Can Aston Martin Survive in the Electric Vehicle Era?
Discussion
Jon39 said:
Have they still got the ban on the prosecution of shop lifters, who only steal up to a few hundred dollars worth of goods.
Who made that decision? Saves having to pay for shopping I suppose and you can do the stealing openly, without the need for oversized secret coat pockets.
If you need to exceed the prosecution limit, you go back later, because the limit is per visit.
Cannot believe this story can be true.
Do you still have any shops trading in California?
moktabe said:
Fair enough if people like them then great but they need to take a break from shoving THEIR views down everyones neck at every available opportunity.
Personally I see an EV as completely soulless and to be honest I'd rather walk.
Stop shoving your views down everyone's neck Personally I see an EV as completely soulless and to be honest I'd rather walk.
AstonV said:
Yes, I believe you can steal up to $950, per store, per day and cannot be arrested. I live in a very nice area, safe still, a lot of police presence. But the days/years past when you could go anywhere and feel safe are gone. These days, many places I would never ever go.
LA is now almost a no go area.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnru2z7Ljz4
NMNeil said:
LA is now almost a no go area.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnru2z7Ljz4
Yes certain areas you wouldn’t want to hang out in. Certain people you need to be aware of wherever you go. It’s unfortunate but a fact. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnru2z7Ljz4
nite_narc said:
moktabe said:
Fair enough if people like them then great but they need to take a break from shoving THEIR views down everyones neck at every available opportunity.
Personally I see an EV as completely soulless and to be honest I'd rather walk.
Stop shoving your views down everyone's neck Personally I see an EV as completely soulless and to be honest I'd rather walk.
Sensitive little soul aren't we.
Edited by moktabe on Friday 26th August 09:08
https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a40949962/car-bu...
Seems to confirm what some of us have been saying before on these forums.... especially given that all new EVs seem to be full of screens...
F.
Seems to confirm what some of us have been saying before on these forums.... especially given that all new EVs seem to be full of screens...
F.
With the announcement today by Audi, that they will be a power unit supplier to Formula One in 2026, opens the 100% sustainable, emissions free fuel debate again.
Audi were competing for seven seasons in Formula Electric, but withdrew last year.
Presumably they are 'sending a message', that sustainable fuels in existing internal combustion engines, could be an alternative to EVs.
How are sustainable fuels made ?
Does it involve food crops being grown, but then used to make fuel ?
Is the process of making sustainable fuel complex and expensive ?
Jon39 said:
With the announcement today by Audi, that they will be a power unit supplier to Formula One in 2026, opens the 100% sustainable, emissions free fuel debate again.
Audi were competing for seven seasons in Formula Electric, but withdrew last year.
Presumably they are 'sending a message', that sustainable fuels in existing internal combustion engines, could be an alternative to EVs.
How are sustainable fuels made ?
Does it involve food crops being grown, but then used to make fuel ?
Is the process of making sustainable fuel complex and expensive ?
Enabling for motorsport 'as we know it'. But daft for normal motoring.
SpeckledJim said:
Jon39 said:
With the announcement today by Audi, that they will be a power unit supplier to Formula One in 2026, opens the 100% sustainable, emissions free fuel debate again.
Audi were competing for seven seasons in Formula Electric, but withdrew last year.
Presumably they are 'sending a message', that sustainable fuels in existing internal combustion engines, could be an alternative to EVs.
How are sustainable fuels made ?
Does it involve food crops being grown, but then used to make fuel ?
Is the process of making sustainable fuel complex and expensive ?
Enabling for motorsport 'as we know it'. But daft for normal motoring.
Thank you for your comments.
This then raises a question. VW/Audi are in the business of selling cars to make profit. Why would they want to be seen, associated with marketing an out of date vehicle power system, from 2026 onwards ?
Their activity with Formula E was understandable, although calling at the pits halfway through the races to change cars, was perhaps not quite the right marketing message for them.
RobBucks said:
It feels like ultimately Formula 1 is going to move progressively toward ‘sustainable’ power and then Formula E will become redundant. Perhaps that convergence is behind the Audi decision.
It has been suggested (above) that sustainable biofuel (probably made from Jatropha curcas seeds), will never become available to everyday motorists.
So why will Formula One be racing cars powered by obsolete engines, of a type that Audi will not even be selling to their own customers ?
quench said:
I wonder how much battery life is left in the typical, 8 year old Nissan Leaf?
As a percentage of that 6,000 pounds, what is the cost of a replacement battery?
Less than the cost of anything 6 cyl+ that has thrown a rod or had a dodgy cambelt stamp... Its just the same but different!As a percentage of that 6,000 pounds, what is the cost of a replacement battery?
Jon39 said:
The practical aspect with electric cars seems to need forward planning.
Did you read today, about a UK Police force which bought a fleet of electric cars ?
All went well until they needed charging. No superchargers available at the 'nick'.
A few cars were plugged in to 13 amp sockets, some were left to charge in local supermarket car parks, the remainder left in the station yard with flat batteries.
Project not going too well at present, but they are hoping the experiment will gain some energy soon.
Fortunately they still have the IC cars, otherwise the villains would roam free.
Edited by Jon39 on Wednesday 17th August 18:28
moktabe said:
Oh dearie me.
Sensitive little soul aren't we.
