Featured Electric

Ah no that was Postman Pat and his little black cat Jess

 

The grid may in many cases be a challenge, that's the case over here as well. But with modern technology, there are ways around some of it. When I wanted to install a powerful garage charger, the power company would only allow it if I went for one with full dynamic load balancing. This means that the charger has the lowest priority in the chain, so if we turn on everything we can in the house, the charger will cut out. This way I can't fry the electrics in our house or in our street. If I absolutely need to charge at that time, I have to turn off the washing machine, the dryer etc. But like I said earlier, like most people we charge at night anyway to benefit from lower rates.
https://www.defa.com/what-is-full-dynamic-load-balancing/

 

I work nights, so would need to charge in the day if had an EV

 

Arizona was a state that encouraged companies to come here to test out their driverless cars and trucks (including 18-wheelers). We heard and read a lot of positive hype about it in the news about until a woman pedestrian in a crosswalk was hit and killed by a driverless car. I'm not sure what all the fallout entailed but after all of the news about that incident, I don't see anything at all about driverless car testing in Arizona anymore.

 

I was thinking the same. That all the hype has gone away. It's as if they've hit a massive brick wall but don't want to tell anybody. But then that's probably me just being a sceptic as usual.

 

Well, well, well....just when we thought the hype and news was going away, this was in Tucson's morning newspaper. I will definitely be on the lookout for semi trailers with TU on them. But then, on this truck, I guess the "Self-Driving Truck" plastered across the side is a dead giveaway, too. I certainly hope these things are designed to "see" motorcycles.

 

Now THAT is scary!

 

It will be a LONG time before they perfect this technology, but it will happen. I'll be among the last persons to begrudgingly get an electric car and I can't see myself ever getting an electric bike, but I get it. Aside from environmental concerns, we've a finite amount of petroleum and we're burning it in engines while there's other uses for it that are in many cases recyclable. I got about 20 years of riding left as long as I can maintain my health so I'm confident I can dodge any possible future bike mandates.

Teslas are becoming more and more common in the US as I've observed during 4 x 1500 mile road trips recently. They're not an oddity anymore. I got a good buddy that worked for Tesla for about 3 years. He said the batteries have a very limited lifespan, are super expensive to replace, and are immensely environmentally unsound to dispose of. No idea what the status here is of other electric cars out there but Teslas are the easiest to ID out on the road, for me anyway. I've been seeing a lot of them over the past few months. They are not without their hazards either.

I also have a problem with chauffeured politicians sitting up in their ivory towers dictating to anyone what they can and cannot drive, as well as clueless city kids barely out of their teens going to college on their parent's dime doing the same.

 

The bigger picture needs looking at, by that I mean it is impossible to go all electric in some sectors, take heavy construction and forestry for example, in the UK alone machines operate in very remote locations, Scotland for example in forestry, if the heavy machinery were all electric then the battery pack would need to be size of a power station, the cutters on these large machines exert enormous amounts of torque, and they are going constantly for a full day, not to mention chainsaws, diggers, low loaders etc, where will the charging points be then (in the middle of a remote forest, I don't think so), take the USA and Canada, forestry workers and machinery don't work 9-5, hell they are there for weeks on end. Then we have the military, planes, tanks, helicopters, warships, can you see a scenario "oh sorry we can't engage we need to charge our batteries", it's being marketed by governments to alleviate global warming, most would not argue we need to do something to avoid further climate change, but really autonomous vehicles, banning all new sales of ICE vehicles whilst there is no real engagement with the top 3 world polluting countries, a lot of countries keep sending manned and unmanned rockets into space, again not to mention the testing of weapons. I have a friend who works for the UN in research, what they tell me is the number one future issue will be a lack of water in some countries, making it more expensive than petrol, time will tell I guess. Ride safe all, and if you see an antonymous vehicle then accelerate like hell away.

 

Think "PROGRESS".

My first car in 1967 was a 1963 ford, 110 ci (1.8L) 6 cyl, three in the tree.
A piece of crap compared to my 2012 Chevy Cruze,1.8L 4 cyl, 6 on the floor.

Now that ICE cars are so complex, there is little hotrodding or customizing we can do to them anymore, so, despite being a gearhead, I welcome progress. I do believe I could change the batteries in a Prius if I had to. But, new motors, intakes, exhausts.... all that is swept away in the unstoppable waves of progress.

So, I will MISS ICE about as much as I miss the corded phone on the wall, phone booths, black and white tv, eye watering fumes during summer traffic jams with the windows open on non-airconditioned cars, automobilles whose odometers needed to go to only 99,000.

Malcomb: I do believe the technology for charging and staying charged and quickness of charging will greatly improve and be more widelly availablle than todays service stations.. Instead of a hotel, we might pull into a hamburger joint, parking by a charger, and 'fill-up' car (pickup truck) while we 'fill up' our tummies.

I agree with you that SOME what you call snowflakes would have you in front of a fake fireplace instead of a coal campfire. AND YET you KNOW in your heart of hearts that their dreams will not be realized to that extent. So, your 'slippery slope' logic is not really sound. But I agree that fanatics need to pave a drivable road to the green paradise.

