That is essentially what I'll eventually do, wanting to build a house about 40km from work in a rural area. V8 in the garage for weekends, electric for the commute.
bill1451,
Sep 1, 5:30pm
yup when did you last see a power station built, Clyde dam I think, the greenies killed that and we will pay for it one day.
harm_less,
Sep 1, 5:46pm
There are solar and wind generating installations being developed more and more commonly so why would you want to pour the resources and manpower into building old technology which will quickly become redundant due to consumers increasing self-generating?
As well as the ignorant 'experts' mentioned above who are all to ready to make uninformed negative claims about the practicalities of EVs there is also the constant use of the word "greenie" but I have yet to find anyone who can actually define what they mean by the term. In my mind "greenie" should relate to those of us who respect the environment that supports life on our planet, so are those that disrespect greenies anti-life on Earth?
,
Sep 1, 6:25pm
There are plenty of 2011 -2012 Leafs on here for 10k.You can buy a top of the line 30kw 2016 car for 25k (on TM now), they're comparably priced to other petrol vehicles of thier age and mileage. They are alot cheaper than conventional cars if you take running costs into account. For example my wife's car which we've had for a year and a half will be completely free in one more year on running cost savings alone.
solarboy,
Sep 1, 7:06pm
I live rurally so get a few free farming papers each week and they oftn have stories about what farmers have done to their farms, sometimes over many generations. Way back they were clearing native trees for pasture but now many are planting trees and fencing off remnant native areas and putting QE11 covenants on them to protect them forever. Several times I've seen a farmer quoted as having planted many thousands of trees over years, restoring wetlands and fencing off waterways - obviously environmentally inclined - but saying " But don't call me a Greenie ! ! " like it's an insult ! Sorry man, you're a flamin' Greenie for sure ! :-)
harm_less,
Sep 1, 7:35pm
But my question still remains; What is the definition of a "greenie"?
apollo11,
Sep 2, 6:20am
Vinnie, it's only early days but already some of these electric cars are getting to pretty impressive milages. The Tesla drive trains are designed to last a million kilometers with virtually zero maintenance. I've not had a ride in one and I think never have you, so go and try one out before you slam your mind shut on the whole idea. From an engineer's perspective, once the battery issue is sorted, electric propulsion makes far more sense for cars than ICE.
,
Sep 2, 6:26am
The fundamental technologies that drive electric vehicles are well proven. The three phase AC motor (in a leaf) that drives the car pretty much runs the industrial world. Electric motors power pretty much every machine, every tool, there are thousands of them round you that you don't even know exist. The high voltage control gear is much the same, running every large industrial machine. The batteries are also well proven, even with thier limitations they're like any other automotive component. Treat them well and they will last a long time. Here is an example of a Tesla battery with 400,000km http://www.teslarati.com/tesla-model-s-400k-km-250k-mi-7-percent-battery-degradation/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=elonquotes
So yes the technology is well proven, with a long history, and EVs are just These technologies coming together.
So, my question is the same, why are you so threatened by them? Why are you so upset by them that you need to get on a public forum and comment, without knowing what you are talking about?
apollo11,
Sep 2, 6:28am
Lol. So you are suggesting that 'the big boobed women' as you referred to them would rather straddle your Honda Cub than jump into a Tesla with you? Really? Yeah I like old Cortina's too, but can you really imagine a woman choosing your old Cortina over something flash and new? This is women we are talking about!
richynuts,
Sep 2, 6:32am
In 2019 Dorna is going to introduce a MotoGP support class. yep electric race bikes, the bikes will be just a bit slower than the current moto3 bikes. still predicted to reach 200km/h. Dorna is planning for the future so need the next generation of young riders to hone their skills on how to ride electric bikes. fast
apollo11,
Sep 2, 6:34am
Fuel cells have proven to be a bit of a dud. Why? Because the processes to make hydrogen fuel are inefficient, and fuel cells themselves are inefficient. Maybe they will figure out cold fusion for cars or something but I wouldn't hold my breath. Electric motive power is the way forward and every car manufacturer is starting the transition toward it.
