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NeilT

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #5950 on: October 22, 2018, 01:30:38 AM »
It’s like “climate change” and “global warming” — skeptics wil throw the words back at anyone who says something they don’t agree with, as though the term itself proves their point, but the majority of folks understand the broad meaning of what the words encompass, without needing a paragraph of explanation.

Actually it is not.  Whilst it is quite easy to get people to understand that the difference between Global Warming and Climate Change is that politicians want people to believe that the Climate has changed many times over the millennia, whereas Global Warming is seen as an immediate and direct impact of human interference in the climate of the planet; trying to get people to understand that an EV is not a FFV when it actually is a FFV (when not totally powered by clean energy), is virtually impossible. 

People will believe you are trying to put one over on them (people really are suspicious of governments and "green" organisations), therefore they will be susceptible to BS assertions of the WUWT (WTFUWT), genre.

It is not that people don't want to believe, it is that they don't trust.  This kind of thing breaks the trust bond and it is tenuous at best when we are talking about making their lives more expensive and with higher taxes.

Why do it?



 
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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #5951 on: October 22, 2018, 06:54:00 PM »
It’s like “climate change” and “global warming” — skeptics wil throw the words back at anyone who says something they don’t agree with, as though the term itself proves their point, but the majority of folks understand the broad meaning of what the words encompass, without needing a paragraph of explanation.

Actually it is not.  Whilst it is quite easy to get people to understand that the difference between Global Warming and Climate Change is that politicians want people to believe that the Climate has changed many times over the millennia, whereas Global Warming is seen as an immediate and direct impact of human interference in the climate of the planet; trying to get people to understand that an EV is not a FFV when it actually is a FFV (when not totally powered by clean energy), is virtually impossible. 

People will believe you are trying to put one over on them (people really are suspicious of governments and "green" organisations), therefore they will be susceptible to BS assertions of the WUWT (WTFUWT), genre.

It is not that people don't want to believe, it is that they don't trust.  This kind of thing breaks the trust bond and it is tenuous at best when we are talking about making their lives more expensive and with higher taxes.

Why do it?

exactly which is why:

- proper wording is so important

- exaggerations have to be avoided because they provide new ammunition to deniers

- those who know something have to admit what they don't know

- those who are right have to admit if an opponent has a point, even though that point might
. be irrelevant and/or not thought to the end.

- reply directly to the other's reasoning and not divert into one's own thinking pattern.

everyone who exaggerates is unnecessarily forfaiting credibility which is a pity and happens a lot and then provoking questions belong to the same category, seeking sensation is not a sound motive.

(not saying i'm never failing with the above, comprehension is just the first step to improvement )

Sigmetnow

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #5952 on: October 22, 2018, 06:56:07 PM »
South China Morning Post:

‘Made in China 2025’: world’s biggest auto market wants to be most powerful maker of electric cars
Quote
At the assembly plant of China’s leading electric carmaker, BYD, in the southern city of Shenzhen – and under the watchful gaze of a giant Transformer statue made of car parts – an electric car rolls off the production line every 90 seconds.

While US maker Tesla often grabs the headlines (though not always for its cars), BYD and peers like Beijing Auto and Roewe are quietly selling enough electric vehicles (EVs) to make China the world’s largest market for both electric and conventional vehicles. In fact, sales of EVs in China reached 770,000 units last year – more than half of all new-energy vehicles sold globally.

Driving the explosive growth is a government desire to promote the country as a world leader in green vehicles, and in their next incarnation as “smart” cars, in part due to serious pollution problems at home but also as a broader strategy to become a technological power in keeping with its global economic clout.

That vision is embodied in the “Made in China 2025” (MIC2025) industrial strategy, an ambitious plan first unveiled in 2015 to have the country catch up with global leaders and become self-sufficient in 10 core technologies, including new-energy vehicles.

“To become a world leader in terms of technologies is not an easy job,” said Peter Chen, a Shanghai-based engineer with US car parts maker TRW. “Given the huge market size in China, EV is certainly a key industry where the government wants to develop its own players to be world leaders.”

Under the MIC2025 plan, Beijing wants domestic carmakers to be selling 3 million EVs a year, making up 80 per cent of total domestic sales, while the top two EV makers would have 10 per cent of their total overseas by 2025, although it did not specify which companies. Some of the more bullish industry executives predict that one-fifth of vehicle sales on the mainland, or about 6 million units, will be of green cars in 2023. ...
Quote
... “The limited driving range and the lack of charging stations are still the major stumbling blocks to the rise of China’s EV sector.”

Most of China’s indigenous EVs have driving ranges of below 300km, compared to Tesla’s 500km, due to the limitations of their batteries. Chinese-made batteries are relatively heavier and bigger than those of their foreign rivals because of the less sophisticated design of their cells. To make them lighter, Chinese makers have to cut the number of cells, thus reducing a car’s range.

There are also safety concerns over domestically made batteries. At least five Chinese-made EVs, including vehicles by Chongqing-based Lifan Motors and Chengdu-based WM Motor, caught fire in August, according to media ­reports.

The ideal, and quickest, way for Chinese companies to advance their technological capabilities would be to get them from overseas via investment in or takeovers of foreign firms, according to Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the China Passenger Car Association.

“It will be a trend,” Cui said. “Car-making is a strategically important sector where China needs to assimilate the world’s leading technologies and production to improve our own manufacturing capabilities.” ...
https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/2169698/made-china-2025-worlds-biggest-auto-market-wants-be-most

Correction for the chart below:  Tesla targets 1 million cars in 2020, including China.
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #5953 on: October 22, 2018, 08:10:30 PM »
U.S. Automakers Double Down on Trucks & SUVs, Despite Talk of a Cleaner Future
Quote
Advocates of tougher fuel economy standards argue that U.S. automakers are careening down the same risky road they have driven in the past—relying too heavily on vehicles that will be less attractive to consumers when gas prices are high again.

"The American manufacturers haven't figured out how to make money on cars," said Daniel Becker, executive director of the Safe Climate Campaign. "They only make money on pickup trucks and SUVs. So they are seizing on temporarily low gas prices and ... politicians like Trump to shift production to the most profitable vehicles they make."

