DailyDirt: Horsepower? Why Are We Measuring Anything With Horse-Based Units?

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Fri, Mar 11th 2016 5:00pm — Michael Ho

Electric cars are getting more attention as they become more practical and eliminate the "range anxiety" factor. While battery-powered cars were actually some of the first horseless carriages, Tesla has gotten some recent publicity for its 'ludicrous' performance -- as well as plans for even bigger batteries (a 100kwh battery seems to be on Tesla's horizon). There are a few other all-American electric cars with supercar-like specs and/or retro-styling, but when will a reasonably-priced (no subsidies!) all-electric commuter car be available? (March 31st?)

Rimac Automobili's Concept_S electric car isn't exactly a production vehicle, but it might be the fastest electric car. This car is based on its predecessor the Concept_One (of which only 8 were built), but it's a bit faster. If you have a million bucks lying around, you might be able to get one. But if you don't care about spending a few extra dollars and filling up with gas, buy a Bugatti Chiron for an even faster production car. [url]
If you like the retro look of a '68 Ford Mustang, but you'd prefer an experience that's a bit closer to a Tesla Model S, there's a car conversion kit waiting for you (someday). The 'Zombie 222' is a converted '68 Mustang that can get to 170+mph (much faster than the original gas-powered version!), and it can do 0-60 in 1.79 seconds. [url]
The 'White Zombie' could be considered a precursor to the Zombie 222. A white 1972 Datsun 1200 Coupe has been heavily modified since 1994 to become a decent drag racer, comparable to some prototypes from Rimac Automobili (a converted BMW 3-series called the 'Green Monster' or the e-M3). [url]

After you've finished checking out those links, take a look at our Daily Deals for cool gadgets and other awesome stuff.

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Filed Under: concept_one, concept_s, electric cars, electric conversion, green zombie, horseless carriage, range anxiety, supercars, white zombie, zombie 222
Companies: bmw, bugatti, datsun, ford, gm, renovo motors, rimac antomobili, telsa, vw, zelectric motors

19 Comments

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Anonymous Coward, 11 Mar 2016 @ 5:18pm

supercars...
I'm amazed that the supercar market exists..... and didn't produce something like a Tesla Model S before Tesla did?

Guys converting old muscle cars into EVs..... should try open sourcing their work so that anyone can help improve gas-guzzlers.
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- John Fenderson (profile), 11 Mar 2016 @ 7:37pm
  
  Re: supercars...
  Lots do. There has been a very active hobbyist EV community for a long time. The first performance electric sportscar I ever saw was one an engineer I know built about 20 years ago. Didn't do as well as a Tesla, but was competitive with muscle cars of the time.
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- Anonymous Coward, 11 Mar 2016 @ 8:13pm
  
  Re: supercars...
  Because the Model S is not a supercar, or even a sports car for that matter. It's an incredibly heavy vehicle that happens to be very fast in a straight line, but would be destroyed on any track by just about any modern supercar... particularly if it had to do multiple laps.
  
  The "OMG ITS FASTAR THAN A FURRRARY" stupidity makes absolutely no sense.
  
  Before people freak out on me for not going along with the "why would you buy a Ferrari when the Tesla is faster" BS, I do actually respect and very much like the Model S. It's just not something that could ever be seen as an alternative to a supercar for anyone who actually wants a supercar.
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  - Anonymous Coward, 14 Mar 2016 @ 5:25pm
    
    Re: Re: supercars...
    What about the Tesla Roadster? It has decent performance compared to certain supercars -- it just lacks some range.
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Pixelation, 11 Mar 2016 @ 5:22pm

Horsepower? Why Are We Measuring Anything With Horse-Based Units?

Because Cowpower doesn't sound as cool?
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- Anonymous Anonymous Coward, 11 Mar 2016 @ 5:54pm
  
  Re:
  Methane Units?
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- David, 12 Mar 2016 @ 1:11am
  
  Re:
  Because James Watt (ironic, isn't it?) sold steam engines intended to replace horses for continuous stationary work at water pumps or mills or mining hoists.
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- DannyB (profile), 12 Mar 2016 @ 6:07am
  
  People casually refer to 'CPU horsepower'
  That would be the amount of computing that one horse can do in one day.
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- madasahatter (profile), 12 Mar 2016 @ 8:46am
  
  Re:
  Actually, it horsepower was developed to give people who were familiar with what a horse could done a reference point for the power of engines.
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z! (profile), 11 Mar 2016 @ 8:27pm

...for the same reason we're still using gallons, inches, and pounds...
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- Anonymous Coward, 12 Mar 2016 @ 4:07am
  
  Re:
  only commies use the metric system
  /s (jic)
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Anonymous Coward, 11 Mar 2016 @ 9:55pm

i think we should calibrate electric car motors in something familiar like washing machine motors. we might go look at a rig with a 340 wmp motor, say. or maybe 74,000 watch motors?

something we can relate to, anyway.
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- John Fenderson (profile), 12 Mar 2016 @ 5:18am
  
  Re:
  I like this. Most washing machine motors are 1/4 - 3/4 HP. Let's call it 1/2. The Tesla model S is 329 - 691 HP. Let's call it 510.
  
  So a Tesla model S has 1,020 WMP
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- art guerrilla (profile), 12 Mar 2016 @ 5:30am
  
  Re:
  i wear washless-jeans, you insensitive clod ! ! !
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  - John Fenderson (profile), 12 Mar 2016 @ 7:27am
    
    Re: Re:
    You can afford jeans?! What luxury!
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madasahatter (profile), 12 Mar 2016 @ 8:50am

EV
The major problem for EVs both historical and current is not range or performance but recharging time. Once the recharging time is much shorter they will become more popular.

From an maintenance point of view, EVs are mechanical simpler and overall more reliable (both historical and current).
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- John Fenderson (profile), 12 Mar 2016 @ 11:04am
  
  Re: EV
  Yes, which is why I'm very excited about the idea of battery-swapping instead of recharging.
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- Mason Wheeler (profile), 14 Mar 2016 @ 7:55am
  
  Re: EV
  That's not such a big deal, really.
  
  For day-to-day work, your normal driving will be within the range of the battery, so all you have to do is plug in overnight, and you're good. Or you can plug in at work. My employer has EV charging available in the parking lot, and I'm staring to see it pop up in a lot of malls and parking garages.
  
  For long-range trips, you can stop off at a supercharger station along the way, then go across the street to a restaurant while your car fills up. Then at night, plug in at the hotel. (I haven't seen any hotels offer charging services yet, but it wouldn't surprise me if that started becoming a thing pretty quickly; it's a very logical step.)
  
  Not being able to fill up as fast as you can with a gasoline pump really stops being an issue when you stop having to go to a gas station to fill up.
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Anonymous Coward, 13 Mar 2016 @ 10:11pm

how about switching to whore's power units? that would be impressive. essentially a measure of controlled violence not unlike the whore/scholar tackle in american football, but not exactly like it, either.

on a less serious note, i think some method for providing energy along major roadways is going to have to happen. something like the overhead lines for commuter trains, but probably delivered through the roadway. since we're going to have to use autoautos, anyway, why not run them on rails? shoot the juice through the rails. we could charge the batteries on the highways for unattached use on off-the-beaten-path trips. onboard meters would establish who and how much to pay.

side benefit, the exposed highway rails would help control overpopulation (learning to think like flint here).
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