The Official Top Gear Series 17 Thread....With Spoilers..
Discussion
Cue government wanting to encourage electric vehicles, new law proposed to be enacted in 2012.
All vehicles to be fitted with a max 4.5 litre fuel tank. Tanks fitted with a maximum 1 mm filling pipe to discourage fast fuelling.
Prohibition of carriage or owning top-up cans (slipped in with a health and safety act).
By 2014 electric cars will have a range of at least 100 miles, batteries will be chargable in under 4 hours and will last for at least 5 years.
OR
Let all the manufacturers agree on a common battery unit specification and fund filling stations to fit automatic battery changing systems - so that you can swap batteries in < 1 minute and are refunded for any charge left in the old one. If the battery systems are correctly modularised they can be accessed from under the vehicle and bigger vehicles could just have more packs.
The cost of battery replacement at end-of-life would be included in the price paid for the changeover and the battery packs ought to be checked for full charge/life before fitting (trading standards would get involved in this as they do for fuel volume delivery checks).
I agree, however, that once enough of the population adopted electric vehicles that would be the time they would start to consider taxing it - but by then they may have comprehensive road charging so it would not be necessary (petrol car owners would pay twice).
Just a prediction
Russ
All vehicles to be fitted with a max 4.5 litre fuel tank. Tanks fitted with a maximum 1 mm filling pipe to discourage fast fuelling.
Prohibition of carriage or owning top-up cans (slipped in with a health and safety act).
By 2014 electric cars will have a range of at least 100 miles, batteries will be chargable in under 4 hours and will last for at least 5 years.
OR
Let all the manufacturers agree on a common battery unit specification and fund filling stations to fit automatic battery changing systems - so that you can swap batteries in < 1 minute and are refunded for any charge left in the old one. If the battery systems are correctly modularised they can be accessed from under the vehicle and bigger vehicles could just have more packs.
The cost of battery replacement at end-of-life would be included in the price paid for the changeover and the battery packs ought to be checked for full charge/life before fitting (trading standards would get involved in this as they do for fuel volume delivery checks).
I agree, however, that once enough of the population adopted electric vehicles that would be the time they would start to consider taxing it - but by then they may have comprehensive road charging so it would not be necessary (petrol car owners would pay twice).
Just a prediction
Russ
I see Quentin crook is claiming that his C-Zero is brilliant and everything....
He even claims when he ran a Mitsi i-MiEV he's never visited a charging point (were there any to visit?)
I'm sorry, but this has to be total bulls
t for several reasons.
1) I am dam sure he runs several cars and only did a handful of actual real miles in it.
2) I bet most of the miles it did were to prove a point as opposed to actually doing what most people would use a car for.
3) it was free, so of course he said it was great (although apparently not as great as a C-Zero?)
4) I really don't believe he paid full retail for the C-Zero with his own personal money.
5) I bet he does far more miles in other non EV cars than the C-Zero.
but, apparently, we should all embrace the (current) EV as the car of the future....
He even claims when he ran a Mitsi i-MiEV he's never visited a charging point (were there any to visit?)
I'm sorry, but this has to be total bulls
t for several reasons.1) I am dam sure he runs several cars and only did a handful of actual real miles in it.
2) I bet most of the miles it did were to prove a point as opposed to actually doing what most people would use a car for.
3) it was free, so of course he said it was great (although apparently not as great as a C-Zero?)
4) I really don't believe he paid full retail for the C-Zero with his own personal money.
5) I bet he does far more miles in other non EV cars than the C-Zero.
but, apparently, we should all embrace the (current) EV as the car of the future....
Just had a thought.
You know how TG and other motoring journos are now moaning because cars don;t try and kill them any more so are not 'exciting'?
Why don't they advise people to buy the cheapest pile of s
te tyres that they can get.Shouldnt they be telling people to buy Sunew or wanli tyres? and maybe some knock off chinese brake pads to make things exciting for them.
can't wait 
gutted 
Forget smaller personal transport, when the fossil fuel reserves really do become depleted, how will all those huge and heavy 44+ tonne Commercial vehicles worldwide be powered?
Still plenty of coal under the ground worldwide... I wonder. Doubt if I'll be around to see how thing shape up but, it does pose an interesting question.
.
Still plenty of coal under the ground worldwide... I wonder. Doubt if I'll be around to see how thing shape up but, it does pose an interesting question.
.
MGJohn said:
Forget smaller personal transport, when the fossil fuel reserves really do become depleted, how will all those huge and heavy 44+ tonne Commercial vehicles worldwide be powered?
Still plenty of coal under the ground worldwide... I wonder. Doubt if I'll be around to see how thing shape up but, it does pose an interesting question.
.
Well, overland transport existed thousands of years before the internal combustion engine was invented. Plus, come the time when resources are depleted i guess mankind won't be shipping gazillions of tons of uneeded tat around the globe. Still plenty of coal under the ground worldwide... I wonder. Doubt if I'll be around to see how thing shape up but, it does pose an interesting question.
.
EVs might still play a part too. Early in the last century Ferdinand Porsche had designed electric haulage vehicles, like a land train, with the 'locomotive' generating the electricity to power the motors on the carriages.
Just thought I'd post this in case its of any interest to anyone
http://transmission.blogs.topgear.com/2011/08/19/s...
http://transmission.blogs.topgear.com/2011/08/19/s...
sleep envy said:
did anyone spot the exploding Astra?
i did and here is what happenedthe stig got in
started the car
changed gear
then it exploded
:sometimes these explode due to the big turbocharger and the small engine and the engine cannot hold that much horsepower causing it to explode.Gassing Station | TV, Film, Video Streaming & Radio | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff