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Thread: Electric Vehicles - Yes or No

  1. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by admin View Post
    There is definately some interesting hybrids about, such as this one which was reviewed in Cars Guide yesterday.

    I was only looking at this a couple of days ago at the BMW Welt in Munchen . Looks impressive. I was also impressed by the smaller EV car they have and the carbon fibre shell its made from. They also had a display showing the strength between steel, aluminium and carbon fibre. We've always been told but I didn't realise how strong and light is really is.

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    I would have absolutely no problems buying and owning a hybrid vehicle if the govt offset the high cost or the technology came down in price to normal petrol versions prices.

    The amount of torque produced by some electric motors is staggering, years ago i was wondering when there would be a drag racing class for them, i dont know how spectators would warm to silent vehicles though.

    Quote Originally Posted by LeroyPatrol View Post
    I was only looking at this a couple of days ago at the BMW Welt in Munchen . Looks impressive. I was also impressed by the smaller EV car they have and the carbon fibre shell its made from. They also had a display showing the strength between steel, aluminium and carbon fibre. We've always been told but I didn't realise out strong and light is really is.

    Leroy
    My son just registered and started a business centering around carbon fibre auto products, hes in the middle of ordering his second container in of lightweight carbon parts.

    Unfortunately ADR's dont allow carbon fiber panels to be used on current models as a conversion, they dont meet crash test specifications as they only provide strength in the direction they are designed for, but they are very popular for weight saving on race cars, i think on his following container he is bringing in the whole rear of a EVO which is from the rear doors back and only will weigh a few Kg.

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    Quote Originally Posted by shagga66 View Post
    It's about 100klm per hour of charge i think, still have to ensure you plan a trip, but for daily use for commute you would just plug it in next to your mobile at night.
    For the $100,000 plus this car costs to put on the road I could likely buy a good medium sized car for daily use, run it on fuel for 10 years, and still have change left over 😄

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    Quote Originally Posted by peteramjet View Post
    For the $100,000 plus this car costs to put on the road I could likely buy a good medium sized car for daily use, run it on fuel for 10 years, and still have change left over 😄
    Absolutely, one would say I'd you can afford to spend 100k on a car, then your last thought is how much to run it.
    I am a little biased, as I have driven the model S and love it. The acceleration is something special.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Godzilla View Post
    The amount of torque produced by some electric motors is staggering
    Its absolutely jaw dropping. Imagine what they will get in the future with a bit of development !

    You might have to sell your car and get something quicker mate


    shagga, am I right to presume you are still working in the industry ?

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    Quote Originally Posted by peteramjet View Post
    For the $100,000 plus this car costs to put on the road I could likely buy a good medium sized car for daily use, run it on fuel for 10 years, and still have change left over 
    Lets just say if I can get an EV for 100K with the same performance of a 300K Ferrari or similar, then it is a true bargain.
    ...and if I can get the electricity at free charge stations, well that just makes the Scottish part of blood in me boil with excitement.
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    Quote Originally Posted by admin View Post
    shagga, am I right to presume you are still working in the industry ?
    Yeah mate, been working between Australia and US, two weeks here, two weeks there.
    frequent flyer points are growing very fast. ..lol

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    ELON Musk and Tesla announced some major upgrades for the Model S overnight, including bigger batteries and a “ludicrous” mode that makes the already insanely quick electric car even faster.
    Just in case the Insane mode of the Model S wasn’t enough, the new Ludicrous speed upgrade will see the Model S go from 0-100km/h in less than three seconds and run the quarter mile in just 10.9 seconds. This speed rivals that of some of the world’s fastest cars, including the Lamborghini Huracan, Ferrari 488 GTB and Nissan GT-R.

    Musk told media this morning that the advancements come as a result of being able to increase that maximum amp throughput to 1500 Amps from the car’s batteries, up from 1300 Amps.
    “We came up with the idea for an advanced smart fuse for the battery. Instead of a standard fuse that just melts past a certain amperage, which means you aren’t exactly sure when it will or won’t melt or if it will arc when it does, we developed a fuse with its own electronics and a tiny lithium-ion battery. It constantly monitors current at the millisecond level and is pyro-actuated to cut power with extreme precision and certainty.

