Electric, Hybrid and Alternative fuelled vehicles - News and Discussion

[Fenman]

1 hour ago, raymw said:

lead by example

 

 

I personally find the faux reasonableness grating (“friends”? He’s not my friend). But if you take him at face value he’s trying to reconcile two utterly different things: the short-sightedness of players in a market with the science of climate change. 

 

There’s been a nice example of that closer to home: for the last three years, some of us have been mystified by the strength of sterling in the face of impending Brexit. Any fool could see from 2016 that Theresa May could have any two of her three red lines, but not all three. Then as her rhetoric hardened, the chance of a deal further reduced. 

 

Despite that, f/x markets all believed there’d be a deal, a “last minute fudge”. No evidence for that at all, but every f/x broker I talked to said the same. 

 

The world’s biggest f/x markets are, of course, in the City, where deluded posh Englishmen make vast salaries for what is little more than a sophisticated form of gambling. Interestingly, the outriders until recently - predicting tougher times for sterling - were Canadian banks, not the British. 

 

Over the last few weeks we’ve finally seen sterling slide as the reality of a likely no-deal at last sets in.*

 

So, an obvious problem; the political science analysts were largely in agreement; yet the participants in a market behaved utterly irrationally. 

 

It happens more more often than we might expect. 

 

Paul

 

* I should add this shouldn’t be read as either pro or anti-Brexit. Just trying to make a technical analysis of a likely political outcome versus the herd delusions of a market. The problem in the video is exacerbated because many Americans revere the rich, as if they have almost magical powers of insight. Clue: they usually don’t. 

Edited August 31, 2019 by Fenman

[johnofwessex]

One issue with EV's is that some areas are very well provided with charging points, EG Poole where my oldest son lives.  Taunton (For visits to the West Somerset Railway) on the other hand is a relative desert.

 

Given that for me most of the affordable EV options might just about make a round trip from home to these locations these are important considerations 

[Oldddudders]

While this thread in recent posts has plenty about the pros/cons and costs of an EV, I'm not reading much about market penetration. 

 

Just back from cruising a few Norwegian fjords, and the little communities we stopped at were interesting. I saw a much higher % of EVs and hybrids than I see in the UK (rural France hasn't heard of such things), but even more interesting were the hire cars available for daily rent. Two separate towns each had a row of Renault Twizys just awaiting your pleasure to inspect the local hinterland. Protecting the local environment or what?

[Guest]

11 minutes ago, Oldddudders said:

Just back from cruising a few Norwegian fjords, and the little communities we stopped at were interesting. I saw a much higher % of EVs and hybrids than I see in the UK (rural France hasn't heard of such things)

 

Norway has strong incentives for EVs. I think they make up over 50% of sales now.

[jonny777]

On 30/08/2019 at 20:56, Enterprisingwestern said:

 

Taken to it's (slightly ridiculous) extreme, imagine how much environmentally better off we would be if everybody still had their first cars!

 

Mike.

 

Goodness me! My 1965 Mini Traveller was rusting away rapidly when I owned it in the early 1970s. I had difficulty keeping up with sanding and filling the gaps left where the bodywork used to be, even then. I suspect by now, the only things left would be the seat covers. 

[russ p]

Just found this thread , and wouldn't really want an electric car but when I was having my aircon recharged recently I found that there is a charge now for disposing of old tyres.

I've now come up with a scheme for electrifying my van and charging the batteries from a plant that gets its power from burning old tyres,  I can use a milk float motor but linked to the gearbox to give a top speed in excess of a hundred MPH.

If I have tailor packed with batteries I can extend my range and all fueled by old tires. I can also incorporate a heating coil into the tyre burning furnace to heat my house.

How green can this be, endless supply of old tyres no disposal fee and I get fast free motoring and get money back from the metal carcasses of the old tyres.

Cant understand why no one has got into this before 

[raymw]

About 95% of electricity produced in Norway is hydro powered, and room for more.

[Calnefoxile]

On 30/08/2019 at 15:42, The Fatadder said:

Finally received my options list....

 

I have a choice of a basic i3, a high spec i3, a basic i3 s or a high spec i3 s!  (along with the iconiq plug in hybrid and a couple of conventional hybrids, all of which rather negate the point given you still have to pay a fairly high % of BIK) 

 

So has anyone got experience of the latest i3 who can comment on how accurate the stated mileage is and how you've found it to live with?

