Thread: What do you think of electric cars?

Quote: Originally Posted by MGROVERnut So if we dug up all the roads in Britain and installed these matts then we would only need a small battery and recharging would happen on the go? Surely that's the best long term solution. Beat all that dirty lithium mining... Actually, yeah, that is the long term vision of ARUP. Their argument is that if you take a fifty year implementation window, you can cover the whole motorway and major...

Quote: Originally Posted by boxwellm I was at ARUP the other day - they've designed a floor mat that you attach to the road (either on top, or below the surface) that uses an inductive loop to charge up electric cars. This means that anyone with a designated car parking spot where electricity is relatively nearby can have a charging point for their car. So if we dug up all the roads in Britain and installed these matts then we would only...

Very interesting Boxwellm I too would welcome an electric car if it met the requirements my petrol one does. One gripe i have lately is that i read when crude oil is split it produces twice as much petrol as it does diesel, so surely diesel is the anti-christ of saving the resources?

Quote: Originally Posted by SLARTIBARTFAST Unless of course you have to own an old V4 Saab with overrun overide. Now your showing your age LOL! Its been a while since I drove one of those!

I'd quite happily go electric if it was going to be as easy to use as a combustion engined car. But i can't see it as being anything other than marginal unless the storage issue is solved. It would seem to me that hydrogen must be still the real solution as it almost is a straight swop. The mobile phone analogy is a neat idea and effectively exists with many leasing deals where nearly every aspect is included bar fuel.

Quote: Originally Posted by Huff I confess to knowing virtually nothing about electric cars and regen braking, how do you deploy this? Is it like engine braking in that you have a type of gear stick and just change down to slow the car? or is it a seperate lever/pedal/button switch? Sorry if that sounds like a stupid question but i genuinely have no clue? No, it is just like driving an auto. You lift off the throttle, the car slows down. Not...

As the Tesla demonstrated, you can get very high power to weight ration and reasonable range with modern aluminium magnet motors and lithium ion batteries as these videos demonstrate: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09Vxv...eature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OiEK...eature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pD3E2z44E4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gulv_bvZS94&feature=fvw The main problem with battery power is the cost...

With the pace of development i think the issues of battery life and costs will improve rapidly, esp as nearly every car manufacturer is soon to be selling at least one model of electric or hybrid car.. We are a million miles away from electric milk floats already lol..

Is it the elevated sense of self righteousness? Everyone who drives a prius has it. The "I'm saving the world by not polluting it quite as much as you" smug face. My friend has a prius and he hates it that its pretty much at the bottom of the embodied energy charts for vehicles. Makes for interesting reading: Page 289 shows how poor the hybrids are once you factor in the total embodied energy. Dust to Dust Energy Report

Quote: Originally Posted by boxwellm I stopped a Mitsubishi i MiEV the other day using regenerative braking alone, slowing down from a little over 70mph to a complete stop without using the mechanical brakes. I always stop my G-Wiz with regenerative braking - I can't remember the last time the brake pads were deployed. I confess to knowing virtually nothing about electric cars and regen braking, how do you deploy this? Is it like engine...