Electric cars

WhiteWalls

Donal Og Cusack was on RTE 1 there and he said that in ten years time 50% of us will be driving electric cars? Very skeptical myself and find it hard to believe.

brummytom

My mom had one for a year about 2 years ago. Couldn't fault it at all. The only problem at the moment is the price.

Fr_Dougal

WhiteWalls wrote: »

Donal Og Cusack was on RTE 1 there and he said that in ten years time 50% of us will be driving electric cars? Very skeptical myself and find it hard to believe.

What would a bogballer from Cork know?

crazygeryy

And he's the one who would know.

WhiteWalls

He never claimed to be an expert, he is heading up some project in Cork in relation to this.

maringo

The price needs to take a drop before I'd consider buying.

Irish Steve

None of us were expecting F1 to be using the degree of electric power that they are, so it's possible.

I spent a couple of days driving a Peugeot 3008 hybrid a few weeks back, and it was impressive both in terms of the economy and the performance.

All electric will have 2 drawbacks, the first is the range, the second will be that the battery needs a lot of space, so that's going to limit the space available for other things. On the range aspect, it's all very well saying that you can charge on the way to the eventual destination, but if you are taking small children, having to stop every hour or so to charge for 30 minutes will be a serious imposition on the travel time, or expensive if the break is taken in a service point.

I'm also nervous right now about the long term stability and reliability of LiPo batteries, there have been some serious fire issues with LiPo in the B787's (aircraft) , and I've also seen some serious fires on the same types of batteries that are now common in radio controlled models, and they can be serious fires, very intense very quickly.

A lot will depend on how the relevant political controls make electric power attractive or not. Right now, there's not a lot of incentive to move to electric, and the cost of electric is not making it easy to move over to them.

There will also be significant issues with the life of the energy storage systems, if a vehicle does not have the life span of present fossil powered vehicles, that's going to be a problem in terms of the initial cost, and the maintenance cost over the life of the vehicle.

Specialun

0-60 in 3.25.......days

nokia69

WhiteWalls wrote: »

Donal Og Cusack was on RTE 1 there and he said that in ten years time 50% of us will be driving electric cars? Very skeptical myself and find it hard to believe.

50% no chance of that, but there will be plenty of them on the roads

the Tesla model E is the car that will signal the end of the ICE

nokia69

Irish Steve wrote: »

None of us were expecting F1 to be using the degree of electric power that they are, so it's possible.

I spent a couple of days driving a Peugeot 3008 hybrid a few weeks back, and it was impressive both in terms of the economy and the performance.

All electric will have 2 drawbacks, the first is the range, the second will be that the battery needs a lot of space, so that's going to limit the space available for other things. On the range aspect, it's all very well saying that you can charge on the way to the eventual destination, but if you are taking small children, having to stop every hour or so to charge for 30 minutes will be a serious imposition on the travel time, or expensive if the break is taken in a service point.

I'm also nervous right now about the long term stability and reliability of LiPo batteries, there have been some serious fire issues with LiPo in the B787's (aircraft) , and I've also seen some serious fires on the same types of batteries that are now common in radio controlled models, and they can be serious fires, very intense very quickly.

A lot will depend on how the relevant political controls make electric power attractive or not. Right now, there's not a lot of incentive to move to electric, and the cost of electric is not making it easy to move over to them.

There will also be significant issues with the life of the energy storage systems, if a vehicle does not have the life span of present fossil powered vehicles, that's going to be a problem in terms of the initial cost, and the maintenance cost over the life of the vehicle.

the maintenance and running costs are less with an electric car

IMO the best car in the world is the Tesla model S, just look at the videos on youtube

the future is electric

Tail Docker

nokia69 wrote: »

the maintenance and running costs are less with an electric car

IMO the best car in the world is the Tesla model S, just look at the videos on youtube

the future is electric

Doubtful. Check the residual values on Nissan Leafs..idealists buy them, the range wears thin, they give them away..poor idealists buy them... Your average filling station has zero charge points. The posh ones have two...go figure.

