RE: Pan-European fast charging network plan confirmed
Discussion
jamoor said:
MarshPhantom said:
Why do people care about electric cars?
No sign of running out of fuel yet.
Less mechanical parts = more reliable in theory.No sign of running out of fuel yet.
More efficient, cleaner, less noise, faster, have two engines in one car so if one breaks you aren't stranded, easier to integrate self driving technology etc, no servicing, yada yada
MarshPhantom said:
Yes, but it won't get me to the South of France in a day. What would you suggest for people that want to go on foreign holidays. Faster - surely that depends entirely on the car you buy.
https://www.tesla.com/en_GB/findus#/bounds/53.8812021,-1.3973730999999816,53.7308029,-1.6740915000000314,d?search=superchargerI think you will manage just fine.
Also 99.9% of people of people in the UK don't ever drive to the south of france in a day, so that's a miniscule market that can easily be forgotten about and left for another technology.
MarshPhantom said:
jamoor said:
MarshPhantom said:
Why do people care about electric cars?
No sign of running out of fuel yet.
Less mechanical parts = more reliable in theory.No sign of running out of fuel yet.
More efficient, cleaner, less noise, faster, have two engines in one car so if one breaks you aren't stranded, easier to integrate self driving technology etc, no servicing, yada yada
same old, same old
rampageturke said:
MarshPhantom said:
jamoor said:
MarshPhantom said:
Why do people care about electric cars?
No sign of running out of fuel yet.
Less mechanical parts = more reliable in theory.No sign of running out of fuel yet.
More efficient, cleaner, less noise, faster, have two engines in one car so if one breaks you aren't stranded, easier to integrate self driving technology etc, no servicing, yada yada
same old, same old
I honestly don't know why people waste their money on them.
MarshPhantom said:
EVs are ideal in some situations (people that don't use their cars) and utterly useless in others. Got a 300 mile trip to friend's birthday coming up, also do a fair bit of driving in Europe. What would you suggest?
I honestly don't know why people waste their money on them.
EVs are actually better if you use them a lot instead of as city cars. Hence why Tesla has had such a big effect on the market.I honestly don't know why people waste their money on them.
Here in Switzerland the model S outsells the XF four times. It outsells the Merc E class in all body styles. It's within a few % of the 5 series and A6. It does all of this without any of the incentives that you get in the UK for EVs (well some places give you a few francs a year off road tax, but that's <0.4% of the cost of the car.) Since the summer the model X has been outselling it.
It makes sense to use them for heavy use because they're so cheap to run. My i3 has done 23,000km in 9 months and cost less in electricity than 2 tanks of fuel for the petrol car. They're also a lot more comfortable to drive so make sense when you're doing long trips. It might take a little bit longer to do a trip but you'll be a lot fresher at the end.
If I look at the second hand Model S on the market here most seem to have done 20,000 - 50,000 km a year. Looking at similar age 5 series for sale it would seem that 5 series owners tend to do a bit less - probably around 15,000km a year.
MarshPhantom said:
EVs are ideal in some situations (people that don't use their cars) and utterly useless in others. Got a 300 mile trip to friend's birthday coming up, also do a fair bit of driving in Europe. What would you suggest?
I honestly don't know why people waste their money on them.
There are lots of reasons - here a few off the top of my head;I honestly don't know why people waste their money on them.
1) Once you take into account some of the tax advantages they are not that expensive vs other luxury cars.
2) Plus there can be a significant fuel saving.
3) Plus there is a pleasure owning something which is cutting edge which can be quite a nice feeling
4) Performance, at least up to 80mph, is equivalent to many super cars costing vastly more money, which in itself is also a nice feeling to many people.
5) The opportunity it creates for some degree of autonomous driving on certain roads can be quite relaxing.
It isn't of course ideal in every scenario - but then what car is? If you have a sportscar the tyre noise can be tiring on a long journey. If you have a large SUV the manoeuvrability can be frustrating around town etc etc. So every car has some degree of compromise.
MarshPhantom said:
EVs are ideal in some situations (people that don't use their cars) and utterly useless in others. Got a 300 mile trip to friend's birthday coming up, also do a fair bit of driving in Europe. What would you suggest?
I honestly don't know why people waste their money on them.
You're right, it's massively difficult to cover any significant distance in an EV, particularly in a strict time frame. Probably impossible in anything other than a petrol or diesel car. Oh, wait... http://www.threepeakszero.com/I honestly don't know why people waste their money on them.
Get your head out your arse, Tesla have already proven that long distance travel is perfectly achievable in sensible time frames, and in the near future costs (to purchase useable EV's) will reduce and availability of fast chargers will continue to rise. You bemoaning them with non-factual arguments isn't going to stop that I'm afraid...
Is it just me that finds it amusing that the pictured car in this article is a Jag'? Who apparently are not part of this network. 
I am not a fan of electric cars but do hope this is a success or as others have suggested, charging points could be over-run.
But please do not install charging points at the expense of other road users.
I am not a fan of electric cars but do hope this is a success or as others have suggested, charging points could be over-run.
But please do not install charging points at the expense of other road users.
MarshPhantom said:
Why do people care about electric cars?
No sign of running out of fuel yet.
Yes, let's wait until the day before the oil stops pumping before we think about an alternative.No sign of running out of fuel yet.
The electric car is coming so get used to it. If it doesn't suit you then that's fine but it suits a lot of people who only do 10-15 mile commute and that is a lot less emissions on the streets.
Before you spout the usual about how electricity has to be generated, yes it does but it can be done with renewables and that technology is moving forward. Get a solar roof and powerwall from Tesla and power your home and cars.
In summary the change over to electric vehicles
- Will not happen overnight
- Will not suit everybody
- Will require a change of infrastructure (think chicken and egg, no infrastructure no cars, no cars no infrastructure)
- Will require people to go onto internet forums to tell everyone how they travel 500 miles to get a bottle of milk in their 520d and how the hell can they do it when they may have to stop for 20 minutes every few hours.
DapperDanMan said:
The electric car is coming so get used to it. If it doesn't suit you then that's fine but it suits a lot of people who only do 10-15 mile commute and that is a lot less emissions on the streets.
Or indeed people such as me who commute between 80 and 95 miles each way, depending which route I take! Easily done on one charge, home electricity is from a 100% renewable energy company until we move, when solar will provide it all. So far I've spent an extra £400 on electricity in 14,000 miles of driving, vs. circa £3,000 on petrol or diesel, all with zero tailpipe emissions - happy days.Gassing Station | EV and Alternative Fuels | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff