Electric cars

almillar

Whereas a BMW i3 REx is a petrol assisted electric vehicle.

Oh no, don't bring the i3 ReX into it! I'd disagree with your description, as so many owners just have petrol in case they run out of charge. That's very different from a non- plugin Prius, which runs mainly on petrol. Let's just leave it at 'Range Extender' as in, runs on electric, can be go further if necessary using petrol to charge (not to drive).

What we need is a succession of customers going in and asking lots of naive questions like "Self-charging? Brilliant, where are the solar panels?", "Why is there a fuel cap/fuel gauge?" "Not having it, it broke down on my test weekend and I had to tow it here.." "How many miles does it do per kWh?

Eventually the sales staff are going to throttle the marketing people.. "

Or deliberately run out of petrol on test drives. 'But I thought it would self charge!!'.

since Tesla can't do this alone

There are plenty of BEV manufacturers. Do you mean manufacturers that only make BEVs?

RichardD1970

Martyn1981 wrote: »

And we need loads of BEV manufacturers, since Tesla can't do this alone, though battery supply constraints are already hitting:

A lot of major manufacturers now have a BEV, some for quite some time, so not leaving it to Tesla to do alone.

Tesla got all the headlines because BEV is all the company was set up to do and managed to generate an astounding amount of hype which it has ridden since.

Arklight

I am really sad about electric cars. I like petrol and the sound of engines. I like being able to turn the heater on without being scared I'm going to conk out in the middle of the road.

I also like filling up in 2 minutes and not having to think about batteries.

And I don't think they are any less bad for the environment unless they can power themselves by windmills somehow.

I don't want EVs I don't want them!

Martyn1981

RichardD1970 wrote: »

A lot of major manufacturers now have a BEV, some for quite some time, so not leaving it to Tesla to do alone.

Tesla got all the headlines because BEV is all the company was set up to do and managed to generate an astounding amount of hype which it has ridden since.

But the BEV's need to be profitable, something that Tesla is achieving (just).

And worldwide BEV production is tiny, so given that Tesla produce more than any other company (since 2018), it's not enough, not nearly enough. We need serious production numbers from other companies too, AGW won't solve itself you know.

BTW, Tesla doesn't just produce BEV's.

Martyn1981

Arklight wrote: »

And I don't think they are any less bad for the environment unless they can power themselves by windmills somehow.

Nice. You almost had me going. :rotfl:

RichardD1970

Martyn1981 wrote: »

But the BEV's need to be profitable, something that Tesla is achieving (just).

And worldwide BEV production is tiny, so given that Tesla produce more than any other company (since 2018), it's not enough, not nearly enough. We need serious production numbers from other companies too, AGW won't solve itself you know.

BTW, Tesla doesn't just produce BEV's.

Well, yes it actually will, if left unchecked. :whistle:

And, yes, I know Tesla do "other stuff" but in terms of vehicles (which is what this thread and sub forum is all about) it only produces, and was set up to produce only BEV's.

In terms of production numbers, they will only make what they can sell and, as of yet, the market is comparatively very small (about 1.4% of car sales for 2018) and will stay a bit niche until there is a massive improvement in infrastructure.

It is a slow process, introducing a paradigm shift, until tipping point when things gather an unstoppable pace.

zeupater

RichardD1970 wrote: »

Well, yes it actually will, if left unchecked. :whistle:

And, yes, I know Tesla do "other stuff" but in terms of vehicles (which is what this thread and sub forum is all about) it only produces, and was set up to produce only BEV's.

In terms of production numbers, they will only make what they can sell and, as of yet, the market is comparatively very small (about 1.4% of car sales for 2018) and will stay a bit niche until there is a massive improvement in infrastructure.

It is a slow process, introducing a paradigm shift, until tipping point when things gather an unstoppable pace.

Hi

For the average user doing average mileage in an EV capable of ~300miles between charges the current infrastructure is probably not that much of an issue ... there's a good chance that they'd already be much closer to the EV energy replenishment infrastructure than would be the case with ICE vehicles - in most cases no more than a few metres ....

HTH
Z

RichardD1970

zeupater wrote: »

Hi

For the average user doing average mileage in an EV capable of ~300miles between charges the current infrastructure is probably not that much of an issue ... there's a good chance that they'd already be much closer to the EV energy replenishment infrastructure than would be the case with ICE vehicles - in most cases no more than a few metres ....

HTH
Z

That may very well be the case, but it's a question of perception from the general public.

If they can't plug it in at home, then they need to make a special trip to charge it and "hang around" for however long it takes to charge.

I live within 7 miles of Birmingham City centre and looking on Zap-Map there are perhaps half a dozen charging points within 5 miles of me, now some of them are at hotels or at a college campus, a couple at train stations and one at the local shopping centre which I don't visit very often.

So of those, only 3 are accessible for me to use and I would have to get there when it was free.

Now, within 1 mile of me there are 4 petrol stations and the major supermarket I use weekly has one as well, so I can leave my house, drive 1 mile, fill up in 5-10 mins even if there is a long queue and be back home in 15 mins, or fill up after shopping, adding 5 mins onto journey, or just pop in on my way to or from work and it is something which people don't even think about.

That is too much of disparity for the average person, along with the premium on screen price ATM, no matter how much you can argue that it is doable.

Personally, if I was in the market for a new car in the price range of BEVs (which I would love to be able to do) I would spend the extra couple of grand, get a hard standing on my front and have a home charging point installed, but I can understand why the majority of people are, at the moment, hesitant to take the leap.

Herzlos

Yeah, currently the charging infrastructure for those without off-street parking at home/work is a bit poor.



But realistically, most cars spend most of their time parked somewhere and don't do particularly high mileages, so even on slow charging should be able to almost eradicate the need for a fuel station visit for anything but a road trip.



It's a bit chicken and egg though.

gzoom

Arklight wrote: »

I am really sad about electric cars. I like petrol and the sound of engines. I like being able to turn the heater on without being scared I'm going to conk out in the middle of the road.

I also like filling up in 2 minutes and not having to think about batteries.

And I don't think they are any less bad for the environment unless they can power themselves by windmills somehow.

I don't want EVs I don't want them!

Just before I got our first EV we took my old BMW 335i which was tuned to a dyno proven 380whp, running on custom Bilstein shocks with a Quaiffe LSD on a 2000 mile road trip across the best roads in Europe. We did all major mountain passes in Switzerland (Stelvio included), chased Lambos in German upto the 155 mph limit, and ended the trip watching the Belgium GP sitting at Eu rouge.

Short off inhaling petrol fumes you couldn't ask for more from a holiday as a 'petrol head'.



.



But after spending the last 4 years in EVs, you would have to pay me to do the same trip again in ANY combustion car, infact I would just pocket the cash and take the EV anyways.

If you enjoy motoring and driving EVs are simply better, its as simple as that.

Driving our current EV puts a bigger smile on my face than any of my previous cars, and thats saying something when our current EV is in effect a 6 seater van with fancy doors. I cannot wait to swap it for a 2+2 electric powered coupe in 20 years time when family duties melt away.

Theres lots of things that need to be sorted for mass EV adoption, but to dismiss EV on the basis you think you wouldn't like them simply means your the one missing out on owing some of the best cars ever made, and to be made.

No one made us convert to EVs, but like all good things, once you try it, your hooked, and there is no going back .