Electric cars.

Discussion in 'Off-Topic Discussion' started by pete, Apr 7, 2021.

  1. Sheal

    Sheal Total Gardener

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    Exactly! It may all be at the cost to the environment but the production of electric vehicles has been rushed, probably down to government decisions wanting something 'yesterday' with no thought of the consequences. It has taken and will take further decades to produce an electric vehicle that is not only completely road and trust worthy, planet friendly, and cost effective for all involved including the sales to the general public. It's a very tall order!
     
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    • pete

      pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

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      Most roads around here are closed half the time, due to service companies digging them up, so I don't think owning a car in the future will be an option.
      You got out these days and you're never sure you will be able to get to where you want to go.
      In the last year or so I've on a few occasions decided to have a trip to a diy or garden centre and just given up and come back home.
      The road works and closed roads just cause total chaos.
      Everyone complains but nobody does anything about it a lot of the time nobody is actually working.
       
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      • Fat Controller

        Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

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        • shiney

          shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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          I was reading in the Which? report on insurance that EV insurance appears to be going up about 70%-100% and ICE insurance going up 20%-40% - with some insurers no longer touching EV's, at the moment.

          I have four months to go on my car and I hope things settle down before then :fingers crossed: We can always hope! :whistle:
           
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          • Loofah

            Loofah Admin Staff Member

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            Insurance is a racket as far as I can see. They'll be more and more uninsured drivers as a consequence pushing premiums up even further I guess
             
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            • pete

              pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

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              I don't think it's easy to get away without insurance these days unless you only use country lanes.
              The cameras are everywhere now days.
               
            • pete

              pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

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              Shouldn't manufacturers be making these batteries so that they can literally be dropped out the bottom of the car.
              I'm probably over simplifying it but nearly everything that has a battery needs it changing from time to time so why can't it be a case of drop the battery pack and replace or check it over.
               
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              • JWK

                JWK Gardener Staff Member

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                Already happening

                EV charging without the wait: Battery swap stations open in Europe
                 
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                • pete

                  pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

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                  • JWK

                    JWK Gardener Staff Member

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                    I'm guessing that only a few models are capable of having their batteries swapped in 5 minutes. I would have thought the batteries on any EV could be checked within a few minutes. Think the Insurance Companies are milking the cash cow.
                     
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                    • Fat Controller

                      Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

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                      I saw a belter online the other night - I only sort of know the guy (friend of a friend sort of thing) but he was complaining that his lad had just passed his test and was trying to insure a little basic Fiesta worth about £5 and the cheapest quote that he could get was just shy of £23k. Utterly bonkers.
                       
                    • Fat Controller

                      Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

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                      Watch that video I posted last night @pete - he explains how the Tesla batteries are made, and there are others like it. For a lot of EV's, the battery box is an integral part of the structure of the car.
                       
                    • pete

                      pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

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                      I saw that video.
                      The battery box should not be an integral part of the structure of the car, only a moron would do that, its just the power plant.
                      Who ever heard of a fuel tank or an engine being anything that cant be removed from a car.
                      They need to rethink this kind of stuff if they ever want it to last.
                       
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                      • Fat Controller

                        Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

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                        That is exactly what Tesla have done as far as I know - does sound like a bonkers strategy, but then strapping around seven thousand 18650 batteries together doesn't sound like a particularly good idea either
                         
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                        • Sheal

                          Sheal Total Gardener

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                          Am I missing something here? With the battery being integral, does that mean it can't be removed from the car without destroying the car to do that? So if the battery becomes a problem it suggests the car is only fit for scrap and the owner would need to replace it?
                           
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