Boomhauer

That's odd how BMW would be near the bottom; you'd think German cars would be class leading in quality and reliability but they are expensive to operate . My sis's GL450 needs about $1000 of service per year and it rarely ever gets driven.

sir_eccles

Lease German, buy Japanese.

uk_grenada

The isuzu's are 3.5 ton tow, 1 ton in the bed of a crew cab. Weirdly the 2.5 dual turbo intercooler engine is a better puller than the 3 litre, 400ft lbs of torque. The audi v6 3.0 is even better though 550 ft lbs, or 700 from the 4 litre v8. Placed in an a4 convertable quattro it shows the petrol engines how to go.

zargof

If this is legit, then it makes things interesting.

https://www.minds.com/blog/view/443508465227272192

uk_grenada

Bmw have always had reliability issues, just look at jd power, merc less so, but then most merc diesels are made in china now, many big boats use inboard chinese merc diesels, excellent quality amd cheap. Actually for 1000 hp plus, merc are doing compact diesel turbine units, some more advanced fishing boats are - like much bigger cruise ships - going diesel turbine - electric. Easier and cheaper to maintain, and smaller/more powerful powerplants.

Pulaski

I think you mean "..... diesel generator - electric [motor] ...."

You could also have a turbine - generator - electric motor drive train, but that wouldn't be running on diesel.

uk_grenada

Yes same thingummy, its a turbine generating electrical energy that powers electric motors for propulsion and other uses, actually not sure what fuel is used, im suspecting petrol, jet a1 is available easily but ive never seen the road tankers for that in the port, propane is another possibility.

uk_grenada

Its the big cruise ship and ferry technology scaling down effectively.

scrubbedexpat099

The Toyota Tundra can pull 5 tons, which is all I need.

Boomhauer

The classification of American light-duty trucks (fullsize picktruck like the Silverado, Ford F150, Dodge Ram) is confusing .

A 1/2 ton truck has a payload of around 2000lbs (give or take 200lbs).
A 3/4 ton HD (Heavy Duty) Silverado has a payload of 3700lbs+

Boomhauer

Wonder how they provide free charging for life with a price of $35,000.

uk_grenada

Charging of what? 1000 recharges is the life of current rechargeables. After 3 years you pay how much for new cells? Like the inkjet printers these guys are going to get their pound of flesh, you just dont know where yet.

Pulaski

You're wasting you time with that thought. The "believers" round here won't have a word said against Teslas, or any other electric vehicles.

Boomhauer

I'd forgotten about the lifecycle of the battery. So the free for life charging is for the car or for the battery pack that orginally came with the car? Although I suppose even if it was for the car, the cost of a new battery pack from Tesla would take into account free charging for the life of the battery pack, but depending on the price it may be reasonable.

FlaviusAetius

Of course they won't. Fact is the rest of us have to subsidize the price of the car via tax breaks for the rich who are buying them. Although, at $35k, even Everyman could afford one and then either the subsidy goes away or it becomes a major line item in the federal budget.

What I'd really like to see would be a small 1 or 2 cylinder motor that would run to keep the battery charged. I think that's what makes the BMW i3 impractical, even the model with the extender battery.

So...you're driving your Tesla Model 3 at night in the winter when the battery is less efficient. It's discharging rapidly and you're miles from your destination. You're desperately trying to find a Tesla charging station. You're passing all those fossil-fuel stations where less save-the-world people recharge the fuel tanks of their SUVs in 5 minutes and are on their way again. You hate your Tesla when the battery dies and the headlights go out.