EV (electric vehicle) News & Discussion

Forums › Transport (cars, bikes and boats) › EV (electric vehicle) News & Discussion

1 | ... | 282 | 283 | 284 | 285 | 286 | 287 | 288 | 289 | 290 | 291 | 292 | ... | 728

5828 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Subscriber

#2625843 23-Dec-2020 11:28

Geektastic:

Probably for less time than it takes to charge a car - and many people eat whilst driving...

I never eat in my car. I don't have to clean up after if I don't do it at all. People in my family are also legendary for apologising profusely after spilling sticky, smelly everywhere.

No way. So easy to just stop for a few minutes.....whereas literally impossible to clean up milk-based things spilled onto the carpet. It reeks for weeks.

Also.....in reply to another comment about electricity, I'm ready for that. I make my own....and lots of it, too. Over 70kWh / a day at the moment.

This is all possible. One just needs to decide to do it......and build toward it is the cash isn't to hand today.

_____________________________________________________________________

I've been on Geekzone over 16 years..... Time flies....

frankv

5680 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#2625854 23-Dec-2020 11:50

tdgeek:

Should the grid be expanded, say Tiwai, and we produce more electricity and we use more, it "should" be cheaper, economies of scale-wise (Yes, I know Tiwai pricing is an issue) I cannot see power prices increasing 300%

I don't think there's economies of scale in producing more electricity in the traditional way. In fact, I think the opposite applies. All the best dam and windfarm and geothermal sites have already been used. Unless there's a technology improvement, every extra MWh will come from a *worse* generation source; i.e. will cost more to produce. The exception to this is the pumped storage that's being considered.

However, there has already been a technology improvement in solar generation and batteries. So I doubt that power prices would increase by even 30%, because that would make home solar economically viable for most homes.

frankv

5680 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#2625858 23-Dec-2020 11:53

Dingbatt:

An EV MG Roadster, now you’re talking! Because they could just copy take inspiration from the MX5 if they are into Mazdas.

Which is ironic, given that the MX5 is ~~a copy of~~ inspired by classic British roadsters like the MG Midget.

Dingbatt

6756 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#2625871 23-Dec-2020 12:10

frankv:

Dingbatt:

An EV MG Roadster, now you’re talking! Because they could just copy take inspiration from the MX5 if they are into Mazdas.

Which is ironic, given that the MX5 is a copy of inspired by classic British roadsters like the MG Midget.

Or any number of Alfas, Fiats, Triumphs, or even Maxwell Smart’s Sunbeam Tiger.

“We’ve arranged a society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science technology. Carl Sagan 1996

afe66

3181 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#2625878 23-Dec-2020 12:17

@linuxluver
Is the charging port a hassle as mentioned on YouTube?

I must admit, that if my 2014 leaf died/crashed id look at the MG.

How does the boot feel relative to Leaf?

One stop to drive Dunedin to Wanaka or better is my range requirements for next ev..

Not as exciting a tesla but so much cheaper...
I see there is another MG in uk with slightly longer range.

jonathan18

7413 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

#2625886 23-Dec-2020 12:29

afe66:

I see there is another MG in uk with slightly longer range.

Do you mean their estate (station wagon), called the 5?

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/new-mg-5-electric-estate-now-sale-214-mile-range

It doesn't seem too bad looking - kind of a VW look, especially with that grill.

I think some of the specs are lower than on the SUV, but the longer range is a big benefit. I watched one review of it on YT and they did say it wasn't the greatest in the handling department, which is disappointing.

I much prefer a wagon to an SUV, so would have looked at this as a potential option (the ZS is too small to replace my Mazda 6 wagon), but apparently it's not destined for NZ (though I guess that could change?)

https://autotalk.co.nz/news/mg-5-ev-not-in-nz-plans

HarmLessSolutions

974 posts

Ultimate Geek

Subscriber

#2626009 23-Dec-2020 18:56

frankv:

tdgeek:

Fuel will probably start to increase as well in the future. less produced and exported means higher price per litre, another reason to buya cheaper running vehicle

I think in the short to medium term, petrol & diesel prices won't rise. Oil sales are now limited by demand, not supply. Any increase in price will reduce demand further, and shift customers to EVs.

In the longterm, petrol & diesel prices will increase as economies of scale are lost. As a consequence, oil prices will decrease (and peace will break out in the Middle East). It may be that the price of other oil-based products (e.g. plastics) will rise as they are no longer by-products of a profitable petrol industry.

Or put another way Peak Oil is Suddenly Upon Us but not in the same way as we thought it was going to happen.

https://www.harmlesssolutions.co.nz/

Sharesies

Trade NZ and US shares and funds with Sharesies (affiliate link).

kingdragonfly

11196 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#2626022 23-Dec-2020 20:03

Just like the Black Plague was bad in the 1300's, in the long term it changed things for the better. For example, it was the beginning of the end of serfdom and royalty.

I'd be happy to work more from home. Though I like going to movie theatres, I certainly enjoy streaming content better.

I wouldn't mind not owning a car either. Personally I find getting petrol and regular maintenance is just an expensive never-ending financial drain and a chore.