    “That was combined with upgrading the main pack contractor to use inconel (a high temperature space-grade superalloy) instead of steel, so that it remains springy under the heat of heavy current.”
    The package will cost an additional $13,500, plus an extra $4100 for the required range upgrade.
    The new bigger 90 kWh battery option gives the Model S an extra 24km of range, taking the Model S’s highway range to around 500km.

    On top of that, a new base model Model S 70 RWD hs been introduced starting at $108,554 in Australia. That’s actually around $6000 more expensive than the previous base model, the Model S 70D thanks to the weak Aussie dollar.

    The Model S P90D, including the ludicrous pack and range extending option starts at $193,704 drive away in the ACT, with the total price varying between states.
    Musk added that he expects Tesla’s upcoming Model X SUV to not only be the fastest accelerating SUV ever made, but will even rival the pace of the recently updated Model S.

    The Model X is due to go on sale in the US in September and is expected to be on Australian roads by the end of 2016.


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    That 'SMART' fuse sounds like a 'Slo-Blo' on steroids but obviously a step forward in running these vehicles.
    The whole concept of electric cars was to reduce the carbons produced by liquid fuel engines which they doing better every day but the generation of their power is still a long way from being truly 'green' and getting a 'Fast' recharge equal to the time taken to fill a liquid fuel tank is still to be acquired.

    I hate to rain on nomeats parade but getting a 'Free Recharge' will be like the pipe dream of running a combustion engine on water because someone somewhere will want to be paid for that electricity being generated.
    I stand unequivicably behind everything I say , I just dont ever remember saying it !!

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    $108K with a weak Aussie $.

    Imagine if our $ was strong, Supercar builders would be out of business overnight.

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    Anybody notice the newest option to be released on the Model S??....its called the "Ludicrous Speed Upgrade", for a mere $14,300+LCT, 0-100kph in 3.0 seconds.....now thats impressive!...was lucky enough to to have a drive in a a standard 85 version, and that was awesome, this upgrade would be incredible!

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    Son, who has worked in various used car dealerships comments that the electric cars are great if you want to go forward but, for some reason, they do not like reversing up an incline. They just won't do it for some reason. Most of the ones he's worked with have been Toymotors though, I think, he has seen one or two others. I was seriously considering an electric hybrid to replace my Statesman, but that would be a deal breaker for me. In the end I went with a Hyundai I45, and am very happy.
    I'm out of my mind, but feel free to leave a message...

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    Quote Originally Posted by shagga66 View Post
    Just wondering if you guys would buy EV's if they were price right and the gov't supported the infrastructure to charge them.

    Alot of noise has been made lately with Tesla setting the benchmark with performance and distance. These cars are awesome IMO..

    Tesla P85D has been announced and the performance specs cant be ignored...



    Looks hot as well...
    Hasn't taken long.
    I see a Tesla once a week around here now.

    Mate that came back from the states in Dec '15 said they were everywhere over there.
    If u want to go on an expedition get a Land Rover, if u want to come home from an expedition get a Landcruiser!

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    Would I buy one now? No, but I would consider a reasonably priced hybrid if I was in the market. It is heading down this path though. We'll all be forced to go this way eventually and by that time, there's sure to have been significant advances in all technologies affecting them.

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    To meet climate goals, “a large share of the new cars have to be electric,” Lars Andreas Lunde, the deputy minister of climate and environment and a Conservative Party politician, said in an interview. Because e-cars are more expensive to make than ordinary cars, “there have to be incentives,’’ Mr. Lunde said. “It has to be more expensive to pollute than to use environmentally friendly fuels.”


    After more than a decade of government support, official projections had held that there would be 50,000 e-cars on Norway’s roads by the end of 2017. That number, in fact, was reached this past April, and by September had grown to 66,000 all-electric cars, and an additional 8,000 gasoline-electric hybrids like the Toyota Prius.