"The number one problem with that is climate," he said. "But it also will result in the downfall of the American auto industry in a few years when gas prices go back up and they will have gotten out of the business of making cars."
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/15102018/automakers-gm-ford-pickup-suv-electric-vehicle-emissions-standards-climate-change-industry-bailout
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Jim Hunt

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #5954 on: October 23, 2018, 02:42:44 PM »
I'm still waiting for my Eddie and Harvi to be properly engineered

I got in touch with myEnergi and they told me this:

Quote
The issue is that some customers would like to consume all surplus from a 3-phase PV system even though the zappi is only on one phase.

This function is not working on the current firmware and we are about to roll out an update to fix this. Also this will add more functionality like improved support for battery systems and more options for load balancing.

Does that square with your understanding?
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #5955 on: October 23, 2018, 06:11:36 PM »
Shorter journey = less pollution.  But the inevitable increase in vehicles needs to be increasingly emissions-free.

New China bridge is 20 times the length of the Golden Gate and may weave together a 70 million–person megalopolis
Quote
HONG KONG — The world’s longest sea bridge opened Tuesday, snaking 34 miles across China’s Pearl River estuary to form a pillar of Beijing’s plan to merge 11 cities in its southern region into one megalopolis.

At 20 times the length of California’s Golden Gate Bridge, the six-lane crossing will link a regional economic zone of 70 million people, with a combined annual GDP of $1.51 trillion — almost twice that of the San Francisco Bay Area, and larger than the national economies of Australia, Spain or Mexico. The nine-year construction project joins a recently launched high-speed train to cut travel times and boost business ties between mainland Chinese manufacturing cities and the financial hub of Hong Kong as well as the gambling enclave of Macau.

The links are part of a plan to create an integrated region that officials have dubbed the “Greater Bay Area.” The bridge will put Hong Kong, Macau and the Chinese city of Zhuhai within an hour of each other. ...
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/new-china-bridge-is-20-times-the-length-of-the-golden-gate-and-may-weave-together-a-70-millionperson-megalopolis-2018-10-23
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #5956 on: October 23, 2018, 09:20:50 PM »
Oh, dear.

Faraday Future hit with layoffs, salary cuts in attempt to stay alive
More side effects of the company’s recent fight with Evergrande, its main investor
https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/22/18009658/faraday-future-layoffs-salary-cut-jia-yt-evergrande
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Buddy

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #5957 on: October 28, 2018, 02:44:15 PM »
One of the “cars to watch” in coming months in both Europe and the US is the Kia Niro EV (2019).  I’ll post a video clip later, but this car is a further “move into the mainstream” by EV’s.  The pricing isn’t out yet .... but here are some bullet points:

1). This is in the compact SUV segment, but it has PLENTY of room.  The clip I will post later was done by someone who is 6’3” tall .... and his 6’5” son was in the back seat (but not shown).

2). Mileage is about 250 miles per charge

3). Nice styling.  Not as “clean and minimalist” like the Tesla (I like the minimalist look), but still nice styling .... and it won’t be competing against the Tesla Y.  I suspect the Niro will be $5,000 - $10,000 less than the Tesla .....at least.

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Sigmetnow

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #5958 on: October 28, 2018, 06:46:28 PM »
U.S.

“Environmental groups still are likely to oppose any changes in the standards. Daniel Becker of the Safe Climate Campaign, an environmental advocacy group, said automakers like GM want the federal government to set standards rather than California because it’s easier to lobby for loopholes in Washington.”

GM pushes nationwide sales mandate for zero-emissions vehicles
https://postmediadriving.wordpress.com/auto-news/news/gm-pushes-nationwide-sales-mandate-for-zero-emissions-vehicles
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #5959 on: October 29, 2018, 06:15:21 PM »
Hyundai Kona Electric Delayed In UK To August 2019?
Quote
There could be two reasons for the August 2019 shift. The first is that deliveries are delayed, while the second one is that the first pilot quota was sold out and the next one is scheduled for August 2019.

Prices in the UK:
39.2 kWh version from £29,495 (excluding Plug In Car Grant)
64 kWh version from £36,295 (not including Plug In Car Grant)
https://insideevs.com/hyundai-kona-electric-delayed-uk/



Electric vehicles will be allowed to drive at higher speed limits than gas cars, says Austrian government
Quote
A new initiative from the Austrian government is set to reward electric car owners with a unique incentive. On October 25, the Austrian ministerial cabinet announced that it would be adjusting the speed restrictions for electric vehicles traveling in the country’s IG-L-Hundred zone, which covers a total area of 440 kilometers (273 miles). With the updated rules in place, owners of Teslas and other electric vehicles will be allowed to travel up to 130 km/h (80 mph) on the highway, 30 km/h (20 mph) faster than their fossil fuel-powered counterparts.

Austrian Minister of Sustainability Elisabeth Köstinger noted that the speed limit exception for electric vehicles is part of the country’s initiative to encourage the adoption of sustainable transportation. Together with the adjusted speed limits, the Austrian government is also pushing to open bus lanes for zero-emissions cars, and promote free parking programs for electrified vehicles. ...
https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-electric-vehicle-higher-speed-limit-incentive-austria/



Mercedes-Benz is open to working with Tesla again, says Daimler CEO
https://electrek.co/2018/10/29/mercedes-benz-tesla-working-daimler-ceo/

Toyota also had a stake in Tesla and a similar electric powertrain supply deal with the company, but it ended up cutting its last tie with Tesla in 2017 as it launched its own electric car effort.
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sidd

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #5960 on: October 30, 2018, 12:09:49 AM »
Strange bedfellows: Even the automakers, (and Shell oil!)  want more efficient cars, think the Trump admin goes to far in efficiency rollback:

 https://thehill.com/policy/transportation/automobiles/413729-automakers-fight-trumps-auto-emissions-rollback

sidd

Sigmetnow

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #5961 on: October 30, 2018, 03:40:29 PM »
2019 Hyundai Kona Electric and Nexo Fuel Cell Review: Two Great EVs, One Hard Choice - Motor Trend
https://www.motortrend.com/cars/hyundai/nexo/2019/2019-hyundai-kona-electric-nexo-review/

——
Most importantly, this piece debunks the argument that all trips on the Autobahn must go at ridiculously high speed. ;)
Jaguar I-PACE vs Model X range test demonstrates differences in battery and charging tech
https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-battery-charging-tech-model-x-jaguar-i-pace-range-consumption-test/
(I also note they drove the Model X a few extra miles to make up for the supercharger being more convenient than the IONITY station they chose for the I-PACE.)

