+1 there on that, exactly my point in my rant above, we arent ready, the cars arent ready. They Greens should concentrate on fixing more pressing issues rather than this. They are simply trying to justify their pointless existence
Electric Cars - battery swop idea
- Thread starter Betsy Og
- Start date
+1 there on that, exactly my point in my rant above, we arent ready, the cars arent ready. They Greens should concentrate on fixing more pressing issues rather than this. They are simply trying to justify their pointless existence
oooh, now you've got me ! This is a pet issue of mine, btw.......
For instance, I bought a shiney new 1.8 Tdci Galaxy in 07. 7 months later, Gormley pulled a fast one, and wiped not only 10k off the value of my car, but also axed the tax on an 08 one. This means, an 07 one is, practically, unsaleable, as you can buy, and continue to tax, an 08 one, for less.....
However, it is gone now, and the 2nd car in the house is celebrating it's 17th birthday this year. So I should be in clover, right ? Er, no. Because the Green mantra to reduce, re-use, recycle, is purely PR speak. For the 'luxury' of running an older car, I get doubly-penalised, thus:
1. Car tax. It's the same as a new one. Actually, it's more, as the post 08 scenario outlined above is exacerbated. Car tax should diminish over time, down to flat rate. Say 15 yrs.
2. NCT. The complete fallacy that the NCT does anything for me, as the proposal to have to test any car over 10 years, annually is nothing more than a cynical money-grabbing exercise. It is complete and utter nonsense that cars have some sort of 'biological clock' which, bang on their 10th birthday, makes them sort of mechanical time bomb. There's no shortage of younger, bangers.
As for electric cars, You've missed another aspect: the fundamental environmental UNfriendliness of battery manufacture and disposal. Today, we have, I dunno, 50 prime locations of oil. Or whatever amount you choose. And we are beholden to them, no doubt about it. None of which is good. There are an awful lot fewer sources of battery material: lithium. Have a gander HERE. That's an even worse scenario, beholden to a smaller number of sources, and the biggest source of it is a political basket case: Chile - they have had more political upheaval, than we've had hot dinners..............apologies to Monty Python, again.....
/rant..........!
Like this. Milk Floats were swapping out battery trays some 40 years ago.
Isn't the introduction of electric cars a global thing? Don't blame the greens for this.
Here is a video of a battery swap system:[broken link removed]
In any case, i think electric cars have their place. They are limited in range but most people commuting up to 50 km each way will have no problem with them.
Opel's take on an EV (Ampera) is a very good alternative and puts to rest any worries about range. It uses electric motors to drive the wheels and they are powered by a battery. This battery is charged at home like any other EV but also by a small engine, (which runs at optimum rpm for minimum fuel use) when the battery runs down. Anyone on an average commute could end up almost never having to fill up the petrol tank.
As to the toxicity of batteries, well, that can't be denied. But arent they recyclable?
Prius batteries last 10 years without any problem so this corresponds to the average life of a car, after which we are made feel bad about driving one and therefore it gets scrapped and recycled.
Here is a video of a battery swap system:[broken link removed]
In any case, i think electric cars have their place. They are limited in range but most people commuting up to 50 km each way will have no problem with them.
Opel's take on an EV (Ampera) is a very good alternative and puts to rest any worries about range. It uses electric motors to drive the wheels and they are powered by a battery. This battery is charged at home like any other EV but also by a small engine, (which runs at optimum rpm for minimum fuel use) when the battery runs down. Anyone on an average commute could end up almost never having to fill up the petrol tank.
As to the toxicity of batteries, well, that can't be denied. But arent they recyclable?
Prius batteries last 10 years without any problem so this corresponds to the average life of a car, after which we are made feel bad about driving one and therefore it gets scrapped and recycled.