Author Topic: Interesting read on electric cars (Read 225578 times)

Bird · « **Reply #425 on:** April 28, 2021, 04:34:18 PM »

I thought the Olympics lost their way 20+ yrs ago...

https://www.drive.com.au/news/e-motorsports-set-to-feature-in-the-olympic-games/

manchu · « **Reply #426 on:** April 28, 2021, 05:04:21 PM »

Quote from: Bird on April 28, 2021, 04:34:18 PM

I thought the Olympics lost their way 20+ yrs ago...

https://www.drive.com.au/news/e-motorsports-set-to-feature-in-the-olympic-games/

All downhill after 'Sydeney'

I'm not sure what I find more absurd, the virtual versions of non-Olympic sports (motorsport and baseball), or the virtual versions of actual Olympics sports (cycling, rowing and sailing).

edz · « **Reply #427 on:** May 24, 2021, 11:20:21 PM »

They dont even have EV service trucks ..

Spada · « **Reply #428 on:** May 25, 2021, 06:31:28 AM »

I have to admit that I've been sceptical of electric, but I took a work hybrid Corolla on a 200k round trip the other day.... and I was impressed.

Average consumption over the trip was 3.7l/100k and the car felt significantly zippier than the standard petrol version of the same car. It was a bit weird at first driving along at 100kph with the tacho on zero, and the petrol engine would only come to life on a hill or when you gave it a gutful to accelerate. It wasn't perceptible when the petrol engine would kick in or shut down either, if you didn't notice it on the tacho you wouldn't realise most of the time.

I have to admit I was genuinely surprized at how much better the hybrid was to the same car in standard petrol engine.

NZMarkb · « **Reply #429 on:** May 25, 2021, 07:03:36 AM »

Quote from: Spada on May 25, 2021, 06:31:28 AM

I have to admit that I've been sceptical of electric, but I took a work hybrid Corolla on a 200k round trip the other day.... and I was impressed.

Yeah Hybrid's are fine but full electric cars are a joke
We have one in our office as a pool car, it won't make it to most sites and back without it's petrol engine starting up
Don't even get me started on where the power to charge them comes from
I call the Pool car the Coal Burner

Bird · « **Reply #430 on:** May 25, 2021, 10:10:08 AM »

Quote from: manchu on April 28, 2021, 05:04:21 PM

All downhill after 'Sydeney'

it was down hill 20yrs before Shitney!

Mace · « **Reply #431 on:** May 25, 2021, 11:38:41 AM »

"Yeah Hybrid's are fine but full electric cars are a joke
We have one in our office as a pool car, it won't make it to most sites and back without it's petrol engine starting up"

Its not a full electric then, its a PHEV....

Maybe one day your employer will install roof top solar and be able to charge it up onsite? Whatever, its doing its bit to reduce fuel use.

Pottsy · « **Reply #432 on:** May 25, 2021, 11:45:21 AM »

Quote from: Mace on May 25, 2021, 11:38:41 AM

"Yeah Hybrid's are fine but full electric cars are a joke
We have one in our office as a pool car, it won't make it to most sites and back without it's petrol engine starting up"

Its not a full electric then, its a PHEV....

Maybe one day your employer will install roof top solar and be able to charge it up onsite? Whatever, its doing its bit to reduce fuel use.

Just stayed in Padthaway SA, town of 400 people in the wine growing region of the southeast on a tourist route to the Coonawarra and Limestone Coast, caravan park has two Tesla chargers, 10 days and not one person used them, only person to look at them was me as they had been mounted in a couple of wine barrels.

sparksy · « **Reply #433 on:** May 25, 2021, 11:58:37 AM »

The thing I find amazing is the expectation of electric car owners that they should get free charging and exempt from anything like the 47c per litre that traditional vehicle owners have to pay as a road tax.
Had a good talk with a EV owner about how his car wasn't contributing to greenhouse gases , he didnt want to believe that his charging came from a source that is mainly fed from natural gas or coal generation.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-18/electric-vehicle-tax-a-disincentive-to-go-green/13258232

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-05-24/canberrans-get-free-registration-for-electric-vehicles-in-act/100160324

2Strokeit · « **Reply #434 on:** May 25, 2021, 12:33:34 PM »

Quote from: Mace on May 25, 2021, 11:38:41 AM

Whatever, its doing its bit to reduce fuel use.