——
World's 10 Biggest Automakers & Their EV Plans
https://cleantechnica.com/2018/10/29/worlds-10-biggest-automakers-their-ev-plans/
Photos and a few paragraphs on each automaker.
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NeilT

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #5962 on: October 31, 2018, 12:17:01 AM »
Most importantly, this piece debunks the argument that all trips on the Autobahn must go at ridiculously high speed. ;)

Well of course they don't.  But the Autobahn's are designed from the ground up to allow people to transit them at the speed they want to go at and not the speed of someone who doesn't feel comfortable driving faster than 50mph.

When leaving Frankfurt airport and driving down the Autobahn, with my son, back in 98, I asked him how fast he thought we were going (Given the fact that I was passing the first two lanes fairly consistently by around 25pmh, but also being passed at varying speed from quickly to so fast that the car rocked).  My son replied, without looking at the speedo, about 70mph.  I then asked him to look at the speedo.  I was actually travelling at 95mph.

I also served in a tank transporter regiment for 2.5 years back in the early 80's.  We travelled down the Autobahn at 30mph, every tractor/trailer had multiple rotating yellow lights on them and it was virtually impossible to miss.  Every drag (long run to pick up and deliver tanks), resulted in at least one major accident where a large goods vehicle would smash into the back of one of the trailers.  Sometimes we had multiple incidents.  Simply put, travelling on the Autobahn at 55mph means you will be passed by just about everything faster than a man walking in front of a car with a red flag.  Unless, of course, there are roadworks...

I learned to drive in Germany, passed all four of my UK driving tests there and have driven in Germany, on and off, both living and working in Germany as well as transiting Germany, for nearly 40 years.

Trucks travel at over 100km/h on the Autobahns even though they are not allowed to.  Telling me about the "endurance" of an EV, driving at 93-110km/h on the Autobahn just tells me that the test was not a "real world" one.

Yes you can do it.  Just as you can drive from London to Edinburgh at 30mph (so long as the police don't pull you for obstruction), but who the hell would want to?
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DrTskoul

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #5963 on: October 31, 2018, 12:19:40 AM »
I have easily gone at 190 km/hr with small diesel in the road to Frankfurt...as fast as most cars around me...

Sigmetnow

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #5964 on: October 31, 2018, 12:53:31 AM »
So can you go ridiculously fast on the autobahn in an EV?  Sure.  Here’s Bjørn Nyland driving ~200kph for an hour (back and forth on an unlimited section of the autobahn).

Model S P100DL driving 200 km/h, 125 mph over 1 hour
[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IbgSfFsqsJs
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #5965 on: October 31, 2018, 12:54:51 AM »
Oh, dear.

Faraday Future founder resigns, employees being furloughed amid cash crunch
‘The company is effectively insolvent,’ founder Nick Sampson says in resignation letter
https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/30/18040936/faraday-future-founder-resigns-employee-furlough-shutdown

In his resignation letter, Sampson says the furloughs are essentially meant to shut the company down. In other words, instead of admitting the company is shutting down, Jia is furloughing people and forcing the employees to walk away.
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Archimid

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #5966 on: October 31, 2018, 01:52:05 AM »
That is sad news. We need every 0 emission startup we can get.
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DrTskoul

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #5967 on: October 31, 2018, 03:33:54 AM »
So can you go ridiculously fast on the autobahn in an EV?  Sure.  Here’s Bjørn Nyland driving ~200kph for an hour (back and forth on an unlimited section of the autobahn).

Model S P100DL driving 200 km/h, 125 mph over 1 hour
[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IbgSfFsqsJs

Awesome....the more options the better... It will matter when the masses can buy them in any country...

Neven

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #5968 on: October 31, 2018, 10:23:48 AM »
I went EV hunting last week, in Germany, and came back yesterday with a Mitsubishi i-MiEV (from 2017). It was a really good deal, and only 10 km from where my best friend lives. Given that I will probably be able to sell it without a loss two years from now (because second-hand cars are much more expensive in Austria than in Germany), I just had to do it, fed up as I was to emit 135 grammes of CO2 per kilometre driven with our Opel Combo CNG.

The range is quite limited on the i-MiEV, and so I didn't go anything near 200 km/h. More like 80-90 km/h, safely hiding behind a truck. That way I drove 300 km from my friend's home to visit my mother in the Netherlands (fast-charging every 50-70 km), and back again a few days later, followed by another 300 km to Hamburg where I put the car on a special night train that brought me to Vienna. Then it was another 160 km to my home.

I almost got stuck a couple of times, expecting more range, but conditions like driving style, temperature, weather, tire pressure, all have a huge influence that I underestimated. Fortunately, I was able to improvise every time, and extremely lucky to have a (slow) charging station nearby. Mind you, I don't have a smart phone, which complicated things even further (although I did have a small tablet with me, with no SIM card, and thus entirely dependent on free wifi or the good will of some company). During my first tight situation, I was extremely lucky to find a private charging station, where the owner gave me a heap of tips as well as his charging card (I had ordered two that covered everything, but they hadn't arrived in time, so all I had, was an app on my - mostly offline - tablet). In hindsight, this was nothing short of a miracle.

Now I have to figure out what the best way is to get from my house to Graz and back, twice a week. In theory, the i-MiEV can make the 120-130 km round trip (when conditions are good), but in practice I will need to charge somewhere, if only for an hour or two.

But I'm glad to be home. You don't want to be stuck along the Autobahn, 1000 miles from home.  ;D
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DrTskoul

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #5969 on: October 31, 2018, 12:01:16 PM »
It's still civilized 1000 miles from home on the Autobahn. Try some of the Midwestern and Western States in US or Australia...

Jim Hunt

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #5970 on: October 31, 2018, 12:50:53 PM »
But I'm glad to be home. You don't want to be stuck along the Autobahn, 1000 miles from home.  ;D

Welcome back Neven!

Which two pieces of plastic did you order? I ask because I might find myself driving a (hired) BEV in the Netherlands in a couple of weeks time.
"The most revolutionary thing one can do always is to proclaim loudly what is happening" - Rosa Luxemburg

NeilT

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #5971 on: October 31, 2018, 11:13:23 PM »
So can you go ridiculously fast on the autobahn in an EV?  Sure.  Here’s Bjørn Nyland driving ~200kph for an hour (back and forth on an unlimited section of the autobahn).

