Automotive Engineering - December 2022 - 31

READER
FEEDBACK
EVs dominate the engineering chatter
Regulating energy efficiency
Once EVs surpass 50% of sales, my sense is that regulators worldwide
will start regulating their energy efficiency by imposing
standards for Wh/mile or Wh/km. The momentum to keep the
regulation machine running will be too great. What do you think?
Stan Serpento
Great points, Stan. I think you hit the nail on the head. Also,
once EVs surpass 50% of sales, the regulators will have " tailwinds "
to continue to force hydrocarbon
fuels and ICE vehicles out of circulation.
Gas taxes and unattainable tailpipe emissions
likely will be the levers. And in the
more distant future, I expect to see use
taxes levied on collector vehicles powered
by gas and diesel ICEs. - Lindsay Brooke
A bridge too far?
Interesting editorial in your September
issue. It speaks to the millions of us who
take long summer trips in our trucks,
SUVs and minivans. Loaded with family
members, camping gear, and often towing
a camper trailer, boats, ATVs and dirt
bikes. Towing and hauling remain unresolved
issues with battery-electric vehicles.
I'm a powertrain systems engineer
at a major OEM and EV towing is a subject
we discuss regularly. Simply saying that more public
charging is the answer, or some future battery chemistry will
be the answer....is not the answer. If electrification is really the
future of mobility, EVs cannot be a compromise. If they are,
people will not give up their ICE-powered vehicles. Did you
see Car and Driver's towing test of the Ford F-150 Lightning?
That sort of range is unacceptable.
Dave Wilcox
Trailering and electric pickups are still a bridge too far, unless
you're a fan of sitting down for a full-course meal then taking
a long nap while your vehicle is outside sucking up juice on
the rest-stop's charger. But that's what engineers do: solve
problems like this!
Susan Levin
Dave and Susan, this is why I purchased a 2022 Ford Maverick
Hybrid last year (and waited 6 months for it to arrive). The
Maverick regularly gets 40 mpg in daily driving, which is
more than double the fuel efficiency of my family's 1.6-L
B-class car that it replaced. The truck delivers 450-500 miles
of range - EVs still in the pipeline won't likely achieve that.
Last October, I used the Maverick to tow an enclosed, singleaxle
box trailer with two dirt bikes (~1500 lb. total) from
Michigan to Alabama with a pal of mine. The rig averaged 24
mpg and delivered 300 miles of range per tank of 87 RON.
Filling up the 10.7-gal. tank takes four minutes and I'm back
on the road. That's the optimum range of the best current
EVs in ideal thermal conditions, let alone towing a trailer at
70 mph. The first OEM to offer an electric
compact pickup with similar performance
will get my attention. I'm a believer that
EVs are the future but they don't yet
align with my personal vehicle requirements.
Currently, a hybrid pickup fills the
bill. - Lindsay Brooke
Fixing global warming
" Having ample range from a single tank
of fuel is requisite for my primary-use
vehicles " (quote from Automotive
Engineering editorial, Sept. 2022). Really
- you burn a huge amount of fossil fuels
and are proud of it? Why are you driving
that far every day?
You remind me of the Machine Design
editor who didn't believe in global warming
and thought we had endless resources.
Engineering organizations say global warming is real and
we should be aiming for a sustainable future.
Our family owns two Bolts and I design and build small
electrified vehicles. What's your problem, are you not understanding
that we have to fix global warming and sustainability?
The Institution of Mechanical Engineers is working on
the problem that their founders helped create, but American
professional institutions seem more in love with perpetuating
materialism.
Chris Pollard
Mr. Pollard and I traded emails and he's clearly sincere about
being part of the emissions solution. For the record, I'm for a
sustainable future and I don't burn a huge amount of fossil
fuel as part of my regular duty cycle. But yes, vehicle range
per tank or per charge is part of my personal vehicle criteria.
As always, your views may differ and we welcome that.
- Lindsay Brooke
READERS: Let us know what you think about Automotive
Engineering magazine. Email the Editor at Lindsay.Brooke@
sae.org. We appreciate your comments and reserve the
right to edit for brevity and clarity.
AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERING
December 2022 31
https://www.nxtbook.com/smg/sae/22AE09/index.php
Automotive Engineering - December 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Automotive Engineering - December 2022
