Jenson Button

Old news mate, my take is a bunch of unemployed racers creating a competition involving extreme, off-road electric hybrid vehicles going to places blighted by global warming to show solidarity with the locals. Like Christian missionaries taking religion to the natives to show them just how wrong their life is. Cynical I know but this sort of show off do gooding boils my piss. Andy

 

I think it's for retired racers who aren't yet quite ready for the rocking chair, pipe and slippers.

Soon enough Electric Racing will be the norm, you'll not hear them until the last 2 or 3 seconds before they'll pass you by.

 

Just how environmentally friendly is formula E.
What is the carbon footprint of building the cars?
What impact does disposing of the batteries have to the environment?
How is the electricity to power the cars and pits produced?
How carbon neutral is the means of transporting cars, equipment and crews between racing circuits?
If electric / scalextric racing is the way for the future, it needs to meet all of the above points to achieve its clean racing objectives.
;

 

Agreed but it’s like anything isn’t it, the technology isn’t quite right yet but they will get there and cheaper and more green ways of producing the core electricity will become the norm. I hate the thought of the end of the ICE but I think the best we can hope for is that we are allowed to keep them as hobbies in future because with most of the major manufacturers committing to it now including Jaguar and Ford this week, it’s far too late to uninvent the wheel, so to speak

 

Lets face it ,are you going to get 100,000 going to watch formula E ?No noise ,smell etc ,i for one wil give it a miss.

 

Yes thought provoking.
Pretty obvious that the governments 2030 deadline was a shot from the hip.
The infrastructure requirements are moving nowhere fast enough to meet requirements.
And current charging points are woefully inadequate,
The most frightening thing was autonomous cars, they showed the response to a car stopped in front.
But no mention of pedestrians, cyclists or PTW’s, does the built in detection even register smaller targets?
There are enough dozy drivers out there. The last thing we need is, muppets who think they do not need to pay attention at all when driving.

 

The crash test showed a scenario where a car in front changed lanes to show a stationary car in front.
The automatic braking kicked in and the car stopped, millimetres from the stationary car.
Had there been a pedestrian or bike it would they been crushed.
Would the cars sensors have picked this up or would the mass of the stationary car masks them from detection.

 

I have written to Thatcham expressing my concerns regarding autonomous cars.
I will share the response when it arrives.

 

I have said it before, there is no way the infrastructure will be in place any time close to 2030.
Electric vehicles can only work in the short term as part of a solution, not “the” solution.
Where the fcuk is all of the electric cables and insulation coming from? ..and the impact of that and the batteries required for the vehicles. The combustion engine is here for while longer.

 

Saw that "Tonight" prog yesterday also, and well worth a watch. I still find it incredible that "autopilot" cars are still seen as the (safe) way forward by a proportion of the media. There are one or two threads on here re: this but haven't found them yet.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-43617752

 

Well, just watched it on via ITV Catch Up. Not impressed by the lack of infrastructure atm. Wondered how quickly this will change. However things may change, but if Shell are to be heard correctly, Petrol & Diesel look to be available for a while after 2030. Just reminds me of HS2, a talked about project with millions already wasted with nowt much to show for the current investment or lack of it.