Model S P100DL driving 200 km/h, 125 mph over 1 hour
[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IbgSfFsqsJs

Yep, for about 40 minutes in a Tesla P100.  Then you have to sit there for 40 minutes charging it so you can do it again, for about 35 minutes, before you charge it for 40 minutes again..
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Neven

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #5972 on: October 31, 2018, 11:35:16 PM »
Welcome back Neven!

Which two pieces of plastic did you order? I ask because I might find myself driving a (hired) BEV in the Netherlands in a couple of weeks time.

NewMotion basically works everywhere. For fast-charging Maingau is very popular right now (5 cents per minute). If you want, I can send you the Maingau card per mail.

Yeah, I know, I'm old-fashioned. They have an app too that you can use, but I didn't get to try that.
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #5973 on: November 01, 2018, 12:20:59 AM »
Yay, Neven!  Keep us updated on your EV adventures.

Here’s my periodic plug for the PlugShare app and website. :)
https://www.plugshare.com
It shows several CHAdeMo/CCS/Type 2 chargers around Graz. There’s one at the IKEA!
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litesong

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #5974 on: November 01, 2018, 01:41:44 AM »
.....“net income declined by nearly half to $1.1 billion in the second quarter”
stock price at its lowest point since 2009, when the U.S. economy was in a deep recession.
“credit rating is now one step above junk”
$11billion charges
All this is happening right now to FORD.  Not Tesla!..... $11 billion restructuring.
Ford, an Automaker at a Crossroads, Seeks Cuts and Partners
One small example...... I love & drive small cars. Oh, the Fiesta looked great. Ford has the best colors. The little 3 cylinder turbo would have been great in the mountains. Out of the mountains, I would have feather-footed it to 55 MPG (just stay out of the turbo). Why didn't I buy it? First, the many geared automatic transmission was horrendous & Fiesta would have been in the repair shop more than in my garage. OK, I wanted the manual tranny, even if it was only a 5 speed. I "could have gotten by with it", if I dipped into the turbo more than I would have liked. Second, there was no room in the back seats. My passengers  "wouldn't have gotten by with the seats". Two or three more inches would have been right. Ford didn't want to intrude on Focus sales. They saved the Focus by putting Fiesta backseat passengers in a small box.
Eventually I got a Dodge Caliber(OK, loved the CVT; low MPG, space inefficient, tho). Now we have one Hyundai Accent, & two Elantras (no hybrids, diesels or turbos)...all have reached 45 to 48MPG & only one repair in a total of 250,000+ miles.   

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #5975 on: November 01, 2018, 02:45:09 AM »
Very nice car, Neven! Congratulations!
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Neven

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #5976 on: November 01, 2018, 09:36:22 AM »
It shows several CHAdeMo/CCS/Type 2 chargers around Graz. There’s one at the IKEA!

Thanks, Sig.  ;)

A very good German site I have used so far is goingelectric.de, which has a great 'route planner'.

I've done more CHAdeMO than I wanted to get the car to Austria, so I'm going to try to stay off that for a while. I basically go to Graz twice a week, on a 130 km and a 120 km round trip. My guess/hope is that if I drive very carefully, I can get 100 km out of the i-MiEV (75% of the way is Autobahn, the rest is city/rural). Probably a little bit more during summer.

For the 130 km round trip I have the opportunity to park the car in a garage for two hours where I can charge at 2.3 kW at the socket. I could even charge for 90 minutes at 3.3 kW (Type 2, cost 3-4 euros). The resulting 4.5 kWh would get me another 25-35 km.

For the 120 km round trip I can charge for free for one hour or more at 3.3 kW en route, which would get me the needed additional 20 km.

That's all theory. We'll see what happens in practice.

My wife and daughter really like the car. It's already clear that it will be hard to part with two years from now.  ;)
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #5977 on: November 01, 2018, 08:17:46 PM »
BMW invests millions in battery pack production to support new Mini electric
Quote
While the vehicle will be produced in England and China, BMW’s manufacturing capacity in Germany will support the production with battery packs.
...

Along with the battery packs in Dingolfing, BMW will make the electric motors for the Mini electric in Landshut.

They called it having “English apparel and a Bavarian heart”.
https://electrek.co/2018/11/01/bmw-battery-pack-production-support-mini-electric/
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #5978 on: November 02, 2018, 12:36:06 AM »
”We strongly discourage the opening of a new fuel station in Norway.”

Norway: 6.5% Of All Registered Cars Are Now Electric
https://insideevs.com/norway-6-5-registered-cars-are-electric/
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #5979 on: November 02, 2018, 09:39:29 PM »
Time of Transition in the automotive industry!

Uber seeks permission to resume self-driving car testing on public roads
The company released its voluntary safety report in a bid to resurrect its AV testing program
https://www.theverge.com/2018/11/2/18056622/uber-self-driving-car-safety-report-testing-pennsylvania

Cadillac ends $1,800 a month car subscription dealers
General Motors Co. is winding down a car-subscription service it rolled out nearly two years ago for Cadillac, underscoring the challenges traditional car makers face as they try to diversify into new transportation offerings.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/cadillac-ends-1800-a-month-car-subscription-deal-2018-11-02

Volvo Pledges All Its Cars Will Be Electrified by 2019
Quote
Volvo’s Electrified Future
Electrification comes in many forms and doesn’t necessarily mean the elimination of the internal combustion engine. In fact, Volvo sees this electrified future as a process rather than a complete, immediate switch in their lineup. It will start with plug-in hybrid vehicle options for 2019 and move on to mild hybrids and full battery electric vehicles in the future.
Volvo has plans to offer five new fully battery electric vehicles in its lineup by 2021. It also has a very lofty goal, if current sales numbers are any indication, of having over 1 million electrified vehicles on the road by 2025. ...
https://gearjunkie.com/volvo-pledge-cars-electrified

BMW readies battery factory for wave of coming electric vehicles
The factory may assemble BMW's next generation of batteries with more compact packs and more efficient cooling, as a supplier to the company recently revealed. It will also build complete drive units for the cars, with motors and electronics.
https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1119695_bmw-readies-battery-factory-for-wave-of-coming-electric-vehicles

BMW sets up end-to-end battery recycling in Europe
https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1119405_bmw-sets-up-end-to-end-battery-recycling-in-europe

GM halts two renovation projects as it looks to cut costs
General Motors Co is halting work on two renovation projects at facilities in the Detroit area as it offers voluntary severance packages to 18,000 salaried workers in North America.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-autos-gm/gm-halts-two-renovation-projects-as-it-looks-to-cut-costs-idUSKCN1N666O
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #5980 on: November 04, 2018, 05:10:55 PM »
Several new models in China’s plug-in hybrid and pure electric market.

