engineering.
Plus, the frame of the car must be light and durable. It must perform well in a crash test (simulated or otherwise).
There is a lot of work ahead, and I hope there are people working on these things even while we are gawking at foam mock-ups. I trust that much of it is shopped out to the business partners.
But now that we are winding down on our arguments over whether D should have C's nose or what have you, it's time to hear how the real meat of the vehicle is progressing.
Tesla Motors got caught with an under-engineered gearbox. Those in the know might argue it's because they went with two speeds instead of Martin Eberhard's original proposal of one speed. But the fact is they shopped it out to two different companies and neither could take the stresses of a full-torque-from-zero electric motor. That could easily have been true of a one-speed gearbox as well. Now they've shopped it out to two more suppliers and are going to ship the car with a crippled transmission and a promise to replace it.
Additionally, motor controllers, regeneration profiles, anti-lock braking profiles, traction control, and a host of other concerns require a great deal of engineering.
Plus, the frame of the car must be light and durable. It must perform well in a crash test (simulated or otherwise).
There is a lot of work ahead, and I hope there are people working on these things even while we are gawking at foam mock-ups. I trust that much of it is shopped out to the business partners.
But now that we are winding down on our arguments over whether D should have C's nose or what have you, it's time to hear how the real meat of the vehicle is progressing.