I understand your point, and yes not everything is perfected. There was even a time where I would have enthusiastically agreed with your thoughts. That was before I was in the position of helping to make those choices. Automakers certainly lobby to try to shape regulations, they don't just get what they want. It is easy for someone in government to write a new regulation and say--"do this". It's quite another to make it happen, so it is often necessary to work to shape the many times contradictory regulations; especially in the age when most cars are on global platforms that must be capable of meeting requirements around the world. Most people that design cars strive to do a good job in the midst of all the complexity. To your point about bumpers, think about how you might design a bumper to take no damage at 5 mph-- probably big, strong and rigid. Then think about how to make that same bumper and its support structure progressively crush to protect the passengers in a higher speed crash without compromising the first part. Then add the European requirements that are aimed at protecting pedestrians if they are struck by the car (requirements to limit lower leg injury by the bumper and head injury due to hitting the hood). The bumper design is then not so simple. And, by the way, we want it to have a cool looking design and still meet its cost and mass targets. ... View more

I am familiar with the Woods car, but you need to consider its performance. Yes, technology is a choice; if you're happy with 1916 performance (35 mph?), you're welcome to use that level of technology. That level of electrification is still used in golf cars and some neighborhood electric vehicles (big lead battery, DC motor, rheostat control). Customers today want and expect many things in a vehicle. Manufacturers must build competitive vehicles that meet customer expectations - in cost, performance, comfort, range, and reliability (perhaps 15 or 20 years and 200,000 miles). Without the modern computer controlled inverter driven AC motor drives and advanced chemistry batteries, you cannot meet those customer expectations. By the way, while the 1965 Mustang was ground breaking in the market, remember that the basic vehicle was really a body and interior change on Falcon chassis architecture. That's not a bad thing and I say that as a Mustang owner. The point is that most things in the auto business actually are more evolutionary than meets the eye. If you ever had the chance to sit in the room with a vehicle chief engineer trying to make these choices, you might be surprised. Integrating any vehicle today is a very complex process because customers and regulators are very demanding, and if the company doesn't make money they will go under. ... View more

Well.... I am going to try to give you a perspective as someone who worked in product engineering for nearly 40 years for a very large OEM, with 15 years experience in hybrid and electric propulsion and vehicles. If you really get into this, you will find that in most cases the form follows the required functions. What most people don't understand about electric vehicles is their relative complexity. The usual mental model for the uninitiated is that it's just a battery and a motor--how hard can that be? And wow, you can just throw in wheel motors and everything is cool-- lots of space to do anything. First, wheel motors may come of age, but they are relatively complex and expensive and often place a lot of unsprung weight out at the wheels where you don't want it. Next, high quality electric cars are not simple. The magic that allows modern electric vehicles begins with high power variable frequency inverters to drive the motor(s) and advanced batteries. If you don't have wheel motors, you need a "drive unit" (think transmission) that contains motors and gears. This requires complex support systems for thermal management (cooling the power electronics and managing the battery), charging, control systems, HVAC systems, heavy copper cables, junction boxes, contactors, electronic controllers and so forth. All of these things require packaging space and many require air flow. You can move them around the car, but they must not intrude on passenger space-so most package under a conventional hood or trunk space. Take a look under the hood of a Bolt (EV) or a Prius (Hybrid) or one of their competitors and look at the amount of hardware required to make it go. Finally, an electric car needs to be integrated to meet all of the customer requirements for function and driving range (mass and aero) while complying with all the regulations by various government entities for crash, pedestrian protection and so forth. Vehicle integration in the electric world is just as challenging as in the conventional world, perhaps tougher. I do think we'll see more variation in designs over time, but certain facts of physics will limit that to a great extent. ... View more

I began using Stabil 35 years ago when I took my 1969 428 Mustang out for a late winter run and nearly burned it down due to all the fuel leaking from the float bowls onto the top of the engine.  The float bowl gaskets were shrunken and deteriorated due to the gas going bad over the winter.  Since then I have used Stabil in nearly everything (just not my daily drivers).  I worked for a very large auto OEM in the powertrain area and discussed Stabil with a respected fuel specialist. He said that the most important thing is that Stabil is an anti-oxidant and the oxidation is what causes fuel to break down.  He wished that the oil companies would blend it into all the fuels. Ethanol is another issue altogether.  You can look up a study by Mercury Marine on this topic.  The answer is to either drain the tanks OR fill them full so that there is little to no air space.  For me, it is generally difficult to drain tanks.  My answer for years has been to fill them.  Yes, you lose a little volatility over the winter, but it never seems to be a problem.  So, today I use Marine Grade Stabil in all my equipment-boats - carbed and fuel injected (up to 40 gallon tanks), lawn and yard equipment, 428 Mustang, emergency generator, etc. Marine grade has extra corrosion inhibitors to fight water. I leave gas in the generator for two years with a double dose, then if it isn't used, I'll drain it and burn it in another engine.  No problems ever from using the stabilizer. When I buy a can of fresh gas, the stabilizer goes in at the same time.  The ethanol will rot some fuel lines on small equipment, but that's not the fault of Stabil.   ... View more