“The Chinese plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) market finally hit a new high, with some 104,900 plug-in vehicles being registered in September, up 66% and in line with previous months’ growth rates.”

China Has Record Electric Car Sales Month, BYD Tang #1
https://cleantechnica.com/2018/11/03/china-has-record-electric-car-sales-month-china-electric-car-sales-report/
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NeilT

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #5981 on: November 05, 2018, 08:16:43 AM »
That's all theory. We'll see what happens in practice.

That was my concern with it all Neven.  That unless you have an absolute baseline range of 320km, life will become very difficult in the long term.

It is something Governments can resolve but they really don't have any major reason to do that right now.
At the moment I'm using London public rail services for all my commuting, but when I need to drive it is never less than 180km on a single leg.  My car currently has a trailer attached and my next journey will probably be 1,600km return, with a fairly large motorcycle on the back of it, in each direction.

None of which is easily compatible with any current EV on the market.  I console myself that I'm using electric rail every day in a country which is close to eradicating coal.  Although I'm very aware that NatGas is still the backbone of the generating grid and that coal keeps on popping up as renewables dip (currently 2.5GW at the time of writing).

Just a question though Neven.  You put in Solar when you built, how does that balance out with the EV?  Or does it all just go to the grid?
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NeilT

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #5982 on: November 05, 2018, 08:37:47 AM »
Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe and stores more energy than a battery of equivalent weight.

This is true, but when you consider the energy cost of manufacture, then the inefficiencies of using it, the balance comes back towards plug in and batteries.

Without a much better catalyst the energy cost of producing hydrogen is prohibitive, let alone storing and transporting it.  Then how are you going to use it?  If you push it into the ICE, as it exists today, you are going to waste 60% to 80% of the energy it contains.  If you decide to use a micro CCGT to drive electric motors, you are right back to a vehicle which looks a lot like a plug in except for a very expensive turbine and generator inside it.

Granted you can have solar and wind systems generating Hydrogen all the time which would mean very little of the energy was lost, unlike today.  However as far as vehicles are concerned, we are approaching the barrier, for the vast majority of people, where pure plug in becomes viable.

Of course that does not work for at least 20% of the population, fleet, large trucks etc...  But without some very significant changes in the way the ICE works, burning Hydrogen seems best in systems that feed the grid.  I can assure you if you want to radically change the way the ICE works, the lights are on but nobody is home.

This is a fairly large change of approach for me and it is mostly driven by the massive changes in the capabilities of the current Li battery technology.  A long way to go before it meets my needs though.
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Neven

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #5983 on: November 05, 2018, 09:09:22 AM »
That's all theory. We'll see what happens in practice.

That was my concern with it all Neven.  That unless you have an absolute baseline range of 320km, life will become very difficult in the long term.

If I can't put up with a little difficulty now (and still not nearly enough, though better), things will get really difficult for my daughter and her future kids.

I will have to make do with this for the next two years and be inventive. If I can't make it work, I will have tried at least. Either way, we'll be saving a lot of CO2, 1000-2000 kg per year, depending on how much we'll use the i-MiEV compared to the Opel Combo CNG (133 grammes per km, 15 thousand km per year).

Quote
My car currently has a trailer attached and my next journey will probably be 1,600km return, with a fairly large motorcycle on the back of it, in each direction.

Wouldn't it be much more efficient to drive the motorcycle?  ;D

Quote
Just a question though Neven.  You put in Solar when you built, how does that balance out with the EV?  Or does it all just go to the grid?

Whatever we don't use, goes to the grid (for 6 cts/kWh, regular price is 20-22 cts/kWh). Our solar panel array produces 6500-7000 kWh per year. We use around 4500 kWh - which should go back down to 4000 kWh as soon as our heat pump for hot water is repaired. At some point I think  I will buy this charger as it measures how much goes out to the grid and automatically puts that amount into the car battery (I need it to be three phase though, instead of just one):

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NeilT

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #5984 on: November 05, 2018, 11:48:01 AM »


Wouldn't it be much more efficient to drive the motorcycle?  ;D

If it were only one motorcycle I would agree.  However I have three, none of which are currently road legal. As soon as the GTR is road legal I will take it back to France, pick up the Pan Euro and bring it back.  Sadly I only have time to work on my bikes when I am away from home. Also the government's take a dim view of riding non road legal bikes on the highway...  ;D
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Neven

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #5985 on: November 05, 2018, 11:55:17 AM »
If it were only one motorcycle I would agree.  However I have three, none of which are currently road legal. As soon as the GTR is road legal I will take it back to France, pick up the Pan Euro and bring it back.  Sadly I only have time to work on my bikes when I am away from home. Also the government's take a dim view of riding non road legal bikes on the highway...  ;D

Do you really have to? Huge amounts of emissions are involved, I would think. It doesn't sound like a huge sacrifice or inconvenience to get rid of at least two bikes.
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NeilT

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« Reply #5986 on: November 05, 2018, 02:06:46 PM »
Do you really have to? Huge amounts of emissions are involved, I would think. It doesn't sound like a huge sacrifice or inconvenience to get rid of at least two bikes.

When the bike in France is working, I use it to ride to Bordeaux airport and back.  It saves my wife driving there and back twice in a rather large MPV.  Why drive?  Public transport to where I am in France is virtually impossible, the advent of the LGV has made Potiers, Ruffec and Angouleme stations extremely problematic to get to the airport in Meringac so I am left with little choice but to drive.

It's not that I'm going to do the journey just for the bikes, I will be doing the journey anyway.  I'll either be flying or driving, rail is not an option since they stopped the late night trains out of Montparnasse as I can only take the Eurostar in the middle of the day, which work will not allow.

I remote work as much as I can but, like this week, where I was supposed to be at home, I often get dragged back into the office as contentious face to face meetings need hands on and not remote from the mike.

So I wind up driving more than I want, flying more than I EVER want and I'm just fitting the bike into the mix as a convenient way to get it backwards and forwards.  I certainly wouldn't do the journey just to get the bike!!

Since the financial crisis transnational public transport has become more difficult, with less late interconnection services, WAY more expensive and significantly less tenable with flights tending to be in the middle of the day rather than at the ends of the day in order to facilitate business travellers and a complete lack of interconnecting train services.  Paris CDG southwards seriously sucks nowadays.