Kevin McCloud

It will be a long while before i see an electric loading shovel or track machine.

toadfly

I have a Leaf, love it. Costs me a hell of a lot less a month to run. It's got great power too, you should drive it before you give out about 0-60 :P

nokia69

Tail Docker wrote: »

Doubtful. Check the residual values on Nissan Leafs..idealists buy them, the range wears thin, they give them away..poor idealists buy them... Your average filling station has zero charge points. The posh ones have two...go figure.

the Leaf is a good car and most owners like it, I almost bought one myself but I'm waiting for the Tesla model E

200 miles per charge, 4 wheel drive, 0 to 60 in 3 seconds for about 30K euro, they won't be able to build them fast enough

Kevin McCloud

toadfly wrote: »

I have a Leaf, love it. Costs me a hell of a lot less a month to run. It's got great power too, you should drive it before you give out about 0-60 :P

How do you find its range?

Sam Kade

Irish Steve wrote: »

None of us were expecting F1 to be using the degree of electric power that they are, so it's possible.

I spent a couple of days driving a Peugeot 3008 hybrid a few weeks back, and it was impressive both in terms of the economy and the performance.

All electric will have 2 drawbacks, the first is the range, the second will be that the battery needs a lot of space, so that's going to limit the space available for other things. On the range aspect, it's all very well saying that you can charge on the way to the eventual destination, but if you are taking small children, having to stop every hour or so to charge for 30 minutes will be a serious imposition on the travel time, or expensive if the break is taken in a service point.

I'm also nervous right now about the long term stability and reliability of LiPo batteries, there have been some serious fire issues with LiPo in the B787's (aircraft) , and I've also seen some serious fires on the same types of batteries that are now common in radio controlled models, and they can be serious fires, very intense very quickly.

A lot will depend on how the relevant political controls make electric power attractive or not. Right now, there's not a lot of incentive to move to electric, and the cost of electric is not making it easy to move over to them.

There will also be significant issues with the life of the energy storage systems, if a vehicle does not have the life span of present fossil powered vehicles, that's going to be a problem in terms of the initial cost, and the maintenance cost over the life of the vehicle.

To check the true value of a hybrid you need to get the difference in mpg between a standard car and a hybrid and see what you will save on fuel over a year then divide that saving by the extra cost of the hybrid and you will get the number of years you need to drive it to recoup the initial cost. I did it for the Yaris last week and it would take almost 8 years to break even between the standard and hybrid if doing 12k miles yearly. Suddenly the hybrid seems bad value

Sam Kade

nokia69 wrote: »

the Leaf is a good car and most owners like it, I almost bought one myself but I'm waiting for the Tesla model E

200 miles per charge, 4 wheel drive, 0 to 60 in 3 seconds for about 30K euro, they won't be able to build them fast enough

What happens when the battery dies which it will and you're faced with a €7k replacement cost?

For Forks Sake

nokia69 wrote: »

50% no chance of that, but there will be plenty of them on the roads

the Tesla model E is the car that will signal the end of the ICE

Thats still going to come in at around 50k, hardly the car of the people.

And for the record, I like what Tesla are doing.

nokia69

Sam Kade wrote: »

What happens when the battery dies which it will and you're faced with a €7k replacement cost?

well for the model S the battery has an 8 year unlimited miles warranty, my guess is the mode E will be much the same

if the battery management system is done right then batteries can last for decades

nokia69

For Forks Sake wrote: »

Thats still going to come in at around 50k, hardly the car of the people.

And for the record, I like what Tesla are doing.

the price target for the car is 35K in the US, its hard to know what it will cost in Ireland with taxes VRT ect

AFAIK there is no VRT on electric cars but that will change when they become popular

kneemos

Sam Kade wrote: »

To check the true value of a hybrid you need to get the difference in mpg between a standard car and a hybrid and see what you will save on fuel over a year then divide that saving by the extra cost of the hybrid and you will get the number of years you need to drive it to recoup the initial cost. I did it for the Yaris last week and it would take almost 8 years
to break even between the standard and hybrid if doing 12k miles yearly. Suddenly the hybrid seems rbad value [/quote

What about resale?pretty low for a hybrid I'd imagine.

