Will you still love cars when they’re all electric?
Discussion
Took my nephew out for a drive the other day. Young lad, loves cars. Dropped it down a couple of gears as we went through a tunnel. Decat, sports exhaust and six cylinders did the trick. He loved it and so did I. We didn’t break the speed limit because we didn’t need to. The roof was off, the sound was amazing, the gear change rewarding and we could really feel what the car was doing. We also didn’t break the speed limit because the tunnel has average speed cameras.....
Anyway, the point of all this is, even if I was in the most amazing electric convertible hyper car that drive through the tunnel would have been boring. No sound, no gear change, no mechanical vibrations, no......no nothing.
Electric cars are necessary for our planet and when the technology is perfected they’ll make awesome daily drivers. But for the bloke who loves to drive? I think he’s going to be left wanting. What do you reckon? I know I’m keeping my current car until they take my licence away.
Anyway, the point of all this is, even if I was in the most amazing electric convertible hyper car that drive through the tunnel would have been boring. No sound, no gear change, no mechanical vibrations, no......no nothing.
Electric cars are necessary for our planet and when the technology is perfected they’ll make awesome daily drivers. But for the bloke who loves to drive? I think he’s going to be left wanting. What do you reckon? I know I’m keeping my current car until they take my licence away.
Welshbeef said:
To think we now have full production saloon and estate family cars with more power than a McLaren F1 and same said car is well below 7 seconds to 100mph ie a whisker between family car and the pinnacle of McLaren F1.
And which car would you rather have? I’ll take the V12 in the McLaren over anything currently in production. It’s not how quickly you travel, it’s about the journey.Wacky Racer said:
The Internal Combustion Engine is a relic of the early years of the last century, noisy, smelly...bring on electric power, providing the boffins can increase the range in the next ten years or so.
Yep, totally agree with all that. But it’s the noisy, smelly stuff that makes them exciting. Traffic and speed cameras largely restrict how fast you can go these days. So the major trump card that electric cars have - unbelievable speed - is restricted by the environment they operate in. I’m really looking forward to my first electric car. It’ll probably drive for me and cost peanuts to fuel. But I can’t see how anyone is going to make something that stirs the sense like the “relics of the last century”.
Welshbeef said:
XJs 5.3 V12s are not pricy to buy so you could bag. One of those. Though you’d be using filling stations a lot and a basic warm hatch would destroy it in every measurable challenge .
Odd comment. I never mentioned anything about the lazy Jag V12. Also, how often do you find yourself in race on the road? You’re missing my point. It’s not about how fast you’re going becaus you’re never in a race on the road. It’s about being involved in the drive. I’m just asking whether anyone thinks an electric car will be able to provide the same level of involvement and excitement as a petrol car. I’m not saying I don’t like electric cars. I do and I’m very much looking forward to my first electric daily driver. I’m just making the point that without the sounds, smells and sensations of old technology and with the limitations of the public road I doubt I’ll find much fun in electric performance cars. And petrolheads are already boring people. Imagine sitting in the pub talking cars when there are no engines and gearboxes to discuss. Riveting!
The acceleration might be amazing but where are you going to use it? 0-100 in 5 seconds. Fun for a bit, but how many standing 0-100 runs can you do on the public road? More likely you’ll be doing 30-40mph minimum when you start. That means 40-100 in about 2 seconds. Then you have to slow down for traffic or police. I don’t doubt the giggle factor. I’m looking forward to that too. But it wears off and then what?
This thread is far from a precise survey, but I’m confident that it won’t be long before petrol cars that have something special about them will be worth very strong money. If I never had to do my day to day driving again I’d be thrilled. Self driving EVs - bring it on. But I still love to go for a drive in the countryside in a nice sports car. And I always will. So if you own anything with a special drivetrain whether it’s worth £1000 or £100,000 I’d seriously consider hanging onto it because it won’t be long before we say “they’ll never make another one like that”. And in a world where people are increasingly looking for something special/different that’s a very important statement indeed.
Now the thread seems to have come to an end it’s time to reflect. Watch this and tell me you’re not going to miss the internal combustion engine.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AQLbxAhg1UM
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AQLbxAhg1UM
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