Electric Cars - The Future of Consumer Motoring?

[UNREALARCLIGHT]

Tbh I find electric cars to be devoid of any soul.

The noise of reving up a car will always be dear to someone like me and trying to force electrics to people who want performance and a more pure driving experiance will not end well for the manufactures.

Sure they can sell these cars to people who need them But I for one will not be buying any of them.

#PreservePetrolHeadCulture.

 

[RCHeliguy]

Some would argue that horses have more of a soul than a car...

 

[Richard Wilks]

Despite the very best efforts from all the politicians, manufacturers, and silicon valley, the crux of the matter is that the raw materials to create the batteries and the motors for these vehicles are rare, hard to mine, and expensive to refine. There is no way around this, no matter how much wishfull thinking you have, it's like expecting gold to come down in price, because a lot of people want to buy gold rings...

Unless a totally different kind of battery is created, battery electric cars as we know them now are a dead end financially.

Tesla is yet to turn a year proffit, Nissan sold thousands of leafs, and is basically almost bankrupt now, and cars like this Taycan will forever be supercar territory price wise.

 

[Richard Wilks]

". Think it reminds me of the MK1 Golf, anyone else see that? It's kind of cute... "

It reminds me more the original Honda Civic

 

[Koen Verlinde]

Please no. In any case without governments pushing these environmental disasters with financial support they would hardly sell at all.

 

[DonZmeuheu]

I hate Electric Cars and everything these companies tell its just a big fat lie. I dont blame the car companys they need to jump on that sick train but I blame the politics and the media for lying to the people. I work in the Commodity Trading Sector and I know to excavate these commodities which are used in Batteries like cobalt, nickel and lithium is a much dirtier business than to drill oil for example. By the Way I like the look of the Taycan, and everybody who knows me know that I'm Porsche through and through but Its a shame what Politics have done to the car companies. I know that a lot of people will disagree with me but thats fine. I will forever hate Electric Cars

 

[Paul Glover]

@Paul Glover shame on you buying a 1 series, let alone a diesel..

I like the 1 series, like I said pressure was on. I do regret a diesel, I'll make amends!

 

[Craig Dunkley]

When I was a boy (many moons ago) I used to sit out in the garden and listen to the cars racing around Silverstone, If I could not be there, this was the next best thing, we were a poor family back then, so could not always be there (Silverstone) fond memories indeed..and today, due to my disability, I am doing the same thing 50yrs on...different garden yes, but even closer now

Thankfully I will be dead and buried before electric cars become common on the racing circuit.

 

[protonv5]

Over the next 5 years we will hit an inflection point where electric vehicles will be come cheaper than ICE cars.

They have far fewer moving parts and far less maintenance. In addition they have 100% of their torque available at any rpm with no lag to downshift when accelerating. Most people after owning a Tesla consider any other car slow just because they lose that instant acceleration.

For many people commuting locally, charging at night during off peak hours will be the norm and they will have a full car every morning and very rarely ever need to charge up somewhere else. Charging at night also takes advantage of unused power generation capacity that is not used at night.

However car dealerships make most of their money servicing cars, so they are fighting against this. In addition automatic driving cars are going to become big over this same 5 year time period. Ford is putting all of it's money into creating an Uber like fleet of automatic driving cars based on the idea that many people will stop owning cars all together.

So there is a lot of change coming. Some people will fight it, but it will eventually happen.

Incorrect. What people fail to see is that electric is simply not sustainable.
Electric is just a step to something else, while gladly taking your money now.
Car companies are only onboard with electric because it's 'the thing to do' and there's money to be made all the while claiming they are saving the world. Then when electric fails they will say 'Hey, here's this new tech. Buy this now. what's another 100 grand? It's simple economics. ICE cars are so much cheaper all around and you don't have to worry about finding a place to charge and getting home.

 

[Ben Lee]

I have concerns about pedestrian safety when hit by a 2200kg or 2500kg car. Surely their injuries would be worse than if hit by a 1200kg car at the same speed? Also from my own perspective I can't think a 2500kg car is going to handle well.

