Would you buy an electric car?
Discussion
Being a sad geeky techie type person, I am quite interested in electric cars with their fancy satnav (Nissan Leaf) and smartphone operated systems (Chevy Volt / Vauxhall Ampere). I am sure the reality wont quite reach the technical dream, but I guess I am fortunate enough to be one of the few people who could actually live with an electric car - well, out of a fleet of two / three cars that is!
Most journeys that I do are typically less than 20 miles and for longer journeys we tend to take public transport and I dont commute. So it would actually fit our lifestyle at the moment and in the case of the Chevy, it would be unlikely that I would use petrol at all for 80% of journeys I take! The savings would be great, but then there is the issue of actually buying one - damn expensive to buy!
Given sufficient budget and a fully decorated house I could see myself buying one, but since I dont have a sufficient budget (20k or more!) and the house isnt fully decorated, I could save a hell of a lot more money buy getting something like a 1 series diesel or Bluemotion Golf. Both would be cheaper to buy, less risky for reliability and probably close on running costs over their lifetime anyway. This is the stumbling block I always come to.
So, would you buy an electric car? I am sorry to say that I would, but only under specific circumstances.
P.S. I know the Volt isnt just an electric car, its a range extended electric car - hence the petrol bit, so a comparison with things like the Leaf isnt fair. But its just a grouping.
Most journeys that I do are typically less than 20 miles and for longer journeys we tend to take public transport and I dont commute. So it would actually fit our lifestyle at the moment and in the case of the Chevy, it would be unlikely that I would use petrol at all for 80% of journeys I take! The savings would be great, but then there is the issue of actually buying one - damn expensive to buy!
Given sufficient budget and a fully decorated house I could see myself buying one, but since I dont have a sufficient budget (20k or more!) and the house isnt fully decorated, I could save a hell of a lot more money buy getting something like a 1 series diesel or Bluemotion Golf. Both would be cheaper to buy, less risky for reliability and probably close on running costs over their lifetime anyway. This is the stumbling block I always come to.
So, would you buy an electric car? I am sorry to say that I would, but only under specific circumstances.
P.S. I know the Volt isnt just an electric car, its a range extended electric car - hence the petrol bit, so a comparison with things like the Leaf isnt fair. But its just a grouping.
Electric cars will never have the range, but getting us used to the technology is very important. The future will be Hydrogen fuel cells, powering electric motors.
This will give vehicles the range and performance. The latest developments are almost there. The real beakthrough is what Honda are trialling in the US: a pump small enough to fit in the garage/on your driveway, which uses solar energy to get and store Hydrogen from the air. This will be done during the day, while you are using the car. When you get back, simply spend 2 mins refilling the car before you leave it, full, for the night and ready for the next journey.
Free energy, which is why road pricing is just around the corner...
Motoring in the future will continue, its just it will look very different to today
This will give vehicles the range and performance. The latest developments are almost there. The real beakthrough is what Honda are trialling in the US: a pump small enough to fit in the garage/on your driveway, which uses solar energy to get and store Hydrogen from the air. This will be done during the day, while you are using the car. When you get back, simply spend 2 mins refilling the car before you leave it, full, for the night and ready for the next journey.
Free energy, which is why road pricing is just around the corner...
Motoring in the future will continue, its just it will look very different to today
Not now, but wouldn't necessarily have a problem with it in the future when they are priced more competitively and have a range that is usable.....I noticed on Fifth Gear last night they said that 80% (or something like that) of the UK do journeys of under 30 miles a day.........which is true but 2 days a week for me its either 150 or 300 miles and as such an electric car is of no use to me....
kambites said:
Not unless you're planning on dying in the next ten or twenty years, I doubt.
Well, I'm not planning on it but, am at that end of life's slippery slope so, who knows what's around the corner.Mind, am not against new technology. Just yesterday I was perusing a website displaying the virtues of 'electricery bicycles.
williamp said:
Electric cars will never have the range,
They already do have the range to work as a town/shopping/commuting car its just that in the world of pistonheads everyone has a 600mile commute.Where as in the real world most families have more then one car and most people have a less then 20 mile commute. Which an electric car will do fine.
The next argument to be rolled out is "They take too long to recharge".
Hands up anyone who has to stand and watch their electric toothbrush/cordless drill/ipod/mobile phone to charge. I don't have to sit and watch them charge I plug it in, go do something else, but for some reason you must stand and watch an electric car charge up. Why else would folk drone on about the length of time it takes to charge.
The next argument is "but they sound s
t"The best selling car in the UK is the ford fiesta, the sportiest model is the ST it sounds like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxDA9kMs_U4
I've owned hoovers that sound better then that its a frankly f
king dumb argument.Many folk look at an electric car and compare it to their needs and it won't meet one of them therefore they are all f
king st and useless.We can all do that.
A Zonda F can't fit a wet dog in the back, tow a 3.5Ton trailer or get up a snowy muddy track therefore all supercars are f
king st and useless.The electric car is not here to kill the fossil fuelled car its here to complement it, but for some reason folk believe that having more choice in the market place is bad.
An electric car would suit me down to the ground as a daily driver just they ain't built one yet that suits my needs the closest is the Leaf but its a bit too big and a bit too expensive.
williamp said:
Electric cars will never have the range, but getting us used to the technology is very important. The future will be Hydrogen fuel cells, powering electric motors.
This will give vehicles the range and performance. The latest developments are almost there. The real beakthrough is what Honda are trialling in the US: a pump small enough to fit in the garage/on your driveway, which uses solar energy to get and store Hydrogen from the air. This will be done during the day, while you are using the car. When you get back, simply spend 2 mins refilling the car before you leave it, full, for the night and ready for the next journey.