If COVID means the beginning of the end of many noisy, polluting vehicles, the painful daily commutes, sitting in cubicles all day I'm all for it.

Perhaps if I had an office with old-fashioned walls, and some privacy, I'd feel different. Ahhh, the good old days.

Via the electric car and work-from-home revolution!

Still hopeful when self-driving cars are as simple and reliable as using a microwave oven.

wellygary

8325 posts

Uber Geek

#2626245 24-Dec-2020 10:41

Looks like the whole Brexit debacle has cost the UK a new electric car production line

"Nissan Motor Co. has opted to ship an upcoming electric vehicle to Europe from Japan rather than produce it in the U.K., where one of its largest factories faces existential risk from a hard Brexit."

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/12/17/business/nissan-brexit-ev/

afe66

3181 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#2626387 24-Dec-2020 13:06

wellygary:
Looks like the whole Brexit debacle has cost the UK a new electric car production line

"Nissan Motor Co. has opted to ship an upcoming electric vehicle to Europe from Japan rather than produce it in the U.K., where one of its largest factories faces existential risk from a hard Brexit."

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/12/17/business/nissan-brexit-ev/

This would be the Sunderland that voted to leave the EU????

wellygary

8325 posts

Uber Geek

#2626393 24-Dec-2020 13:29

afe66:
wellygary:

Looks like the whole Brexit debacle has cost the UK a new electric car production line

"Nissan Motor Co. has opted to ship an upcoming electric vehicle to Europe from Japan rather than produce it in the U.K., where one of its largest factories faces existential risk from a hard Brexit."

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/12/17/business/nissan-brexit-ev/

This would be the Sunderland that voted to leave the EU????

Indeed! !!!! 61/39.....

https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/how-world-reacted-sunderland-voted-17654528

Technofreak

6530 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#2626577 24-Dec-2020 22:04

Here's and interesting, if a little controversial, commentary on Tesla's future.

https://youtu.be/rmJAeKLVVTY

Sony Xperia XA2 running Sailfish OS. https://sailfishos.org The true independent open source mobile OS
Samsung Galaxy Tab S6
Dell Inspiron 14z i5

gzt

17134 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#2626578 24-Dec-2020 22:13

Technofreak: Here's and interesting, if a little controversial, commentary on Tesla's future.

What's the tldw on that one?

kingdragonfly

11196 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#2626622 25-Dec-2020 07:37

Stuff hasn't obviously read other reviews

Stuff: New Zealand Car of the Year announced

The Stuff Top Medium SUV for 2020 is the Mercedes-Benz EQC

TopGear: The Top Gear car review: Mercedes-Benz EQC

It might seem timid for Mercedes to have adapted an existing platform rather than scratch-build a new one...

...Among the first wave of posh electric crossovers, it’s quite small. The Jaguar I-Pace is similar in footprint but has a significantly longer wheelbase to improve cabin room. The Audi e-tron is bigger, and the Tesla Model X far bigger. And yet the Mercedes is the heaviest of the lot, at two-and-a-half tonnes.

Here’s why. The EQC has the same suspension and most of the underbody as the GLC. To make sure it behaves in the same protective way in a crash, it even has steel-tube replicas of the combustion car’s engine block and gearbox housing, except here they mostly enclose fresh air rather than pistons and gears. So you don’t get the airy cabin or flat floor of a Tesla or Jaguar.

The EQC’s chief engineer gladly admits that because it’s thus adapted, it’s 150kg heavier than it would be if entirely bespoke...

kingdragonfly

11196 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#2626632 25-Dec-2020 08:24

Technofreak: Here's and interesting, if a little controversial, commentary on Tesla's future.

https://youtu.be/rmJAeKLVVTY

Pros: he abuses everyone. No one is unscathed

He's correct that Tesla is often viewed with rose-coluored glasses by American politicans and reporters. I don't know any other company that gets the "boys will be boys" treatment as much as Tesla.

On many points, I agree with him on Musk. Not a nice person.

Cons: Broadly Australians are not pro-EV, because it's a big country, and there's a lot of range anxiety.

More pronounced than even the US, there seems to be a love of big V8 cars. Australians love of trucks seems to be on par with the general US attitude.

Most of the old white men in the Australian government just doesn't care about climate change. They actually proposes to tax EVs, where many countries were at some time subsidizing it.

However regarding Tesla, he's assuming that Tesla will not adapt, stay static. That's wrong. Just look at Tesla making their bodies and wiring less complex without fanfare.

Also he's ignored Tesla heavy emphasis on automation, which I think is a good thing, even without COVID.

Tesla is also much more "vertically integrated", making most of the components themselves, and building huge battery plants.

Off subject, the reason SpaceX is so much cheaper than everyone else is because SpaceX don't depend on a long-line of middle-men suppliers, each marking up the price as it travels through the supply chain.

Lastly, we wraps the self-driving component into critique as though it was a bad thing. I'd think self-driving would be great on the Eyre Highway.

Off subject, the lack of Tesla dealers is both a plus and a minus. I know I won't own a Tesla until I know my provincial city has someone to support it.

1 | ... | 282 | 283 | 284 | 285 | 286 | 287 | 288 | 289 | 290 | 291 | 292 | ... | 728