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Merian
Samba Member
Joined: January 04, 2014
Posts: 5212
Location: Orygun
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 Posted: Sat Oct 19, 2019 5:25 pm Post subject: Why worry about engine conversions, better transmissions, etc.? |
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when you will soon be able to...
https://jalopnik.com/finally-an-electric-crate-motor-you-can-drop-into-your-1839168140
Props to people who have done the hard work on engine conversions, trans. improvements, and grafting an entire Vanagon top of a Bolt or Tesla, but it looks like things are about to get a LOT easier.
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jimf909
Samba Member
Joined: April 03, 2014
Posts: 8168
Location: WA/ID
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| Posted: Sat Oct 19, 2019 5:56 pm Post subject: Re: Why worry about engine conversions, better transmissions, etc. |
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I’m ready. This would be the best Vanagon mod ever and keep it viable for many more years. I’m m. Im not counting on this particular vendor (it’s only currently worth the electrons their press release was sent with) but hopefully Van Cafe or GW or Bostig ( )will have a kit for the Vanagon ready soon.
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- Jim
| Butcher wrote: |
| This is the main fault with DIY'ers, they get together on these forums and pat themselves on their backs spreading bad information. |
Guilty as charged.
Current: 1990 Westy Camper - Bostig RG4, 2wd, manual trans w/Peloquin, NAHT high-top, 280 ah LFP battery, 160 watts solar, Flash Silver, seam rust, bondo, etc., etc.
Past: 1985 Westy Camper - 1.9 wbx, 2wd, manual trans, Merian Brown, (sold after 17 years to Northwesty who converted it to a Syncro). |
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Sodo
Samba Member
Joined: July 06, 2007
Posts: 10639
Location: Western WA
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| Posted: Sat Oct 19, 2019 7:14 pm Post subject: Re: Why worry about engine conversions, better transmissions, etc. |
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EVs have battery packs that are flat and wide. Using batteries from wrecked EVs is problematic. Battery packs will have to be configurable to the "removed" gas tank area, which is usually a safe zone. But probably not big enough for all the batteries needed. Protection of the batteries is an important part of electric vehicles. And the biigger the engine, Or range the bigger the batteries.
If that's truly gonna be available in 2020, the "investment sectors" will get involved.
I see it affecting sector 5) energy because it's efficient, reducing demand for petrol. And some can gather free energy with Solar, further reducing demand for petroleum. More powerful versions will attract the motorheads, a (previously) reliable voter-group. Yeah it's disruptive for the energy sector, they'll need to slap tariffs on it quickly to make it too expensive for widespread acceptance.
And there's sector 7) industrial too. Not great for the auto mfg industry if old cars can be made efficient for less cost than a new car (then people keep driving the old car). Industrial will have to outlaw the old cars somehow. Or get help from the financial sector 1) by disallowing insurance.
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'90 Westy EJ25, NEW oil rings (!) 2Peloquins, 3knobs, SyncroShop pressure-oiled pinion-bearing & GT mainshaft, filtered, cooled gearbox.
'87 Tintop w 47k 53k, '12 SmallCar EJ25, cooled filtered original gearbox
....KTMs, GasGas, SPOT mtb |
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jimf909
Samba Member
Joined: April 03, 2014
Posts: 8168
Location: WA/ID
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| Posted: Sun Oct 20, 2019 1:00 pm Post subject: Re: Why worry about engine conversions, better transmissions, etc. |
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Geeze, Sodo, you've crushed my hopes and dreams. 
If PeaceVans, Bostig, GW, RMW, configured a EV conversion for the Vanagon I'd jump on it. A bit more range and power will be nice. That said, I'm getting to a point where 900 or even 500 mile days are less important. I'd be happy to have my EV dictate a slowdown on a trip (until I'm not ).
Also, an EV conversion is the exact thing that would keep me out of the new or recently new car market (I never bought a new car but I buy two year old cars). Why buy a 15 - 18 mpg Sprinter if I can electrify my Vanagon. That might even inspire me to deal with the seam rust.
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- Jim
| Butcher wrote: |
| This is the main fault with DIY'ers, they get together on these forums and pat themselves on their backs spreading bad information. |
Guilty as charged.
Current: 1990 Westy Camper - Bostig RG4, 2wd, manual trans w/Peloquin, NAHT high-top, 280 ah LFP battery, 160 watts solar, Flash Silver, seam rust, bondo, etc., etc.
