this post was submitted on 28 Oct 2023
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Electric Vehicles

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I don't really see the point of this. It's just adding complexity for the sake of it. As far as I can tell when you change gear it just changes some software parameters, there are no physical gears. Yet there's a clutch and the ability to stall?

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[–] alvvayson@lemmy.world 52 points 1 year ago (3 children)

The point would be to fill a niche for people who like driving manual, but want to transition to electric.

Probably won't be very popular, but in this big world, there is a niche for everything.

[–] friend_of_satan@lemmy.world 36 points 1 year ago (2 children)

It would be great if they could make a cheap electric car for the masses before filling niches.

[–] CodexArcanum@lemmy.world 13 points 1 year ago (1 children)

People in niches generally pay more. EVs are more expensive and made in smaller quantities (until production ramps up, maybe). So making EVs to appeal to a niche consumer with disposable income can be a smart move to jumpstart the EV business.

That's (one reason) why Tesla started with luxury sports cars. Car enthusiasts and other lovers of manual gear shift are another interesting segment to try and tap. I wonder what other segments they might go for? Racing? Off-road? Delivery? Taxi? Commercial transport?

It's tricky though. You don't see a lot of EV motorcycles, but I think that's because ebikes are a better power/weight ratio for the form-factor and use case. No one's getting a Harley to save the environment.

[–] misanthropy@lemm.ee 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The biggest reasons ev bikes suck are: shitty range, weight, cost.

Bikes are small, batteries are heavy. The Harley live wire, for example, can do less than 100 miles on a charge. Second, but part of that first point, they're HEAVY. My bike weighs ~360lbs. An energica sport bike is in the high 500lbs range. Thirdly, they're obscenely expensive for worse performance, handling, weight, range. If someone could produce a 400lb bike with a ~200 mile range I might be interested.

I'm biased, but 99.99% of my riding is in the middle of nowhere in the mountains, there's no chargers out there and there won't be for decades.

[–] captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 year ago (3 children)

I've not seen an attempt to make a practical electric motorcycle. I've only ever seen attempts at superbikes. Give me an electric Ninja 250, something that can comfortably handle a couple hours of highway driving so you could handle a commute from one small town to another small town and I think it would be an actual product.

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[–] i_am_not_a_robot 4 points 1 year ago

I sort of get the point of the second one they mention - sounds like it can "emulate" hundreds of different cars, which could be fun.

[–] BarrelAgedBoredom@lemm.ee 4 points 1 year ago

If I had the time, money, and knowhow my dream car is an electric swapped Datsun 240z. You can keep the manual transmission when you're swapping an ICE car, I think it'd be pretty neat

[–] iconic_admin@lemmy.world 29 points 1 year ago

I love a manual transmission on a car but this is really stupid.

[–] skookumasfrig@sopuli.xyz 27 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Why? This makes no sense. Electric cars don't need a transmission, they are direct drive.

[–] Peppycito@sh.itjust.works 7 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (4 children)

My car has a CVT and it has shift paddles that are totally unnecessary.

[–] schmidtster@lemmy.world 14 points 1 year ago (2 children)

They also add a delay between “gears” because there was too many complaints that the vehicles wasn’t changing gears.

Yeah people are stupid.

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[–] QuinceDaPence@kbin.social 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

If you're in mountains, and especially if you're towing a trailer, you need those.

[–] i_am_not_a_robot 6 points 1 year ago (5 children)

I don't know about trailers, but my EV makes light work of mountains.

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[–] TheMusicalFruit@lemmy.world 14 points 1 year ago (2 children)

As a gearhead I get the sporting and nostalgia aspects. But as a member of the 21 century, I think we can all agree new automatic transmissions are way quicker than any human can be and it’s time to move on. Plus, and EV doesn’t need a transmission, fewer parts to fail is one of the best parts.

[–] Pantsofmagic@lemmy.world 10 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I'll never understand the "quickness" argument. Nobody buys a manual to shift faster than an automatic, they buy it for the experience.

