New fangled petrol car vs. Horse cart (or why I won't buy an EV)
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Brisbane
Posts: 205
New fangled petrol car vs. Horse cart (or why I won't buy an EV)
I have had my horse cart for 22 years now and can see no reason to get a petrol car instead. Here are some of the reasons why not:
1. Cost: my cart cost 25 pounds 22 years ago (plus 15 pounds for a horse), whereas this petrol thingy will be at least a 100 pounds.
2. Operating cost: my cart costs exactly nothing to run. The horse grazes on council lawns while I park it in town, or on the roadside when I am in the country.
The car needs costly and highly refined Motoring Spirit (known colloquially as petrol or gasoline), stored all around the place so that I can always get from one filling point to the next. In its most developed form, I cannot see the car managing more than 50 miles on a tank of petrol. And can you imagine the chaos when everyone arrives to buy petrol at the same time? My horse can eat almost anything anytime and has indefinite range. It might eventually die of old age and exhaustion but I can get a replacement at almost any location. Plus there is a wide range of horse types and sizes, unlike the petrol engine. And no installation costs.
3. The car spews out clouds of polluting exhaust gas, laden with carcinogenic compounds and carbon dioxide. In contrast, the horse and cart are made of 100% recyclable materials and are carbon neutral throughout their lives. The horse deposits a nutritious natural compact exhaust product, which enjoys great popularity with gardeners and farmers alike, further lessening the environmental impact.
4. To make the car start to move, I will need to set valves and switches, prime fuel lines, set the brake and perform a shoulder wrenching spin of the engine, in order to get it running. I then need to disengage a clutch and select a gear to start moving. No sooner has it started moving, I need to select another gear, and so on ad infinitum. With my horse, I just say ”Gee-up” and off he goes. “Whoa” and he stops. I used to have to rustle the reins but he has learned my voice commands. And he even knows the way home, once he finds himself on the home track.
5. The car makes a dreadful noise; my horse is silent except for the gentle clip-clop of hooves.
6. My cart has sensibly sized wheels for negotiating rough terrain; the car has these stupid little wheels which require a smooth hard surface to run on.
7. The cart is inherently safe while the car is inherently unsafe. My horse will never knowingly jump off a cliff, run into a wall or run into deep water; the car will do all of these things without any hesitation, if your attention is allowed to wander. Running down hills, my horse will automatically push back against the cart; a car will just blindly accelerate until you lose control, unless you carefully apply the wheel brakes, all the way down.
8. If I am going someplace in a hurry or where there is no parking, I can just take the horse, leaving the cart behind. The car cannot be separated from its engine.
(anyone else want to extend this list??)
1. Cost: my cart cost 25 pounds 22 years ago (plus 15 pounds for a horse), whereas this petrol thingy will be at least a 100 pounds.
2. Operating cost: my cart costs exactly nothing to run. The horse grazes on council lawns while I park it in town, or on the roadside when I am in the country.
The car needs costly and highly refined Motoring Spirit (known colloquially as petrol or gasoline), stored all around the place so that I can always get from one filling point to the next. In its most developed form, I cannot see the car managing more than 50 miles on a tank of petrol. And can you imagine the chaos when everyone arrives to buy petrol at the same time? My horse can eat almost anything anytime and has indefinite range. It might eventually die of old age and exhaustion but I can get a replacement at almost any location. Plus there is a wide range of horse types and sizes, unlike the petrol engine. And no installation costs.
3. The car spews out clouds of polluting exhaust gas, laden with carcinogenic compounds and carbon dioxide. In contrast, the horse and cart are made of 100% recyclable materials and are carbon neutral throughout their lives. The horse deposits a nutritious natural compact exhaust product, which enjoys great popularity with gardeners and farmers alike, further lessening the environmental impact.
4. To make the car start to move, I will need to set valves and switches, prime fuel lines, set the brake and perform a shoulder wrenching spin of the engine, in order to get it running. I then need to disengage a clutch and select a gear to start moving. No sooner has it started moving, I need to select another gear, and so on ad infinitum. With my horse, I just say ”Gee-up” and off he goes. “Whoa” and he stops. I used to have to rustle the reins but he has learned my voice commands. And he even knows the way home, once he finds himself on the home track.
5. The car makes a dreadful noise; my horse is silent except for the gentle clip-clop of hooves.
6. My cart has sensibly sized wheels for negotiating rough terrain; the car has these stupid little wheels which require a smooth hard surface to run on.
7. The cart is inherently safe while the car is inherently unsafe. My horse will never knowingly jump off a cliff, run into a wall or run into deep water; the car will do all of these things without any hesitation, if your attention is allowed to wander. Running down hills, my horse will automatically push back against the cart; a car will just blindly accelerate until you lose control, unless you carefully apply the wheel brakes, all the way down.
8. If I am going someplace in a hurry or where there is no parking, I can just take the horse, leaving the cart behind. The car cannot be separated from its engine.
(anyone else want to extend this list??)