Past: 1985 Westy Camper - 1.9 wbx, 2wd, manual trans, Merian Brown, (sold after 17 years to Northwesty who converted it to a Syncro). |
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djkeev
Samba Moderator
Joined: September 30, 2007
Posts: 32988
Location: Reading Pennsylvania
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Buss Marius
Samba Member
Joined: February 29, 2012
Posts: 98
Location: Oslo, Norway
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| Posted: Sun Oct 20, 2019 3:00 pm Post subject: Re: Why worry about engine conversions, better transmissions, etc. |
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| djkeev wrote: |
Electric drive motors are the easy part.
Batteries and charging ....... that's the headache.
I cannot imagine doing a long trip and being limited to 150-200 miles per day.
Dave |
Yep and it is not charging, but fast charging that is the probleme. Monitoring and cooling of batteries during fast charging, is the probleme. Another problem is the non aerodynamic shape of the Vanagon. An aerodynamic shape is extreemely much more important for an EV than a fossil fuel car. To give an example. They instaled a skibox on a Golf, both a TDI and a Electric. The TDI consumed 3 to 4% more fuel. The Electric redused its range With 20% So, if they put the 100kwh batteries from a Tesla S that goes 350miles without charging, into a Vanagon it will probably only do les than 130miles in a Vanagon. And then you have to slowcharge for 30 hours before you can drive another 130miles. And if you have the roof covered With solar panels it wil take a week or two, to charge the batteries.
15 years ago my Brother had a 20% position as manager of the Norwegian Electric car assosiation, so i have followed the developement of Electric cars closely, and my parents bought their firs EV, a Mitsubishi Miev, soon 9 years ago, i boroved it a lott, so when they uppgraded to a Nissan Leaf 30kwh 3,5 years ago i bought the Miev, and in june, my wife bought their Leaf when they bought their Tesla Model 3 Longrange dual drive. At the moment you can buy the VW Crafeter Electric, but the range as a camper would be around 100miles, the Fiat Ducato (Dodge promaster in the USA)wil soon be awaylable as a EV, but With around the same range as the Crafter. So i think it is stil at least 5 years into the future before it is possible to have an Electric camper. The closest to a camper you'l get is Nissan E-NV200, but it is very smaal and it doesent give a full bed in the poptop. How ever, an old Beetle convertible could be a cool thing to drive around the neighborhood.
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87 75hp VW LT 28 Karmann LT L, 90 T3 Syncro 75hp AAZ Reimo Camper. 00 T4 102hp TDI Caravelle bus. |
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Sodo
Samba Member
Joined: July 06, 2007
Posts: 10639
Location: Western WA
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| Posted: Sun Oct 20, 2019 3:17 pm Post subject: Re: Why worry about engine conversions, better transmissions, etc. |
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| djkeev wrote: |
| I cannot imagine doing a long trip and being limited to 150-200 miles per day. |
Yep it's still a local commuter.
But for local use, (at Seattle prices of $3.50/gal and 13.6c/kwh)
150 miles costs $27 in gas, $7.50 (or less) in electricity.
In some WA cities, electricity is 3cents, so 150 miles would cost $1.65.
Currently there's a lot of places to get your EV electricity for free.
I couldn't do electric in my van, for the places I like to go with my van.
_________________
'90 Westy EJ25, NEW oil rings (!) 2Peloquins, 3knobs, SyncroShop pressure-oiled pinion-bearing & GT mainshaft, filtered, cooled gearbox.
'87 Tintop w 47k 53k, '12 SmallCar EJ25, cooled filtered original gearbox
....KTMs, GasGas, SPOT mtb |
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andydfp
Samba Member
Joined: September 08, 2019
Posts: 2
Location: Oregon
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| Posted: Sun Oct 20, 2019 4:13 pm Post subject: Re: Why worry about engine conversions, better transmissions, etc. |
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| jimf909 wrote: |
| I’m ready. This would be the best Vanagon mod ever and keep it viable for many more years. I’m m. Im not counting on this particular vendor (it’s only currently worth the electrons their press release was sent with) but hopefully Van Cafe or GW or Bostig ()will have a kit for the Vanagon ready soon. |
I heard recently that Small Car Performance is working on a electric conversion kit right now that will have around a 200 mile range. |
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Merian
Samba Member
Joined: January 04, 2014
Posts: 5212
Location: Orygun
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| Posted: Sun Oct 20, 2019 5:28 pm Post subject: Re: Why worry about engine conversions, better transmissions, etc. |
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Battery packs can fit pretty easily between the frame rails.