Free energy, which is why road pricing is just around the corner...
Motoring in the future will continue, its just it will look very different to today
How much hydrogen is there in the air then?This will give vehicles the range and performance. The latest developments are almost there. The real beakthrough is what Honda are trialling in the US: a pump small enough to fit in the garage/on your driveway, which uses solar energy to get and store Hydrogen from the air. This will be done during the day, while you are using the car. When you get back, simply spend 2 mins refilling the car before you leave it, full, for the night and ready for the next journey.
Free energy, which is why road pricing is just around the corner...
Motoring in the future will continue, its just it will look very different to today
AnotherClarkey said:
williamp said:
Electric cars will never have the range, but getting us used to the technology is very important. The future will be Hydrogen fuel cells, powering electric motors.
This will give vehicles the range and performance. The latest developments are almost there. The real beakthrough is what Honda are trialling in the US: a pump small enough to fit in the garage/on your driveway, which uses solar energy to get and store Hydrogen from the air. This will be done during the day, while you are using the car. When you get back, simply spend 2 mins refilling the car before you leave it, full, for the night and ready for the next journey.
Free energy, which is why road pricing is just around the corner...
Motoring in the future will continue, its just it will look very different to today
How much hydrogen is there in the air then?This will give vehicles the range and performance. The latest developments are almost there. The real beakthrough is what Honda are trialling in the US: a pump small enough to fit in the garage/on your driveway, which uses solar energy to get and store Hydrogen from the air. This will be done during the day, while you are using the car. When you get back, simply spend 2 mins refilling the car before you leave it, full, for the night and ready for the next journey.
Free energy, which is why road pricing is just around the corner...
Motoring in the future will continue, its just it will look very different to today
Just it comes with a couple of pesky oxygen molecules
thinfourth2 said:
AnotherClarkey said:
williamp said:
Electric cars will never have the range, but getting us used to the technology is very important. The future will be Hydrogen fuel cells, powering electric motors.
This will give vehicles the range and performance. The latest developments are almost there. The real beakthrough is what Honda are trialling in the US: a pump small enough to fit in the garage/on your driveway, which uses solar energy to get and store Hydrogen from the air. This will be done during the day, while you are using the car. When you get back, simply spend 2 mins refilling the car before you leave it, full, for the night and ready for the next journey.
Free energy, which is why road pricing is just around the corner...
Motoring in the future will continue, its just it will look very different to today
How much hydrogen is there in the air then?This will give vehicles the range and performance. The latest developments are almost there. The real beakthrough is what Honda are trialling in the US: a pump small enough to fit in the garage/on your driveway, which uses solar energy to get and store Hydrogen from the air. This will be done during the day, while you are using the car. When you get back, simply spend 2 mins refilling the car before you leave it, full, for the night and ready for the next journey.
Free energy, which is why road pricing is just around the corner...
Motoring in the future will continue, its just it will look very different to today
Just it comes with a couple of pesky oxygen molecules
I would have an electric car if it suited my commuting needs. When they get them sorted I also predict that electric cars will be more fun to drive than anything we have today.
AnotherClarkey said:
Indeed. I don't see hydrogen being any better as an energy storage solution than batteries in the short to medium term.
I would have an electric car if it suited my commuting needs. When they get them sorted I also predict that electric cars will be more fun to drive than anything we have today.
The problem with hydrogen is there is no hydrogen filling stations but that said before the petrol car there was no petrol stations. You had to buy petrol from the chemists.I would have an electric car if it suited my commuting needs. When they get them sorted I also predict that electric cars will be more fun to drive than anything we have today.
Where as most folk have access to electricity
The future is electric cars and fossil fuelled cars sharing the roads for many many years to come.
The electric car will not mean the end of the fun petrol car as the petrol car did not kill off the horse.
And to be frank many folk really don't care what powers their car and that includes here. What they want is something that is shiny and expensive to show off with. Just look at the sheer amount of rants about car parking dings. A car park ding has never stopped a engine working and if we only cared about the engine they why are parking dings such an issue?
Most folk care far more about the little plastic rectangle on the end of the car then what powers the car.
thinfourth2 said:
AnotherClarkey said:
Indeed. I don't see hydrogen being any better as an energy storage solution than batteries in the short to medium term.
I would have an electric car if it suited my commuting needs. When they get them sorted I also predict that electric cars will be more fun to drive than anything we have today.
The problem with hydrogen is there is no hydrogen filling stations but that said before the petrol car there was no petrol stations. You had to buy petrol from the chemists.I would have an electric car if it suited my commuting needs. When they get them sorted I also predict that electric cars will be more fun to drive than anything we have today.
Where as most folk have access to electricity
The future is electric cars and fossil fuelled cars sharing the roads for many many years to come.
The electric car will not mean the end of the fun petrol car as the petrol car did not kill off the horse.
And to be frank many folk really don't care what powers their car and that includes here. What they want is something that is shiny and expensive to show off with. Just look at the sheer amount of rants about car parking dings. A car park ding has never stopped a engine working and if we only cared about the engine they why are parking dings such an issue?
Most folk care far more about the little plastic rectangle on the end of the car then what powers the car.
The "range" is one thing (I suspect this will increase in time) and testing on open roads in Portugal isn't really representative.
But the main isssue is recharge time. Until you can recharge the whole car in 5 minutes, it will never take off. A few may be sold in cities but that's about it.
But the main isssue is recharge time. Until you can recharge the whole car in 5 minutes, it will never take off. A few may be sold in cities but that's about it.
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