http://www.thedetroitbureau.com/2009/01/charged-up-in-detroit-but-can-hybrids-and-evs-survive-cheap-gas/ The Voice of the Automotive World Fri, 22 Mar 2019 13:01:14 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 http://www.thedetroitbureau.com/2009/01/charged-up-in-detroit-but-can-hybrids-and-evs-survive-cheap-gas/comment-page-1/#comment-75 Paul A. Eisenstein Fri, 16 Jan 2009 17:57:07 +0000 http://www.sti-experience.com/tdb/?p=6#comment-75 Hi, Jim, I understand your point and wish I could be as enthusiastic as you, but I'm far more cautious about battery swapping. Yes, Disney has done it on a massive bus, and, in fact, Nissan plans to try that approach -- along with setting up charging stations -- as part of its Israeli EV joint venture. But it's far more difficult than you think, as even the most bullish EV engineers, at Nissan, warn me. We're dealing with lots of power, and large packs. The connections are a challenge, and it requires some real design and engineering compromises to the vehicle itself. FYI, the Tesla people plan to make it easier to swap battery packs with the upcoming Model S, but don't expect hot-swappable batteries to dominate their future or most anyone else's, at least not for some time to come. Thanks for your thoughts, Paul A. Eisenstein Bureau Chief, The Detroit Bureau Hi, Jim,
I understand your point and wish I could be as enthusiastic as you, but I’m far more cautious about battery swapping.
Yes, Disney has done it on a massive bus, and, in fact, Nissan plans to try that approach — along with setting up charging stations — as part of its Israeli EV joint venture. But it’s far more difficult than you think, as even the most bullish EV engineers, at Nissan, warn me. We’re dealing with lots of power, and large packs. The connections are a challenge, and it requires some real design and engineering compromises to the vehicle itself.
FYI, the Tesla people plan to make it easier to swap battery packs with the upcoming Model S, but don’t expect hot-swappable batteries to dominate their future or most anyone else’s, at least not for some time to come.
Thanks for your thoughts,
Paul A. Eisenstein
Bureau Chief, The Detroit Bureau

]]> http://www.thedetroitbureau.com/2009/01/charged-up-in-detroit-but-can-hybrids-and-evs-survive-cheap-gas/comment-page-1/#comment-74 Jim Fri, 16 Jan 2009 17:40:55 +0000 http://www.sti-experience.com/tdb/?p=6#comment-74 Hey Paul, heard you on "Fresh Air." Great point about minimum price of gas. I think you're missing the electric car paradigm shift, though. The future of EVs is not going to be continually tethered to one's home charging station. The future is going to be battery swapping. Disney has done this for decades with their Main Street buses in Disney World. Batteries are charging while the buses are driving. High school kids working part time can swap these batteries out with no problem. So with this system, if you want to go on a long trip in your EV, you stop to swap batteries instead of filling up with gas. These projects are starting up in other countries. I believe one is starting up in Israel soon. The paradigm shift is that you might never own your battery...only the charge. Hey Paul, heard you on “Fresh Air.” Great point about minimum price of gas. I think you’re missing the electric car paradigm shift, though. The future of EVs is not going to be continually tethered to one’s home charging station. The future is going to be battery swapping. Disney has done this for decades with their Main Street buses in Disney World. Batteries are charging while the buses are driving. High school kids working part time can swap these batteries out with no problem. So with this system, if you want to go on a long trip in your EV, you stop to swap batteries instead of filling up with gas. These projects are starting up in other countries. I believe one is starting up in Israel soon. The paradigm shift is that you might never own your battery…only the charge.

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