Charging times are dropping and - based on some recent research - should drop very quickly in a few years. The "Recharging Lifestyle" fits better with the slo-mo Vanagon/Bus lifestyle than with a Tesla sports car...
- Then there is the range extender - BMW has an Atkinson cycle modded m/c motor they use in the i3, and eventually a fuel cell stack could do this, tho I expect battery technology to evolve pretty quickly.
I suppose we could divide retrofits in 3 phases:
Phase 1: the Bolt & Tesla vans already featured here (one of which drives)
Phase 2: a DIY approach based on this and other components
PHase 3: customized drop-in (almost) kits that require less DIY, together with a drop it off and give use 2 weeks type thing
... but all will have to compete with any new E-Vans from VW and others.
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vanagonjr
Samba Member
Joined: October 07, 2010
Posts: 3629
Location: Dartmouth, Mass.
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| Posted: Sun Oct 20, 2019 5:43 pm Post subject: Re: Why worry about engine conversions, better transmissions, etc. |
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I'd love one - but for my 911 daily driver. That would be ideal for me.
For my Westfalia, I'd want more range. Would be fine on a Bug or Bay Window bus to run round locally and to work though.
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John - 86 Wolfsburg Westfalia "Weekender"
Flint reversed 1.8T W/Passat 5-Speed
LiMBO (late model bus club) www.limbobus.org
LiMBO is on Facebook too! https://www.facebook.com/groups/
FAQ thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=525798 |
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newerwesty1987
Samba Member
Joined: April 06, 2010
Posts: 407
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| Posted: Sun Oct 20, 2019 9:00 pm Post subject: Re: Why worry about engine conversions, better transmissions, etc. |
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We are a few years or more away from something practical for a lot of us. We need a battery tech upgrade. I need over 300 miles and 15min charging at min before I'd even think about it. It takes a LOT of gas to equal the amount a full swap and the trouble will cost. I calculated buying a Tesla once and figured in my current fuel costs.... in short, it would have taken me almost 10 years of driving the Tesla to equal out financially.
One thing most people seem to forget with these fantasies is that the electricity isn't free unless you are one of a few people with a huge solar array of your own. |
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stuzbot
Samba Member
Joined: March 30, 2018
Posts: 377
Location: Pining for the Puddles of Yesterday
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| Posted: Mon Oct 21, 2019 4:03 am Post subject: Re: Why worry about engine conversions, better transmissions, etc. |
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| jimf909 wrote: |
| ...Im not counting on this particular vendor (it’s only currently worth the electrons their press release was sent with)... |
Yep. At the moment it's what in the software world would be called 'Vapourware', or, given the amount of wonder-gadgets I see being announced which, upon reading the article, I find don't actually exist yet I'm going to christen "Kickstarterware"
Exciting if/when it happens but wake me up when it's actually a 'thing'.
| Sodo wrote: |
| ...the "removed" gas tank area, which is usually a safe zone. But probably not big enough for all the batteries needed... |
That's OK. With an electric vehicle I could free up the huge amount of space in the box under the bed which is currently stuffed with all manner of tools and spares I feel the need to carry for diesel engine fettling.
There's plenty of room in one of these vans to stash battery packs, if the battery pack could be divided up into separate blocks as opposed to the monolithic slabs they are at the moment
| djkeev wrote: |
| ...I cannot imagine doing a long trip and being limited to 150-200 miles per day... |
Your fault for living in an unfeasably big country :P
In UK, a 150-200 mile range [especially if it was nearer the 200 than the 150 end] would be plenty for me. The only times I'd exceed that in a day's driving would be a couple of times a year when I drive up from my location in the north of England to Scotland, or down to the South coast.
And, on a journey like those, stopping off somewhere to top-up the charge up for a couple of hours on the way wouldn't be too much of a hardship. Other longish treks I occasionally do; to the west or east coasts would both be well within even the low end 150 mile range.
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1992 VW LT35 2,4D [SOLD]
1993 VW LT35 2,4D [SOLD]
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Abscate 
Samba Member
Joined: October 05, 2014
Posts: 23870
Location: NYC/Upstate/ROW
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| Posted: Mon Oct 21, 2019 4:24 am Post subject: Re: Why worry about engine conversions, better transmissions, etc. |
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| Quote: |
| An aerodynamic shape is extreemely much more important for an EV than a fossil fuel car. |
Aerodynamic forces are independent of drivetrain. When you have to design for slippery shapes because your drive technology is inadequate for market needs, you make compromises, with safety being first.
We will move the NY people to your country first, you will be begging for ICE in short order. Then the NJ people come.....
