Autocar's article about EV charging

[DanceswithUnix]

I thought about a hybrid too. It's just .... I don't know quite how to put it .... it feels liks a compromise, a cop-out. A decision made in haste, rather than waiting for the right product.

I suppose as an engineer I'm used to the idea that everything is a compromise.

The huge battery in an EV is a compromise, you are giving up on up-front cost of the cells and the economy of hauling the extra weight around for range.

But then if you get a petrol car, these days it will likely be a small turbo engine because that is a compromise between small engine efficiency when off boost and large engine power when the turbo spins up. So I have no problem with hybrids as a principle, it is just another tool for the drivechain designer to use and in my use a plug-in would probably mean I only have to fill the petrol tank every 6 months.

My biggest worry with sticking with fossil fuel is the idea that at some point petrol stations will stop making economic sense to run. If people don't go to fill up, then they don't pop into the shop, so you can't make enough money to keep the place open.

I also have a habit of running cars into the ground, albeit from 5 year old second hand usually. last car I only had a few years because I didn't get on with diesel. It is difficult to find a modern car that doesn't bore me though.

[[GSV]Trig]

You know how someone is vegan, because they tell you about it... all the time - The same seems to hold for EV drivers, especially the lesser models. This one tries to take us on a guided tours of his spreadsheets (plural) where he's mapped out every conceivable journey to include charging stations, factoring in distance, travel time, charging time, heater/aircon usage based on time of year and expected annual average weather conditions, rolling resistance of tyres, wind drag, and every other imaginable element.... even which charging stations were last reported to have been vandalised, which seems to happen a lot.

We just stop listening whenever we hear his voice, now.

I bet he's a hoot at parties...

Which was kinda point endpoint with the satnav/internet/weather comment, people with excel don't need to do that shiz, the car has sensors and an internet connection, so should be able to work all of that out, meanwhile, the guy can put his full concentration into fighting off the hordes of skirt he probably gets...

[Saracen999]

I suppose as an engineer I'm used to the idea that everything is a compromise.

The huge battery in an EV is a compromise, you are giving up on up-front cost of the cells and the economy of hauling the extra weight around for range.

But then if you get a petrol car, these days it will likely be a small turbo engine because that is a compromise between small engine efficiency when off boost and large engine power when the turbo spins up. So I have no problem with hybrids as a principle, it is just another tool for the drivechain designer to use and in my use a plug-in would probably mean I only have to fill the petrol tank every 6 months.

My biggest worry with sticking with fossil fuel is the idea that at some point petrol stations will stop making economic sense to run. If people don't go to fill up, then they don't pop into the shop, so you can't make enough money to keep the place open.

I also have a habit of running cars into the ground, albeit from 5 year old second hand usually. last car I only had a few years because I didn't get on with diesel. It is difficult to find a modern car that doesn't bore me though.

Oh, everything is some kind of compromise .... short of starting a car company, designing and building my car .... and selling probably a single unit.

The problem is where and what is my compromise? And .... dunno yet.

Small, turbo'd petrol engine. I take your point but .... not really what I was ,ooking at.

Futiure petrol availability? Jp to a point, I agree. I rsther thing we have a .... downward slide ... in availability, starting at, well, now, and ending up with specialist and no doubt very expensive supplies for vintage antiques, car-collectors, etc. Maybe, eventually, not even that, but I think that's along way off.

Mainstream availability? Well, that downward slope, for sure. The question is the angle of the slope, and the timeframe.

Bear in mind I'm looking hopefully for 20 years. 25 absolute tops. Do you believe government can get everybody out of petrol cars inside 20 years? And still get re-elected? I doubt it. But I coulx be wrong. Cost of pracgical EVs needs to come down dramatically, and charging infrastructure needs to be very widespread, first.

The 5-year to fall-apart plan? Yup. The one thing precluded by that is getting exactly what you want and the only way to do that is to custom order. Which costs. This is a stage-of-life thing. You? family man. Me? No young family to worry about (and pay for), no uni/wedding costs to prepare for, and as a guy with a young family you can drool about this one .... no mortgage rent, etc, clobbering me every month.

Think abiut that for a moment. What would your monthly/annual finances ,ook like with zero paid for rent or mortgage? Believe me, it enables a few .... indulgences. Like, occassionally, exactly the car you want .... along with really warm and comfy slippers.

[Ttaskmaster]

I bet he's a hoot at parties...

His wife usually comes to take him home early, leading him by the hand like one of her children (her own, or the ones she teaches).
But until then, he's either boring us about EVs or trains and the railway network.

meanwhile, the guy can put his full concentration into fighting off the hordes of skirt he probably gets...

Funny you mention such a thing, and in such sexist fashion... that's exactly how he puts it.
Maybe you know him......

End of the day, EVs still lack in a lot of fundamental areas.
I remember May on TG talking about the hydrogen cell car, saying "It's the car of tomorrow, because it's the car of today". While not wholly accurate, due to a few niggles, it was a good line and the H car does seem far more viable than EVs, at least.

[Saracen999]

.... people with excel don't need to do that shiz, the car has sensors and an internet connection, so should be able to work all of that out, meanwhile, the guy can put his full concentration into fighting off the hordes of skirt he probably gets...

I do track fuel usage on a spreadsheet. Not that I gp about telling people, unlesx someone else brings it up.

Two reasons. First, keep an eye on both expense and mileage, the latter being strongly advised, in one way or another, when you have a limitrd mileage insurance policy. It's not a good idea to blow past the limit. I did, once, due to change in usage, and told the insurer immediately. They said, paraphrasing, "glad you're watching it and told us. We've upped the milage limit to x miles. No charge".

As for fending off excess skirt, the wife does a first rate job of that. If she hits a serious case, she can refer it to the mother-in-law ..... and nobody with an IQ higher than a cabbage takes her lightly.

[Yalosen]

electric cars will not be widely used soon.