Car Chat 2: The Place You Go When Plac ISN'T Considering a New Car

[xtremequicksand9]

I wish I had a clue about the future of the automobile, I'd make some investments...

Off the top of my head I would think that self-driving gas-electric hybrids with advanced aero ought to be the future, but it could just be manual diesel station wagons.

You wanna make some money? Invest in any company that is currently developing the hydrogen infrastructure market. The Japanese automakers, the current leaders in honest to god innovation in the internal combustion engine is currently betting the farm on hydrogen cars. So is the Japanese Govn't.

 

[xtremequicksand9]

I totally agree, but only because electric cars have been around for a lot longer than the current craze about them. EV1 is notable, but electric cars have been around for well over 100 yrs.

Shit, even Ferdinand Porsche designed an AWD electric with a motor in each hub...

The EV1 was pretty much the genesis of the modern electric car. You look at all the designs, with the exception of which kind of battery is used, all the modern drivetrain designs basically use some form of the EV1 drivetrain.

 

[D Griff]

The Japanese car companies are innovators?

This is innovation? Complete with four speed automatic?

I'll give you credit about your points on electric cars though, totally on the money. They've been around for years and I doubt they're really the future of personal transportation. Hydrogen if it can be done the right way, could be.

 

[WAP]

The Japanese car companies are innovators?

This is innovation? Complete with four speed automatic?

:clap::clap::clap::clap::clap:

 

[xtremequicksand9]

When it comes to the development and marketing of alt. fuel cars, yes. The Japanese are the innovators.

Corollas on the other hand....I blame average stupid consumer that cares not a damn thing about cars other than how expensive, how many MPGs, and how many cool toys it has inside of it.

 

[mk6medic]

A Corolla has no cool toys. Just big buttons and a very simple approach to an automobile. Not unlike an appliance.

Wait.... what?

 

[xtremequicksand9]

The only reason Tesla is having any kind of success at all is because the founders, especially Elon Musk, and Silicon Valley investors have thrown them all sorts of cash. Well that and they aren't trying to sell a car so much as sell a life style.

 

[troyguitar]

The Japanese have been pretty good at taking existing technology and putting it into functional packages, whether or not you call that innovation I suppose is up for debate.

Prius is basically an EV1, except they actually succeeded for example.

The technology exists already to do a LOT of cool shit but no one has figured out a way to bring it to market yet - I could see Honda having the next big hit for sure.

 

[xtremequicksand9]

A Corolla has no cool toys. Just big buttons and a very simple approach to an automobile. Not unlike an appliance.

Wait.... what?

Hence why it sells so well. Some people just want something comfortable that gets them from point A. to B without breaking down. Japs have always been fantastic at that.

The Japanese have been pretty good at taking existing technology and putting it into functional packages, whether or not you call that innovation I suppose is up for debate.

Prius is basically an EV1, except they actually succeeded for example.

The technology exists already to do a LOT of cool shit but no one has figured out a way to bring it to market yet - I could see Honda having the next big hit for sure.

The next major car war is going to be between the FCX and the Mantri or whatever the hell they are calling it. Both Honda and Toyota are betting a lot of their company's future on those cars.

 

[xytbyk]

Speaking of alt fuel vehicles, I'm not a fan of the exhaust exit on the C7, but somebody photoshopped an elegant fix:

 

[johnny_p]

Anyone remember this?

It was a total piece of shit. Everyone thought it was a waste of time. Toyota didn't, they perfected the technology, developed it, and kept on moving forward. Last year they sold over 6 million Priuses. If Toyota wants something to work, they'll make it work. They are like ExxonMobil. They have extensive R&D departments for things like the Prius and hydrogen fuel cells, but also have a very sustainable and loyal bread and butter following that buys countless Corollas, Camrys, and miscellaneous other shitboxes. They'll make hydrogen work if they want it to work.

The Japanese government jumping in and supporting this is huge too. Last time Toyota and Honda did this on their own. This time they have help. Japan wants to reduce its dependency on foreign oil and reduce the amount of energy it imports. They will make hydrogen work if they want it to.

So yes, all things point to H2 infrastructure companies being a sound investment. Now the real test will be to see how the rest of the world takes to it.

 

[Rockchops]

145/50r15 tires on dat i3...one in our lot. Looks like bike tires


Sent from an abacus

 

[mk6medic]

My Dad owned a first gen Prius. He also owned one of these:

 

[mycrors7]

Only Toyotas I'd buy are:
V8 camry sleeper drag car thingy.
Mk4 supra
2000gt
Celica-supra
Mr2
Pruis ls1 swap
TRD supercharged Yaris to troll civics.
4runner
Land cruiser

 

[PetrolHead]

I wish I had a clue about the future of the automobile, I'd make some investments...

Off the top of my head I would think that self-driving gas-electric hybrids with advanced aero ought to be the future, but it could just be manual diesel station wagons.

I think you're pretty close there. Driver-less cars are likely to progress faster than hydrogen or electric cars due to infrastructure issues. While hydrogen and electric make a lot of sense. it'll take decades if ever to have a similar infrastructure to gasoline.

You wanna make some money? Invest in any company that is currently developing the hydrogen infrastructure market. The Japanese automakers, the current leaders in honest to god innovation in the internal combustion engine is currently betting the farm on hydrogen cars. So is the Japanese Govn't.

Indeed. If there was a company out there who had a solid business case for expansion of the hydrogen infrastructure, that's the one to invest in. The problem is, nobody can figure out how to do it profitably yet...and they likely won't. Somewhat chicken or the egg. If someone invests in an expansive hydrogen infrastructure and nobody uses it because they don't have hydrogen cars, they go belly-up. BUT, nobody buys hydrogen cars because the infrastructure is so limited. It'll probably take gov't intervention (aka blosing gov't money) to make any real progress.

The only reason Tesla is having any kind of success at all is because the founders, especially Elon Musk, and Silicon Valley investors have thrown them all sorts of cash. Well that and they aren't trying to sell a car so much as sell a life style.

Dat stock price, doe. Tesla benefits from most financial analyst's complete lack of understanding of the automotive industry. They treat the industry like any other consumer goods industry, and that's just not accurate.

Speaking of alt fuel vehicles, I'm not a fan of the exhaust exit on the C7, but somebody photoshopped an elegant fix:

I support dis.

My Dad owned a first gen Prius. He also owned one of these:

Woa, a first gen Insight. I think I've only ever seen one or two of those in person.