Not me but...Sensitive little soul aren't we.
Edited by moktabe on Friday 26th August 09:08
I have a 6L V12 in one vehicle and 500kW of motors in another. I love them both but one is far better propulsion on so many levels. Far better. I'd suggest some experience and objectivity of view based on that evangelism but each to their own truth. I also like steam - such character, history and engagement.
Ken Figenus said:
Jon - ths sounds like internet BS mate. No fleet manager would be so dumb. I can charge my Taycan overnight at home and be ready to prosecute the very next day!!!
'No fleet manager would be so dumb.'
I think the clue must be in the word manager. It seems they did not have anyone doing the managing.
A green (various meanings) part of the Scottish government, arranged for electric police cars to be delivered to various police stations. Extra brownie points for the politicians, so they hoped. They are very busy working on referendums, so there was no time for anyone to even think about charging equipment and it was completely overlooked. It seems running a country must be much like retail - all about the detail, otherwise people are ready to have a good laugh.
Ken Figenus said:
Less than the cost of anything 6 cyl+ that has thrown a rod or had a dodgy cambelt stamp... Its just the same but different!
In an attempt to bring myself up to speed on the whole electric vs. ICE long-term cost thing, I have done some quick internet reading (I know, I know, be careful what you read on the internet).Result was multiple articles from multiple websites, some sounding rather believable and expert, others not so much, coming to a wonderful consensus that:
- electric cars are definitely cheaper (one article said three to six times cheaper)
- electric cars cost about the same
- electric cars may be more expensive, particularly to repair.
One thing I noted in spite of all this profound agreement, admittedly, was that no one said ICE cars were definitely cheaper.
Do you think I observed a pattern between who wrote/published the article, and the conclusion that was reached?
Other interesting points were made:
- electric cars will probably become cheaper to repair as they become more common
- part of the electric cost advantage (at least as noted in North American articles) was government subsidies. No mention of course, of what happens when the subsidies expire, or more pointedly, as electric cars become the norm and governments inevitably figure out their owners can be milked ad infinitum just as ICE owners were in years gone by.
I concluded from my brief search that electric cars likely will be cheaper in the "near" long-term. Decades from now, who knows, but the tech will have changed anyway. I remain unconvinced of their major selling point, as being a saviour of the environment, and unconvinced they are a quantum technological leap over ICE.
quench said:
In an attempt to bring myself up to speed on the whole electric vs. ICE long-term cost thing, I have done some quick internet reading (I know, I know, be careful what you read on the internet).
Result was multiple articles from multiple websites, some sounding rather believable and expert, others not so much, coming to a wonderful consensus that:
- electric cars are definitely cheaper (one article said three to six times cheaper)
- electric cars cost about the same
- electric cars may be more expensive, particularly to repair.
One thing I noted in spite of all this profound agreement, admittedly, was that no one said ICE cars were definitely cheaper. ...
Result was multiple articles from multiple websites, some sounding rather believable and expert, others not so much, coming to a wonderful consensus that:
- electric cars are definitely cheaper (one article said three to six times cheaper)
- electric cars cost about the same
- electric cars may be more expensive, particularly to repair.
One thing I noted in spite of all this profound agreement, admittedly, was that no one said ICE cars were definitely cheaper. ...
Are you referring to purchase costs, or entire ownership costs (say 8 years) ?
( Depreciation, notional financing cost, the lot. )
Volkswagen ID3 ..... Price from incl. VAT £36,195.
Volkswagen Golf .... Price from incl. VAT £25,340.
Yes, by your internet article definition, the EV is definitely cheaper, somewhere between three to six times cheaper.
signed Jon39 (Arithmetic - Year 1 Test, failed). -
Edited by Jon39 on Saturday 27th August 07:42
I'm just getting quotes for more solar panels to be fitted given Winter is Coming and after so much joy in pumping almost a megawatt into my EV for 'free' (well actually was getting paid 56p an unit to do it as an early solar adopter) 
Now, after 10 years, new panels are twice the output and half the price (much dodgy cowboy firms profiteering though). The same will be true of EV im sure - sodium batteries will appear (seawater extracts rather than kids in African mines as H&S is beyond the care of their government).
Don't fear it guys - was sat for dinner on Tuesday with an actual GT3 race driver after some track tution from him in my spine tingling V12 and he too said how much he loved driving a Taycan. Albeit he was talking more about to Waitrose than around Brands LOL ;-)
Time will tell
PS - just got my Corp Tax bill - £0
Now, after 10 years, new panels are twice the output and half the price (much dodgy cowboy firms profiteering though). The same will be true of EV im sure - sodium batteries will appear (seawater extracts rather than kids in African mines as H&S is beyond the care of their government).Don't fear it guys - was sat for dinner on Tuesday with an actual GT3 race driver after some track tution from him in my spine tingling V12 and he too said how much he loved driving a Taycan. Albeit he was talking more about to Waitrose than around Brands LOL ;-)
Time will tell
PS - just got my Corp Tax bill - £0
Edited by Ken Figenus on Saturday 27th August 18:51
If this article in the telegraph is to be believed woolly jumpers in the sitting room may be one thing, but a donkey to tow yr EV is an entirely different proposition:-
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/consumer-affairs...
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/consumer-affairs...
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