Mercedes which invented the ICE automobile has halted development of ICE recognizing that its over. Musk congratulates them as Amazon orders 100,000 electric vans. John Bolton is fired the day before 911 and shortly after the half of Saudi Arabia's oil refining capacity is supposedly taken off line but the world is supposedly puzzled about who is responsible and shortly before that the Trump admin tried to punish auto companies with anti-trust for pursuing clean air policies. And while the president appears to brag about taking bribes a CA judge says the president's refusal to release his tax returns cannot be sued to bar him from the ballot (under a temporary injunction) because his right of free association constitutional right would be violated (because apparent bribe taking would be obvious) leading to irreparable harm to him and other candidates apparently implying the public would object to the bribe taking- what about the public's rights and what about the laws against bribery? And not long before all this even under the Trump administration US coal is at the lowest levels since 1982 and Exxon is not on the in the top 10 stocks for the first time in 90 year and the Model 3 is the best selling car in Norway, Switzerland and the Netherlands and outselling the F150 in CA and is recognized as the safest car. And of course Tesla based on Green credibility just got a massive exemption in China- first of its kind. Also seems that taking half of the Saudi capacity off line just as Saudi Arabia was trying to sell off its oil assets will only increase the price of oil by about 10% a barrel. Now a fool law suit has been launched over Musk's compensation at Tesla which is zero unless he performs is supposedly going forward where Tesla board will supposedly stand trial. Its the biggest bunch of idiocy ever. The bringer of the suit needs to be investigated. Its said International shill services has been at work with it implying its another attempt to sabotage Tesla with the installation of people on the board who will be obvious saboteurs- likely making idiotic claims that profit is the reason that Tesla's core mission must be compromised. Real Tesla share holders in my opinion should get permission to sue the SEC and sue the fake shareholders and shorts. How is it that false advertising is illegal but what these short fools are doing isn't? But then remember Tesla succeeds without advertising. And what Musk does with money is amazing and for the benefit of others generally- he is a constructive billionaire even if that doesn't quite make up for the other's that are just rip off artists. As we know Tesla has been destroying BMW and BMW fired its CEO over this (even as it tries to blame Mercedes as a distraction) but it's hired someone as a replacement who is doubling down on the stupid policy that lead to BMW's worst results in a decade and will destroy BMW overall. VW's Porsche introduces its first Electric Porsche. Its time we recognized that fossil fuels are as a rule permanently stranded and face a profitless future and the derivatives insuring them are worth essentially 0. Fossil fuel derivatives need to be banned.
At least remove ALL fossil fuel subsidies, and spend that money .... I don't care, pay off national debt. Sent from my moto x4 using Tapatalk
Exactly right in my opinion. The scale of waste on fossil fuel rent seeking is gargantuan. Chomsky has said we wouldn't have a national debt if we had single payer. Well in the US we had something like single payer up until about 1970. What we have now are useless insurance pools that jack up rates on the front end and minimize needed payouts for the purpose of socializing endless fossil fuel losses with the unnecessary stock and financial purchases they do in the black box middle. That goes for health care, pensions, auto, and life insurance and mortgages. All this is used to help drive inflation and hedge deflation but all of it ultimately is still rent seeking. And even with the bailout wars and surely a lot of the pentagon budget going to the same BS it still fails. Look at what happened to the useless fossil fuels industry under Bush and all the moribund moves he made to try to keep it afloat. Its all stranded asset now because you can get green energy for 3 cents a kwh retail at any latitude now without intermittency issues because the storage is part of that price so all of the fossil fuel stuff is stranded assets. It has been stranded assets for ever but it can't be hidden anymore hence even the Trump tariffs are about competing with green energy economies and it can't be done for long. But in the US its been hollowing out all of our society. Its like being in the middle of lake superior and having these rent seekers charge people for water into poverty. The deal with fossil fuels as Rifken has explained is inherently low super low thermo dynamic efficiency which means super low sub threshold economic efficiency which translates into people doing busy work lives and with endless unnecessary tread milling hours that keep them from being able to see what is going on. We might as well be pushing our cars to work with our own human labor. It just designed to create scarcity and hollow things out as it hedges deflation (in a bad way.) Its the biggest scam in the history of mankind. What we need in this post scarcity period society are indexed replacement incomes from cradle to grave- there is nothing basic about that. Better to be paid to stay inside and not come out than these busy work lives. Better dead than subjected to busy work. Fossil fuels are the core of that scam. Its pretty funny now, the fossil fuel fraudsters can't push their product on people who don't need it like they thought (even as they tried at gun point as in the Straight of Hormuz so now they are cannibalizing their own supply and its not working taking stuff off line like the refineries in SA as it tries to sell its oil assets and even then it hardly produces a blip in the supply. They can't embargo and they are pissed. Its like a heroine pusher trying to push heroine on people who have become immune to its effects. We should have been off fossil fuels in the early 1950s and there will be a huge pay back now for 7 wasted decades and there are a limited number of people to whom that over due bill is addressed.
