Are we on the brink of an electric car revolution?

[johnny]

The problem I have with EVs is that they encourage the overall greenwash narrative that bau, conspicuous consumption et al can be sustained by painless technical fixes and we can smugly motor, with a clear conscience, in our exclusive private vehicles towards the unlikely nirvana of the low carbon sunny uplands.

Like people need an excuse to greenwash themselves into continued BAU? They'll do that regardless.

I've got 2 EVs, the first one some 7 years ago was a sort of experiment, the 2nd one 18 months ago was because they are cheaper to run than dino-powered machines. At $5/gal in the States, who cares if they are cleaner running and require smug people to drive them, I'll change to being smug if you require it of me, I'm more than happy to just take the money and run instead. Down with fossil fuelers!!

[PS_RalphW]

In the UK new cars in general are becoming much rarer,, partly from the pandemic impact on semiconductor production in China.

The country is increasingly economically unequal. The wealthy are still wealthy and buying evs. The rest are no longer buying new cars. The poor have always bought the cars cast off from the rich. In the future more of those will be evs.

The full transition will be slow, because we are heading towards Cuban car ownership model.

[Potemkin Villager]

The full transition will be slow, because we are heading towards Cuban car ownership model.

OK I have to ask what the "Cuban car ownership model" model is. Generally Cuba and cars summons up an image
of pre 1959 US gas guzzlers maintained 50 years plus beyond their originally intended lifespan.

[PS_RalphW]

That is the image I have too. New cars stopped being imported into Cuba after the revolution. The old cars were kept going out of necessity. Eventually they were kept going as vintage cars after imports became possible again, but many were fitted with more modern engines.

Second hand cars in the UK have risen sharply in value in the last 2 years. Increasingly demand for cars is exceeding supply. There is a growing trade in upgrading old cars to EVs, although this is currently nearly as expensive as buying a new ev. It will become much more widespread in 5 or 10 years.

[clv101]

What's going on with vehicle ownership and total miles driven these days? Given fuel prices, cost of living crisis, rise of working from home, the death of physical retail etc, are we past peak car yet?

[PS_RalphW]

The pandemic cut car miles by 23% in 2020, the most recent official data, reversing more than a decade of steady growth. This will have rebounded sharply by this year, maybe above 2019 as public transport may still be seen as too risky for covid by some.

Of course the current high prices will have some impact, and demographically far fewer young people are learning to drive, but the trend for ever bigger SUVs and away from diesel, has made cars less efficient overall, before the recent surge in ev ownership. Those gas guzzlers will be on the road for at least the next decade, regardless of fuel prices

[Catweazle]

Those gas guzzlers will be on the road for at least the next decade, regardless of fuel prices

True. Cars tend to filter outwards from the cities as they get older, so todays Chelsea Tractor is tomorrows farm mule. It's what's happened here, I drive a huge AWD Volvo which gets me up the track to my house easily in all weather, it only averages 35.2 mpg on my short runs, but I do very little mileage in it, it has plenty of room for bags of feed / fertiliser / oats / firewood etc.. Downside is vehicle tax, which is expensive despite the tiny mileage I do.

I parked it in Tescos the other day, and someone who looked remarkably like CLV101's twitter picture parked next to me in a tiny Citroen Splash and gave me a look of utter contempt - that's the other price you pay for driving one of these old whales.

[kenneal - lagger]

My Discovery is covered in mud and dings and regularly has bits of gorse caught up in various places. Mine is so obviously not a Chelsea Tractor that I very rarely get any of those sort of sideways glances. I do get quite a few smiles!!

As to what the Cuban model of ownership is? It is a big American 1950s sedan powered by a 1950s Perkins two or three cylinder diesel engine. The modern equivalent for this country will probably be an old 4 x 4 powered by one or more washing machine motors running off half a dozen lead acid batteries or, if range is required, an old fork lift truck battery. I expect Adam will give the finer details of the power train.

[johnny]

that's the other price you pay for driving one of these old whales.

I acquired my old whale just last month...on the theory that cheap old junk might come in handy in certain Cuban like circumstances....



22 years old, 200k km on it, but it can tow, is mostly analog, as quiet as any car can be, gets decent mileage on the highway 12km/L, and repairable by most independent repair types in North America. Wife and kids hate it, neighbors are irritated by clunkers being parked out in public, the thing is a riot. Planning on using it for all North American adventures, trading the ability to carry copious camping gear and substituting that instead of hotels to cover the additional fuel cost.

[Potemkin Villager]

These funky German runabouts seem a bit more down to earth
than all the super expensive wet dream high performance stuff!

https://www.elektrofrosch-berlin.de/shop/

[Mark]

Man charges £50,000 electric BMW through first floor window after being forced to remove outdoor charging point:
https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk ... r-24674638

Availability of Charging Points remains a major barrier for some people.....

[BritDownUnder]

I got my electric Kona yesterday and am impressed by the acceleration. The old diesel pickup is now blocking up the on-street parking and acting as a chicane for the street to keep speeds down.

[clv101]

These funky German runabouts seem a bit more down to earth
than all the super expensive wet dream high performance stuff!

https://www.elektrofrosch-berlin.de/shop/

Like it! Some appropriate technology there.

[Mark]

Electric car users warned as energy price cap makes charging more expensive than PETROL:
https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/ca ... er-warning

According to the RAC, electric vehicles will be more expensive to run than petrol equivalents from October when the latest price cap hike hits....
If only we'd invested in power generation over the past 30 years to keep prices stable.....

[PS_RalphW]

Or we had installed solar panels to run our ev for free. I was quoted 4 to 6 months for an install today