On this day in 1903, The Ford Motor Company sold its first car, a two-cylinder Model A (shown here).
Tag: internal combustion engine
Electric Vehicle Conversions
There was a time at which it appeared that swapping out an internal combustion engine (ICE)-based drivetrain with a battery, controller and electric motor might be a viable way for the world of transportation to go.
Makin’ Renewables Happen in Costa Rica
Getting rid of fossil fuels in the generation of Costa Rica’s electricity won’t be too tough. Loads aren’t huge, but renewable resources are. But what about transportation, where demand is significant (currently 1.4 million cars and trucks), and it’s growing …
It Will Soon Be Time To Say So Long–And Thank You–To the Internal Combustion Engine
Here’s an article in The Economist that pays the homage that is due to the internal combustion engine, which, since it came on the scene 124 years ago, has systematically changed virtually every aspect of human life on this planet. …
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Trends in Electric Vehicles: Nothing Radical
When it finally became obvious about ten years ago that electric transportation was becoming a real “thing,” one that would ultimately dominate and then replace the internal combustion engine, most of us believed that the form factor of these vehicles …
Internal Combustion Engines: Theory and Practice
My oft-mentioned colleague, the college professor in Arizona writes: Craig, I teach a new course in internal combustion engine theory and practice next semester. So give me a heads up on any of your new insights. Wow, how interesting.
Tagged with: efficiency of the ICE is low, internal combustion engine, migration away from fossil fuels in the direction of renewables and efficiency, replace coal in our electricity grids, replace oil in transportation, replace our planet’s entire fleet of ~ 1 billion cars and trucks with an increase in electrical load of <14%
Electric Transportation and the Environment
As part of an ongoing conversation on the environmental validity of electric vehicles, frequent commenter Glenn Doty writes: … Every minute of usage from an EV bought or sold this year (or the next two or three decades for that matter), …
Electric Vehicles Are Not “Environmental Abominations”
Here’s another in a series of fairly sophisticated discussions on the LCA (lifecycle analysis) of electric vehicles versus internal combustion engines, showing the exact fallacies in the reports that conclude that EVs are worse for the environment. At the end …
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A Couple of Thoughts on Transportation and Climate Change
I urge readers to check out today’s issue of “The Writer’s Almanac,” in particular the article on the anniversary of the first street car in New York City (in 1832). To me, it calls upon two important ideas, the first, …
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Fuel Cell Vehicles Are a Non-Starter
My colleague Jon Lesage just published this article on fuel cell vehicles, expressing his doubt on the course this subject will ultimately take. I don’t share his uncertainty; I remain convinced that there is no future whatsoever for the so-called …
