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Amazing truck from America
December 6, 2016 at 3:02 am
Look at what amazing things the Americans make! With this truck science fiction is no longer a fiction.
1350 miles range (2160 km)! :o
The company already has it pre-ordered, so it's not a matter of "if", it's a matter of "when" this truck will take its first trip on the road.
If people were relying on an imaginary friend to do miracles for them, nowadays we'd still be travelling long distances on the back of a horse.
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RE: Amazing truck from America
December 6, 2016 at 7:40 am
Didn't have time to watch the whole clip yet. But skipping through, it looks like they actually managed to build one so that's something. But there's still a whole lot of ground to cover between here and the place where they're able to spit multiple trucks out the door on a daily basis. Also there's that whole no infrastructure for hydrogen currently existing thing to tackle. That's no easy task.
Flawed though they are, I'd be running several CNG powered trucks right now if I could get the fuel where we operate. But CNG stations don't exist in these parts and likely won't for quite a few years.
I've been watching these guys and I hope they end up doing what they claim they can do. And I hope the actual numbers turn out to be close to what they claim. But even if all that happens, I expect a slow transition. Change happens slow in trucking. Always has. Old dogs don't like new tricks.
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RE: Amazing truck from America
December 6, 2016 at 8:10 am
It can't be that hard to buld fueling stations that store CNG. Even so, if every company that buys this truck builds its own CNG fueling stations, it won't be long before they are everywhere, just like the regular gas stations are. With a few years of intensive bulding such fueling stations will indeed be available everywhere.
But the part that caught my eye the most was the time and distance this truck needs to stop - 5 feet to stop! From moving speed to 0 mph in 5 feet! That's incredible! Even the car pimped with the best parts on the market can't stop so quickly.
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RE: Amazing truck from America
December 6, 2016 at 3:23 pm
These trucks run on hydrogen AND electricity. And btw, I thought CNG and hydrogen were the same.
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RE: Amazing truck from America
December 6, 2016 at 4:01 pm
CNG is a readily available alternative to gasoline that’s made by compressing natural gas to less than 1% of its volume at standard atmospheric pressure. Consisting mostly of methane, CNG is odorless, colorless and tasteless. It's drawn from domestically drilled natural gas wells or in conjunction with crude oil production.
Natural gas powers more than 12 million vehicles on the road today. Unfortunately, only about 250,000 of these are being used in the U.S., according to GE. The average growth rate in the U.S. shows a 3.7% increase per year since 2000, as contrasted with a booming global growth rate of 30.6% per year.
Expanding the numbers of CNG fueling stations would allow for the increase of CNG vehicles on U.S. roads. There are 12,000 around the world, yet the U.S. claims about 500 public stations. New technologies and greater demand mean that the number of new stations is climbing rapidly.
However, as gasoline prices continue to rise, American interest in CNG is rising, and with good reason – CNG costs about 50% less than gasoline or diesel, emits up to 90% fewer emissions than gasoline and* there’s an abundant supply right here in America. So it’s clean, affordable abundant and American.
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RE: Amazing truck from America
December 6, 2016 at 4:07 pm
Wow, that was cool. 2020 but I wonder how long before they completely phase out diesel altogether? However long a fleet lasts I suppose.
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RE: Amazing truck from America
December 7, 2016 at 2:35 am
Very cool. I don't know much about cars/trucks, but if everything the guy said is true, it sounds awesome.
One thing...
When they were doing that little segment to unveil the truck...I really felt like I was watching a cut scene from mass effect.