Electric cars

[Smirking_Saint]

Been looking into these for a while now, the technology is still a little out of reach for me to buy one but beginning to be very interesting for me.

 

If the overall range and size of vehicles (i need to transport kit etc) increases then this is something i am seriously looking at.

 

It is a shame that the performance statistics are not that great but TBH this day and age i can't get the best out of a car anyway.

 

Can anyone else see themselves making the transition in a few years if costs come down ??

[Ponty]

Not really. 3 things have to change before they become viable IMO. The performance and range has to increase dramatically and the charge times have to reduce from hours to minutes, or even seconds.

[Thedelldays]

as soon as they become popular..tax will start to be added to the "lecky"

[Smirking_Saint]

Not really. 3 things have to change before they become viable IMO. The performance and range has to increase dramatically and the charge times have to reduce from hours to minutes, or even seconds.

 

Yeah i agree that is the other thing that needs to come down, i never realised that the charge points you still had to leave your car plugged in for hours.

[suewhistle]

There was an item on Radio 4 today (via the net) about a guy driving his leccy car around Europe. Easier over there apparently, and he's had a few problems but not a bad idea for leisurely touring. Given that sometimes I do the Thames Valley to Italy in a day not for me.

Cheap and second hand electric cars haven't arrived yet, but I'd certainly consider them if I were flusher. With current ranges they're OK for short commutes but it's the mid distance cross-country trips that would be difficult and where the train is a pain because of multiple changes: such as from my house in Hampshire to my Mum's.

[JackFrost]

I've never understood environmentalists who gleefully throw their weight behind electric cars, forgetting where the power needed to charge them for hours and hours comes from. . . .

 

I can understand cars where the electric motor is powered by a hydrogen fuel cell such as the Honda Clarity, which have a range of 280 miles and take 5 mins to fill up with hydrogen. Once the infrastructure is sorted out and hydrogen filling stations are all over the place (easier said than done I know) I believe that is what will replace the car as we know it,

[suewhistle]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/features/electric-ride/map/index.shtml

 

Two reasons, soppyoldsod: lack of ground level vehicle emissions which is important in big cities like London (in line for a fine for poor air quality) or Los Angeles which also suffers from fumes trapped by temperature inversion, and secondly the potential for the electricity they use to be generated by all sorts of alternative ways: wind, PV, geothermal, tidal, hydro...