all kidding aside, my home state cali, really pays all the federal money going to po arse red states

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1999 w140, quit voting to old, and to old to fight, a god damned veteran

I was thinking similar. Would be a huge project, as described in the OP, would need a prototype for examination. 10 miles sounds about right.

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1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

I really like it when folks come up with a single solution that addresses two or more seemingly unrelated issues. That’s people with really good minds.

If I live long enough I guess I will need to convert my 3.5 Coupe to an EV

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Tony H
W111 280SE 3.5 Coupe
Manual transmission

Past cars:
Porsche 914 2.0
'64 Jaguar XKE Roadster
'57 Oval Window VW
'71 Toyota Hilux Pickup Truck-Dad bought new
'73 Toyota Celica GT

My best guess at this point is that EVs will become common in large urban areas while advances in thermal efficiency of IC engines will lead to them continuing to be used for long travel. ICE tech is really moving forward. Just the OM654 and OM656 are pretty wild. Add the unknowns from things like the Achates engine, Koenigsegg's camless engine tech, even the new tinkering with rotary engines and ICE's may soon be almost as clean and thermally efficient as EVs.

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1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

I like the idea of an EV. And if I had been in a better financial position recently when I bought my Spark I would have seriously looked at a used Nissan Leaf for my dailiy while looking to source something like a 210, 126, 140 or even a 5th Gen Suburban for longer trips.

- Peter.

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2021 Chevrolet Spark
Formerly...
2000 GMC Sonoma
1981 240D 4spd stick. 347000 miles. Deceased Feb 14 2021
2002 Kia Rio. Worst crap on four wheels
1981 240D 4spd stick. 389000 miles.
1984 123 200
1979 116 280S
1972 Cadillac Sedan DeVille
1971 108 280S

I might get into them myself one of these days. One of my clients owns a basic Tesla - he was telling me an approx MPG comparison is 140. Also, amazing how much less is going on than in an IC engine, less in compexity. The OM656 with 2 turbos and a supercharger reportedly will push the 4700 lb S400D from 0 to 60 in less than 5.4 seconds and get a combined 45 mpg.

One imagines it could be tuned down a bit, put in perhaps a 3600 lb car (weight of a '90s BMW 535i) and get 50 or more while still tearing it up pretty well.

But the complexity of that engine is a tad scary. The full treatment model has two turbos, a super, and VVT. The number of moving parts is much higher than in an EV. But who knows, there are likely downsides to EVs I'm not aware of.

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1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

I think the Lithium mining industry is going to be a major issue as the need increases.

__________________
Tony H
W111 280SE 3.5 Coupe
Manual transmission

Past cars:
Porsche 914 2.0
'64 Jaguar XKE Roadster
'57 Oval Window VW
'71 Toyota Hilux Pickup Truck-Dad bought new
'73 Toyota Celica GT

My brother got Tboned in his Tesla a few months ago and I’m positive he wished he was in a s class

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1993 e300
1995 e320
1994 e320
2006 s500 4matic
2004 Jeep wj overland
2001 Ducati 748
2004 Honda shadow aero

To put it mildly. If they could build them as well as the OM61X series of engines and the 123 series of cars it might be worth taking a chance on. They can't so it isn't. I can imagine the maintenance and cost horror show as they age.

- Peter.

__________________
2021 Chevrolet Spark
Formerly...
2000 GMC Sonoma
1981 240D 4spd stick. 347000 miles. Deceased Feb 14 2021
2002 Kia Rio. Worst crap on four wheels
1981 240D 4spd stick. 389000 miles.
1984 123 200
1979 116 280S
1972 Cadillac Sedan DeVille
1971 108 280S

Similarly, another leading contender in the 'save the ICE' sweepstakes, Koenigsegg's camless Freevalve motor has possible issues. I really know next to nothing about it. It's hard to get solid info. I read they have a 3 cylinder 2.0 liter camless engine producing 600 hp and will release it in a new model soon. They sort of won the holy grail prize with the programmable valves thing. The downside so far, it's expensive. New, lightly produced stuff always is, of course, would improve with greater production numbers. That they've done this well so far is pretty wild. The other problem is that various seals are prone to high rates of use and degradation. Speaking of costly maintenance.

OTOH, if the OM656 could be built with a camless head, some of the perhaps more worrisome complexity would be jettisoned. The VTT systems are brilliant innovations but introduce more complexity of course. I've read that the Beemer heads who rod the M50 motor prefer it in it's first two years iteration. They refer to it as the M50 nv (non VANOS). Less fragile they say. MB's VTT operates similarly, I don't understand the differences.

The one I like best so far is the Achates opposed piston engine. Fewer moving parts, they are apparently making 2 stroke work and be clean at the same time. The prototype for the army is part of the same motor project for 18 wheelers with Cummins. Meets the 2027 Cal emissions requirements.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF5j1DvC954

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1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

Oh, yeah? We'll fix that, Just you wait and see. - CARB

Wouldn't that be cool in the engine bay of a 911. It'd also be the schnizzel for busses with rear engines.

Conventional thought was that NOx emissions would kill the diesel. But, DEF fixed that. What effectively killed the passenger car diesels were particulate emissions (micro-soot).

The prototype is not boxster shaped. Not sure why, I read somewhere them talking about needing to use off the shelf parts to construct it, that later it would have the benefit of serious retooling that factory support provides. God only knows what's going on at this time.

The only seriously engineered engine so far that I know of with that tech is the Cummins engine. Not traditional looking, oh well, reportedly performs pretty well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mfy05zqn324

That vid might move on to this one, an interview with the founder of Achates. Interesting fellow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zf6OH4iVUkY

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1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

MB claims that the 654 and 656 beat all the Euro emission standards, not sure if that includes the soot issue but you sure think it would.

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1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

I’m sure they’ll dump more things into the fuels to keep the efficiency down.

__________________
1993 e300
1995 e320
1994 e320
2006 s500 4matic
2004 Jeep wj overland
2001 Ducati 748
2004 Honda shadow aero