I guess my main problems with EVs are the obvious stuff;

- Time to charge
- Poor range
- Price

I just don't think the technology is mature enough yet for a mass roll out. All the aspects I listed above would need massively improving before I even considered an EV. I'd want a car to fully charge in an hour and do 500 miles and cost me £12,000. I think we are well off that.

Considering the battery charging time and range is such an issue, I dont know why the manufacturer's didn't all club together to come up with a common battery which could be replaced at a service stop (like a petrol station). So you do your 230 miles, you pull up at Esso E-Plug at the motorway service station, you wait in the line to get into a parking bay. The man then wheels out a new battery, opens the door on your car's unit, slides battery out, unhooks it, grabs the new fully charged battery, hooks it up, slides it in, closes the door and your back on your journey with another 230 miles range. But no, instead we all have car specific batteries which are embedded into the chassis.

Petrol powered and diesel powered MPV's are seemingly the fashionable thing to own now, however these too are gas guzzling, heavy cars. I thought we are meant to be moving towards "lighter" more fuel efficient cars?

I think the basic juxt of it is, I just like petrol engine cars. I dont want them to go away. What will happen in 30 years time, are there going to be no petrol cars allowed on the roads, I doubt it. What about all the classic Jaguar E-Type's, Aston Martin's, Ferrari's?. It has always been my ambition to own a Honda Type R at some point, before they ruin it all.

 

[protonv5]

I have concerns about pedestrian safety when hit by a 2200kg or 2500kg car. Surely their injuries would be worse than if hit by a 1200kg car at the same speed? Also from my own perspective I can't think a 2500kg car is going to handle well.

I guess my main problems with EVs are the obvious stuff;

- Time to charge
- Poor range
- Price

I just don't think the technology is mature enough yet for a mass roll out. All the aspects I listed above would need massively improving before I even considered an EV. I'd want a car to fully charge in an hour and do 500 miles and cost me £12,000. I think we are well off that.

Considering the battery charging time and range is such an issue, I dont know why the manufacturer's didn't all club together to come up with a common battery which could be replaced at a service stop (like a petrol station). So you do your 230 miles, you pull up at Esso E-Plug at the motorway service station, you wait in the line to get into a parking bay. The man then wheels out a new battery, opens the door on your car's unit, slides battery out, unhooks it, grabs the new fully charged battery, hooks it up, slides it in, closes the door and your back on your journey with another 230 miles range. But no, instead we all have car specific batteries which are embedded into the chassis.

Petrol powered and diesel powered MPV's are seemingly the fashionable thing to own now, however these too are gas guzzling, heavy cars. I thought we are meant to be moving towards "lighter" more fuel efficient cars?

I think the basic juxt of it is, I just like petrol engine cars. I dont want them to go away. What will happen in 30 years time, are there going to be no petrol cars allowed on the roads, I doubt it. What about all the classic Jaguar E-Type's, Aston Martin's, Ferrari's?. It has always been my ambition to own a Honda Type R at some point, before they ruin it all.

Agreed. Can you imagine saving all your life to own a Ferrari or Porsche and spending 100,000's of dollars and it's.....silent? What's the point? I wouldn't. And neither would a lot of people.
Electric vehicle's: Another government move to squash economies and take control of the minions. Plain and simple. Vehicle message: "You have not paid child support. Now routing your car to nearest police station. Windows and doors are now auto-locked." Sounds like a great future.

 

[RasmusP]

Just here to say this:
@Paul Glover the Honda is freaking cute. I want one together with a puppy.
You can be a manly man all day but for that combo I would go back to being a kiddy

 

[protonv5]

Despite the very best efforts from all the politicians, manufacturers, and silicon valley, the crux of the matter is that the raw materials to create the batteries and the motors for these vehicles are rare, hard to mine, and expensive to refine. There is no way around this, no matter how much wishfull thinking you have, it's like expecting gold to come down in price, because a lot of people want to buy gold rings...

Unless a totally different kind of battery is created, battery electric cars as we know them now are a dead end financially.

