Fuel Blockade

Crabman

autismmum wrote: »

if only electric cars were cheaper, why are they so smal and expensive, i'd like a new car next year but the smallest one to fit hubby me 3 kids and two dogs is a skoda fabia estate in diesel its band b
its just frustrating that we cant buy a prius or similar, why dont they make them with 5 seats

There used to be cheap, fast, spacious and realiable electric plug-in cars till they were withdrawn by General Motors, crushed and the technology removed from every car made.

Perhaps it wasn't profitable for car manufacters as there was so little to service/repair on an electric cars compared with the dirty petrol/diesel equivalents. Perhaps it threatened our dependence on oil. Whatever the reason, the technology was developed a while ago but is being kept in the dark...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_Killed_the_Electric_Car%3F

anewman

Crabman wrote: »

Perhaps it threatened our dependence on oil. Whatever the reason, the technology was developed a while ago but is being kept in the dark...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_Killed_the_Electric_Car%3F

Wow that's very interesting, my bets are on the oil companies and the Government who benefit from the revenue - i.e. money more important than environment.

Ford even looked into making a nuclear powered car http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=656 Unfortunately we have so many hang ups about nuclear power, and people after uranium for bombs etc, that this just wouldn't be viable.

grahamdb_2

aardvaak wrote: »

Is there a fuel blockade starting?

I tonight went to several petrol stations in Ipswich Suffolk and all run out of fuel.

Hello, i read the reply you recieved from kieth, sadly its not due to high demand...there are blockades in the south of england. The govenment wants to aviod panic buying....i live in se london, the four stations close to me have run dry.....i managed to get to tonbride/kent, they are empty also, and the surounding area!...i was lucky, my friend teaches a young lad who works at a service station...most stations keep reserves for the emergencie services, he let me fill up when no one was looking. i strongly sugest you fill up if you can

regards Graham.

mustrum_ridcully

Hmm, call me cynical, first ever post and urging people to panic buy...

Why isn't the media reporting these supposed blockades? I'm sure papers like the Daily Mail and Daily Express would love to rub Gordon Brown's nose in it and they're based in the South East so ARE likely to have noticed...

EDIT:
Here's why we haven't heard much about the protests - they were pretty much a failure
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7145581.stm

Biggles

There's certainly no shortage in the Ipswich area. Nor anywhere else, that I know of.

I suspect the only other thing there's no shortage of is trolls....

goldspanners

Crabman wrote: »

There used to be cheap, fast, spacious and realiable electric plug-in cars till they were withdrawn by General Motors, crushed and the technology removed from every car made.

Perhaps it wasn't profitable for car manufacters as there was so little to service/repair on an electric cars compared with the dirty petrol/diesel equivalents. Perhaps it threatened our dependence on oil. Whatever the reason, the technology was developed a while ago but is being kept in the dark...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_Killed_the_Electric_Car%3F

im a forklift truck engineer,these machines have been electric for decades,the technology is there,dont be fooled in thinking its too expensive to develop,there really isnt much left to develop.
as for nothing to service,i strongly disagree,do you know how much time is really spent on servicing the engine in your car? if the service takes 2 hours no more than half an hour is spent on the engine.
the rest is on brakes,tyres,lubing steering, suspension and the big part...paper work.
im still in a job and i service and repair electric forklifts every day,sometimes there is more to do on the electric than engine trucks.
the change from diesel and petrol to hybrid and full electric will happen soon enough but it will be gradual.

Crabman

goldspanners wrote: »

im a forklift truck engineer,these machines have been electric for decades,the technology is there,dont be fooled in thinking its too expensive to develop,there really isnt much left to develop.
as for nothing to service,i strongly disagree,do you know how much time is really spent on servicing the engine in your car? if the service takes 2 hours no more than half an hour is spent on the engine.
the rest is on brakes,tyres,lubing steering, suspension and the big part...paper work.
im still in a job and i service and repair electric forklifts every day,sometimes there is more to do on the electric than engine trucks.
the change from diesel and petrol to hybrid and full electric will happen soon enough but it will be gradual.

Good point about the other aspects of servicing, but it's still a mystery as to why all these cars were suddenly spirited away and destroyed... the change from petrol/diesel --> electric has already happened, the technology already exists and has been proven by many US consumers, so why isn't it being used now?

anewman

There was an electric vehicle in 1898 which could reach 62mph with approximately 68hp. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Jamais_Contente My guess is it probably couldn't travel for long, but the power and speed for that year in an electric vehicle seems quite impressive to me.

General Motors tried to make a production electric car called the EV1, but it all went wrong http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_EV1 GM took them all back and crushed them all, and removed one from display in a museum.

Unfortunately the Government rely on oil for money as much as the oil companies do. If the Government really cared about the environment they'd have tried to get car companies to change rather than continue with petrol and diesel. And now de-forestation is going on to grow sugar cane for Ethanol which is supposedly going to be environmentally friendly :rolleyes: yeah right.

goldspanners

Crabman wrote: »

Good point about the other aspects of servicing, but it's still a mystery as to why all these cars were suddenly spirited away and destroyed... the change from petrol/diesel --> electric has already happened, the technology already exists and has been proven by many US consumers, so why isn't it being used now?

probably a bit of everything,money in revenue for governments and the practicalilty of the combustion engine over the electric vehicle,people want a car to get them from a to b,they dont want the hassle of charging batteries,etc...
i dont think we will have full electric cars until there is a definate end in sight for the common combustion engine.