    Norway leads the way
    It leads the way in many things
    Its what happens when a country actually has a tax system that allows the citizens of the country to actually share in its resource wealth.
    And a country that believes polluting should be more expensive than not polluting.

    We kick out governments who try and do this

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    If I had the money would have a tesla tomorrow, electric cars are the future as there is no other worthy option and fossil fueled vehicles are on the way out. Had a ride in a modified electric car, it was a corolla and the ride was smooth noiseless and had much more power than the petrol engine they took out. Cost them close to $30000 to do it, but well worth it they say. Only has a range of 250klms and takes 5 hours to recharge, they cruise round Melbourne for the entire week and top it up over night. For weekend trips they plug in where ever they stay, also did a trip to Queensland in it, didn't miss a beat and cost them nothing.

    If I was technically minded, would be converting one myself. We shouldn't be giving subsidies for imported electric cars, what we should be doing is stop giving the fossil fuel industry and their car makers $5 billion a year in subsidies and put that into designing and manufacturing Aus electric vehicles. This would give us the opportunity to kick start our economy for lithium cell production and all the necessary components for electric vehicles.

    We have the best resources on the planet to do this, yet are controlled by completely brain dead fools who live in some deluded fantasy. It really shows the psychological state of the population when we have all these wonderful opportunities for the future, yet the people vote for the idiots that are determined to make their future lives miserable.
    Last edited by spook; 08-01-16 at 07:59 AM.

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    Many have possibly seen the Top Gear show on running an electric car and although I think the story was heavily weighted AGAINST the vehicle, it did highlight problems of how long it took to recharge, distance traveled on a charge and facilities to recharge it.
    Currently I view Electric cars with when LPG was being touted as the 'Fuel of the Future' but the further out of town you got, the fewer places had it available and cost which rose markedly making it less cost effective.

    Electric vehicles have improved tremendously and they certainly fulfill a need in Town areas but untill they can emulate the petrol engine, I'll wait awhile longer.
    My Son has run a BA Falcon with Gas for over 2 years now and he says although it has some good points, he would never have a system fitted to a car nor seek one out because it has gas fitted as standard or added on like this one.
    I stand unequivicably behind everything I say , I just dont ever remember saying it !!

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    Yes funny how the former Top Gear team always chose a route conveniently longer than they were specified for, to 'test' how useless EVs were. That was a pure comedy show, nothing else.
    Can't remember when I needed to fill up my car whilst on a trip, probably 10 years ago.
    Obviously for professional drivers they are of no use.
    I wish I had an electric SUV but it will have be second hand in 5-6 years from now before I could afford one and that is where the problem starts: a new battery bank for 20-30k$ would probably be soon required.
    Last edited by Uncle Fester; 08-01-16 at 04:05 PM.
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    ive seen Toyota Prius for sale at wildly varying prices , so if that 10year old hybrid technology is still not accepted outside the taxi industry then it will be a while longer until it is.

    I do like the Mitsu IMEV though , nice practical size car , wish the price would drop by 40% though.

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    Technology is only going to improve the electric. Fossil fuels won't be available forever. We should be using the last of our fossil fuel resources to advancing the next transport options and the earlier we integrate alternative options the further we can stretch the fossil backbone of our energy industries.
    The bulk of my travelling is to and from work, kid to school and some local shopping. Being out in the country I would have plenty of space to put up a carport with solar for assisted charging or add it to my house roof - would not necessarily have to be grid connected either. Companies who want to be seen as green might be able to provide similar options in their carparks as well for their employees - potential tax/carbon offset options here. It would be better to use an electric than using my diesel 4WD to do most of these tasks. If they could implement a shared registration system where I can place my number plates on either my 4WD or approved Electric vehicle then this would be potentially better for the environment only need to use the 4WD for my weekends away and caravan towing trips. In some places in the USA they have NEV programs (Neighborhood Electric Vehicle) where you can use a small approved electric vehicles on your local streets.

    So YES

    Would like to try one of these as well

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