[–] Semi-Hemi-Demigod@kbin.social 13 points 1 year ago

I want one so I can wiggle it in neutral at a stoplight

[–] tiny_tina_@lemm.ee 8 points 1 year ago

Sure sure sure but I LOVE A MANUAL. Idk about how efficient an automatic is

[–] circuitfarmer@lemmy.sdf.org 13 points 1 year ago (12 children)

If you don't enjoy the sport of driving, you probably don't want a manual.

I'm interested in this. I feel like driving is a more connected experience with a manual and always prefer it. But that's what it is: a preference.

[–] ExperimentalGuy@programming.dev 12 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It's not very often people express that what they think isn't absolutely the only opinion people should have and just wanted to say I appreciate that you're willing to admit that.

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[–] ilovesatan@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago

Except it isn't connected at all. It's a shifting mini game programmed into the car's computer.

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[–] banneryear1868@lemmy.world 11 points 1 year ago (2 children)

A lot of the features listed in the article (written by an AI?) sound corny. This is probably a thing for managers and executive level luxurybros, like the upper level EV market.

The idea of giving the driver more control like this in an EV so it's more fun is good though. They just feel so fkn heavy and like you're driving a computer.

[–] MajorHavoc@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I agree 100% that my EV felt like driving a computer, which itself was driving the car.

Weird thing is I liked it. It was like driving a really good computer, that drove my car really well.

I can understand why people hate it. It's deeply strange how certain kinds of normal car feedback is missing.

Speculating a bit, I doubt that retrofitting a manual transmission will help with that strangeness.

But I bet it'll be a hit with folks like me who don't mind it, and also loved manual transmission cars.

I feel like I'm a very niche audience though. Most people who I have met who love a manual transmission hated the way my EV drove.

[–] Sargteapot@lemmy.nz 3 points 1 year ago (9 children)

Will also give the car enthusiasts who like drifting an option to lock in "gear" so that's a plus

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[–] Greggo@lemmy.world 10 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Yeah, unless there is a performance benefit, it's just a potential for problems. Theoretically, an electric motor could be designed with the rpm and torque output of an ICE where a manual transmission would be beneficial for a car. Electronically simulating a transmission is ridiculous.

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[–] Grass@sh.itjust.works 7 points 1 year ago

I didn't read the article, but in a modern ev I can only see merit in maybe 2 or three speeds plus reverse if it's an actual transmission and not just a parameter change.

With the stick shift Honda civic converted to electric that I tried out when deciding if I wanted to convert my own, it had the original transmission and you really only used gear 2 and 4. You came to a full stop geared in, and changed directly to 2 while at 0 rpm. Definitely a strange experience to anyone used to stick shift.

[–] draughtcyclist@programming.dev 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Did they develop their own system, or did they license Koenigsegg's?

This definitely has a place in sports cars. More control is a plus. If it's any good, it will be a hit.

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[–] ilovesatan@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I love manuals. I daily a car with a manual transmission. I'd drive any other EV before I drove a fake stick shift EV.

[–] snacks 3 points 1 year ago

on my egolf I have the stick. Its kind of cool to nudge into different regen modes coming off a motorway but its entirely useless as a device as its just telling the computer to switch mode.

[–] TWeaK@lemm.ee 3 points 1 year ago (14 children)

Maybe an excuse to set two different prices, but charge more overall.

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[–] swiftcasty@kbin.social 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

This seems cool and I want to try it out. It would be cool if you had the option to turn it on or off.

Why this is a feature like this important? There are people who feel that EV’s lack the soul and/or personality of ICE cars. There was a recent YouTube video I watched where one of the hosts described a tesla as being designed by “someone who thinks driving is a chore.” This feature would provide him and the people like him with EV’s that have personality.

I can totally see this feature enabling simulation of different power curves like a V8, V6, I4, with and without turbo’s and superchargers. I can also see the car tuner community designing their own torque curves which would be amazing. We can already adjust ICE car torque curves over the internet, why not EV’s?

[–] SuperSpruce@lemmy.ml 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Why are you getting downvoted? This would make an EV more fun to drive even if it isn't the "real thing" and makes it slower within the mode.

[–] Pantsofmagic@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

The amount of people downvoting similar opinions in this thread is off the charts. These people need to get a grip.

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