 

I would probably be looking at getting a spec'd up i3 s, assuming the S doesn't sacrifice mileage for the extra power (else it would be the high spec non s)... 

 

 

 

 

 

Unlike @The Fatadder I can't use an I3, not big enough. So my choices are Toyota Corolla Touring Sport 1.8 Vvt-I Hybrid Icon Tech 5dr Cvt, Toyota Prius Hatchback 1.8 Vvti Business Ed Plus 5dr Cvt or Toyota C-Hr Hatchback 1.8 Hybrid Icon 5dr Cvt [Nav] all of which will need to be self charging hybrids as I don't have a driveway. 

 

Without looking at any of them in the flesh, which is going to big enough to replace my current Vauxhall Insignia in respect of boot space?? There are ICE alternatives to my Insignia, Skoda Octavia, Ford Focus, Vauxhall Astra, Nissan Qashqai all Diesels.

 

Mind you I don't need to make my mind up for another 18 months.

 

Cheers

 

Neal.

 

[Ian Morgan]

Have you seen an i3 with the back seats down? There is a lot of room there, but the floor is not flat. The Prius plug-in is based on the 7 seater, and has more space than the standard Prius. When I chose my old Mondeo estate, I discounted the Insignia as the load space seemed too narrow and restricted in comparison.

 

My layout is transported in a 5 feet long box, so I went round several dealers with my tape measure to check out the various options. That gave me my shortlist of i3, Leaf and Ionic. Then I had a weekend test drive of my favourite (best range and least ostentatious looks), and made sure the layout fitted before making my final decision.

 

[Reorte]

On 31/08/2019 at 11:09, raymw said:

The fundamental problem is that too many individuals want to, or believe that they have to travel.  People having to work from an office in this day of electronic communication. Going to the shops when it's more efficient to have home delivery. Force of habit, and general ignorance by the company owners. One solution to all this freelance travel, is make all the motorways two lane. One with a speed restriction of 40mph, for the general public, lorries, etc. The other unlimited speed for emergency vehicles and politicians. More walking would improve every one's health, particularly with less traffic fumes around. There is no need for most journeys made. The 40mph motorways means that the series lr owners can keep up with the traffic.

 

Whilst I fully agree with less travel and I'm not at all keen on the idea "faster == better" what you're suggesting has its own problems. The idea of a world where you hardly ever leave your home sounds like hell, as does having work intruding into the home in the first place - I very, very strongly believe in keeping them separate and would resist any attempt at forcing me to work from home (other than on the odd occasion where I need to stay in for something) as strongly as possible.

 

Delivery from the shops? Is that better than most people having shops nearby, i.e. within walking distance? It may be more economically efficient to just deliver it from a centre, ditto with work, which is why we've got to where we are now, but I'm pretty strongly convinced that it's not doing much for our quality of life.

[Ian Morgan]

10,000th Street Scooter van now in service with Deutsche Post DHL:

 

https://www.electrive.com/2019/09/01/the-10000th-streetscooter-joins-the-dhl-fleet/

 

Street Scooters have now clocked up over 100 million kilometers, saving 36,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.

 

 

[Joseph_Pestell]

54 minutes ago, Ian Morgan said:

10,000th Street Scooter van now in service with Deutsche Post DHL:

 

https://www.electrive.com/2019/09/01/the-10000th-streetscooter-joins-the-dhl-fleet/

 

Street Scooters have now clocked up over 100 million kilometers, saving 36,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.

 

 

 

Love it! Just what I want forour business.

[Ian Morgan]

Well, 'Milk & More' are importing Street Scooters for use in the UK.

 

[Nick C]

1 hour ago, Ian Morgan said:

Well, 'Milk & More' are importing Street Scooters for use in the UK.

 

An electric powered milkfloat? It'll never catch on...

[Joseph_Pestell]

1 hour ago, Ian Morgan said:

Well, 'Milk & More' are importing Street Scooters for use in the UK.

 

 

So, a right hand drive version.

 

Tbh, it's really rather bigger than I need at the moment -  even with some current exciting plans to exxpand the business into new areas over the next couple of months.

 

But I would go with it. A short-wheelbase version of that would really do the biz.