Meanwhile, I encourage you to embrace progress. The 2021 Toyota Prius, for example, is an incredibly more efficient, vehicle than my 2012 Cruze, and my 2012 Cruze would have been science fiction in 1963. You just may come to scoff at the choices of ICE people! It is of course propulsion, power, efficiency, comfort, noise level, reliability, longevity that we want, right? There cannot be anything that logicaly ties us to liquid fuel compared to invisiblle fuel.

Consider the goals, contemplate that progress is sometimes frought with risk but worth the risk, consider those travelers who said 'get a horse' to early motorists. Relax, alllow and direct the magnetic forces of modernity to attract you instead of repel you. It is all a matter of attitude, right?

Imagine it is the year 2040 and all your fears have been allayed, all the bugs worked out of the green issues, and we actuallly do find pollution-less free power. Of course, we are both dead by then, but hey, it might be cool!

 

Think "PROGRESS".

My first car in 1967 was a 1963 ford, 110 ci (1.8L) 6 cyl, three in the tree.
A piece of crap compared to my 2012 Chevy Cruze,1.8L 4 cyl, 6 on the floor.

Now that ICE cars are so complex, there is little hotrodding or customizing we can do to them anymore, so, despite being a gearhead, I welcome progress. I do believe I could change the batteries in a Prius if I had to. But, new motors, intakes, exhausts.... all that is swept away in the unstoppable waves of progress.

So, I will MISS ICE about as much as I miss the corded phone on the wall, phone booths, black and white tv, eye watering fumes during summer traffic jams with the windows open on non-airconditioned cars, automobilles whose odometers needed to go to only 99,000.

Malcomb: I do believe the technology for charging and staying charged and quickness of charging will greatly improve and be more widelly availablle than todays service stations.. Instead of a hotel, we might pull into a hamburger joint, parking by a charger, and 'fill-up' car (pickup truck) while we 'fill up' our tummies.

I agree with you that SOME what you call snowflakes would have you in front of a fake fireplace instead of a coal campfire. AND YET you KNOW in your heart of hearts that their dreams will not be realized to that extent. So, your 'slippery slope' logic is not really sound. But I agree that fanatics need to pave a drivable road to the green paradise.

Meanwhile, I encourage you to embrace progress. The 2021 Toyota Prius, for example, is an incredibly more efficient, vehicle than my 2012 Cruze, and my 2012 Cruze would have been science fiction in 1963. You just may come to scoff at the choices of ICE people! It is of course propulsion, power, efficiency, comfort, noise level, reliability, longevity that we want, right? There cannot be anything that logicaly ties us to liquid fuel compared to invisiblle fuel.

Consider the goals, contemplate that progress is sometimes frought with risk but worth the risk, consider those travelers who said 'get a horse' to early motorists. Relax, alllow and direct the magnetic forces of modernity to attract you instead of repel you. It is all a matter of attitude, right?

Imagine it is the year 2040 and all your fears have been allayed, all the bugs worked out of the green issues, and we actuallly do find pollution-less free power. Of course, we are both dead by then, but hey, it might be cool!

 

A glimpse of what the future may look like. Rather pricey this one, and it does look like something from a Robocop film, but the range is better than my current bikes, and the speed and acceleration are up there with the top superbikes.

https://www.motorcyclenews.com/news/new-bikes/arc-vector-electric-bike/

At this point of their evolution I would consider putting an electric bike in my garage along with the ICE ones. It would be fine for the majority of my usual journeys.

 

Wow that is a leap forward, as freight at night is the best, but hardest for filling driver roles

 

Electric bike/cars/etc are ok for commuting. I'm concerned that no one will be keen on travelling anymore as we did on petrol.

 

Why has there been so little in presss about synthetic fuels,there has been limited success but surely it’s a better option imho

 

When I see all the reactions for 10% ethanol in fuel, it would be interesting to read about synthetic fuel (with a big bag of pop corn )

 

The technology will continue to mature (just look at how far petrol engines have come). A generation will grow up, not too long from now, who will see electric as the norm and ICE bikes as 'classics'. People have always had a desire to travel and explore. I believe people will find a way. I'm optimistic that two-wheeled travel will endure.

 

If you regularly are making really long non-stop journeys, today's EVs may not be right for you. For me, there was no reason to wait for tomorrow's offerings. A few times a year we get in the car to see our son and his family, who live six hours of non stop driving away. Our EV (a tall SUV with permanent AWD) would have run out of juice after a bit more than five. But for us, a six hours drive without stopping isn't an option anyway: with our Subaru we always made one or two stops to get some rest and stretch our legs. At a rapid charger it takes 10 min to get around 100 km, so we don't see a problem with range at all. The trick is not having to stop to charge, but to charge when you've stopped. Tomorrow's cars will get even more efficient batteries and motors, and it's happening fast.

I wouldn't go across the country with a Renault Twingo though.

 

You may be right. We start to see some foreign Tesla on motorway (Belgium, Netherlands).
We'll see in a few years if there will be enough fast chargers for long journeys.
I'm also a Subaru driver. Those cars are great and runs forever without any issue.

 

Mine didn't. The turbo went pop.