Tabs please !
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Biffins Bridge
Posts: 757
I got rid of the horse and cart as it would not do 800 miles on one consignment of hay. The horse objected to cruising at motorway speeds for hours on end. The horse was also liable to run out of feed while touring the remote wilderness. The government realised that to encourage the purchase of horses, taxes would not apply. They now have a shortfall in revenue and that tax holiday will end. If the horse goes lame, I need the services of an equine vet. They charge like a wounded bull on the grounds that horses are complicated and dangerous.
I won't be buying an EV for the same reasons.
I won't be buying an EV for the same reasons.
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: If this is Tuesday, it must be?
Posts: 633
I recall reading that one of the benefits touted for the introduction of the petrol car was that it reduced pollution compared to the amount of horsesh*t piling up in cities....
Also they tried electric cars first but they were discarded due to poor range and lack of charging capability...
Seriously, as an electric car driver of a certain age, I get similar range from my electric car as i used to from petrol ones in the 80s, and we seemed to manage fine then. We just need to get the charging network sorted.
Also they tried electric cars first but they were discarded due to poor range and lack of charging capability...
Seriously, as an electric car driver of a certain age, I get similar range from my electric car as i used to from petrol ones in the 80s, and we seemed to manage fine then. We just need to get the charging network sorted.
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Only occasionally above FL50
Age: 69
Posts: 140
Originally Posted by BizJetJock
Seriously, as an electric car driver of a certain age, I get similar range from my electric car as i used to from petrol ones in the 80s, and we seemed to manage fine then. We just need to get the charging network sorted.
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Not where I want to be
Age: 68
Posts: 260
Originally Posted by jolihokistix
If they once measured petrol engines in horse power, as a concept that everyone understood, how should EV output now be measured? Dog power, as in early morning walkies?
Per
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: U.K.
Posts: 166
I agree,
Your EV will be useless this summer when “insulate Britain” start blocking roads again.
XR disagree with them too. (and trains, they disagree with electric trains!)
You’ll need a personal quadcopter thingy or a horse.
Mind you, the Insulate Britain member who was convicted of refusing to move from infront an ambulance this week will probably try and shoot you down.
An ambulance with a patient.
They are not nice people.
Your EV will be useless this summer when “insulate Britain” start blocking roads again.
XR disagree with them too. (and trains, they disagree with electric trains!)
You’ll need a personal quadcopter thingy or a horse.
Mind you, the Insulate Britain member who was convicted of refusing to move from infront an ambulance this week will probably try and shoot you down.
An ambulance with a patient.
They are not nice people.
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: London
Posts: 442
Originally Posted by james ozzie
3. The car spews out clouds of polluting exhaust gas, laden with carcinogenic compounds and carbon dioxide.
Originally Posted by james ozzie
7. The cart is inherently safe while the car is inherently unsafe. My horse will never knowingly jump off a cliff, run into a wall or run into deep water; the car will do all of these things without any hesitation,
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: South East.
Posts: 833
Originally Posted by kghjfg
>>> Your EV will be useless this summer when “insulate Britain” start blocking roads again.
XR disagree with them too. (and trains, they disagree with electric trains!) <<<
XR disagree with them too. (and trains, they disagree with electric trains!) <<<
Are they bunking off lectures ? On the dole ? Pretending Covid ? Most people are working when they get up to their antics........
I disagree with a lot of things but I don't glue myself to a car or illegally block people's rightful access to fuel terminals or city centres........ I have more important concerns for my family than selfishly f*cking up someone else's life .
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Canberra
Posts: 226
Why do things have to change?
With current high fuel prices, has anyone noticed the move from cars back to horses?
My parents used to tell the tale of their horse kicking their sulky to pieces. My mother had to hand my two older siblings over the back of the sulky before exiting the same way herself.
I have read tales of the the aroma (stink?) of cities full of horsesh*t, and sometimes dead horses. Cobblestones were used for roads because the they were available and they permitted the horsesh*t to sink between them.
In addition to the cost of a Vet, there were farriers and blacksmiths and feed during Australian dry spells. How long would a horse last pulling a dray or a sulky, or, as my uncle had, a bread cart? During the 1950's, my recollection is my uncle used to be up for a new horse every 4 to 5 years, plus the one to transport the family around. The horse was 'knackered' after doing the bread round ...
My parents used to tell the tale of their horse kicking their sulky to pieces. My mother had to hand my two older siblings over the back of the sulky before exiting the same way herself.
I have read tales of the the aroma (stink?) of cities full of horsesh*t, and sometimes dead horses. Cobblestones were used for roads because the they were available and they permitted the horsesh*t to sink between them.
In addition to the cost of a Vet, there were farriers and blacksmiths and feed during Australian dry spells. How long would a horse last pulling a dray or a sulky, or, as my uncle had, a bread cart? During the 1950's, my recollection is my uncle used to be up for a new horse every 4 to 5 years, plus the one to transport the family around. The horse was 'knackered' after doing the bread round ...
