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Electric Cars

Mendonca In AsdasMendonca In Asdas
edited October 2019 in Not Sports Related
Honda have brought forward their plans to get shot of diesel and petrol cars and only go with electric from 2022 onward in Europe.

I wonder whether all the other manufacturers will go the same way?

I wonder if anyone on here has / had experience of owning / using an electric car?

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.autoblog.com/amp/2019/10/23/honda-europe-fully-electrified-2020/

I just don’t know how reliable the technology is, and is it all a bit of a fag at the moment charging a car up?
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Comments

  • DanepakDanepak
    Mendonca In Asdas said:
    Honda have brought forward their plans to get shot of diesel and petrol cars and only go with electric from 2022 onward in Europe.

    I wonder whether all the other manufacturers will go the same way?

    I wonder if anyone on here has / had experience of owning / using an electric car?

    https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.autoblog.com/amp/2019/10/23/honda-europe-fully-electrified-2020/

    I just don’t know how reliable the technology is, and is it all a bit of a fag at the moment charging a car up?
    I’ve got a Nissan Leaf (2012).
    Apart from the short range (approx 110km), I love it. Very handy for shorter trips.
    Can charge it overnight (takes approx 8 hours with a near flat battery).
    Otherwise fast chargers gets you up to 90% in approx 30 mins.
    Zippy (big torque), makes it fun to drive.

  • bobmunrobobmunro
    Just yesterday I ordered my new company car - and for the first time for me it's all electric.

    It's got a range of 250 miles and I reckon two charges a week at home will be all I'll need. I'll use my wife's car (petrol) for the rare journey I make that's more than a 250 mile round trip.

    Battery technology will improve exponentially, as will the charger network, and electric cars will become more and more practical.
  • PragueAddickPragueAddick
    I'm really interested in learning more about the current technical understanding on both the batteries and the broader environmental costs of building electric cars. I've had people arguing that the end to end (build to scrap) environmental costs of electric cars is higher than for conventional cars. Has anyone got any links to reliable, intelligent discussion of this (i.e not populist bullshit nor obviously sponsored by vested interests)? 

    My hybrid car is 6 years old and it has a diesel engine. When I bought it, the petrol/diesel call from an environmental POV was marginal. In the time I've owned this car, diesel has fallen from grace big time. I don't want to get fooled again, thank you.
  • hoof_it_up_to_bentyhoof_it_up_to_benty
    The reliability of electric cars is still a question. How long will they last?
  • RedroboRedrobo
    Addickted said:
    Simple solution is to turn the road network into one big Scalextric track.
    Dodgem cars would be more fun! 

    Perhaps you you could have an electrical overhead pick up for motorways.

    To be more serious, the technology is moving so fast, batteries will soon be able to take you over 350 miles with more to come.
  • Pedro45Pedro45
    The new Toyota electric has a top speed of 37mph!
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  • RedroboRedrobo
    Bristol Robotics Lab has tested a car run on an Aluminium Air Battery that was driven for 1100 miles on a single charge - and recharges in seconds. It won’t take long for a car manufacturers to find a way of producing a battery that is economical enough to put in a car.

    I expect a family car that can do at least 300 miles on a charge to be out next year. Affording it maybe another thing.
  • MrWalkerMrWalker
    Exiled_Addick said:
    They don’t run on a couple of triple As, the battery packs are large, heavy and buried low in the car to aid weight distribution and handling. Impractical to change them out ever few hundred miles.
    It wouldn't take too much lateral thinking to design the cars, batteries and service stations to make it possible.

    The weight of fuel currently added, how it is stored and delivered and the safety aspects are not seen as a problem because they evolved. 

    Proper global strategic planning is needed now. We don't even have universal charging leads....and think of the environmental cost of the billions of cables that will need to be manufactured if we don't work towards standardization and battery swapping
  • bobmunrobobmunro
    hoof_it_up_to_benty said:
    The reliability of electric cars is still a question. How long will they last?


    Electric only cars are incredibly reliable - far more so than internal combustion engines with all those moving parts.

