The car makers are scrambling to get these things onto the roads at the behest of governments who are trying to force "green" thinking into the population. At the same time no extra electricity production is being implemented to charge the vehicles up.
As to the true environmental impact, the technology, especially the batteries in the drivetrain, are highly toxic and will pose many problems when they reach the end of their lives.
Any joined up thinking going on, or is it all part of the green "con"?
"Typically, batteries for electric vehicles will cost some £8,000 to replace.'' Glass's served formal notice on consumers that the electric cars they're considering purchasing could depreciate by around 90 per cent in just five years.
Already thought of that, Tony, thought I could make an electronic soundmaker device, coupled to the accelerator to regulate it's frequency, and drivers could pick their choice of sound - Ferrari, Aston Martin, MG, Tractor, steam engine etc.
A bit of googling soon showed me that they were already available.
A thought about using something on a leccy car that makes a noise, so people can hear you coming, is that wouldn't said device be in breach of the rules on construction of motor vehicles, especially the bit covering noise, horns, etc? Surely they would fail an MOT over such a device as well......
Maybe there's something in the regs for leccy cars, but I doubt it and can't be bothered looking as these things will never be a mass seller anyway.
The electric car promoters are part of the green con to increase car production and prop up the industry.
The principle issue is that cars produced in the last 10 - 20 years are far more reliable and acceptable than their predecessors and some way had to be found to get them off the road and get people to buy unneccessary new cars.
I own a 1994 Saab 9000. It has acceptable performance, it is very reliable and comfortable. It has an air bag, safety door bars and a survival cell. It also has a catalytic converter and does over the 30 to the gallon, better on a run. Cruise, climate, heated seats, what more do you want. Cost me £500 just under 3 years ago. This beautiful car was pilloried earlier this year by the 'green mafia' as a gas guzzling clunker to convince me to have it crushed and take a £2000 bribe to buy a car which had been newly manufactured at great cost to the environment. I don't think so.
Where do these people think the electricity comes from to charge electric cars? Obviously from fossil fuel burning power stations! The losses while transmitting the power to the end user totally outweigh any efficiency savings in power production. Hybrids aren't any more efficient than a good diesel.
It is time for the debate to move onto a realistic level. Stop trying to con the people with bogus scrappage schemes and technology which was discredited long ago. The research should be into ways of harvesting hydrogen which is the fuel of the future, although they were using it on the Apollo missions so maybe not that futuristic! Currently harvesting hydrogen costs more energy than it generates. If we can 'crack' the problem then we get a fuel which can be stored and used like petrol or LPG and produces water as a combustion by product. Hydrogen fuel cells can power the electric cars. Hydrogen can also be burned like a regular fuel saving many of the cars from being scrapped, cutting car production which would be good for the environment, but not good for the manufacturers which brings us back to the root of the problem! Propping up the industry!
Rather than making electric vehicles noisier how about this. Insist that pedestrians look both ways before stepping onto the road, but that will probably cause screams of outrage from those who will be looking for someone else to blame when they get knocked over.
Making a noise wont use up a lot of juice but what about heaters? I can imagine a typical cold wet British winter's day (or summer's day this year) with the wipers going full belt and the heater and rear screen heater on, the batteries are going to take a caning. Or don't these things have heaters? Aircon's out, I take it.
Dammit Bruce, I was just going to suggest that myself. Worked well when we were young, converting our push-bikes to motorbikes (at least in our own minds).
with the wipers going full belt and the heater and rear screen heater on
You forgot the headlights, and the foglights, and the CD/MP3 player, and the seatbackheaters and its got to charge the mobile in its cradle as well.
You will need a fossile fuel driven generator to keep the batteries charged up. With a little bit of modification and installing a transmission system it can be used to propell the vehicle along as well.
Already thought of that, Tony, thought I could make an electronic soundmaker device, coupled to the accelerator to regulate it's frequency, and drivers could pick their choice of sound - Ferrari, Aston Martin, MG, Tractor, steam engine etc. A bit of googling soon showed me that they were already available.
unless they can figure out a way of making them emit some sound as they approach.
or a bloke with a red flag walking in front of them.
Therer was a report about a couple of years ago claiming that the total energy footprint created by a Prius, from mining the raw material to eventually disposing of the remains, was as great as a Hummer's IIRC. Can't find it now, the Green Maffia has probably been at work.
Unfortunately NambiFox the greens are even trying to muscle in there