As long as you totally ignore the manufacturing / transportation fuel use or environmental crisis/catastrophe our kids will inherit trying to deal with used batteries.
'She'll be right, Greta said just bung em in the landfill next to the wind turbine blades and old solar panel's.'
I'm reminded of those immortal words from the great yellow philosopher 'That's a problem for future Homer... sure hate to be that guy'

Bird · « **Reply #435 on:** May 25, 2021, 02:38:06 PM »

Tesla Found Guilty Of Throttling Battery Life, Charging Speed In Norway

Tesla could be forced to pay out as much as $160 million to Norwegian Tesla owners after a Norway court ruled a 2019 software update throttled the electric cars’ battery life and slowed the charging speed.
Dozens of Tesla drivers in Norway complained to the courts after they said a 2019 software update slashed the cars’ battery life, decreased the range and lengthened the time the cars took to charge, according to Norwegian newspaper Nettavisen.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2021/05/24/tesla-found-guilty-of-throttling-battery-life-charging-speed-in-norway/?sh=2f8062d45a2a

manchu · « **Reply #436 on:** May 25, 2021, 03:31:33 PM »

Quote from: Bird on May 25, 2021, 02:38:06 PM

Tesla Found Guilty Of Throttling Battery Life, Charging Speed In Norway

wow, I can't believe ~10,000 model S were sold in Norway between 2013 to 2015. That sounds like a lot.

I feel just a little bad for Tesla in this case. IMO it's unrealistic and unreasonable to expect an elec vehicle NOT to experience battery degradation and some decrease in performance after a number of years.

If Tesla initially sold the car with these new operating parameters I bet very few buyers would have cared. Its not like there was much viable EV completion back then.

A 6yo+ used model S can't be worth much more than ~$30K so awarding owners around half the cars value for small fraction of performance drop seems very excessive.

Rodt · « **Reply #437 on:** May 26, 2021, 09:09:32 AM »

Quote from: Spada on May 25, 2021, 06:31:28 AM

I have to admit that I've been sceptical of electric, but I took a work hybrid Corolla on a 200k round trip the other day.... and I was impressed.

Average consumption over the trip was 3.7l/100k and the car felt significantly zippier than the standard petrol version of the same car. It was a bit weird at first driving along at 100kph with the tacho on zero, and the petrol engine would only come to life on a hill or when you gave it a gutful to accelerate. It wasn't perceptible when the petrol engine would kick in or shut down either, if you didn't notice it on the tacho you wouldn't realise most of the time.

I have to admit I was genuinely surprized at how much better the hybrid was to the same car in standard petrol engine.

This made me think of a funny situation that happened a few times years ago. In a previous life and about 20 years ago I worked at the Nambour Council and they had 2 hybrids in their fleet of pool vehicles. No one knew much about them in those days so there were a number of people (me included) that thought the bloody things had turned themselves off when parked at traffic lights. We would all restart them and give them a gutfull on the accelerator thinking that they were designed to turn off when at idle. After a few people complained to the fleet manager (he didn't know why either funnily enough) he researched and found out that no they didn't stop and you just had to put your foot on the accelerator.

I remember a few of us had the view at the time that these pieces of crap were just a fad and wouldn't last long. Shows how intuitive and forward thinking we were

prodigyrf · « **Reply #438 on:** July 05, 2021, 11:44:10 PM »

If you're into tech here's what Toyota are doing to get hybrid engines to acieve the fuel economy with reasonable performance and meet increasingly stringent emissions designed to drive the ICE off the road-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GWKBbEMCC4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fsoVzmrghs
Coupled with their well developed bulletproof hybrid synergy drive of course. Brilliant engineering but it's no KISS principle stuff and how that will last long term with the average punter that doesn't know what a bonnet catch is for I can guess. I'd only own one under warranty.

Bird · « **Reply #439 on:** August 30, 2021, 11:02:44 AM »

They running out of ideas LMAO

https://www.motorauthority.com/news/1132920_ford-patents-charging-electric-cars-by-towing-them

Pottsy · « **Reply #440 on:** August 30, 2021, 11:30:30 AM »

Quote from: Bird on August 30, 2021, 11:02:44 AM

They running out of ideas LMAO

https://www.motorauthority.com/news/1132920_ford-patents-charging-electric-cars-by-towing-them

Rivian utes can be charged by towing as well, saw it on the doco with Ewan Macgregor and Charlie when they rode electric bikes through South America to Harley Davidsons factory in the US.