Electric cars
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Another curious thing about mobile technology. People seem to think that EVs are utterly useless because you'd need to stop every 2 or 3 hours to give them a charge.
But I look at how mobile phone technology has changed - for the worse. Yet it doesn't even seem to bother most people.
My first mobile phone, back in 1999, was a Motorola that lasted about 4 days on one charge. My latest Nokia will go at least a week between charges. I can go on holiday and leave the charger at home.
Yet many people seem happy to buy phones that need charging every day. They can't go anywhere without having to drag a charger with them. But that still isn't enough to stop people buying them.If it sticks, force it.
If it breaks, well it wasn't working right anyway.0 -
...and modern phones are HUGE!! they look ridiculous. Its like walking around with a Table Tennis Bat on the side of your face.Another curious thing about mobile technology. People seem to think that EVs are utterly useless because you'd need to stop every 2 or 3 hours to give them a charge.
But I look at how mobile phone technology has changed - for the worse. Yet it doesn't even seem to bother most people.
My first mobile phone, back in 1999, was a Motorola that lasted about 4 days on one charge. My latest Nokia will go at least a week between charges. I can go on holiday and leave the charger at home.
Yet many people seem happy to buy phones that need charging every day. They can't go anywhere without having to drag a charger with them. But that still isn't enough to stop people buying them.0 -
It's good to think ahead like that, but I'm looking at starting a lease deal on a new car and not a bit concerned. It will be a long while before we're all driving around in electric cars.
I guess a good compromise would be a hybrid for now ?
Depends on your patterns of use. Whilst a battery range of say 20 -30 miles, which is currently the norm for hybrids , may not seem much use, for many people that might encompass their daily commute and say the weekend drive to the supermarket etc, and so they would end up doing 80-90% of their miles on electric only which is a big saving. For others it wouldn't be anywhere near enough and not worth having.
in 2 to 3 years time it will be very different, there will be a lot of 200 mile range electric cars available , a lot of s/h 100 miles (e.g. Today's new 100 milers) and hopefully more hybrids with 50+ mile range as well, the latter fitting more useage patterns.
Even if someone wants to run a car as cheaply as possible, if they do enough miles a pure electric will beat a cheap petrol or diesel, but for a long time that will still be "cheaper" though as a by product they are slowly poisonng everyone with noxious fumes and oniy government action will put an end to that.
Just as in the 1950's I'm sure it was cheaper to burn ordinary coal and people did that until "smokeless" was brought in to replace if and the London smogs then went away. Left alone there would no doubt have been many saying "that smokeless fuel is much more expensive I won't be buying it" - the smog is back now it's just not as visible as it was before but just as dangerous, arguably more so since it's not so visible (and it's year round unlike coal fires) , so the same sort of action will be needed to stop some selfish people poisoning everyone to save money.0 -
AnotherJoe wrote: »Just as in the 1950's I'm sure it was cheaper to burn ordinary coal and people did that until "smokeless" was brought in to replace if and the London smogs then went away. Left alone there would no doubt have been many saying "that smokeless fuel is much more expensive I won't be buying it" - the smog is back now it's just not as visible as it was before but just as dangerous, arguably more so since it's not so visible (and it's year round unlike coal fires) , so the same sort of action will be needed to stop some selfish people poisoning everyone to save money.
Interesting analogy. The smokeless zones only applied to urban areas. Do you predict similar widespread exemptions from EVs for rural dwellers?0 -
Depends what you call a long while. The rate battery costs are coming down it's likely to be about five years before BEV's are cheaper to buy (as well as run) than fossil burners.It will be a long while before we're all driving around in electric cars.The mind of the bigot is like the pupil of the eye; the more light you pour upon it, the more it will contract.
Oliver Wendell Holmes0 -
I'll be going to Northern France to plant one of those ceramic poppies on the grave of a great uncle. September 20th next year will be the 100th anniversary of his death. Either before or after that I'll be driving down to just north of St Etienne for a meet up my old school pen friend. 276 miles from where I sit down to Teignmouth took two charges from 100% when leaving home. Three on the return journey due to a hilly first leg.silverwhistle wrote: »do update us on your experiences.The mind of the bigot is like the pupil of the eye; the more light you pour upon it, the more it will contract.
Oliver Wendell Holmes0 -
A PHEV like the Outlander would be great but it's bigger and more expensive than I need. Similar technology in a smaller, cheaper model would attract me.
Smaller plug in hybrid = BMW 330e, Merc C-Class of some sort, Hyundia ioniq plug-in, Audi A3 e-tron, VW Golf GTE. Yes, they're all still expensive...Sometimes the change in technology absolutely means you change the way people use it. Sometimes that's a good thing, sometimes a bad thing, and sometimes it's just different, neither good nor bad. Just is.
Yep. Go back 20 years. Try to remember how ridiculous it would sound if someone asked you to take a picture of them with their phone?!! I can remember a friend that was testing a mobile phone that had a COLOUR SCREEN! It looked great and everything, but there was very little point in it, just nice colourful menus. No camera, no-one else had a camera, no 3G. That screen also killed the battery. I wouldn't want a B/W phone now though...0 -
Gloomendoom wrote: »Interesting analogy. The smokeless zones only applied to urban areas. Do you predict similar widespread exemptions from EVs for rural dwellers?
Yes, in a way, in that t it's quite likely that diesels and then later petrol will be banned from many city centres within the next 10 or so years so that's sort of the same thing . The costs though are pretty widespread these days we even get NOx particulate pollution from as far away as Germany. It's bad everywhere, just worse in cities.
Anyway this is all moot because well before 2040 the economics will clearly work in favour of pure electric for everyone, even [STRIKE]straw chewing rurals currently wondering what this new fangled lekttric is[/STRIKE] those who think the fact they live in a rural area means they are entitled to belch poisonous fumes everywhere0 -
even straw chewing rurals currently wondering what this new fangled lekttric is
Don't be so bloody patronising. These 'straw chewing rurals' are using technology in their farm equipment you can only dream of.I used to think that good grammar is important, but now I know that good wine is importanter.0 -
silverwhistle wrote: »A PHEV like the Outlander would be great but it's bigger and more expensive than I need. Similar technology in a smaller, cheaper model would attract me.
I'm pretty sure a PHEV Outlander will be my next car once the price drops to a point I'm happy with (I normally buy ICE's at ~4/5 years old), unless they bring out a PHEV ASX which would probably be a better size for me.0
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