Wrightspeed trucks

http://finance.yahoo.com/video/electrifying-heavy-duty-trucks-161700180.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The scaling properties are amazing, the sort of cars that get replaced by electric cars burn 200-600 gallons a year, the garbage trucks that we replace the powertrains in they burn 14,000 gallons a year, it's enormous

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Interesting! I never heard about this concept before. It makes a lot of sense. I watched a Youtube video of a drive in a coverted Izuzu (sp.), and it seems like its acceleration is pretty fast as well.

Also saw an article about one of those converted trucks going from 12 mpg to 44 mpg. That's great

Very nice.. I saw one of these at a trade show in Long Beach a few months back.

Still not as cool as Ian's original Atom conversion..

This falls under the heading of how getting a bunch of people into BEVs probably doesn't net the greatest benefit in terms of fossil fuel/carbon reduction. Electrifying a garbage truck is the equivalent of 40 electric cars, and for all the money that has been thrown at EV subsidies we would have gotten a much greater benefit to society and the environment by dividing those $7500 credits to 25 X $300 to offset mandating idle stop on all new cars.

LTLFTcomposite said:

This falls under the heading of how getting a bunch of people into BEVs probably doesn't net the greatest benefit in terms of fossil fuel/carbon reduction. Electrifying a garbage truck is the equivalent of 40 electric cars, and for all the money that has been thrown at EV subsidies we would have gotten a much greater benefit to society and the environment by dividing those $7500 credits to 25 X $300 to offset mandating idle stop on all new cars.

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The idea of the $7500 tax credit isn't just to get a bunch of people into EVs. Yes, it does that, but the goal is to help jump-start a whole new EV industry and market. With the current level of investment in EVs, the technology is improving, production volumes are increasing, and prices are dropping. The real benefits will come when consumers choose to buy EVs en masse, at which time the EV tax credits should be long gone.

LTLFTcomposite said:

This falls under the heading of how getting a bunch of people into BEVs probably doesn't net the greatest benefit in terms of fossil fuel/carbon reduction. Electrifying a garbage truck is the equivalent of 40 electric cars, and for all the money that has been thrown at EV subsidies we would have gotten a much greater benefit to society and the environment by dividing those $7500 credits to 25 X $300 to offset mandating idle stop on all new cars.

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That $7500 tax break is a tiny drop in the bucket that is used to subsidize fossil fuels right now, and those subsidies go straight to corporations rather than into consumer hands. The EV tax credit automatically phases out long before it exceeds a tiny fraction of what fossil fuels receive annually in free government money.

^ Yeah? And how's that working out?

Looks to me like garbage trucks and postal trucks were the low hanging fruit. A lot easier to sell to a couple decision makers where you could easily make the business case on cost reduction instead of dealing with all the consumer nonsense of headlight shapes, the fifth seat nobody sits in anyway, or what have you.

Whether fossil fuels get subsidized isn't the point, the reality is you could have gotten more benefit spending that money differently.

LTLFTcomposite said:

^ Yeah? And how's that working out?

Looks to me like garbage trucks and postal trucks were the low hanging fruit. A lot easier to sell to a couple decision makers where you could easily make the business case on cost reduction instead of dealing with all the consumer nonsense of headlight shapes, the fifth seat nobody sits in anyway, or what have you.

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Keep in mind, LT, that the USPS had a fleet of BEV delivery vans years ago - they fell to fossil-fueled politicians that are still trying to kill/privatize the USPS.

That we have any non-fossil-alt-fuel subsidies in the US still amazes me. I think your facts are spot-on - there's much more bang for the buck (at least the near term buck) working with trucks, vans, and buses. But this country tends to use facts only after the other options fail.

USPS is another perfect candidate (along with garbage trucks) that would benefit from electrification.

I remember the competition between GM and Ford for the contract to convert the postal trucks.
The Ford conversions were complete crap and the project could not have been more poorly handled if they tried.
I remember them putting in the charging stations at a post office here in Irvine... and then ripping it all out 2 years later.
very sad.

LTLFTcomposite said:

http://finance.yahoo.com/video/electrifying-heavy-duty-trucks-161700180.html

The scaling properties are amazing, the sort of cars that get replaced by electric cars burn 200-600 gallons a year, the garbage trucks that we replace the powertrains in they burn 14,000 gallons a year, it's enormous

Click to expand...

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This is exactly why I say the electric econobox is way over rated.
The larger and worse mileage the more electric makes sense.

SFBayLEAFs had their November (2014) meeting at Wrightspeed's San Jose office and warehouse, where we were treated to a brief presentation and tour. Mr. Wright was not present, but it's still good to see him and the company starting to get some press and new funding. The technology and trucks themselves are fascinating... when the turbines are activated, they sound like mini-jets rolling down the street! I also really liked the fact that the "range extender" which fuels the turbines can be either diesel (petro- or bio) or natural gas. In any case, hopefully the move to the larger space in Alameda (~40 miles north) will allow them to ramp up production and really see their sales, er, "take off".

There's no write-up on the BayLEAFs site about the visit, but here's a pretty good Q&A with him from last summer. It includes his thoughts about Tesla (anecdotes from the early days, lessons learned, observations on their success and growth...):

Q&A with Ian Wright: The CEO of Wrightspeed on Tesla, gas turbines and electric trucks (Charge EVs)