Tesla is yet to turn a year proffit, Nissan sold thousands of leafs, and is basically almost bankrupt now, and cars like this Taycan will forever be supercar territory price wise.

Well said.

 

[Dr. Death]

Having universal recharging stations for every brand woudl make it less of a headache. But remember, its not about "the carbon footprint". The energy that recharges your car still comes from energy stations working more for it. You dont really save much on CO2 contamination in the long run.

 

[Lennart Groessl]

How will we contain all the energy needed efficiently though ?
The current day battery packs they use are way too unsafe for mass usage imo.
I'd rather buy an old cheap Diesel with 5L/100km than any E-car, mainly because me or my family could never afford them ( or any new car/car from the last 10 years ).
There is a reason that most of our cars are between 20-30 years of age

 

[bertiesparty]

I live on an extremely busy road

Electric cars can't quietly become the norm soon enough

That said I'm very much that oddity of a person whose general beliefs are that "keep cars to the racetrack and off the road wherever that's feasible"

 

[BrunoBæ]

I want to save the planet as much as anyone, but the sad fact is that nuclear energy is still the greenest power out there. If we can ever transition over to Thorium reactors that effectively consume the nuclear waste from normal fission plants we would have plenty of power for a long time. Hopefully the first Thorium trials will be operational in the near future and maybe hit production in a decade.

Im not saying this is bull **** - because Im a nice guy - but it is close.
The nuclear reactor lobby are still trying to tell people how green nuclear power is.
But if you include the ressources and money needed to store the nuclear waste then - even if thorium reactors is ever build - then the economics and impact on the environment for the next 500 - 1000 years(!!) makes REAL green energy sources much more attractive both in the short and long run.

Here is a link to some rather fair calculation of the REAL costs of nuclear power:
http://www.grisanik.com/blog/real-cost-of-nuclear-energy/

As it can be seen, although we calculated everything optimistically, a nuclear power plant will start creating massive debt for tax payers after 240 years (a long time after it is decommissioned), and it will continue creating debt each fallowing year, for the next 1,000 or more years, according to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Our only hope is that, along the way, we will find some method for solving the issue permanently.

CatsAreTheWorstDogs: My own country Denmark covered 43.4% of its the total electricity consumption in 2017 with wind power. In 2020 it will be 50%. And estimated 84% in 2035.
So no reason to talk about fake green energy anymore

 

[spizzlo]

Great article Paul. This is random, I know, but as an American it's odd to hear "a year's time". We would just say "a year". It seems like an unnecessary use of the word time. I assume that's why it was dropped from the American lexicon. Maybe I'm wrong and slow and there's a perfectly good reason for it. "Let's meet in 2 hours crackers...I mean time, sorry" Anyway, apologies, rant over.

 

[Witti]

Having universal recharging stations for every brand woudl make it less of a headache. But remember, its not about "the carbon footprint". The energy that recharges your car still comes from energy stations working more for it. You dont really save much on CO2 contamination in the long run.

You see different distances for that number. I've seen after 160.000 km electric cars are the more environment friendly cars. I'm taking everything with a salt of grain here, but it's possible this number is somewhat true (let's just say the magnitude of order). Percentage of renewable energy is going up over time, so production of energy gets greener. So electric cars can still be better for the environment.

 

[Snailer]

The Porsche Tycan is beautiful, you cannot get away from that. It's also a high performance car, unlike a Tesla where ludicrous mode is to be used now and then because the batteries overheat.

It's probably worth pointing out that according to "Auto Motor & Sport" (a German automotive publication apparently), a Tesla Model S prototype (which may or might not enter production) has just beaten the Porsche Taycan around the Nurburgring by roughly 20 seconds. If true, confirmation should come shortly.

EDIT: Elon Musk said the Model S Plaid variant would be coming to production Oct/Nov next year.

Also if you're looking into EVs, I'd recommend giving a Hyundai a look. I never paid much attention to them, but they seem to just get EVs, even beating Tesla in efficiency for some time. Might be worth checking out.