Is electric really the answer?

[jep]

These will be car parks built in 50s and 60s when cars weighed 1000kg or less. Add old age to the structure and it's a recipe for failure.

The sooner governments globally wake up to taxing cars on weight and width, the better. The system presently (currently?) is insane.

Justin

 

[Bravo73]

8 hours ago, jonwat said:

Heavy batteries in electric vehicles could put multistorey car parks at risk of collapse, according to experts.

Chris Whapples, a structural engineer and parking consultant, said that there was “definitely potential” for older car parks “in poor condition to collapse”.

A similar clickbait article appeared in this thread in December 2022. 

Both articles still conveniently forgot that these same car parks are already full of 2 & 3 tonne SUVs. 🤦‍♂️

[jep]

Fine but every other car is now over 1500kg in essence and getting heavier due to batteries. 

It's ruining our already poor roads and can only lead to more problems, not least of all pedestrian and cyclist safety (not usually a priority of mine). 

Justin 

[pete]

https://www.newburytoday.co.uk/news/thieves-target-electric-car-chargers-9307370/

[C8RKH]

What don't thieves target these days? Personally, I think thieves should have their non dominant hand chopped off when caught and proven guilty. A second time, they get the other chopped off. And neither act entitles them to any sort of state benefit!

It might appear shockingly medieval of me to suggest this, but we've had 150 years of the "sentence as a reform" approach and toerag thieves are worse than ever. So maybe try a different approach.

I'm sick and tired of hearing about how people don't feel safe in their own homes. Walking down their street etc. When offenders are given "treats" and have their human rights protected - what about the human rights of a law abiding citizen to just go about their business and life without the fear of attack, or to sleep in their own home without the fear of invasion and theft?

[Rambo]

Ever thought about moving to Baghdad? 😉

[webfoot]

[C8RKH]

1 hour ago, Rambo said:

Ever thought about moving to Baghdad? 😉

Don't see the point of moving from one third world country that had until recently what felt like a dictatorship to another one. 

However, at least my EV cable would be safe from theft and the better roads would be less likley to break my EV suspension.

[Kimbers]

The amount of absolute B**&Sh** I am reading in the motoring press about Electric is absolutely laughable.

It's like its been written with absolutely no knowledge of the industry, but with a Climate change Activist and Government official sitting on their shoulder watching whats written.

Even now they are saying "EV use in Fleets is struggling because Fleet Managers don't know enough about it, or don't have the time to see the benefits"

F**K You! I am a Fleet Manager who knows pretty much everything there is to know because, you know what? I know my F**King job you self righteous, condescending Journo Pr**K!

I'll tell you why Companies are struggling to switch to Electric vehicles. Cause they are Shit. They are unusable for anyone driving any decent distance for their job because we don't want to stop for 45 minutes every couple of hundred miles and even then thats only if one is free which they often aren't! They are unusable to rent from a rental site as many hotels and places to stay don't have the facility to charge them and if you are renting one for a few days you won't have a pay as you go payment card. Plus the amount of calls we get calling for help cause they have run out of juice just makes it totally unusable. 

I could go on for pages but what he should have said: 

- The range is nowhere near enough
- The charging time is too long especially with several stops a day. My boss won't pay us to sit around waiting
- Many places don't have Triple Phase Chargers (12% of total Chargers) meaning super charging or quick charging is impossible.
- The charge cost on Motorways and main roads is twice that of a Diesel or Petrol
- The upfront Cost is too high
- The residual is too low
- The above 2 make Contract hire and rental Rates too much

And thats just straight off the top of my head!

Small and medium-sized fleets ‘struggling’ to make switch to electric | Electric fleet news

[C8RKH]

Couldn't agree more @Kimbers, your bullet points are spot on.

Manufacturers have focused on straight line acceleration and "premium". So the prices have been high and they've been in many cases (not all of course) status purchases by the middle class do gooding fookwit. Manufacturers have openly admitted they focused on the "premium" models as they could maximise profit. Instead, they should have focused on practicality and range at an affordable price. That would have driven adoption much faster, but of course, their bonuses would have been slower to come and smaller.

It's all been the equivelent of an environmental ponzi scheme. Just likke carbon offsetting. Greenwashing at its best.

[ramjet]

I wonder if Greta drives? If not, what does she get driven around in?

[Bibs]

 

[Bibs]

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/lotus-unveils-500kw-electric-car-charger

Shock @lotuscars unveiling! But it's not a car - it's a robotic charging device which can top up any electric car at up to 500kW... pic.twitter.com/V82qgmG7MJ

— Autocar (@autocar) April 18, 2023

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

That will probably black out your whole neighbourhood when you switch it on!

[pete]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fTYnWJaNhEY&feature=youtu.be

[Bibs]

6 hours ago, LotusLeftLotusRight said:

That will probably black out your whole neighbourhood when you switch it on!

If you village cane handle 20 kettles being turned on at once, electric cars aren't the issue. 

[C8RKH]

The average kettle uses 2-3kw.

[Sparky]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-65319586

Hmmmmm

[Kimbers]

When I have stated the whole infrastructure doesn't work with Electric cars I can now include additional average weight per car! Plus Charging points weights!

[Techyd]

Just watched the above video from Bibs on Toyoto's new engine...very interesting, at one point though, the narrator mentioned that for one tank for fuel it will output 50 litres of water (vapour).  Can't help but think if we scale this up that means a lot more water in the air and presumably, a lot more rain as a result??

[Kimbers]

1 hour ago, Techyd said:

Just watched the above video from Bibs on Toyoto's new engine...very interesting, at one point though, the narrator mentioned that for one tank for fuel it will output 50 litres of water (vapour).  Can't help but think if we scale this up that means a lot more water in the air and presumably, a lot more rain as a result??

Not really cause water is used in the manufacturing process to make the fuel in the first place.

[exeterjeep]

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/stellantis-testing-28-engine-families-synthetic-fuel-compatibility?fbclid=IwAR1HPLbsS4IWIAEW72KTk_z5C7TkLq9zbGhZ18At-bjow5cSvX2N2v6sNU8

Stellantis has announced that it's finalising testing of 28 engine families for compatibility with e-fuels, which it claims can provide a 90% reduction in CO2 emissions.

 

It's the latest manufacturer to announce a significant investment into synthetic fuels following the EU’s announcement that it would allow ICE vehicles to remain on sale after 2035 as long as they use only sustainable carbon-neutral fuels.

[jonwat]

Today's Times:

The cost of insuring electric cars has jumped by 20 per cent over the past year as Teslas and other models are scrapped when their battery packs have the slightest damage.

Average annual premiums have jumped to £662, a much faster rise than the cost of insuring petrol vehicles.

The cost of insuring Teslas, which are Britain’s most popular electric vehicles, has risen even faster than average, at least in part because there is no way of repairing their batteries once damaged.

A recent investigation by Reuters found scratched and mildly damaged battery packs “piling up in scrapyards” with experts saying batteries in some Teslas have “zero reparability”.

The findings are the latest in a litany of issues clouding the prospect of an all-electric future on the roads.

[Rambo]

[ramjet]

So Elon Musk has a company that can and does manufacture a reusable rocket launch system. So a fairly good chance of some money coming in there. Build something that fills a need.

And Elon Musk also has company that can not repair or reuse the battery pack (assembly) in a vehicle that costs almost half the value of the vehicle? So a fairly good chance of some money coming in there. Build something that people are going to need.