StudentDad

This reminds me of the arguments I heard as a kid regarding unleaded petrol. Oh no they said. There are no filling stations with unleaded they said. Etc etc.

At the moment the car manufacturers are testing the water. Nissan Leaf. Renault Zoe. I'm sure there are others.

I like the idea of a car that gives me the same performance etc as the current crop of cars on the market. Without the maintenance headaches.

If Skoda launched an electric Octavia or Ford came out with an electric Mondeo tomorrow and it was reasonably priced etc I would be tempted.

It's a bit like the petrol v diesel debate that used to go on. OMG you drive a diesel? How can you? Etc etc

The demand is there, the stumbling block as usual is the loss of revenue to the vested interests. You run an electric, you don't need as many spare parts, jimmy the mechanic has to re-train. Govt. doesn't get all those lovely euros in tax etc etc.

The technology is improving all the time. It is the economic interests who are dragging their heels.

SD

kyote00

Hard to see how there can be significant uptake until the range comes close to matching what we expect from a tank full of petrol/diesel.

The higher initial cost is a problem also IMHO - which might be offset by the
low cost of recharging --- but only if its a fast recharge

That said, as a second commuter car, I would be tempted but the range would need to be in the 200-300 range with lights on, one passenger and tools in the boot

toadfly

Kevin McCloud wrote: »

How do you find its range?

I'm a bit torn on that, day to day it's grand. Gets me in and out of work without charging during the day. Winter time is harder to manage. I've driven to Dublin airport with it twice from Galway and it was extremely stressful as obviously I had to be there by a certain time but managed fine both times. It's more charger anxiety than range anxiety. If we could rely on the chargers not being down it would be easier.

Drakares

WhiteWalls wrote: »

Donal Og Cusack was on RTE 1 there and he said that in ten years time 50% of us will be driving electric cars? Very skeptical myself and find it hard to believe.

Why?

Our company car can do around 250 kilometers fully charged and takes around 6 hours to recharge. In a few years the tech will be much better.

toadfly

kyote00 wrote: »

I would be tempted but the range would need to be in the 200-300 range with lights on, one passenger and tools in the boot

Lights, radio, wipers etc don't use up the main battery. There is a 12V battery that runs those. Mine has a solar panel in the spoiler that chargers up the 12V.

kneemos

kyote00 wrote: »

Hard to see how there can be significant uptake until the range comes close to matching what we expect from a tank full of petrol/diesel.

The higher initial cost is a problem also IMHO - which might be offset by the
low cost of recharging --- but only if its a fast recharge

That said, as a second commuter car, I would be tempted but the range would need to be in the 200-300 range with lights on, one passenger and tools in the boot

Not many willing to spend that kind of money on a second commuter car when you could get a very nice second hand one for a quarter of the price.

Rhys Essien

Grants are available to buy electric cars.Amounts here.

http://www.seai.ie/Grants/Electric_Vehicle_Grant_Scheme/EV_Grants/Grant_Amounts/

Id say if all electric cars were like the new BMW i8,we'd all be getting one albeit for the price.

http://www.caranddriver.com/bmw/i8

kyote00

Must be a mighty solar panel !

Presumably the 12V is also charged via a aux belt of the main drive --- when the car is running ?

toadfly wrote: »

Lights, radio, wipers etc don't use up the main battery. There is a 12V battery that runs those. Mine has a solar panel in the spoiler that chargers up the 12V.

Sam Kade

kneemos wrote: »

Sam Kade wrote: »

To check the true value of a hybrid you need to get the difference in mpg between a standard car and a hybrid and see what you will save on fuel over a year then divide that saving by the extra cost of the hybrid and you will get the number of years you need to drive it to recoup the initial cost. I did it for the Yaris last week and it would take almost 8 years
to break even between the standard and hybrid if doing 12k miles yearly. Suddenly the hybrid seems rbad value [/quote

What about resale?pretty low for a hybrid I'd imagine.

It would be, hybrids are more suited to city driving as they don't get the same mpg on a motorway.

Sonics2k

Specialun wrote: »

0-60 in 3.25.......days

Tesla Model D is 0-60 in 30 seconds with a driving distance of aboit 400 miles on a charge. Better than my car by far.