I drove an electric car 60 years ago, called a dodgem. didn't do a lot for me then, so I do not think I will bother this time around
trogedon,
Sep 10, 9:15pm
I rode an electric (battery) bicycle = great fun and want to do it again.
marte,
Sep 11, 1:25am
On the subject of short trips, charging during trips and power costs.
If you owned a EV car and was going to a supermarket, or fast food place, or hardware store and you had the choice going to one with a 'Free EV charging' point while in their carpark. Or one without it.
Which one would you choose?
oversize,
Sep 11, 9:47am
why would you limit yourself, electric cars will have the capability to whip any car with the specs above
toenail,
Sep 11, 1:34pm
Exactly, I have driven a P85D and power is so accessible.
kevymtnz,
Sep 11, 2:11pm
electric are far quicker
fordcrzy,
Sep 11, 8:05pm
they seriously need to update the laws regarding electric bikes and mopeds. imagine a moped that teenagers/students could ride to school and stick on charge while in class. that crowd that makes the 2wd farm bike could do a 1wd version for on road
bill-robinson,
Sep 12, 7:47am
all these electric vehicles require charging, so which means of generating electricity will the greens let you use? All the charging places will need to be maintained at a cost paid for by?
skiff1,
Sep 12, 8:10am
I bet when steam was just giving way to internal combustion, there were guys just like you. Still clinging to the horse.
harm_less,
Sep 12, 10:10am
A few PV solar panels on your roof and you can literally run your EV on sunshine. Welcome to the future!
monsieurl,
Sep 12, 11:14am
Way to many big block bogans up in here!
I've been lucky enough to have a short drive around Highlands park in a Tesla p85d and those things are "ludicrous" (although didn't actually get to use that mode) the torque and instant power of these are definitely the way of the future, they will continue to get longer and longer range with different styles and sizes etc, the guys demonstrating showed us a Tesla Superstation that can literally charge a p85d an extra 200km range in the time it takes to have a coffee.
i'll get one eventually i'm sure but for now i'm happy with my petrol drinking 8 cylinder and turbo cars
bill-robinson,
Sep 12, 11:23am
show me your solar panelled car then. do you think the govt is going to give up all that tax that on fuel? really? carry on with your solar job
as you said "welcome to the future" with ancient university historical exersizes. try to keep up at the back
elect70,
Sep 12, 2:37pm
Every home should have 1 . a US study found women were the most users of fuel for other than work , so if all the housewives had EVs it would make a big impact on enviroment .
lusty9,
Sep 12, 3:55pm
My brother in Oz has the 2014 Tesla and I couldn't get over how blimmin agile it is for a 2 ton car. Had I a spare $150+k in my jam jar I'd seriously consider buying one, but since it's not a priority I'd go spend the dosh on a deposit for another few homes to rent out.
dublo,
Sep 12, 5:01pm
What I haven't been able to find out is (a) how long do the batteries in electric cars last and (b) how much do the replacements cost?
harm_less,
Sep 12, 5:49pm
The roof I mentioned was on the house (where most PVs are installed) rather than the car's. The PV then runs the car and house.
Our Nissan LEAF gets most of its charging from our PV system so based on our power suppliers buy-back price has energy costs of less than 1c/km, and no engine/drivetrain to maintain.
harm_less,
Sep 12, 6:01pm
Battery life is based on number of charge cycles but there is a Nissan LEAF taxi in the UK that has done 150,000 miles and is still on its original battery. There was also an ex-Japan Leaf on TM a few months back with a claimed 120,000km on it with original battery.
Nissan in the US announced a couple of years ago that they will swap out a battery when it gets to a certain reduced capacity at the cost of US$5,500. The 'old' batteries will then be repurposed for other applications such as PV storage for houses which require less capacity than for a car. http://insideevs.com/breaking-nissan-prices-leaf-battery-replacement-5499-new-packs-heat-durable/
cabrio1,
Sep 12, 6:03pm
I know a couple of guys who drive electric cars. Both aren't short of coin and own some pretty exotic motors, both prefer the electric over any others they own. One drives a BMW electric car, his brand new petrol BMW sits with 200km in the garage. The other drives his teslar over the Maserati, Would be nice to have the option I guess, but they are both top end electric cars. Charging hasn't been an issue, they stop at decent hotels that have charging spots in the garage. They charge pretty fast by all account.
bill-robinson,
Sep 12, 6:49pm
sorry,I got you mixed up with post# 124 . when the govt introduces RUC on electric vehicles what will you do? they are not giving up that fuel tax without a huge cost to the EV crowd. you will still have to maintain your EV to WOF standards and the motor also requires looking after, not as much but does need it
harm_less,
Sep 12, 9:06pm
RUCs on EVs won't happen until at least 2020 and by then the national vehicle fleet (and the electricity supply network) will be very different to now. RUCs for cars is currently only 6.2c/km and add that to 4c/km (charging from retail) and the running costs for an EV are still well below that of an ICE vehicle.
fordcrzy,
Sep 12, 9:14pm
i will buy an electric car based on its own merits. i WILL NOT buy one based on pseudo energy savings or saving the planet. if it costs me less to buy/run/service and has enough HP. ill buy one
db.price,
Sep 12, 9:40pm
Certainly the Tesla S is a great looking car and has power to boot. The new Tesla cheaper 3 will be a huge winner for the company and make good electric cars accessible to the general public.
Still issues with their range for me but that is improving constantly and the improvements to batteries will see a electric car wth a 1000km range within 5 years.
Just think had GM not screwed the pooch by scrapping their EV1 in favour of Hummers they would likely now have good electric cars that would be world beaters. Now the world is beating them.
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