Worst case is that I'll be driving home for Christmas.  But then, sans job, I'll have the entire apartment in the car and the trailer with the bike on the back.  The only EV on the planet that can do that for me is not on sale, i.e. the Tesla Semi...

It is why I talk so much about having Options and being able to choose them.  These governments talk a good story but, for those of us who must travel, they keep on removing options.  I'd always take the carbon neutral option if it was available.  It's just that those options are becoming less and less, all for the sake of "saving a bit of money".
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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #5987 on: November 05, 2018, 03:25:46 PM »
"Whatever we don't use, goes to the grid (for 6 cts/kWh, regular price is 20-22 cts/kWh). Our solar panel array produces 6500-7000 kWh per year. We use around 4500 kWh - which should go back down to 4000 kWh as soon as our heat pump for hot water is repaired. At some point I think  I will buy this charger as it measures how much goes out to the grid and automatically puts that amount into the car battery (I need it to be three phase though, instead of just one)"

Neven

Following your earlier post about Zappi I consulted a buddy who installs this sort of kit and he very much favoured the Solar Edge solution. Zappi is apparently a modified version of Immersun that used the same system to dump excess power into a hot water tank. The Solar Edge product is more expensive as it combines the EV charger with the inverter but the message was that it's tried and tested and robust.

My existing inverter is getting towards the end of its life and when it does fail I think I may give this a go. Might be worth a look.

https://www.solaredge.com/uk/products/ev-charger#/


Sigmetnow

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #5988 on: November 05, 2018, 03:36:55 PM »
Europe, September:  CleanTechnica Electric Car Sales Report
Quote
On the fully electric (BEV) side, it was business as usual (+27%) in September, leading to the segment growing its share by 2 percentage points compared to the total year breakdown (48% BEV, 52% PHEV). All-electrics could still win the race against PHEVs this year.
https://cleantechnica.com/2018/11/03/tesla-high-tide-phev-low-tide-in-europe-cleantechnica-electric-car-sales-report/



Deutsche Telekom to build electric car charging network in Germany
Quote
FRANKFURT, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Deutsche Telekom on Monday said it will launch a network of electric vehicle charging stations in Germany by adding power cables to existing fixed line and cable infrastructure boxes found on residential roads.

The company’s grey cable distribution boxes can be converted to charging stations that can supply 11 kilowatts of power, Deutsche Telekom said.

In addition, Deutsche Telekom aims to build 500 fast-charging electric car charging stations, capable of providing 150 kilowatts of energy, in the next three years.
https://www.reuters.com/article/telekom-charging/deutsche-telekom-to-build-electric-car-charging-network-in-germany-idUSL8N1XG2HO



“Globally, not a single German EV model makes it on to the top 10 list dominated by Tesla, Nissan, and Chinese producer BYD.”
Will German Automakers Survive iPhone Moment For Cars (aka The Tesla Effect)?
https://cleantechnica.com/2018/11/04/will-german-automakers-survive-iphone-moment-for-cars-aka-the-tesla-effect/
Video at bottom of article includes a discussion of the German auto industry’s influence on government(s).



Quote
Ohhhh, shots fired.
https://twitter.com/kiwiev/status/1058789154404806656
Hyundai Billboard:  “Your turn, Elon.”  “The first electric compact SUV is here.”
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Neven

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #5989 on: November 05, 2018, 09:36:12 PM »
Neven

Following your earlier post about Zappi I consulted a buddy who installs this sort of kit and he very much favoured the Solar Edge solution. Zappi is apparently a modified version of Immersun that used the same system to dump excess power into a hot water tank. The Solar Edge product is more expensive as it combines the EV charger with the inverter but the message was that it's tried and tested and robust.

Thanks, silkman! This is single phase as well, but I'll be sure to have a good look at all the options before deciding (not in a rush).

We, three of us, made our first drive to Graz today with the i-MiEV. Yes, and back as well!  ;)

We arrived a bit early there, and so the car had two full hours to charge at 3.3 kW (unfortunately the free option wasn't available, next time we'll charge only 90 minutes tops). I drove back a little bit faster because the battery was almost full again, and got back home with around 4 kWh to spare, I estimate. This was the 130 km round trip, so I'm happy with the result.

It's relatively warm here, 15-16 °C, so it'll be more difficult when it gets cold. But I can always opt to avoid the Autobahn and go the 50-80 km/h Bundesstrasse, although that will take 20 minutes longer. Another interesting thing I found out today, was that the car sports all season tires (Chinese). Somehow I had assumed that they'd be summer tires, as these are much more efficient.

This means that next spring I'll be buying the most efficient, European summer tires I can find, which should extend my range by around 10%, maybe even more, as these all season tires are really atrocious when it comes to efficiency. Perhaps I can then make the round trip without having to charge in Graz! That would be awesome.

The car, though small, is a joy to ride. It's like a sleigh gliding through the snow. I keep humming Jingle Bells while driving.  ;) But it's fast too, left a Mercedes in the dust after a red light, without even putting the pedal more than halfway.

So far, so good.
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Neven

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #5990 on: November 05, 2018, 09:42:30 PM »
It is why I talk so much about having Options and being able to choose them.  These governments talk a good story but, for those of us who must travel, they keep on removing options.  I'd always take the carbon neutral option if it was available.  It's just that those options are becoming less and less, all for the sake of "saving a bit of money".

Unfortunately, the carbon neutral option doesn't exist. When I was in the Netherlands last week, I watched a 20-minute TV report on this subject. Carbon compensation options are way too cheap, and even then, they hardly ever work (only 10% of projects actually do what they say they do) or will take decades to do so, in the case of reforestation (who can guarantee what happens to the trees 50 years from now).

Have you ever calculated how much CO2 your household emits? It sounds to me like you could make huge savings by cutting back on several things. Your children and grandchildren will thank you for it, once they wake up from their conditioning.
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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #5991 on: November 06, 2018, 09:05:55 PM »
Have you ever calculated how much CO2 your household emits? It sounds to me like you could make huge savings by cutting back on several things. Your children and grandchildren will thank you for it, once they wake up from their conditioning.

It was a very interesting exercise doing that Neven.  Home and house, can I reduce it more?  Probably no because my power station, 30km down the road, is Nuclear and I burn managed wood for my central heating.  0.45t CO2e per year.

Where can I cut down massively on CO2?