Well, you're right. It's weird as America should be capitalism and the rules of supply and demand should ultimately dominate, and I feel they do, that's why we're in that situation. The big players want to change that principle by pushing their agenda and make the government support them. Ultimately it won't work, but it's going to take a while. Just imagine there wouldn't have been a rich visionary starting to just do what he felt is right. That gave it a huge push. We all need to be more aware of our impact on this planet. However most people just care only about themselves and how they personally get to keep their lifestyle. Ultimately everybody should ask themselves, would I give xyz up for the greater good? And then do it, even in small steps, it's going to make a difference. Sent from my moto x4 using Tapatalk
https://insidemazda.mazdausa.com/the-mazda-way/technology/mazdas-skyactiv-x-breaks-cover/ Meanwhile Mazda leapfrogs ICE technology substantially forward and invests heavily in it...dramatically improving fuel efficiency and postponing the “death” of the technology... As for what every individual ought to give up in order to truly save the world from excess carbon emissions, if that’s the ultimate goal? Having children. It seems to me that about the most impactful thing an individual can do to improve the world for the future is choose to not procreate. Cars ain’t causing the pollution issues...the people inside them are. Stopping and or reversing population growth is the only true answer in my estimation. And if we don’t do it ourselves, natural selection will someday. And then the earth will move on just fine... But this is an EV forum. So I’m off topic. Apologies. Back to your regularly scheduled program...
Mazda has NOT leapfrogged anything. They have just re-branded and modernized the stratified charge engine. Honda called their technology CVCC (Compound Vortex Controlled Combustion). I once owned a 1976 Honda CVCC Civic. ICE vehicles and fossil fuel use is certainly in retreat, but far from dead.
Lol no the CVCC didn’t diesel on unleaded fuel...it used spark plugs to ignite every cycle like every other gasoline car in history always has. Mazda now can usually shut the spark plugs completely off and just let the engine diesel. It is true compression ignition...on gasoline. That’s what’s new this time. This Increases efficiency dramatically adding a solid 20% to 30% more Fuel economy and torque at the same time. Honda certainly didn’t figure that out in 1976. Mazda just figured it out now before anyone else did, and it is being introduced to the public for the first time in Europe as a Mazda3. Soon to be seen in the States, but not yet. With this tech every ICE across the board has a chance of increasing torque and fuel economy 20% to 30% without the unnecessary weight and complexity of extra batteries and propulsion motors. Big pickups and SUVs and econoboxes all...And no need for turbo to make good torque out of smaller engines. No need for government subsidies to make the price of the vehicles palatable to the general public, no need for new fuel infrastructure, etc. As this tech grows, and it will rapidly grow in my belief, it will delay the death of the ICE, which I strongly believe is a long long ways off...
Mazda: "The SKYACTIV-X engine uses a spark to ignite only a small, dense amount of the fuel-air mix in the cylinder. This raises the temperature and pressure so that the remaining fuel-air mix ignites under pressure (like a diesel), burning faster and more completely than in conventional engines." Science Direct: "The stratified charge engine is similar to the standard internal combustion engine except that the fuel-to-air mixture in the combustion chamber is much richer near the spark plug than elsewhere. This, unlike the uniform-charge spark ignition engine, permits lower peak temperatures, higher compression ratios, and more complete combustion." Mazda has just re-branded and modernized the stratified charge engine which has been around a long time. The SKYACTIV-X engine is NOT yet available in the US. Car & Driver says: "..., the Mazda 3 equipped with the Skyactiv-X 2.0-liter engine gets 50 mpg according to the optimistic NEDC European combined test cycle...., take these figures with a grain of salt—the EPA test cycles will no doubt generate lower figures,..." The engine also requires at least mid-grade gasoline, not regular. Car & Driver also says: "Mazda never shuts off its spark plugs." https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a27750433/mazda-skyactiv-x-engine-europe-mpg/
I'm always for improved efficiency regardless of the technology. But it isn't clear this is 'public domain' or even 'licensed' technology. Regardless, I'll keep an open mind. Better still, I have this 647 cc, motorcycle engine in my 2014 BMW i3-REx that could do with a higher efficiency engine. Bob Wilson
