Tow Cars

Originally posted by Chris_H Originally posted by ohFFsake Still think it's all bonkers at this moment in time. If I go and buy an EV tomorrow the energy source will still be 100% fossil fuels, all I'm doing is changing the process in which the energy is delivered to the point of use. Net effect is more energy consumed and more CO2 created. The only attraction is a reduction in fuel cost which is purely due to a taxation anomaly that cannot continue if there is a mass take up, and which is massively outweighed in any case by the costs of changing, from my current vehicle. When there is a surplus of renewably generated electricity it might make some sense environmentally to consider switching, but it makes absolutely zero sense at the moment There are plenty of studies that refute your assumption of Net Energy would now be more..... Go Google... You are clearly anti-EV, and thats fine and I wont be able to change your mind. But the reality is that we have to go EV (if buying new) by 2030 whatever side of the fence you are on, so suck it up buttercup (meant nicely). I look forward to walking the streets of London and be able to breathe something a little cleaner ...  ;-)

I'm not anti-EV at all, I think they have their part to play as part of a balanced transport infrastructure. But I think it is wrong to mandate that they are the one and only way forward, or that they are suitable for all circumstances.

All the comparison data I've been able to find showing a decrease in "well to wheel" emissions presumes that electricity is generated from a variety of sources, some of them renewable. But that is an entirely wrong assumption if we consider the case of someone considering switching from petrol to EV. This creates an entirely new and additional demand for electricity, and right now that would be met 100% by fossil fuels, as they are the only form of electricity generation that can meet any new demand.

I can see that the current EV technology works for urban situations where vehicles typically travel slower and for short distances, and where they can have a positive effect on pollution, but that doesn't make them suitable everywhere else. Not everyone lives in London!

I just think we should be looking at a range of solutions such as biofuels rather than an expensive "one size fits all" approach, especially when we are in a serious and growing energy crisis.

Air is cleaner now since start of the industrial revolution, tens of millions of houses burning coal, power stations, huge industrial chimneys, no crop burning, but, now we know better and have to try harder.

Originally posted by iGRF Long ago I tried to push the idea of universal sized batterys that you just switched at a gas station where they were stored in racks trickle charged by solar/wind, the fuel companies get to stay in the loop, battery production gets to be developed by rival companies all claiming better mileage etc, but all cars get built with a universal 'slot' to slide the battery in and out of, and charged for each use. Government would even benefit by vat on charging whatever. But just like dinghyworld, nobody with any vision or thought of standardisation in charge. So here we are with dozens of different cables, attachment points, charge units not working, no chance of dealing effectively with terrace street parking, everyone shy of all electric vehicles due to range fear. Typical mess brought about by capitalist competition driven dogma.

Still think it's all bonkers at this moment in time.

If I go and buy an EV tomorrow the energy source will still be 100% fossil fuels, all I'm doing is changing the process in which the energy is delivered to the point of use. Net effect is more energy consumed and more CO2 created.

The only attraction is a reduction in fuel cost which is purely due to a taxation anomaly that cannot continue if there is a mass take up, and which is massively outweighed in any case by the costs of changing, from my current vehicle.

When there is a surplus of renewably generated electricity it might make some sense environmentally to consider switching, but it makes absolutely zero sense at the moment

Originally posted by GybeFunny Good idea but battery capacity would be limited by the weight we could expect an 80 year old lady to carry, currently she just has to lift a petrol hose or a plug in charging cable.

Just a sensible design exercise, slide in and out on wheels/bearings, have to be rear mounted only problem I see is designing a tow bar solution.