Battery powered Skyhawk

[BackPacker]

Not that I don't like the idea of electric transport - I do

Me too. But if we ever get electric transport (and I don't mean trains or anything else with a "live rail" or something like that) the first application will be relatively light and low-intensity. Electric scooters that are used for inner city traffic for instance. Followed by electric city cars with limited range for commuter traffic. But not high-intensive stuff like airplanes used for flight schools, that need *at least* four hours usage out of them on an average day and maybe as many as six on a good day.

I've done the calculation and by far the most of my car trips are < 200 km per day. In a pinch, I could probably even live with even less range than that out of a full nights charge. If somebody would come up with a light two-seater (say a Mazda MX-5 or similar size/shape) that's electrically-powered and would be available for a reasonable price (not much more expensive than an equivalent petrol car), I guess I'm not going to need a whole lot of convincing. Throw in a rental plan that gives me relatively easy access to a diesel estate for the few days a year that I need the range or payload, and I'm sold.

And yes, I'm one of those nerds that tracks mileage too. My 2001 VW Golf Estate TDI does 19.5 km/l average over the last ten years.

[K_9]

Originally Posted by douglas.lindsay

I drive an unmodified 2005 Peugeot 307 HDI Sport. I'm one of these nerds that actually knows what mileage I get, and keeps a close eye on it. I get 54mpg in the city, and at least 63mpg out of town - yes, it beats a Prius by a substantial margin in both environments :-)

Don't forget about the difference between imperial gallons and US gallons.

[24Carrot]

How on earth is the Prius piece of this thread still going?

The Prius is extremely good in congested traffic. I drive one, and have the mis-fortune to drive at least an hour a day at an average speed well under 10mph. Queuing in traffic, the petrol engine seldom runs. The occasional movement comes from the battery and electric motor. Occasionally the petrol engine kicks in and, at efficient revs, re-charges the battery. The efficiency is obvious.

At the other extreme, on the motorway, the battery and electric motor are a waste of space and weight, you just have an under-powered over-heavy car. The inefficiency is obvious.

Because the efficiency varies so much with the conditions, there is no point in comparing individual's mpg achievements. Indeed, the compelling case for Londoners to buy a Prius used to be exemption from the Congestion Charge, not the petrol consumption.

[MG23]

Originally Posted by atpcliff

For those of you who feel it is a pipedream, there were many, many carriage and horse-type people who knew that the new "horseless carriage" would never take off: For example, they were too difficult to operate, they were loud, dirty and stinky, there was no where to drive them (not enough suitable roads), there was no where to maintain them, and there were no places to refuel them.

And they laughed at Bozo The Clown too.

Electric 'horseless carriages' are nearly two centuries old; they're not some new invention that just became technologically feasible. They were abandoned when the ICE car became viable because in comparison electric cars sucked. They still suck for the same reasons, while the ICE has improved dramatically.

Which is not to say that electric vehicles aren't a good idea in specific markets where the benefits outweigh the disadvantages, or that an electric training aircraft is a bad idea, but absent massive improvements in electrical storage and recharging technology, or some kind of external power supply, they're not going to replace the ICE.