    They will last as long if not longer than IC cars, but with the caveat that if you are running an older electric there will eventually be a cost to replace the batteries. The car I'm getting has a 3 year unlimited mileage warranty and an 8 year warranty on the batteries. I'll have it for 3 years which means whoever buys it used when we dispose of it will still have 5 years' worth of battery warranty.

  • blackpool72blackpool72
    The cost of replacing the batteries is more than a lot of people pay for a car.
    This is what needs to be addressed to make buying an electric car an option for me
  • hoof_it_up_to_bentyhoof_it_up_to_benty
    bobmunro said:
    hoof_it_up_to_benty said:
    The reliability of electric cars is still a question. How long will they last?


    Electric only cars are incredibly reliable - far more so than internal combustion engines with all those moving parts.

    They will last as long if not longer than IC cars, but with the caveat that if you are running an older electric there will eventually be a cost to replace the batteries. The car I'm getting has a 3 year unlimited mileage warranty and an 8 year warranty on the batteries. I'll have it for 3 years which means whoever buys it used when we dispose of it will still have 5 years' worth of battery warranty.

    We're talking about a relatively new product and there is very little info about how reliable they are post 5 years old. Some of the earlier Nissan Leafs have had significant problems with battery degradation.

    There has to be some consideration re the lifespan of the vehicle and the cost of replacing batteries. Not everyone can afford a new vehicle and there will be little demand second hand until long term reliability is proven.
  • i_b_b_o_r_gi_b_b_o_r_g
    How long do Teslers take to charge? The ones I've seen at services etc. seem to be parked up quite a long time
  • bobmunrobobmunro
    blackpool72 said:
    The cost of replacing the batteries is more than a lot of people pay for a car.
    This is what needs to be addressed to make buying an electric car an option for me

    Totally agree - and a five year old electric only is not a car I would recommend for someone on a low budget.
  • kentaddickkentaddick
    batteries are the real bottleneck for green energy at this point, once we've developed a way to have smaller batteries that can store vast amounts of energy, we'll be at a point where renewable energy can really take off. Otherwise energy is being lost when it's not being used. The same thing is with electric cars, they're heavy, bulky and like all rechargeable batteries need to eventually be replaced. Once we get past that it will be a lot easier to make and buy electric cars.
  • i_b_b_o_r_gi_b_b_o_r_g
    .... Reckon auto electrics / electronics could be the game to get into, or invest in, over the next 10 years. Imaging the niche for the first few specialist garages starting up
  • RothkoRothko
    Redrobo said:
    Bristol Robotics Lab has tested a car run on an Aluminium Air Battery that was driven for 1100 miles on a single charge - and recharges in seconds. It won’t take long for a car manufacturers to find a way of producing a battery that is economical enough to put in a car.

    I expect a family car that can do at least 300 miles on a charge to be out next year. Affording it maybe another thing.
    Kia already sell one that does that, plus you've got ones like the VW ID3 coming in early 2020
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  • stevexreevestevexreeve
    Pedro45 said:
    The new Toyota electric has a top speed of 37mph!
    Not often you can go that fast on British roads!
  • DanepakDanepak
    bobmunro said:
    blackpool72 said:
    The cost of replacing the batteries is more than a lot of people pay for a car.
    This is what needs to be addressed to make buying an electric car an option for me

    Totally agree - and a five year old electric only is not a car I would recommend for someone on a low budget.
    It depends.
    Mine was 6 years old when I bought it. Battery SoH (State of Health) was still 75%. Now, a year later, it’s down to 73%. It’s saved me approx NZ$3000 (GBP1500) and I drive approx 15000km annually.
    I wouldn’t use it for long drives, but I rarely drive more than 100km in it in a day anyway (generally only 50km max) and with an approx range for 110km, it’s handy.
  • Super_Eddie_YoudsSuper_Eddie_Youds
    edited October 2019
    Huge problem coming in central Africa soon too as the demand for cobalt increases. Makes oil from the middle east seem stable. 

    Got to start somewhere though I suppose, I drive a fair bit and Tesla are investing loads in fast charging points at service stations. Eclipses the other charging points by a factor of 2 or 3.

