Battery Electric Vehicle News / Enjoying the Transportation Revolution

JKenH

buglawton said: I'm sure the driving experience of a BEV which of course is proper automatic would be sublime.

It is. You should go have a test drive in a 40kwh Leaf just to see how good it is. I have never enjoyed driving a car so much. The single pedal driving experience using e-Pedal is amazing particularly driving quickly on a twisty road. It might take a few miles to get used to it but once you have the hang of it it is incredibly satisfying. 

EVandPV

JKenH said:

buglawton said: I'm sure the driving experience of a BEV which of course is proper automatic would be sublime.

It is. You should go have a test drive in a 40kwh Leaf just to see how good it is. I have never enjoyed driving a car so much. The single pedal driving experience using e-Pedal is amazing particularly driving quickly on a twisty road. It might take a few miles to get used to it but once you have the hang of it it is incredibly satisfying. 

Totally agree. I used to enjoy driving but like most things, it became a chore after a while.
Driving an EV has brought the enjoyment back, especially on smaller country roads.

1961Nick

I'm sure you're right, some my auto hire cars have been great. But I'm not keen on owning  what's in effect an expensive and delicate Swiss watch between the engine and the wheels.

It doesn't worry me because I pay for the diesel, BMW pays for anything that goes wrong with the "delicate Swiss watch between the engine & wheels"!

JKenH

Here is your opportunity to comment on the government’s proposals on ending the sale of ICEVs.
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consulting-on-ending-the-sale-of-new-petrol-diesel-and-hybrid-cars-and-vans/consulting-on-ending-the-sale-of-new-petrol-diesel-and-hybrid-cars-and-vans

Martyn1981

EVandPV said:

Totally agree. I used to enjoy driving but like most things, it became a chore after a while.
Driving an EV has brought the enjoyment back, especially on smaller country roads.

I've been reading and watching news on BEV's for probably 5yrs+ now, and something that's struck me is that 'they' all said/say the same thing, if you want to convince someone, about BEV's, or even sell a BEV, just get them to drive a BEV, then it's game over. Even so, I have to admit it's far easier and relaxed (lazy) than I expected. Wifey commented recently when she visited a friend on the other side of a small (S. Wales) mountain, how pleasant the drive up and over was. No need for gear matching, and high revs on the switchbacks, and then all re-gen on the way back down instead of brake and engine braking. Soooooooooo just the cost, and the small numbers of sh BEV's filtering their way down the food chain.

Martyn1981

.......... and just for a laugh! Two drivers will be taking a TM3 across the trans-Canadian highway now that the V3 superchargers (250kW) have been switched on. Have to admit I'd love to do this, but far more slowly and ideally in a BEV campervan, I wonder how long before the utter beauty of Canada becomes normal and boring?

EV Advocates Kick Off Canada’s First Coast-To-Coast EV Road Trip

A pair of EV advocates are hitting the road this Sunday on Canada’s first non-stop coast-to-coast electric vehicle road trip. Ian Pavelko (aka the Mad Hungarian) from Vaudreuil-Dorion, QC and Trevor Page (founder of Tesla Owners Online) of Aurora, ON will drive a Tesla Model 3 Performance through the night from British Columbia to Halifax, utilizing Tesla’s brand spanking new trans-Canadian Supercharger network to keep the vehicle charged up along the way.

Martyn1981

I think this sounds excellent, but do please find the faults. San Diego California is considering a bill (if Breathe Free America can get enough public support (signatures) to present it) that would ban all ICE car sales above a certain value (in this case $50k+) from next year. The idea is that those that can afford a price higher than $50k should be able to consider a BEV instead, and also that higher priced vehicles tend to be bigger and more polluting (on average). San Diego has very bad air quality. Vehicles bought elsewhere would be subject to a higher registration tax within the state.

Perhaps (just perhaps?) a top down earlier ban, or higher taxing system that could subsidise EV's, might be an idea everywhere?

Martyn1981

Cybertruck is already sold out. What!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mattel Tesla Cybertruck Model Comes Complete With Broken Window Decal

Mattel announced yesterday it will offer radio-controlled models of the Tesla Cybertruck — one in 1/10 scale and another in 1/64 scale. Today on its website it says the larger version, which retails for $400, is sold out. Maybe Elon Musk bought them all to give as Christmas gifts? Both versions are expected to ship in December of this year. A really cool video of both models is on the Mattel homepage and also embedded on the bottom of this article.
The larger version — the one you can’t get any more even though you are just hearing about this offer — looks just like the real thing. It should. Below is a photo of the design team. The tall guy holding the smaller model is Franz von Holzhausen, who just happens to be Tesla’s chief designer. Tesla worked closely with Mattel to make the models as accurate as possible. (Note: all photos are of design prototypes. The actual models may vary slightly, according to Mattel. Then again, the actual Cybertruck will be altered in some respects before it goes into production as well.)

But back in the 1/1 scale world, it seems Tesla has over 500,000 pre-orders for the truck, which is roughly equal to pre-orders for the TM3, but perhaps the $100 deposit (v's $1,000 for the TM3) skews the comparison.

Tesla Cybertruck Orders Average 5,873 Per Day, Now Over 500,000

Elon Musk hasn’t updated Cybertruck pre-orders since late November last year, when they hit 250,000. But thanks to the Cybertruck Owners Club, we have good evidence that as of February 18, Tesla has booked orders for around 535,000 of the funky new electric vehicles.

buglawton

1961Nick said:

I'm sure you're right, some my auto hire cars have been great. But I'm not keen on owning  what's in effect an expensive and delicate Swiss watch between the engine and the wheels.

It doesn't worry me because I pay for the diesel, BMW pays for anything that goes wrong with the "delicate Swiss watch between the engine & wheels"!

Fair enough. That's probably the only circumstances under which I'd want to own a 7 speed ICE auto too.

buglawton

In this mornings Telegraph was an alarming piece about BEVs stopping rather more suddenly that ICE cars if they break down and can only be removed by low loader rather than being towed the first mile to a safer waiting place. The particular concern is smart motorways.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2020/02/22/electric-cars-hazard-motorways-government-admits

Any truth in this? Aren't BEVs able to 'release' their wheels to freewheel for towing?