Ready for this?  Fly a hell of a lot more, both me and my wife.  Stop buying clothes, technology and using the internet and a mobile phone.  Don't eat meat and, essentially, live like a hermit and a miser.

All the usual stuff about water heating and Solar are a waste of time because my "options" are to consume almost CO2 neutral power given by the 75% of power generated that way in France.  I have a choice to not use gas for central heating or cooking and I took that but did it by installing my own central heating and all my own kitchen utilities.

The site recons that by eating meat, using the internet, buying a modest amount of clothes and tech gear, using the Internet and a mobile phone, I generate 29t CO2e per year.

My answer to that?  Stop producing all these things with FF power and FF transport and give me the Option to consume without driving CO2.

A true, viable, EV option for my wife would be something I'd be happy to invest in.  The option does not exist today!

The exercise just made me all irritated about options all over again.
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Adam Ash

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #5992 on: November 07, 2018, 11:14:01 AM »
Have you ever calculated how much CO2 your household emits? It sounds to me like you could make huge savings by cutting back on several things. Your children and grandchildren will thank you for it, once they wake up from their conditioning.

Yes, I do at each change we manage to achieve in our journey to being 'responsible' citizens of planet Earth.  We have a conventional 'western' lifestyle, living in a vintage bungalow in a temperate to cool climate.

We used to have petrol and diesel powered vehicles, and a conventional mains-powered dwelling.  Then my calculations from power and fuel use show we were emitting about 276% of our monthly allowed carbon budget of 142 kg CO2 per person per month.

We have recently swapped out the fossils for a full electric vehicle.  Doing similar travel distances we are now emitting just 152% of our allowed budget. 

Next step for us is a smaller better insulated home with solar PV for domestic use and car charging.  That will, I hope, get us within the allowed budget, accepting the inevitable issue with emissions embedded within the items we use to allow us to function in this enlightened state.  We must aim lower to compensate for that.

Then (and only then) can we start preaching to others what they should be doing, if we can be bothered.

Source of personal emission budget:
https://jancovici.com/en/climate-change/acting-collectively/what-do-we-really-mean-by-stoping-co2-increase/
'...So independently of what was decided in Kyoto, a goal that has a “physical” meaning for the world is to get down to 3 Gt per year at most. 3 GtC for 6,5 billion human beings (about to become 7 to 9 in 2050) means, if we equitably allocate the “emission right”, 460 kg of carbon (that is 1,7 tonne of CO2) per person and per year.' 
Which equates to 142 kg CO2 per person per month.   

NeilT

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #5993 on: November 07, 2018, 02:37:37 PM »
Then (and only then) can we start preaching to others what they should be doing, if we can be bothered.

Preaching to others is one thing.  Demanding that our government gives us the CO2 neutral infrastructure to make sensible choices is an entirely different equation.

Just taking me to the closest airport is 130km round trip, the closest mainline train station is a 160km round trip and the nearest main hub airport is 400km round tip.  We have a bus.  It goes to one large town, 3 days a week, two departures per day.

Fortunately our central heating is from renewable wood forests managed in country.  However we're going to have to move to pellets and this has a slightly higher impact.  Although, again, the electricity for in country produced pellets is mainly CO2 neutral.  We will, however, use less pellets than we use logs and there is a production cost with the wood we burn in transport, cutting etc.

The house, originally with no insulation or double glazing at all, is now a sealed and insulated home.  Which means we’re burning less wood than would have been the case.  But the CO2 benefits are negligible given that the source fuel we are using for heating is a carbon sink in the first place.

My changes to get my water heated by the pellet CH will not be driven by CO2 concerns as the electricity is Nuclear anyway, it will be driven by cost.  Ditto when I finally put in Solar (although I may need to get planning permission for that, being on the route coeur de lion and very close to a church which is under a preservation order.

We are also not in the rat race for vehicles either.  Our chosen vehicle is no longer made and they are both near the 10 year mark although the engines are Euro4 as PSA were well ahead of the game with emissions even then.  So we are not in the high emissions bracket for changing our vehicle every 2-3 years.

I’d love to make more changes but my working life and the choices I have to change that, don’t allow.  For me ditching the bikes and getting something like the Lit Motors C-1 would be absolutely perfect.  I have been watching it for years but it remains stubbornly vapourwear.  Still it would only replace the bikes.  The car I need to shift the Apartment and for the family we need a similar car for the shifting we need to do there.  For the small runs we have a Citroen C3 (hand down, 12 years old), which does 62mpg (imperial).  However that is in our garage waiting for the replacement wing and door from where a local flatbed van (never reported),  trashed the side of it.

On another point, our town, of 4,200 people, has two (yes exactly TWO), EV charging stations……

Options!  The most important thing for me today.
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #5994 on: November 07, 2018, 07:58:55 PM »
U.S.: Pollution Controls Failed Within Years on Certain Heavy Duty Trucks, Study Finds
Quote
Pollution controls that were built into heavy duty trucks nationwide beginning in 2007 began failing on some of those trucks within a decade, leading to significant increases in emissions of black carbon from some of the vehicles, a new study has found.

The results suggest that tens of thousands of trucks sold in the United States between 2007 and 2009 could be operating with failed emission controls and are likely to remain on the road for decades, based on the number of trucks sold nationwide during this time, the percentage of trucks with failed pollution controls in the study, and the average lifespan of commercial trucks.

Industry representatives say the problem was fixed for later models when more comprehensive emission controls for new trucks were imposed in 2010.

With no routine emissions inspections for trucks, however, it is difficult if not impossible to identify the older high-emitters so their pollution controls can be repaired or replaced, said Chester France, the former director of assessment and standards at EPA's Office of Transportation and Air Quality and an EDF consultant. ...
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/31102018/truck-pollution-emission-controls-failed-health-climate-change-black-carbon-soot
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #5995 on: November 07, 2018, 08:11:22 PM »
Electric vehicle sales now represent over 8-percent of new car sales in Canada.
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It might not seem that impressive, but it’s ahead of many other markets.  According to a new report from Fleet Carma, EV sales peaked at over 13,000 units during the last quarter.

It’s a 166% increase over the same period last year and pushed the total number of EV sold in 2018 to almost 35,000 units – a 158% increase over the same period last year.  The growth rate is truly impressive and if the trend continues, we can imagine some great things in the next few years.

Depending on EV sales in the last quarter, Canada could add more EVs in 2018 than it did over the lat 3 years combined....


