Electric vehicles

[Nick Salmon]

If anyone is interested in a potted and very readable write up of electric car development, have a look at the centre two pages of this edition of the car club mag I edit.  I found it fascinating. The writer is an enthusiastic supporter of electric vehicles - but also has a very fine pre-war MG + and an MGB. 

http://www.lgccvcc.co.uk/clubmags/LGCCVC...gJun19.pdf

(p.s. And don't forget Lucien Rosengart's electric conversions)

[Bob Culver]

Hi Tony

There is a lot of capture of such topics. A complete replacement of the vehicle fleet and vast revision of the power source and supply network offers huge commercial activity and scope for profit for some. There is limited scope to further improve conventional cars and the public will not willingly go backwards to something more basic. Enthusiast groups fall for slogans and lobby groups influence public opinion and get the ear of politicians. Even where able government advisory groups exist (dont here) the members are not so foolish as to totally oppose current fashion. Here we have some ludicrous aspirational zero net CO2 target in a few decades. With the average vehicle life about 20 years the fossil vehicle replacement rate will soon have to be prodigous and total. Yet from memory we currently sell 65 utes/SUVs for each electric. Much more CO2 is produced making an electric vehicle and a lot is produced for the battery which has a life shorter than the average vehicle, and much shorter than the potential life of fossil fuel vehicles (some of which, with no plastics or electronics,  and moderated use, exceed 80 years!)

[Marcus Ling]

Hi Bob,


The NZ light vehicle fleet is just over 3.6 million vehicles. The last full year we have numbers for (2018) shows that we imported a bit over 300,000 vehicles both new and used. Of these the total E vehicles both fully electric and hybrid was 5,500, so far this year to end of September the number is 5,300. So only increasing very slowly.

As you can see, even if every light vehicle we imported was electric it would take 12 years to replace the fleet, however of the vehicles we are importing only around 0.2% annually are electric and about 20% of those are hybrids.

So with one-fifth of 1% electric, I don't think that we need to worry too much about petrol powered vehicles being banned in the foreseeable future.

Cheers

Marcus

[Andy Bennett]

At the moment I don't see the electric car as viable for much beyond town runabouts. They are too expensive, too difficult to charge, rely on fossil fuels to provide their charge, have too short a 'real world' working distance.

But:

it wasn't that long ago that computers filed a room and there were forecasts from Microsoft that one day every town will have its own computer. Now the fitbit thingy on your wrist has more computing power than that room filled with electronics. I fully appreciate that we might be closer to the tail of diminishing returns on technology, but they probably said that just before they designed the first microchip.

But:
VHS won over Beta when it shouldn't have, and electric cars are perhaps winning over hydrogen, at the moment...

Oh and who knew 5 years ago that you could become a multimillionaire from a new job called a 'social media influencer'.

Beware of forecasters. Nostradamus only got it right by making a blunderbus of predictions to ensure that the odd one must come true. Today it will rain. Today it won't rain. I guarantee at least one of my predictions will come true

Andy

[Derek Sheldon]

After reading all of this negativity I have to say that my wife has a Renault Zoe and it is very very good for what we need it for. We have had it for nearly a year now and have never recharge away from home where we use our solar panels to charge in most cases. With a range of 140-180 according to the time of year ( the battery is not as efficient when cold) . It goes like the proverbial of a stick. If the world can find renewable sources it is the way to go in my opinion.
I do wonder if eventually it is the nail in the coffin for our little cars if petrol then becomes redundant.

[Howard Wright]

Hi All

I would be a fan of electric vehicles, they are quiet, obviate the need for gearboxes and, we are told, will cut down on pollution.

BUT

They are sooo expensive in comparison to petrol (or diesel) cars

AND

Manufacturers quote ludicrously low towing capacities. Just how am I supposed to transport my Sevens to far off events?

Cheers

Howard

[Reckless Rat]

All well and good, Derek but a lot depends on what you have to use your car for. A zoe or similar is fine if all you want to do with it is a bit of local commuting. In my instance I have family in Germany who I visit several times a year. Due to our rural location travelling there by train is nigh on impossible, and there are no flights from anywhere near here to Stuttgart. That means I have to drive. Its a 900km journey each way. Now, ti break the journey we have an overnight stop in Beaune, Burgundy but I seriously doubt whether a fully charged Zoe would do the distance from here (Ales) to Beaune in one go and more so the second leg from Beaune to Stuttgart. I think it would probably run out of volts somewhere between Karlsruhe and Sindelfingen. I can do the whole trip in my 18yr old E Class diesel on 3/4 tank as it returns over 55mpg on a run like that.
Horses for courses. There is a niche for electrics but they are far from the best solution for all transport needs.

I now have to do the journey either in my MGF or the wifes 107 because the greens in Baden Wuttemburg have banned my old diesel from Stuttgart. Progress is wonderful.

[Dave Mann]

    Well one enterprising owner is in the process of converting his RP to electric, for charging it has a solar panel roof. The radiator is a photo of mine stuck onto a sheet of plastic it even has some dead flies on it.

[Alan]

Remember when diesel was the new wonder fuel? Electric vehicles will probably go the same way. Politicians may well see electric cars as the future, but I’m not sure the motor industry agrees. Right now, each manufacturer is required to have a percentage of its production powered by electric, and it’s that that is driving electric vehicle manufacture, not customer demand. Most people if asked would agree, the concept of an electric vehicle is fine, but they need to sort the battery problems first. Will they? Or will a greener solution emerge first? As an “insider” in the motor industry, I think the gasoline engine isn’t finished yet.
But, whatever the outcome, what we need is development run by experts - scientists and engineers, and not politicians scoring points and rebelling extinctionists.

[Derek Sheldon]

Reckless, you are correct, we are fortunate to be able to run two cars , mines a bloody great gas guzzling Volvo XC90 . But I use the Zoe now for all local work. The furthest we have been is Arundle a 125mile round trip