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mikemtnbike
Samba Member
Joined: March 26, 2015
Posts: 2931
Location: North Carolina
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| Posted: Mon Oct 21, 2019 4:43 am Post subject: Re: Why worry about engine conversions, better transmissions, etc. |
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Even if fast charging times are achieved, the infrastructure needed for EVs to actually replace fossil fuel vehicles for long haul trips is mind boggling to me. Charging stations would have to be MORE ubiquitous than gas stations...because you'd have to be parked there a lot longer...
I actually wonder what would be less expensive; creating effective mass transit options, which could be EV, or developing the charging station infrastructure that would be needed.
Not being critical, 300 miles of range and easy access to charging, I'd be in.
But, there's a lot of pieces to this puzzle.
_________________
1991 Vanagon GL 2.1 AT Westfauxlia. "Frankie" Totaled  https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=764510&highlight=carnage
1995 Eurovan Camper "Marzivan"
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stuzbot
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Joined: March 30, 2018
Posts: 377
Location: Pining for the Puddles of Yesterday
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| Posted: Mon Oct 21, 2019 5:29 am Post subject: Re: Why worry about engine conversions, better transmissions, etc. |
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| mikemtnbike wrote: |
Even if fast charging times are achieved, the infrastructure needed for EVs to actually replace fossil fuel vehicles for long haul trips is mind boggling to me....
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I think you're looking at it too narrowly and expecting that future charging stations and the way we use them will be similar to how we use petrol stations today. I don't think so.
It must be a lot easier to set up a charging station than a petrol station. For the latter you need all the infrastructure of having the deep excavation and the underground tanks fitted and then all the logistics of tanker delivery, etc. Plus all the very stringent safety aspects.
With an electric charging station, 'all' that you need is a high amperage power supply and the actual charging outlet machines. So, while anyone wanting to build a petrol station will need to invest a lot of money up front and get the excavators out, anyone wanting to provide a charging station just needs to lay some electric cable and fit some outlets
[obviously there will be safety considerations too, but they're unlikely to be as stringent as for places handling petrol]
So, I predict that lots of businesses which are already connected to industrial power supplies; factories, supermarkets, retail estates, etc. will start putting charging stations in their carparks as a fairly low investment way to generate a bit of extra income.
Nip to your local Asda/Tesco/Aldi/WalMart/<insert local equivalent> to do the week's shopping and there'll be a charging station on many of the parking slots. Leave the car plugged in while you spend an hour doing the shopping.
Likewise with workplaces. While you're in the office, doing the 9-to-5, your vehicle is charging up in the company carpark. Or in a city centre, a charging station could replace the hated parking meter. You're still paying to park there but now your car is getting a top-up while you do so. If you think about it, there are dozens of different scenarios where we leave our vehicles parked up somewhere for the odd half hour or more during the week. And many of those places could put in charging outlets .
That's how I'd see the future. Rather than once a week or so filling the car up with electricity, in a similar way to how we fill the tank with petrol or diesel now, it'll be more of a half an hour top-up here, half an hour top-up there process, every day or two, while we get on with doing other things, as the charging stations will be pretty much everywhere.
We won't have to drive to a special 'station' and sit there twiddling our thumbs for a couple of hours, trying to fill an empty battery in one go. We might actually find ourselves with more time on our hands as the car will be being refuelled while we're off doing other stuff.
If anything, I think it'll become harder to find an actual dedicated fuel station [whether petrol, diesel, or electric] in the future as, at some point, the law of diminishing returns will mean the investment needed to build one will be greater than the return from selling fossil fuels to an ever-smaller number of customers.
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1992 VW LT35 2,4D [SOLD]
1993 VW LT35 2,4D [SOLD]
1992 VW T3 1,6TD Syncro [SOLD]
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ZsZ
Samba Member
Joined: December 11, 2010
Posts: 1733
Location: Budapest Hungary, Europe
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| Posted: Mon Oct 21, 2019 5:55 am Post subject: Re: Why worry about engine conversions, better transmissions, etc. |
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| stuzbot wrote: |
| mikemtnbike wrote: |
Even if fast charging times are achieved, the infrastructure needed for EVs to actually replace fossil fuel vehicles for long haul trips is mind boggling to me....
|
I think you're looking at it too narrowly and expecting that future charging stations and the way we use them will be similar to how we use petrol stations today. I don't think so.
It must be a lot easier to set up a charging station than a petrol station. For the latter you need all the infrastructure of having the deep excavation and the underground tanks fitted and then all the logistics of tanker delivery, etc. Plus all the very stringent safety aspects.