While all those numbers are encouraging for EV sales, the situation is expected to change in the country due to Ontario, which was adding more EVs than any other province this year, ending its EV incentive program.

It is expected to have a significant impact, but Quebec and British Columbia are still going strong. ...
https://electrek.co/2018/11/07/tesla-model-3-ev-sales-canada-record/
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #5996 on: November 07, 2018, 09:42:11 PM »
“For some, just having the Jaguar logo on the front will be enough to overcome any concerns about range or charging speed.”
 
Jaguar Responds To Criticism About I-PACE Efficiency
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Quartz asked rather pointedly whether the electric motors used in the I-PACE are less efficient than those used by other manufacturers.

Jaguar responded:
“Presumably this means: does the I-PACE have less efficient motors than the other vehicles you listed? We can’t speak on behalf of other manufacturers, but the I-PACE’s state-of-the-art electric motors were designed in-house from a clean sheet, and we have eight patents pending. The motors use synchronous permanent magnets, and provide greater than 95% efficiency over a wide range of speeds — between 30-150 km/h. ...
https://cleantechnica.com/2018/11/05/jaguar-responds-to-criticism-about-i-pace-efficiency/

—-
Do you know anyone who used to drive an EV car -- any of them -- and gave it up, went back to gasoline/diesel cars?

—-
I think I actually found a TSLA killer. VW, if you make this a 300mi range model you win. Elon can pack it up and go home.
https://twitter.com/konrad_bilinski/status/1059883987991228416
(20-second video walk-around of a converted VW microbus charging in a parking garage. ;) )
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Adam Ash

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #5997 on: November 08, 2018, 09:59:15 PM »
Then (and only then) can we start preaching to others what they should be doing, if we can be bothered.

Preaching to others is one thing.  Demanding that our government gives us the CO2 neutral infrastructure to make sensible choices is an entirely different equation.
True, and those demands are best made by folk who have already walked some way along the path - showing they are keen and willing to be part of the solution.  Driving up to an PM in a fossil and demanding she provide better EV charging infrastructure just looks silly, IMHO.

Importantly; I wanted to prove to myself that the changes I would like to see in myself and in others are actually possible to achieve while sustaining some sort of civilised lifestyle.  I am now convinced that they are, and we can thus advance with little trepidation about how life will be under the new essential low-carbon regimen.

Just taking me to the closest airport is 130km round trip, the closest mainline train station is a 160km round trip and the nearest main hub airport is 400km round tip.  We have a bus.  It goes to one large town, 3 days a week, two departures per day.
For us its 80km round trip to the supermarket, 150 km to the local airpport and rail station (but we don't have much passenger rail anymore), and 350 km round trip to the regional air hub.  All trivial in the EV.

We just did a 700 km trip, and are off on a 2000 km trip soon in the EV.  Again, not a problem even with our early-stage charging infrastructure.

Fortunately our central heating is from renewable wood forests managed in country.  However we're going to have to move to pellets and this has a slightly higher impact.  Although, again, the electricity for in country produced pellets is mainly CO2 neutral.  We will, however, use less pellets than we use logs and there is a production cost with the wood we burn in transport, cutting etc.

...we have a Citroen C3 ....  However that is in our garage...
We too use locally felled exotic timber for space heating and water heating.  But (not having a copice of my own) the cost of commercial firewood far exceeds that of using 95%-renewable electricity to heat space and water.   

Funny. Our dear C4 is in our shed, with a broken fuel line!  It was the most economical vehicle we could buy at the time.

On another point, our town, of 4,200 people, has two (yes exactly TWO), EV charging stations……
Our town of 300 people has one EV, and the nearest charging station is 40 km away.  Home charging is a trivial activity, and is a negligible addition to our monthly power bill, which will, I hope, soon be reduced further by a solar PV installation.

Its all one step at a time isn't it?  And for those who have barely started to consider what they should be doing it is an enormous journey.  There is no quick fix.  We have been deliberately working on this process for 15 years now, with each little step being in the right direction.  Both our minds and our physical accoutrements have taken a long time to adapt to the point where we are now, and the process continues.
« Last Edit: November 08, 2018, 10:16:46 PM by Adam Ash »

Sigmetnow

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #5998 on: November 10, 2018, 01:31:16 AM »
Oh, dear.

Layoffs, furloughs, auctions and shutdown at Faraday Future's EV factory
Quote
Things are growing grimmer for Faraday Future as the company has had to shut down its electric vehicle factory in California. Some employees have been laid off, others placed on furlough while the startup is trying to secure funding to save the company.

As we reported last month, it seemed like the startup was finally out of the woods after a large Chinese holding company promised a massive $2 billion investment in Faraday Future, but after a fallout with the investors, the company recently had to lay off employees and cut salaries.

FF is running out of cash again and it is looking for new investors. But in the meantime, things are getting even more difficult for the company.

Most of the employees at the Hanford factory, where FF was gearing up to build the FF91, its first all-electric production car, have been laid off or put on furlough, according to local news reports. FF told employees on furlough to not expect work until at least next year.

ABC reports that about 40 people were laid off and 60 were furloughed over the last month, leaving only about 10 managers and directors at the factory. ...
https://electrek.co/2018/11/08/faraday-future-ev-factory-layoff-shutdown/
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silkman

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Re: Cars, cars and more cars. And trucks, and....
« Reply #5999 on: November 10, 2018, 10:26:19 AM »


"Our town of 300 people has one EV, and the nearest charging station is 40 km away.  Home charging is a trivial activity, and is a negligible addition to our monthly power bill, which will, I hope, soon be reduced further by a solar PV installation."

Adam (Reply #6093) is absolutely right on this. My town and its surrounding villages have a total population of about 75,000. There are no public charging points and the nearest one is 10 miles away yet there are increasing numbers of EVs on the roads.

As long as you have the capacity to charge at home then that can comfortably meet your needs and those of your visitors who drive an EV. I have a solar array and charge whenever the sun shines so a significant proportion of my local miles are locally generated.

The important thing for me is to have conveniently located public charging points towards the edge of my i3 EV range of 125 miles. I have that sorted now for my regular journeys and they prove straightforward.

The issue created by the unforgivable lack of local infrastructure is for visitors coming here unaware that we're an EV charging laggard. This extends also to the considerable number of Victorian terraced properties that have to rely on street parking and have no ready access to home charging.

The sooner we get some local fast chargers in the town the better but in the short term I'm able to use my EV efficiently without them.