London Congestion Zone - LPG converted cars

AdrianC

bigjl wrote: »

And Renault had the idea to have replaceable battery all over France years ago, specifically with the Renault Fluence

The Renault Fluence is and was a perfectly normal internal-combustion car, the replacement for the saloon version of the Megane, launched in 2009, and still available new.

The Fluence ZE is an electric production version of the Fluence with BetterPlace's swappable battery, launched in 2011. Turkish production stopped a few years ago, but it's still built in South Korea and sold with Samsung badging (as is the ICE version). They're sold about 6,000 world wide - even though BetterPlace announced they'd commissioned 100,000 and had customer orders for 70,000 of them.

Did Renault have WorldWide Patents on the concept of battery swapping in regards to Electric cars?

No, BetterPlace did.

So what happened to the idea?
Commercial reality happened.
http://www.fastcompany.com/3028159/a-broken-place-better-place

poppasmurf_bewdley

AdrianC wrote: »

Not quite
The US just stuck with the old wine gallon, the odd one out of the three in size, and the only country ever to use it as the standard.

Then maybe President Obama would, according to his recent pronouncements about Britain and the EU, be happy for the countries surrounding his own (Russia, Canada, Mexico, Jamaica, Bahamas, Cuba, etc) to tell the USA they cannot continue with using their American Gallon as it doesn't fit in with their measurements.

Yeah! Right!

AdrianC

poppasmurf_bewdley wrote: »

Then maybe President Obama would, according to his recent pronouncements about Britain and the EU, be happy for the countries surrounding his own (Russia, Canada, Mexico, Jamaica, Bahamas, Cuba, etc) to tell the USA they cannot continue with using their American Gallon as it doesn't fit in with their measurements.

Yeah! Right!

<sigh> As ever, the real Project Fear comes up with something designed to outrage, while being based on complete and utter ignorance.

Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin to explain the reality. Somehow, I doubt it'll change your mind, because you'll probably refuse to accept it. Google is your friend, however.

The truth is that an interlinked system of decimal measures were originally suggested by John Wilkins, one of the founders of the Royal Society and later Bishop of Chester, in the mid 17th century. Westminster first discussed moving to the metric system in 1818, and metric units became legal for trade in the UK in 1897 - but it wasn't until 1965 that parliament agreed to start to metricate the country, with the Metrication Board founded in 1968. The original intention was to have the entire country metric by 1975.

The UK joined the European Community in 1973, just for reference.

Oh, and the US is one of only three countries, worldwide, not to have adopted metrication, despite having passed the Metric Act in 1866. The other two countries are Myanmar and Liberia. In 1964, the National Bureau of Standards announced they would metricate immediately. In 1968, the US started a three year Metric Study, which announced the country would metricate over the course of a decade, and the Metric Conversion Act was passed in 1975. In the 1990s, the Dept of Transport announced that all transport would be metricated by 2000.

So, basically, the only reason the UK and US aren't already completely metricated - like damn near 100% of the rest of the world, certainly all the globally relevant bits - is because of antiquated attitudes and scaremongering.

bigjl

AdrianC wrote: »

The Renault Fluence is and was a perfectly normal internal-combustion car, the replacement for the saloon version of the Megane, launched in 2009, and still available new.

The Fluence ZE is an electric production version of the Fluence with BetterPlace's swappable battery, launched in 2011. Turkish production stopped a few years ago, but it's still built in South Korea and sold with Samsung badging (as is the ICE version). They're sold about 6,000 world wide - even though BetterPlace announced they'd commissioned 100,000 and had customer orders for 70,000 of them.



No, BetterPlace did.

So what happened to the idea?
Commercial reality happened.
http://www.fastcompany.com/3028159/a-broken-place-better-place

I know perfectly well that there is a ICE version of the Fluence, as they never sold it in the Uk what is the point of making the distinction? They do sell it in Ghana, alongside Renault badges Dacias.

Would you like me to be equally pedantic and point out that it is also badges as a Samsung? Or would be pointless? I think pointless to be honest.

Picking somebody up because they didn't put "ZE" after the name Fluence when there is only one Fluence that has been sold in the Uk is completely pointless.

Almost like pulling somebody up for not putting "ZE" after Leaf or Zoe.

You could rightly pull me up if I was talking about an NV200 or Kangoo as they are both available in ZE and ICE.

AdrianC

bigjl wrote: »

I know perfectly well that there is a ICE version of the Fluence, as they never sold it in the Uk what is the point of making the distinction?

Because the number of ICE Fluences massively outstrips the tiny number of electric ones.

Would you like me to be equally pedantic and point out that it is also badges as a Samsung? Or would be pointless? I think pointless to be honest.

I think so, too, because I did actually mention that.

Picking somebody up because they didn't put "ZE" after the name Fluence when there is only one Fluence that has been sold in the Uk is completely pointless.

Yep, that's about all they sold of the electric ones here, true. Oh, sorry. I'm being unfair. There seems to have been a grand total of 75 Fluences registered in the UK. And two of those are diesels.

Almost like pulling somebody up for not putting "ZE" after Leaf or Zoe.

No, because there is no ICE version of them. They simply don't exist. 100% of production, globally, has been electric.