That really is a genuinely interesting and informative video (Shmee150), made in what I see, as a meaningful attempt to provide greater clarity around the often divisive subject of EV's. The proposition put forward that the essence of this review is based around a study done by Volvo, should add some much needed kudos to the topic and furthermore increased credibility too. When I have the occasional discussion with people I know who own an EV and those who don't, but aspire to, I always advocate that when making a choice, which we are all entitled to have/make, it simply isn't relevant or good enough to try to base it on, the vehicle produces far less CO2 than a conventionally aspirated one and as such is infinitely better for the environment. I inevitably respond with far greater consideration needing to be taken of the 'whole-life' costs leading up to the manufacture of the vehicle, which no surprise, is never spoken about by EV producers, as it simply doesn't suit their sales generation narrative. These owners are seldom, if ever, able to reply in any informed manner, as they also don't know and don't want to know, as it doesn't fit well with their decision either. What also isn't talked about either by the new and developing EV fraternity, is their understanding or appreciation of day to day running costs, also not surprising really, as they are in most cases a relatively new adventure in terms of ownership experience and this impact on the environment. Were they more aware of the overall implications, including, but not limited to, lack of decent charging infrastructure, increased weight & associated highway damage, increased tyre and brake wear + particulate discharge to the atmosphere, etc, they may well have taken a different decision, but then again! The data talked about from the Volvo experience and their calculations about the XC40 vehicles is pretty staggering and something that I think should be replicated by other EV manufacturers to help the public and others with making a more informed choice about these vehicles, the retention/merits of conventionally aspirated ones, instead of the headlong rush towards an inevitable future problem when older EV's need to be disposed of, replaced and at a rapidly changing pace, the future taxation of EV's that is just around the corner. I appreciate that this is a wider issue and that my post is but a fraction of the density and depth of this topic, however, from my point of view, I get rather fed up with people believing they hold the moral high ground because they have made, in their opinion, a better choice for our environment than I have, because I haven't yet taken a leap of faith towards owning an EV and that as a direct result I am de-facto, more polluting they they could now possibly be. For these minimally informed people, please step back, understand the matter far better than you currently do and hold 'temporarily' onto your current mis-placed beliefs. Once the Government(s) actually understand the real issues and put(s) in place a more considered/concise approach to this seriously important global concern, rather than as seems to be the case presently, the costs in both personal and environmental terms will become much clearer and consequently much higher. It might even be, goodness knows, the right approach at some point in the future, once all of the relevant and appropriate information and data is compiled/used to support this endeavour. As many here would probably advocate, "it's all about the money". They are almost surely generally correct. My apologies for what ended up as a far longer post than intended and for what in some respects might come across as something of a mini-rant, also unintended........
That's a bit 'Jimmy Carr' isn't it. I think the article/comment should have been wider in terms of potential implication. The wholesale-felon fraternity would see this as an inevitable opportunity, not just those alluded to I suggest!
Tony This is a Motorcycle forum not for Carr's!!! not once did I use the P or G or R word. Or mention the holocaust. Yes I do agree the wider thieving community, would see this as a "business" opportunity.
not enough farmland to grow enough fuel. At least not without us all starving to death first. It will be grown for motorsport.
Just reading about the ship "Felicity Ace" carrying 4,000 vehicles - currently on fire and abandoned by the 22 crew after a fire broke out in the cargo hold. The fire spread to the engine room and the crew abandoned ship. Ship's cargo - expensive vehicles including EVs. The fire started in the cargo hold with the vehicles. Even if the batteries of the EVs were not the original cause of the fire in the confined cargo hold - then they certainly combusted and led to the intensity of the fire requiring the ship to be abandoned. No amount of water, could be pumped in to quench the fire, short of sinking the ship. A lot of expensive vehicles such as Audis, Bentleys and Porches have been damaged maybe beyond repair - still to be assessed. Will shipping companies accept them in future ? will insurers impose limits of liability on the shipping of EVs ? These kinds of fires are very difficult to extinguish even in an open car park, never mind huddled together in a cargo hold of a ship miles away from help.
Is a fair point. The fire brigade essentially allow them to burn out as there’s little that can be done to extinguish them as you say.
Don’t know if anyone else watches Vintage Voltage, a guy in Wales transforms classic cars to electric, mostly using Tesla motors and batteries. Now they don’t usually talk much about what this lot costs but this week they had a guy in with a business plan to convert and sell them so he was under a budget. They did have to do some light restoration to the body, upgrade the brakes and suspension and obviously convert to EV but their costs came in at £45k. I don’t know what he bought the car for, but figuring that in, he’s got to be looking at north of £65k to make it viable! You’ve got to be a dedicated VDub EV fan to spend that sort of money! At the end of it, he summarised it wasn’t a viable business converting beetles but could be doing Aston Martins and Ferrari’s. Not sure I’d want to pay £60k over the odds to buy a classic ferrari that doesn’t have an engine in it anymore?
I do think there's a market here for much loved classics that are probably beyond economical repair, if you could have your poster car with EV performance you tick a lot of boxes. You obviously need a donor car where the engine is screwed thus the EV transplant becomes viable, I'd rather have an iconic car with EV powertrain that a new bland EV if the costs were somewhere comparable.
There are a few Porsche 911’s I’ve seen converted, articles and YT vids, and all 40k plus. For a car that is less than half that to start. If it was ballpark new engine number, I could see the sense, but it’s not. And it’s older tech.
I was watching a Carwow you tube video of a 911 against and early 911 converted with a Tesla motor (not sure of models). While the converted one had fantastic performance, it should have for a cost of £250000..........
i was chatting to a Copper mate of mine and suggested this to him, to which he agreed, he also said that they are targeting rental scooters across the country, whipping out the batteries and any wire that gets in the way.
