did anyone watch the programme about the Arctic recently?

backed up what I have always said about it being bs that oil is going to run out

they were talking about a field that could deliver oil for 300 years

and they haven't really started looking there yet

let alone thinking about what's under the Antarctic

within 30 years the man-made global warming myth will have gone too

there will still be ice caps

still be polar bears

and about the same amount of land mass will be above water as it is today

 

I think they are the future.
Sure, they are 25k now, but in a few years those exact cars will be 5k on the second hand market and appealing for trendy London Village hippies who work in the city and want to save the planet.
The 0 emissions things will probably still get them round the congestion charge, and probably give them a cheaper road tax.

Once the company and city carparks get charging stations on every space and employers offer you a carbon-offset company car discount there will be more and more of them.

True, the electricity still puts pollution somewhere – but chances are it's cleaner than burning fuel, and it's not being pumped directly into the pavements of the towns.

 

what a boring future

 

It's not about Global Warming/Climate Change, it's not about oil running out, it's about the stranglehold OPEC have on the world.

The more we aren't dependant on oil, the better.

i'd certainly look at investing in an electric car. I'd still have my plaything, but the daily commute for the VAST majority of people I know is well within 100 miles

 

The CO2 output of an MiEV allegedly equates to 30% of the lowest output petrol car, allowing for current power generation.

So taking this figure into account, they are greener.

I would say given their current development, electric cars prevail upon the emotional aspect of car choice more than any other - the economic arguments for one are (currently) pretty weak to say the least. But if £8 a gallon becomes a reality, then the situation changes.

 

it's no different to car tax

does anyone seriously believe that if we all drove currently zero VED rated cars that the situation would be allowed to continue?

and when everyone is charging their electric car, and has no alternative means of transport, guess what will happen to electricity costs

still, you'll know you are helping to save the polar bears

the politicians must p*** themselves laughing at the population

 

There were 55 electric cars sold in 2009, the last year figures are available (and that figure was only released because it was the subject of a FOI request to the Telegraph).

The early development of the petrol car was driven by people's desire for personal transport.
We have a very convenient form of personal transport already available to us, all of them more efficient at moving us about where and when we want than the electric car. I'll wager there is very little demand for something worse in most respects, and I'd wager that many people who think they might buy one, would want to see someone else and hear their experiences before they committed that amount of money.

Also, early motorists would also carry spare cans of petrol along with them in case they ran out of fuel - the garage trade grew up to service their needs as more and more cars were seen on the roads. Crucially though, running out of fuel was not an issue as you always carried some spare. Not the case with electric.
The proliferation of the petrol car drove the infrastructure - with so few electric cars on the roads, legislation will have to drive the infrastructure (as it has done with windmills for energy) since the returns are not there otherwise.

Would you really spend £23k on a car that was incapable of doing more than an optimum 140miles? What about when the batteries degraded (like they do in every other rechargeable device) and needed renewing at a cost of £4k, giving you a range of 90 miles, 80, 70....?

 

I wonder how many they sold in 1899?

The electic car had real advantages then.

 

interesting word, optimum

I don't know a petrol car that delivers the official figures

but in a petrol car you can stop every few miles and top up if you are getting a bit low

and you invariably have a considerable range left before you need to do that

so why would we expect electric cars to deliver the official figures?

and the fact you won't have a considerable range open to you when the warning light starts flashing

will surely lead to some serious buttock-clenching

 

I wouldn't disagree; I alluded to what may happen to electricity prices in the opening post.

And we've been here before with diesel.

And Autogas is going the same way.

But at least electric power is providing some impetus for real engineering innovation.