apollo11,
Sep 2, 6:36am
A lot of cities are putting in parks just for ev's to try and encourage their use. I'm a motorcyclist too, but some days it makes more sense to take the car ay?
apollo11,
Sep 2, 6:41am
Oh yeah, what classic bike do you have? Hopefully it's an old Vincent Black Shadow, because I don't think a Honda Cub pop pop bike qualifies.
apollo11,
Sep 2, 6:42am
Yeah so do I, but the family, the dog and the luggage don't.
richynuts,
Sep 2, 6:46am
Check out the winning LS-218 at Pikes peak. electric bikes don't lose horsepower at altitude. The LS-218 also has a land speed record of 216mp/h (347km/h) so fastest production motorcycle.
apollo11,
Sep 2, 6:48am
Battery research is moving fast. So is supercap research. Toyota are putting out a solid state battery in the next 3-5 years that will have half the weight of today's cells, can be moulded to any shape, charges quickly and has no potential thermal runaway issues.
apollo11,
Sep 2, 6:49am
Batteries will be with us a long time, and the better they get, the better our phones, laptops and cordless tools get too.
gammelvind,
Sep 2, 6:55am
The Honda Cub certainly has an impressive history and longevity but it is a motorbike and in New Zealand isn't a viable option for most of the population, as a hobby bike I would enjoy one, we had one as transportation to our favourite fishing site when we were at the family bach in Taupo.
Longevity of vehicles is increasing, most of the time people change out their cas not because they are faulty or close to being worn out but because they are no longer suitable for their needs or simply because they are bored with them. There are plenty of early 90's vehicles on the road, where their reliability was seriously questioned when they were released, but generally proved to be quite the opposite. Of course there are plenty of unreliable cars released as there were in small motorcycles.
There is no way that we can say that the new breed of electric vehicles will be unreliable and won't last, we will only know that in 20 plus years. In all likelihood there will be a bunch of enthusiasts in 30 years time who will be hunting out early examples of the Nissan/Mazda/Toyota electric commuter mobile in the same way they hunt out the Mazda 808 nana mobile today, a boring little car that no one at the time would have dreamed would become a desirable classic.
apollo11,
Sep 2, 6:57am
Yeah, but what works in India might not be so successful here. When I was young I push biked across Wellington with a large air compressor strapped to my back. Why? Because I was poor. I'm not poor anymore vinnie, I don't want to do that sort of stuff now. Putting it in the truck makes more sense.
apollo11,
Sep 2, 6:58am
Okaaaay, starting to see where you are coming from now. Have they let you out for the day?
apollo11,
Sep 2, 7:02am
I've heard stories of people (with cash to burn) taking brand new cars and placing them in storage. The one I saw was a Honda City placed in storage, bloody cheap awful little things. But I haven't seen one on the road for a very long time.
framtech,
Sep 2, 7:02am
No,, the only electric vehicle i will ever drive is a mobility scooter, when that day comes i will will be blind and frail , till then its SRT all the way
apollo11,
Sep 2, 7:02am
Lol. You're awful, but I like you.
tony9,
Sep 2, 7:05am
Right now we have just under 2.4 GW of consented wind generation. That figure is the absolute max, based of past builds we can expect around 70% of that to be realised capacity. So we are now down to 1.65GW. Some of those consents will expire without being renewed as past expectations of return on investment has proved unreasonable. Currently we are seeing about 25% average load availability from the Wind sources. This then comes down to no more than 400 MW of potential future power, realistically a bit over half that.
The other issue is that every MW of wind generation requires a similar rate of fast reserve available (wind stops sometimes). This is normally met by hydro, which now struggles to cope to be available for current conditions at times. To cope with more wind generation we need more Hydro or cogen turbines running diesel or Aviation fuel.
The big elephant in the room is that 2 Huntly coal/gas fired 250MW units are way overdue for retirement with no replacement possible for 5-10 years. We likely will "gain" another 300MW of reserve with the smelter shuts down, but it will not be enough until 3-5 years AFTER power shortages force retail prices up at least 30$ higher than they are now. This will trigger about another 450MW of hydro construction.
This is all my opinion, support by some inside knowledge. Govt attitude changes may impact the medium term.
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