Electric cars still a bit shite

[harryagain]

Bollocks, there were towns long before we had any mechanical transport. Towns were started for commerce and protection.

[polygonum]

I've always thought that extra weight is a significant penalty when climbing hills and when accelerating, but relatively little penalty when travelling at a more or less constant speed on a moderately flat motorway.

That would tend to make the battery-carrying impact even more on the stop-start/short range electric car than the fuel weight on long journeys.

[harryagain]

Different rules in different countries. In the UK they are illegal. ie you are not allowed to make a continuous audible warning So they have to be turnable off.

[Bill Wright]

But that's how things are nowadays.

Bill

[Steve Firth]

polygonum wrote: [snip]

Cars like the Fiat 500 have around 85kg of engine and transmission. They carry 35 kg of fuel. Electric cars have more than double that weight of battery. The Fiat manages around 70mpg, giving it a 540 mile maximum range.

The Nissan Leaf is inferior in every respect.

The Nissan costs £24k, the Fiat is about half that price.

You'd have to be an utter s*****ad to buy the Leaf.

I drove a Fiat 500 Twin Air over the Apennines last year. It was OK, coped with the hills really well. Then again it wasn't lugging around batteries weighing as much as three fat yanks.

It also got me to my destination. An electric car wouldn't have managed the distance.

[Dave Liquorice]

around.

A lot less boring than spending a week on a sun lounger turning into a lobster.

[Dave Liquorice]

That far, cor... 30 miles seems to be the limit around here. Even if the last thing they do before walking to the car and getting in is take a piss.

[Tim Streater]

It's all about energy density you see harry. I know that's a bit hard for you to understand, but there it is.

[Vir Campestris]

In the stop-start scenario they can (and do!) use regenerative braking - recharge the battery with the motors instead of throwing the energy away. That's what they are really good at - that and not having a tickover burning fuel even when sitting still.

But back a step - the weight difference between full and empty on my car is perhaps 50Kg. Out of 1500. So ~3%. I don't notice it.

Andy

[Vir Campestris]

Bet you didn't get 70MPG up there :)

That's not news :)

Andy

[Mike Lane]

Dave Liquorice wrote on Aug 10, 2013:

Absolutely! I really like driving abroad and I'm always slightly disappointed when we reach our destination - usually Croatia these days. We take a week to get there and the same to get back.

[charles]

and my Mazda 6 diesel does both those things. It uses the regenerated energy to power the starter.

[The Natural Philosopher]

when do you ever read what people write before spouting such utter bollocks.

Ships existed before diesel engines too, or bunker old fired steam turbines,but modern ships and their carrying capacity could not exist without bunker oil or diesel,.

Utterly irrelevant.

[The Natural Philosopher]

East Anglia.

Done both in less that 12 hours inc ferry. done Copenhagen in under 24 hours (just).

[The Natural Philosopher]

er not really. I clocked Tuscany to where I live. 600 miles.

12 hours max at 50mph average.

[Bill Wright]

I don't think you can get away from the fact that towns existed before there was motorised transport. Danum, Camulodunum, and Londinium spring to mind.

Bill

[harryagain]

But then the electric motor is very light. Overall wieght difference is not that great.

[harryagain]

But kinetic energy is retrieved through regeneration. And the "equivalent" mpg of my car is 187. On an energy for energy basis.

[harryagain]

For all of five seconds.

[harryagain]

No it's not. There's energy recovery to consider. I get energy back whilst descending a hill or slowing down.

There's efficiency of use. The electric motor is around 85% efficient

1 Kwh of energy takes me around five miles. Around one fifth of a petrol/diesel car.

It's the overall weight of the car that counts.