Transportation

Aging Wheels:The CitiCar is an Electric Cheese Wedge From the 70’s

The CitiCar was the most produced electric car in America after World War II until the Telsa Model S. The car, with a top speed of 38 MPH with entirely electro-mechanical, and lacked any control electronics.
Complete with a brushed DC motor and three-speed contactor control system that made a large clunk between "gears", that worked by using a resistor and two batteries for low speed, two batteries and no resistor for mid-speed and all six for high-speed.

Rubber Tires – A dirty business | DW Documentary

The booming global tire market is worth billions - but this comes at a high price, both to humans and the environment. Over 50 million car tires are sold each year in Germany alone. But where does the natural rubber for them come from?

Chevrolet Bolt EV Traction Motor – Deep Dive – YouTube

Stupid automotive question: Why does the Chevy Bolt have a physical shift linkage for PRNDL, that controlled by an actuator, when all that's inside the "transmission" is a parking pawl and a sensor that indicates the position the transmission is located in to tell the computer which way to control the motor? It's not like the physical shift linkage moves any gears. Electric motors don't have gears, they have 100% torque at 1 MPH and reverse by reversing the direction of the electricity.

Government regulation? What GM had in the parts bucket? Unneeded complexity? Doesn't make much sense to me.

Chevrolet Bolt EV High Voltage Components – YouTube

The dissassembly of the engine of the Chevy Bolt EV is fascinating. It's very different then a conventional gasoline automobile under the hood.

I am actually surprised how truly different the power train is -- and in many ways simpler then a gasser or diesel -- no emissions equipment, no transmission or gear box. Nearly every component is electrical, there is no serpentine belt or alternator. Interestingly enough, the cabin heat uses anti-freeze like a conventional automobile.