Random EV thoughts.....

Loads of industries are affected:

https://www.fierceelectronics.com/electronics/4-sectors-hardest-hit-by-global-chip-shortage

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/these-industries-are-hit-hardest-by-the-global-chip-shortage-122854251.html?guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmllLw&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAHHtjW_YONnnhM3Xn9aYT6L4-7UJMmXWEgbgWteUPkA98lx4dLyegKV8hJ7Z3n-hh5fU6raVfYGgIeutskEp6CtWiDH-1cr8yrIzvr-PIhANoWt6yCfyPyAe84J8_3mz5HYywKwQRcLfn-flMrJhZooDDsu-ufWatpM6XeHT2QSV

"Portlaoise Service Station Ltd have put Laois County Council on notice of their intention to apply for planning permission for petrol filling station and licenced forecourt convenience store on the Dublin Road in Portlaoise.

The application includes: staff facilities with canteen, office spaces, plant space and external plant to first floor. New forecourt with canopy, pump islands, signage, illuminated roadside totem signage, services area, carwash, underground fuel storage tanks, EV charging, car-parking, fuel offloading point."

Since when do you need to advise of your intention to apply for planning permission?

I wonder what and how many chargers they will install. I think they had 2 x 22kW chargers but not sure if they are still working?

Chip shortages are real. Many common chops are 2023 delivery dates and even then no guarantee they will keep the date. Simple things like connectors one year lead time, car specific parts like can chips are very short supply. "On allocation" is what many manufacturers of chips are saying as in supply is less than demand and they will sell new stock to their favourite customers, be they big, paying over the odds or strategic partners. Brokers are old buying up low stock parts, hoarding them, and selling back on a 5x or 10x prices. If a car has 20,000 parts if you count every resistor chip, connector and wire, any one shortage means production stop. Even attempting to redesign is difficult as near equivalents are also out of stock.

I'm driving to Lithuania this summer!! Which is going to be some craic in an EV! Though we're taking a shortcut to avoid about 1,300km of extra driving to get there & back!! So driving Cherbourg to Kiel in Germany, about 1,300km in 2 days! Then we land in Klaipeda in Lithuania which is about 20km away from where we are staying, and there's mostly free charging still in Lithuania! so not worried in the slightest about the trip and charging! Might even get to see a few non Tesla's at the SuC's.

Cherbourg is easier for me. We'll get on the boat in Dublin at 90% from home, so when we land in France its straight up the road we go... avoids the U.K., then on the way home landing in Dublin only 30km from home will be a godsend.. We'll only need to be arriving in Cherbourg at no more than 20% to make it home.

Rosslare to Dunkirk is a freight only route as well with DFDS.

The petrol perfume is already done. It was either this or a vibration machine.

I wonder will it stall the car if you miss 1st with 3rd?

It is freight only.

When we ordered the car in January 2020, we had plans to do a camping style holiday to France, which obviously Covid put paid to...

The reasoning for driving to Lithuania this summer is we're in the process of buying a house over there on the Baltic coast, so will most likely have the car weighted down so much it would make the Ryanair check-in desk staff wet themselves with excitement!!! Add to that that since getting the car, I've been hankering for a proper road trip!!! Driving from France direct to Lithuania would be a bit of a stretch, and Poland is still a bit of a wilderness both in terms of motorways and SuC's, so avoiding Poland and an additional 1,200km of driving by getting another ferry from Kiel in Germany seems the best bet. Another plus is our son is 7, so he'd be at that age where he'd get a sense of adventure on the car ferry... I've also still got about 4,000km of free SuperCharging that expires in October, so this trip should munch through at least half of that! Charging as I said is mostly still free in Lithuania, and the house we're buying is coming with a 5kWp solar system.. so charging over there will not be an issue at all.

The success or failure of this trip will determine in future if we drive over again for the 'big holiday' every year, but we (I) wanted to at least try it once.

The gas thing is there is an airport literally 5 minutes from our house over there with a direct 2hr40min flight to Dublin!

I'm very envious, kids are too young as yet to manage a long road trip like that but hopefully in a couple of years I'll be doing something similar

We'll be expecting a full road trip report plus driving stats when you get back 😁

Did he tell you that before or after you bought the car? 😉

I have been dealing in a garage recently where the sales person was similar, must say it's a pleasure. Unfortunately in other places once you drive out in the new car you are forgotten about..

yep, Nissan dealers seem to be fine with this. Just asked and said no problem. Cheap marketing.

Just proved by me mentioning them just now.

See plugshare app. In Nissan airside salesperson told everyone no need for home charger, charge at dealership even outside of hours and fill up for free. Now same dealership charger is not for public use. To be fair tesla cars and everyone used it. Other Nissan dealerships now have a fee and only allow charging during opening hours.

Porche Belfast has porche only chargers, Audi have chargers at many dealerships mainly for demo cars but customers have used them and I think it's pay by app.

The Nissan dealership network used to be listed on esb app, I am not sure if it still is. I have added many dealershipss chargers to plugshare app as restricted, contact them, handy if stuck. I think the tide has moved and how manufacturers want you to charge elsewhere at the likes of ionity which are owned and funded by dealers networks mainly. Tesla is installing public superchargers at their sandyford store right now, but they will be pay to use.

It was a great move by Nissan 10 years ago, but times move on.