    I drive a diesel SUV by the way, proper naughty.
  • Saga LoutSaga Lout
    ShootersHillGuru said:
    The discussion here is not really around electric cars. The argument for their use is without question. The real issue and until it’s addressed a stumbling block is the total and complete lack of infrastructure that will be needed. Heard someone on a radio call in saying he trots down to the local supermarket and charges his electric car while he is shopping. Never has a problem with not getting a charging place. That’s because there are so few electric cars needing those places. As the number increases just how much work will be needed to provide enough charging points in every road to cater for 100% useage in 15 years ? The underground cables will not be up to providing the massive uplift in use and neither will be the power generation and sub stations which will overload. Every house will want / need a charging point and flats and dwellings unable to have their own will need community charging points on the estates etc. It’s a logistical and cost nightmare that I have no faith that the authorities will adequately address is a timely manner. It’s certainly got to happen but it’s going to cost a fortune and be problematic all the way.  

    I wouldn't think the UK government would have the balls to do this properly. Contrast that with Singapore (somewhere I have been on several occasions) - their government (which is a dictatorship) I expect would just get on with it.
  • PragueAddickPragueAddick
    Can't recall who, but someone connected to the U.K. climate targets was arguing yesterday that -by 2050 - the U.K. will need 25million charging points!!!

    Another reason why I hope we are on the right lines, and would like to see the evidence. This comes in the same week that the U.K. shale experiment was effectively ditched, 4 years after politicians were gleefully claiming that it would free us from the shackles of imported energy. 
  • snowinberlinsnowinberlin
    ShootersHillGuru said:
    The discussion here is not really around electric cars. The argument for their use is without question. The real issue and until it’s addressed a stumbling block is the total and complete lack of infrastructure that will be needed. Heard someone on a radio call in saying he trots down to the local supermarket and charges his electric car while he is shopping. Never has a problem with not getting a charging place. That’s because there are so few electric cars needing those places. As the number increases just how much work will be needed to provide enough charging points in every road to cater for 100% useage in 15 years ? The underground cables will not be up to providing the massive uplift in use and neither will be the power generation and sub stations which will overload. Every house will want / need a charging point and flats and dwellings unable to have their own will need community charging points on the estates etc. It’s a logistical and cost nightmare that I have no faith that the authorities will adequately address is a timely manner. It’s certainly got to happen but it’s going to cost a fortune and be problematic all the way.  
    Perhaps they will revolutionise the way we recharge, i've always thought literlally plugging your car into the mains is a bit clunky, they found a way to charge your phone wireless, I reckon in 10 years time they would have cracked that
  • StigStig
    Addickted said:
    Simple solution is to turn the road network into one big Scalextric track.

  • guinnessaddickguinnessaddick
    Stig said:
    Addickted said:
    Simple solution is to turn the road network into one big Scalextric track.

    Wickham Lane
  • bobmunrobobmunro
    snowinberlin said:
    ShootersHillGuru said:
    The discussion here is not really around electric cars. The argument for their use is without question. The real issue and until it’s addressed a stumbling block is the total and complete lack of infrastructure that will be needed. Heard someone on a radio call in saying he trots down to the local supermarket and charges his electric car while he is shopping. Never has a problem with not getting a charging place. That’s because there are so few electric cars needing those places. As the number increases just how much work will be needed to provide enough charging points in every road to cater for 100% useage in 15 years ? The underground cables will not be up to providing the massive uplift in use and neither will be the power generation and sub stations which will overload. Every house will want / need a charging point and flats and dwellings unable to have their own will need community charging points on the estates etc. It’s a logistical and cost nightmare that I have no faith that the authorities will adequately address is a timely manner. It’s certainly got to happen but it’s going to cost a fortune and be problematic all the way.  
    Perhaps they will revolutionise the way we recharge, i've always thought literlally plugging your car into the mains is a bit clunky, they found a way to charge your phone wireless, I reckon in 10 years time they would have cracked that

    Every panel on the car acting as a solar panel? They are being developed now and the technology will advance sufficiently to make it workable as a permanent charging solution with sufficient storage capacity to enable a long drive through the night!! 
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