I'm sure keeping the flow as smooth as possible starts with the shape of the nose. A flat brick of a cab will make the effective cross-sectional area larger.
Airplanes are really long. They still have pointy noses.
That's short-sighted. It's also possible to create a BEV that might not replace ICE vehicles for all use cases, but one that replaces the ICE vehicle in particular circumstances.
A BEV fits into my lifestyle. So much so that I think owning an ICE vehicle would decrease my quality of life. I don't want to go to a gas station every week. I don't want to have to take my car in for tune-ups every year.
> But... you'd rather charge every time you use it? And what if you run out of energy in the middle of a trip?
This is no work. You carefully mount the charger so that it‘s right between your car door and the charge port. When you exit the car it‘s a single movement on the way out of the garage.
As for range, you don‘t run out in the middle of a trip. The car finds a supercharger if it‘s really one of those longer trips.
I have not once ran out of energy in the middle of a trip. You need to be an idiot to pull that feat off. And I've taken road trips from LA to Vancouver once a year. It takes longer than an ICE vehicle, but the ADAS features outweigh the time-cost. I should note that the ADAS features are not exclusive to BEV, they just happen to be better than the ICE competition at the moment.
Anyway, the vast majority of the time, my car charges every single night and I have 80% or 90% battery in the morning.
I never said they don't need tune ups. But in my three years of ownership, all I've had to change were air filters and top up windshield fluid. The brakes are never used. The tires get rotated in my driveway by mobile service. Screw going to the local car mechanic or dealership every year.
So I'll pose the question to you. Maybe the answers lead you to sticking with ICE vehicles, and that's fine. But do you want to go to the gas station every time you run out of "energy"? Do you really want to change the oil, brake pads, fluids, etc.?
Yes. I get out of my car, plug in with the charge door right next to the driver door, then go inside. Longer trips, I use a fast charger. Went on a trip just before Thanksgiving that required 7 stops round trip.
I don’t need to change oil, or spark plugs or engine air filter. Stuff will need to get changed, but maintenance is much reduced.
Didn't the guy in the video point out that there are already a few electric European trucks? So we don't even really need to speculate about efficiency, cabover design, and all that, we should be able to find real numbers somewhere. At least pretty soon if not already.