With an electric charging station, 'all' that you need is a high amperage power supply and the actual charging outlet machines. So, while anyone wanting to build a petrol station will need to invest a lot of money up front and get the excavators out, anyone wanting to provide a charging station just needs to lay some electric cable and fit some outlets
[obviously there will be safety considerations too, but they're unlikely to be as stringent as for places handling petrol]
So, I predict that lots of businesses which are already connected to industrial power supplies; factories, supermarkets, retail estates, etc. will start putting charging stations in their carparks as a fairly low investment way to generate a bit of extra income.
Nip to your local Asda/Tesco/Aldi/WalMart/<insert local equivalent> to do the week's shopping and there'll be a charging station on many of the parking slots. Leave the car plugged in while you spend an hour doing the shopping.
Likewise with workplaces. While you're in the office, doing the 9-to-5, your vehicle is charging up in the company carpark. Or in a city centre, a charging station could replace the hated parking meter. You're still paying to park there but now your car is getting a top-up while you do so. If you think about it, there are dozens of different scenarios where we leave our vehicles parked up somewhere for the odd half hour or more during the week. And many of those places could put in charging outlets .
That's how I'd see the future. Rather than once a week or so filling the car up with electricity, in a similar way to how we fill the tank with petrol or diesel now, it'll be more of a half an hour top-up here, half an hour top-up there process, every day or two, while we get on with doing other things, as the charging stations will be pretty much everywhere.
We won't have to drive to a special 'station' and sit there twiddling our thumbs for a couple of hours, trying to fill an empty battery in one go. We might actually find ourselves with more time on our hands as the car will be being refuelled while we're off doing other stuff.
If anything, I think it'll become harder to find an actual dedicated fuel station [whether petrol, diesel, or electric] in the future as, at some point, the law of diminishing returns will mean the investment needed to build one will be greater than the return from selling fossil fuels to an ever-smaller number of customers. |
A tesla supercharger needs a power input line which is about thick as your arm. And that cable needs to go there from the nearest big transfer station. Which is a lot more excavation than what a standard fuel station needs.
Edit: some technical info on Tesla chargers:Each charging cabinet needs 330A continous power on 480V according to this page: https://teslatap.com/articles/supercharger-superguide/
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Zoltan
1.9 MTdi 2wd Multivan (ex Caravelle)
Van since 2006, engine since 2008 |
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stuzbot
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Joined: March 30, 2018
Posts: 377
Location: Pining for the Puddles of Yesterday
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| Posted: Mon Oct 21, 2019 6:23 am Post subject: Re: Why worry about engine conversions, better transmissions, etc. |
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Oh aye. But I'm not talking 'super' charging here, but trickle charging. After all, some people are charging their electric cars [albeit slowly and overnight] on their domestic electricity circuit.
Somewhere between those two extremes lies the kind of power available to a lot of commercial premises which, while they won't take you from empty to full in a couple of hours, will give you X% charge in the hour or more you're inside; doing your shopping / visiting the zoo / sitting in your office / eating a meal in a resturant / etc.
The ability to constantly trickle top-up during the day, wherever your vehicle happens to be parked up is what I'm envisioning, not that we'll have super-duper eleventy-billion amp superchargers on every street corner.
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1992 VW LT35 2,4D [SOLD]
1993 VW LT35 2,4D [SOLD]
1992 VW T3 1,6TD Syncro [SOLD]
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mikemtnbike
Samba Member
Joined: March 26, 2015
Posts: 2931
Location: North Carolina
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| Posted: Mon Oct 21, 2019 6:45 am Post subject: Re: Why worry about engine conversions, better transmissions, etc. |
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| stuzbot wrote: |
Oh aye. But I'm not talking 'super' charging here, but trickle charging. After all, some people are charging their electric cars [albeit slowly and overnight] on their domestic electricity circuit.
Somewhere between those two extremes lies the kind of power available to a lot of commercial premises which, while they won't take you from empty to full in a couple of hours, will give you X% charge in the hour or more you're inside; doing your shopping / visiting the zoo / sitting in your office / eating a meal in a resturant / etc.
The ability to constantly trickle top-up during the day, wherever your vehicle happens to be parked up is what I'm envisioning, not that we'll have super-duper eleventy-billion amp superchargers on every street corner. |
I absolutely agree that for commuting, or the shorter trips you do in your locale, this makes sense. When I replace my daily, it will be with a EV of some kind.
