Electric cars

[richardfrost]

Since when did a Mustang look like a family car. They should call it the Dobbin.

[Jocko]

See the new Tesla "truck" (pick up for us with a command of the English language), is straight out of Mad Max!



It had an embarrassing launch which has been well published.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-50513294

Probably, as it was a launch vehicle, the "bulletproof" glass was only fitted to one side, and some media guy thought it would look better facing the other side on stage!

At a starting price of $40,000 it will probably sell in its homeland.

[John Ratsey]

Not very aerodynamic (and hence more expensive to run), but that might not worry potential purchasers. There also looks to be limited headroom in the back seat which might be of greater concern.

[Jocko]

See the Tesla truck has almost 150,000 orders already, despite the window issue.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-50536200

[Jocko]

There also looks to be limited headroom in the back seat which might be of greater concern.

I have been watching other videos of this, and it is huge! Typical Yank truck, Headroom in the front is 2ft+ so I imagine there is tons of headroom in the rear.



And aero concerns:
It almost looks like a deliberate, suicidal attempt to trigger boundary separation—a potential drag-raising catastrophe for limited-energy EVs. And an odd 180 turn from the Model X and Y, which have such delicately arched profiles precisely to avoid drag-raising trip wires like this.
Tesla might have erased the problem with active suction to bend the boundary-layer downward just aft of that peak. Gordon Murray's McLaren F1 used this trick, and SpaceX has plenty of expertise in active measures to manipulate airflow around its re-entering Falcon 9 first stages. However, with the bed cover deployed, the angle of its vast descending surface is evidently shallow enough for the flow to naturally reattach. The benefit being that it harvests a useful fraction of the air pressure that blocky, open-bed trucks almost entirely forfeit. Actually, the tougher aerodynamic trick has been coaxing the temperamental flow around those sharp A-pillars.

[peteo48]

https://www.vwfsfleet.co.uk/electric-vs-petrol-car-advisor/

This "tool" appeared on my Facebook page. It asks a number of questions and then determines if an EV is the right car for you.

I did it and it said that a petrol car was best for my circumstances. Obviously it's geared to VW's current crop of EVs. My pal did it (he has an EV) and it said he was suitable for an EV.

Comparing notes the difference between us was that he had access to an ICE car for longer trips (I wouldn't) and he does a bigger mileage - 12,000 per annum as opposed to my 3,000 (and that's max). The savings for me would be not worth having. That said, if I lived in the London Congestion Zone...................

[Jocko]

For me it says EV - Yes, PHEV - Yes, Diesel - No, Petrol - Maybe.

[Jocko]

I was talking to Jeangenie this morning and she is loving her new Leaf, She has done almost 15,000 miles with it, and all she has had to pay for is screen wash fluid. She is able to charge it, for free, at her work, and has never needed to use her home charger. She says it is a joy to drive. She says that once you get used to the one pedal operation you hardly ever need to touch the brake pedal at all.
I asked her what range she gets but she has no idea. It has never been so low that she has felt concerned.
Her husband is enjoying the Type R, but he too is impressed with the EV and intends replacing the Type R with an EV of some sort. A Tesla is his current first choice, but he realises that a lot will change over the next two years so he will see what is out there in 2022, when the Type R is due to be replaced.

[sparky Paul]

Other half is finally coming round to the idea of electric, I think she is half regretting not looking for a used Leaf instead of the Jazz. The range of a used battery would easily cope with the vast majority of our local driving, and could have been charged at home on economy 7.

We always have the big diesel for longer journeys.

[peteo48]

The EV thing is an itch with me that won't go away. I keep coming back to it. We are now on the 29th of December and I last refuelled on the 3rd. In the intervening 26 days I have done 79 miles in total. The longest trip I did was a 16 mile round trip to a garden centre (not to buy gardening stuff!)

Clearly, even an old Nissan Leaf with a degraded battery would cover all the trips in the last month. I then started looking at longer trips I have done this year.

1) 800 miles on a week's holiday in Scotland.
2) A 110 mile return trip to Abergele in North Wales.
3) 5 seventy mile round trips to a sporting venue.

Taking 1) first. I might have hired an ICE car for this. 2) This is just outside the range of any EV I could buy. 3) These would be in range assuming a 30 Kwh car - a Leaf for example.

I've more or less decided I would not use the laughably inadequate public charging network in any circumstance having seen my mate fiddle with this and with regular checks on zap-map which show that around 50% of chargers are broken at any one time. You simply can't rely on it. OK, most times you'll be OK but my Leaf driving pal has admitted, under fierce interrogation, that he has had to be "flatbedded" as EV users say when stranded in Snowdonia.

[sparky Paul]

Clearly, even an old Nissan Leaf with a degraded battery would cover all the trips in the last month. I then started looking at longer trips I have done this year.

I agree. The shorter range EVs are just not practical for journeys greater than a single charge. The bigger EVs, like the Tesla with their vastly superior range and network of motorway superchargers, is a different matter with a bit of light forethought.

As a second car, an EV works really well. As a main vehicle, we're some way away yet.

[Jocko]

Once I move over to Danderhall (where I will have a home charger). my longest trip will be 70 miles in a day. So once the move is made, an EV is on the cards.
Peteo48: a PHEV would be the car for you.

[Jocko]

That's Tesla delivered its first 'Made in China' cars. Only a year after starting to build the factory. Amazing what you can get done when "Health and Safety" are not requiring a method statement for every thing you do.

[culzean]

That's Tesla delivered its first 'Made in China' cars. Only a year after starting to build the factory. Amazing what you can get done when "Health and Safety" are not requiring a method statement for every thing you do.

Yup, western countries have shot themselves in the foot on the productivity front ( and I am sure they did a RAMs risk assessment method statement ) - and all that paperwork adds to cost of western goods......

[culzean]

https://batteryuniversity.com/index.php/learn/article/electric_vehicle_ev

Article about EV batteries and lower down in the article it says ' actual range is normally 65% of claimed range' - also shows how the system initially ( with new battery ) limits the amount of charge and discharge to preserve battery life ( limited to area from 30% to 80% charged ),  and as the battery ages it has to allow higher charge and lower discharge levels to maintain range,  but at the cost of degrading the battery more quickly... so it is a bit of a vicious circle as battery ages, the older it gets the quicker the degradation happens - and regular fast charging kills the batteries.