Electric cars

[Jocko]

Once it becomes in the supermarket's interest to provide charging points, they will be in a rush to install them. Then one of the big four will offer free charging to customers then they will all be going down that route.
When I lived in Gourock, the Tesco in Greenock town centre offered free parking for customers (others had to pay). A current receipt was the proof you were a customer. They were the busiest supermarket in the town centre.
Here in Kirkcaldy Asda did away with the £1 for a trolley. Within a month every supermarket except Aldi and Lidl did the same.

[Kremmen]

Before the £1 round here they were all over the car park, damaged, in the canal, etc and people took them home. The trolley people had a long job.

With the £1 there's always plenty available near the store entrance and they roll properly.

[Jocko]

Asda has the fancy ones that if you try to leave the car park, the brake is applied. The furthest the trolley man has to go is the sensor cable.

[Kremmen]

We had those, there was a red line on the floor, the trolley detected it and locked.

The kids arrived overnight and pushed every trolley over the red line so they all had to be unlocked.

Kids 1  Tesco 0

[madasafish]

Asda has the fancy ones that if you try to leave the car park, the brake is applied. The furthest the trolley man has to go is the sensor cable.

Not in  Stole on Trent  sorry Stoke on Trent.

[748rich]

Jazz passed MOT yesterday  Same advisories as last year repeated. Uneven wear to front tyres (edges). As only 3000 miles since last year (due to lockdown) I thought 5mm of tread was acceptable and so it was.
Just a couple of comments to add to the thread regarding electric cars.
Hybrid cars in the summer. Electric motor runs for approx 2 miles before engine starts. Hybrid cars in winter. As soon as you switch on the engine starts to warm the cabin. (Toyota Yaris 2018 model). Fuel consumption nowhere near the 85mpg suggested by the manufacturer.
Have a look on youtube

(We drove these new electric cars until they DIED!)
Stay safe everybody.
Richard.

[JimSh]

Nice video

[JimSh]

Not good news from Toyota

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/dec/07/toyota-will-not-invest-in-electric-cars-in-uk-until-at-least-2034

Nor from Land Rover

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/dec/08/ineos-boss-opts-to-build-british-heir-to-land-rover-defender-in-france

Or Honda
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-55230469

Latest update. Just saw the Honda news on tele this morning.

[MartinJG]

I am getting the feeling that electric cars and the power to charge them is the Gov putting the cart before the horse.

I think that is being rather polite.

[madasafish]

I think you are being unkind.
Wind power IS the way to go.
What can go wrong?

Err  I have looked a lot at Gridwatch a lot the past 3 weeks.
Solar and windpower falling from 40% of demand in summer to less than 20% at times...21% as I write.
What we need is all those nuclear power plants that are on order.
Err.

[Kremmen]

I wonder how long it would take for RR to get them up and running.

Wind & Solar is seasonal and time of day as mentioned. With the upcoming reliance on electric they need to 'extract their digit' as my wife would say.

[culzean]

Not good news from Toyota

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/dec/07/toyota-will-not-invest-in-electric-cars-in-uk-until-at-least-2034

Nor from Land Rover

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/dec/08/ineos-boss-opts-to-build-british-heir-to-land-rover-defender-in-france

Or Honda
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-55230469

Latest update. Just saw the Honda news on tele this morning.

Port delays caused by businesses panic buying - just like the muppets did with bogroll and pasta and anything in a tin at start of lockdowns -

And the Defender clone is nothing to do with  Land Rover,  it is a copy, maybe he can't build it in UK due to Land Rover suing him.

[sparky Paul]

I wonder how long it would take for RR to get them up and running.

I wouldn't think it would take long, given their experience building small reactors over the last 50-odd years.

[culzean]

Wind 7% and solar 0% this morning on UK gridwatch - it really is past a joke that we need to build 200x the wind capacity we need to get a decent amount of power on a bad day and on a good day 90% of the wind power has to be kept off the grid but the windfarms still have to be paid to produce nothing.... we should have hidden the keys to the asylum a bit better.

[Jocko]

From Rolls Royce: Take just 5 years from the start of construction to the
generation of the first electricity. Be up and running by 2028

https://www.rolls-royce.com/~/media/Files/R/Rolls-Royce/documents/customers/nuclear/smr-brochure-july-2017.pdf