My main van use, however, is recreation. Often, it's for trips between 100-200 miles, with some between 2-300 and plans to do 2000 miles plus for my 50th birthday in a couple years. It's these kind of journeys that need the infrastructure- so I can drive 200 miles-ish to a remote camping area, stopping at a convenient charging station to "top off" before I head out to the boonies .
That said, the other side of this reality coin is these kind of road trips may not be possible in the future paradigm. That remains to be seen and adaptation will have to occur accordingly.
I really hope yabert includes details about how he dealt with charging across the US in his amazing thread.
_________________
1991 Vanagon GL 2.1 AT Westfauxlia. "Frankie" Totaled https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=764510&highlight=carnage
1995 Eurovan Camper "Marzivan"
2020 GTI SE manual |
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Ahwahnee
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Joined: June 05, 2010
Posts: 10223
Location: Mt Lemmon, AZ
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| Posted: Mon Oct 21, 2019 7:17 am Post subject: Re: Why worry about engine conversions, better transmissions, etc. |
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| Abscate wrote: |
| Quote: |
| An aerodynamic shape is extreemely much more important for an EV than a fossil fuel car. |
Aerodynamic forces are independent of drivetrain. When you have to design for slippery shapes because your drive technology is inadequate for market needs, you make compromises, with safety being first.... |
Brings to mind a quote from Enzo Ferrari: 'Aerodyamics are for people who don't know how to design engines'.
Range is critical in the western U.S. -- we sometimes cover 500 to 700 miles the first (or even second) day to get the adventure started. |
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IdahoDoug
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Posts: 10355
Location: N. Idaho
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| Posted: Mon Oct 21, 2019 7:21 am Post subject: Re: Why worry about engine conversions, better transmissions, etc. |
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For me the biggest fly in the ointment is in how I use the Vanagon. Assuming someone builds a Vanagon kit. Assuming the range is close to its current range. Assuming the cost is reasonable. OK so someone's nailed it as to the retrofit's content and the vehicle's capabilities.
Now look at how I use my Van. I don't commute in a large urban environment where there are likely lots of chargers. I dont work at a large corporation with a green policy who's taken advantage of generous government tax incentives to install a charger bank and parking spots. No. I head out with a fully packed vehicle for beautiful places to hang. Campgrounds. Small towns. River systems. Remote lakes.
With the Van's current range, and the US's vast network of fuel stations that every tiny town has which has morphed into the local grocery store, I can top up conveniently in a number of spots. I can hang out for a couple days in one spot, then decide to drive 300 miles to another place and then hang out there. Mountain passes. Take the long way around the back side of that lake on a gravel forest road instead of the local roads.
If I were electric, it would change the way I use the Van. No more wandering back roads and exploring. It would be point to point with as minimal driving as possible. Shepherding the range would rise to the top priority so I don't get stranded. And I'm not going to go bouncing and vibrating down a little used dirt road in a vehicle I've spent $20 grand converting to electric with components not designed with an offroad life in mind - covering all that stuff in dirt, dust and at times muddy water.
So I'm sure I will own an electric car some day. But it will be the car I use for errands around town or picking someone up at the airport, etc. The last, and I mean very last, place I'd buy an electric powered vehicle would be the one I take out into the backcountry exploring and camping in the middle of nowhere. That's what I own the Vanagon for. An escape pod into nowhere. And it has an extremely dense energy source that's easily refillable in 8 minutes for $30 at the same place I stop to pee and get ice or a snack.
So it's great they are working on an electric strategy for the Vanagon, but it's a complete mismatch with the way I use the car. I predict Vanagon owners with a ton of money in their pockets who value sitting at the local coffee shop bragging about it will be super excited about it, while the rest of us will be happily using our Vanagons out in the nation's beautiful spots. I look forward to seeing those conversions, and to each their own, I say!!
Oh, and PS. I guess folks in California just learned last week that if it's windy out then PG&E can now shut down the power grid you'll need to travel. Where are they most likely to do that? Why, out in the areas served by their most remote power transmission lines. Cough. Yep - the most beautiful areas. And yes, other electric power companies will be soon following their lead as it's now a legal precedent for avoiding massive fire liability.
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1987 2WD Wolfsburg Vanagon Weekender "Mango", two fully locked 80 Series LandCruisers. 2017 Subaru Outback boxer. 1990 Audi 90 Quattro 20V with rear locking differential, 1990 burgundy parts Vanagon. 1984 Porsche 944, 1993 Toyota LandCruiser, 2002 BMW 325iX, 1982 Toyota Sunrader |
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