Electric cars a step nearer mainstream?

[Mary Fisher]

No idea. 2001 I think. Age isn't important.

Oh - so old diesel engines have to pass less stringent tests :-) I rest my case.

Quite.

Mary

[Mary Fisher]

Ours is petrol fuelled, we only have one car now. I get a better mpg under any conditions than Spouse, I drive as i was taught for maximum economy.

He taught me :-)

Mary

>

[Mary Fisher]

Flames go upwards ...

[Huge]

course, I'd throw the stupid electric motor & batteries away and fit a Hyabusa engine, but that's just me ...

[Huge]

Porsche.

Porsche.

Porsche.

You're welcome.

[Huge]

Quite so.

[Huge]

I've picked up a Mini engine & gearbox. Briefly.

[dennis]

Once some idiot has flooded the forecourt with a few hundred liters of fuel you will understand.

[Huge]

Elfin Saftey fascists, I expect.

[Jon Green]

True, but burning airships go downwards, and it would be easy to believe that anyone in the gondola would have been crushed, burnt or both. I was rather surprised when I read the statistic, given the film of the Hindenberg's destruction.

Jon

[Huge]

My Td5 Discovery does about 22mpg in everyday use. The 4.0 Range Rover it replaced did 13mpg under the same conditions. That's significantly better than

25%.

Sadly, the price differential is eroding the benefit on a daily basis.

And on my last visit to the US, I discovered why diesel cars aren't popular there; petrol is $3.30-odd a gallon, diesel $4.30-odd.

[<me9]

Used to travel regularly that way (Hexham to Penrith) in a Ford Anglia with drum brakes. I never found it a problem, I did find a problem on the tops with wind, I often couldn't get into top gear.

[Sarah Brown]

That's missing the point really. It's true that a Prius has a 2 mile range if you run it as an electric vehicle (unless you've done the large battery conversion which allows mains charging and a 30 mile range), but the EV mode is really only a gimick (and indeed, it's not even fitted on US models).

The way it actually tends to work, assuming the engine is warm (if it's not, it'll run it to make sure it stays warm, so lots of very short trips will damage fuel economy a bit) is that it'll use the engine to assist in accelerating away from traffic lights, etc., and then switch it off when you're cruising along at 30mph, or whatever. Engine on for applying power, off for cruising (up to about

50 mph), deceleration and sitting in stationary traffic. This is where it manages to get upwards of 50mpg in the urban cycle, as well as avoiding crawling along in slow moving traffic along, e.g. Mill Road, where the lack of fumes is possibly appreciated by nearby pedestrians.

[Sarah Brown]

Lexus do a line of hybrid chealsea tractors.

[Jon Green]

How often does that happen in the US, then?

Jon

[Andy Burns]

Dunno, but one of the smaller operators in Nottingham boasts about Euro5 engines with slogans like "emissions from this bus are cleaner than a nun's thoughts"

[Mary Fisher]

Any more information?

Mary

[dennis]

It doesn't matter, it can, but not if they have to hold the handle.

That's like saying why check for bombs on aircraft because they don't blow up often.

[Mary Fisher]

Until your widget supplier runs out when you need one desperately ...

Mary

[Rod]

RX400h - here:

seem to be in the 35 to 40 thousand pounds. (Each.)