Electric cars

[levtweeney]

Originally Posted by Princess Alison

Just counted and we have approx one lamp post for every 12 cars

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It could end up like this

[YorkshireT]

Originally Posted by Wazza

How long does it take to charge. We went on holiday to padstow last year. Approx 300 miles. I’m assuming we’d need to charge it part way, how long would that take? I just worry that we Ebony have the infrastructure in place. At present you can drive from anywhere to anywhere in the UK without fear of running out of petrol. How long before we can do that in electric vehicles. What about driving holidays in Europe. I think it’s a good idea I just worry about the implementation

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To give you an idea if I pull into say Newport Pagnell with 35% left, and plug in the Tesla Supercharger, by the time I’ve eaten a Subway and come back out it’s on 80 odd percent. The latest ones will do about 300
Miles without charging.
Driving holidays in Europe there’s tons of people on Tesla Owners club Facebook who travel through Europe and even into Eastern Europe on road trips from UK.
Remember though it’s a lot easier currently in a Tesla than non Tesla as the supercharger stations are strategically placed throughout Europe. You will get the non Tesla network catching up very quickly now though. In 5 years all petrol stations will have electric ‘pumps’ - Many in the next 2 years.
I’m an early adopter on everything tech though, as I love it and was particularly concerned about cutting our emissions. I’d like a heat pump boiler next.
What I do know is virtually everyone who goes proper electric doesn’t really want to go back. Plugging in every few days or week at home sure beats trips out to the petrol station. No servicing. Brakes last forever. Car drives to London on its own it’s almost like sitting on a train. New features on software updates at least once a month- like Sentry Mode that detects if anyone comes near the car and records them, to new suspension settings, to dashcam. Once it even said put my key on the console and it updated it with better encryption. A few months back I also got side camera view when reversing. And also see the new self driving beta. In the US it’s basically driving itself on minor roads now, stopping at traffic lights, and negotiating junctions. It’s really like magic in some ways.

[tspill]

I just cant see this happening. Great target, but I think it will move way back from these planned dates. I simply dont believe our government could get itself moving fast enough. I also think there are questions as to the longevity of electric cars and what happens when they are beyond economic repair.

[ROBBOTOO]

So if the charge point is on a street where loads of houses are terraced and parking is nose to nose now already, are the bays by the lamposts having to be kept free for charging time only?

I do see a lot more charging points popping up, but it will have to increase massively over the coming years, as people aren't going to be happy waiting behind someone else for 20 mins or waiting for someone to come back from having a coffee or sarny.

[400ixl]

Originally Posted by tspill

I also think there are questions as to the longevity of electric cars and what happens when they are beyond economic repair.

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We are now at the stage of million mile batteries. They have far fewer moving parts to go wrong in the drive train.

Combustion engines are the unreliable cousins.

[FlorayG]

What will actually happen I think is that non electric cars will hold their value much better
I was hearing on R4 yesterday an electric car is about £27,000 but that's OK because 'most people' get them on finance. Well, sorry mate but of my friends, only one can afford a car of that price. Most of my friends buy cars nearer the £2,700 price range and some are reduced to closer to £270.
As usual, car manufacturers are only interested in people who buy new cars and that's NOT helping the environment because new cars are not built to last. My Land Rover is 17 years old and well maintained and my one friend who can afford a new car has had at least 9 cars in that time. How on earth is his habit more environmentally friendly than mine?

[Wazza]

Originally Posted by YorkshireT

To give you an idea if I pull into say Newport Pagnell with 35% left, and plug in the Tesla Supercharger, by the time I’ve eaten a Subway and come back out it’s on 80 odd percent. The latest ones will do about 300
Miles without charging.
Driving holidays in Europe there’s tons of people on Tesla Owners club Facebook who travel through Europe and even into Eastern Europe on road trips from UK.
Remember though it’s a lot easier currently in a Tesla than non Tesla as the supercharger stations are strategically placed throughout Europe. You will get the non Tesla network catching up very quickly now though. In 5 years all petrol stations will have electric ‘pumps’ - Many in the next 2 years.
I’m an early adopter on everything tech though, as I love it and was particularly concerned about cutting our emissions. I’d like a heat pump boiler next.
What I do know is virtually everyone who goes proper electric doesn’t really want to go back. Plugging in every few days or week at home sure beats trips out to the petrol station. No servicing. Brakes last forever. Car drives to London on its own it’s almost like sitting on a train. New features on software updates at least once a month- like Sentry Mode that detects if anyone comes near the car and records them, to new suspension settings, to dashcam. Once it even said put my key on the console and it updated it with better encryption. A few months back I also got side camera view when reversing. And also see the new self driving beta. In the US it’s basically driving itself on minor roads now, stopping at traffic lights, and negotiating junctions. It’s really like magic in some ways.

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Thanks for taking the time to explain. That’s a great help

[Sue]

Originally Posted by mike4scuba

If all the country goes electric for there vehicles where will the government get the lost revenue on fuel sales from

Revenue from fuel duties now stands at £28 billion a year, which is 1.3% of national income

Also I don't suppose part of the reason the UK and America invaded Afghanistan was for

$1 Trillion Motherlode of Lithium and Gold Discovered in Afghanistan

Isn't lithium used in all car batteries

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Yes it is and the world has finite resources of this, the mining of which is very dubious and not environmentally friendly. It is also difficult to recycle unlike the current lead acid batteries.
Also electric cars use cobalt, often mined using slave labour and processed in China for electric car battery use.

I also question where exactly all the electricity is going to come from, recently when we had zero wind across the country, the condemned coal fire power stations we’re keeping us going.
If things don’t change on the nuclear power station front quickly, we are facing power cuts people. It’s a national scandal IMO.

[Sue]

This is what I posted on an earlier thread:

DH has been in the automotive battery industry for over 25 years, I am reporting what he and the conventional battery producers and sellers understand to be the case.
It is the lithium that is not recyclable and the amount of water used to mine it (mostly in Chile and Ecuador) is horrendously damaging to the environment, affecting water courses etc. The batteries cannot be produced without other precious metals which are toxic to mine and depend on China, potential supply issues in the future. Cannot be produced without cobalt, mostly produced by child labour in the DRC.
A battery recycling plant in Derbyshire has has to contract a special warehouse for the storage of spent lithium as it cannot go anywhere else, shipping lines will not transport it.
Prof. Michael Kelly, Technology Prof at Cambridge has this year warned about the increased use and move towards electric cars.
Even the Guardian has produced articles warning about the move towards electric.
I could go on and on but electric cars are not green and are far more damaging to the environment than we are led to believe.

[llamala]

Ok all very well normal dtiving, but can they tow a caravan, and what will be the range.