[Ian Morgan]

They come in 3 sizes now, but I think they are all LHD:

 

How is your German?

 

https://www.deutschepost.de/de/s/streetscooter/kaufen.html

 

[Joseph_Pestell]

15 minutes ago, Ian Morgan said:

They come in 3 sizes now, but I think they are all LHD:

 

How is your German?

 

https://www.deutschepost.de/de/s/streetscooter/kaufen.html

 

 

LHD fine with me. We have a car for overtaking.

 

My German very rusty, what there is of it. But probably enough to manage their website.

[Reorte]

3 minutes ago, Joseph_Pestell said:

 

LHD fine with me. We have a car for overtaking.

 

My German very rusty, what there is of it. But probably enough to manage their website.

 

Put the URL into Google and it'll give you a translate option if you need. No automatic translation is ever perfect but I find they're usually good enough to understand.

[Joseph_Pestell]

1 hour ago, Joseph_Pestell said:

 

LHD fine with me. We have a car for overtaking.

 

My German very rusty, what there is of it. But probably enough to manage their website.

 

Many thanks, Ian, for putting me onto that. The website is very manageable and a good brochure to download. Not only have I put in a request for more details and a test drive (quick trip to Germany in prospect) but I have passed it on to a friend of mine who is looking to buy 10 EV utility vehicles for his team at work.

 

Apart from its excellent EV credentials, it is just what a van should be. Looks "tough" and has just the basic comforts in the cab but so well thought out.

Edited September 3, 2019 by Joseph_Pestell
add

[Ian Morgan]

Disclaimer:   I do work for DHL, but nothing to do with vehicles or sales, I am just a programmer dealing with international mail. I will not be getting commission. I just like some of the things the company is doing.

 

 

[Joseph_Pestell]

On 31/08/2019 at 21:29, jonny777 said:

 

Goodness me! My 1965 Mini Traveller was rusting away rapidly when I owned it in the early 1970s. I had difficulty keeping up with sanding and filling the gaps left where the bodywork used to be, even then. I suspect by now, the only things left would be the seat covers. 

 

Snap. My parents had a Fiesta Yellow (Sickly Green) 1965 traveller. Not only was it seriously rusted by 1974 when my mum replaced it with an Imp, but it could not make it to the top of the long hill on the Sevenoaks ByPass.

[boxbrownie]

4 hours ago, Nick C said:

An electric powered milkfloat? It'll never catch on...

Mr Grimsdaaaaaaaaaaaale......where do I plug Nelly in?

[boxbrownie]

3 hours ago, Joseph_Pestell said:

 

So, a right hand drive version.

 

Tbh, it's really rather bigger than I need at the moment -  even with some current exciting plans to exxpand the business into new areas over the next couple of months.

 

But I would go with it. A short-wheelbase version of that would really do the biz.

For deliveries a LHD in this country would be safer for short hop numerous drop offs.

[Joseph_Pestell]

15 hours ago, boxbrownie said:

For deliveries a LHD in this country would be safer for short hop numerous drop offs.

 

Totally agree. Never understood, when I was in the industry, why we did not use LHD vehicles. Same for my District Council friend and his grounds' staff doing roadside maintenance (I think Chris and I may do a quick roadtrip to Germany later  this month for a roadtest - and beer, of course).

 

Of course, on a panel van, you still want the sliding side door on the left, so you don't just go out and buy the standard LHD model which would have that door on the right hand side.

 

In the case of these, it's a separate "box" with sliding doors all round. When I was in the courier industry (2006-2007), I could never understand why we did not use this format rather than panel vans. So much quicker and easier to get at the parcels and you don't get the floor of the van wet on a rainy day which soon makes a right mess of the cardboard boxes and leads to a lot of refused deliveries.

[Joseph_Pestell]

18 hours ago, Ian Morgan said:

They come in 3 sizes now, but I think they are all LHD:

 

How is your German?

 

https://www.deutschepost.de/de/s/streetscooter/kaufen.html

 

 

Looking at this again this morning, and I am still blown away by it. So clever!

 

A design classic and not just about  the looks, "right" as they are. Basic simple engineering at its very best. They have gone back to a blank piece of paper and realised that not having a big, heavy ICE block to house, they can build the simplest and cheapest of ladder chassis frames to hang everything off. KISS at its brilliant best.