Electric cars.

[Chippy_Tea]

No idea what the point of them was/is though. Probably cost a fortune to implement for zero gain.

Why did the government introduce green number plates?’​

When green number plates were announced, the-then Transport Minister Rachel Maclean said they would “raise awareness” of electric cars. This awareness raising would potentially encourage people to buy an electric car ahead of the planned ban on the sales of new petrol and diesel cars in 2035.

The Department for Transport also said green plates could “unlock a number of incentives for drivers”. Precisely what these would comprise was not stated, though it was hoped, for example, that councils might offer reduced parking rates of EVs with green plates.

These incentives have not to materialised for a number of reasons, including how people fitting green plates to petrol and diesel cars could be prevented from fraudulently obtaining any benefits that might be offered, and the fact that if any incentives were wanted to be offered for EV drivers these could already by facilitated due to the fact that what fuel a car is powered by is already recorded, with this information being obtainable to organistions via the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency already.

https://www.carwow.co.uk/blog/green-number-plates-explained#gref

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I’ve seen so many fire fatalities at the hands of these batteries. The intensity at which they burn is like we’ve never seen before. These fires are near impossible to extinguish, rendering them potentially fatal to homeowners and rescuers alike.

I have a suggestion don't hit it with a hammer and chisel then it wont set on fire.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

If the explosion of your fuel source isn't registering on the Richter scale, does it even count as a proper bang?

Maybe we should ban any vehicle powered by the stuff that exploded at Buncefield?

 

[old dog new tricks]

I will be picking up a 2021 64kWh Hyundai Kona this week.

Already planning stops for the Christmas drive to family. Going to be interesting.

Enjoy it I have a late 2020 same car. Does most things great just watch the wheel spin on greasy roads the weight transfer and fwd with all that torque needs a very gentle right foot. Efficiency can be great I run mine in eco all the time plenty quick enough and scroll through the options to get automatic regeneration on rather than set levels it's very good and well judged to speed and conditions.
I set DC charge limit to 80% as beyond that the charging speed drops off the cliff.
AC charging I set at 90% as Hyundai suggests they go to just short of 11kw on AC if you get a 22kw charger.
Biggest compliment is it feels like a car not space age, very good entry to EVs I found

Hope you enjoy

 

[Larse]

I have a suggestion don't hit it with a hammer and chisel then it wont set on fire.

"Near impossible to extinguish" - using conventional methods.

A number of different methods have since been developed. A big fire blanket which covers the whole car. A unit that looks something like a car jack that goes under the car, drives a hole in the battery pack and injects high pressure water into it. And for ferries and other locations, a big tank of water into which the entire car can be dunked.

 

[JockyBrewer]

Enjoy it I have a late 2020 same car. Does most things great just watch the wheel spin on greasy roads the weight transfer and fwd with all that torque needs a very gentle right foot. Efficiency can be great I run mine in eco all the time plenty quick enough and scroll through the options to get automatic regeneration on rather than set levels it's very good and well judged to speed and conditions.
I set DC charge limit to 80% as beyond that the charging speed drops off the cliff.
AC charging I set at 90% as Hyundai suggests they go to just short of 11kw on AC if you get a 22kw charger.
Biggest compliment is it feels like a car not space age, very good entry to EVs I found

Hope you enjoy

A few days in and it does feel very different to my old car where bluetooth, heated wing mirrors and parking sensors felt advanced when I got it over 10 years ago. This thing is rammed full of electronics.

No issues with it being electric aside from the lack of engine noise giving me no clue of speed. The biggest change has just been that it's an auto with an electric handbrake. I'm so used to using feeding in a little torque and then releasing the handbrake on a hill start, whereas with this I guess you just put it in drive, release the hand brake and then move your foot from the foot brake to the accelerator trusting that the car won't roll because it's an auto.

It's quiet, smooth and the build quality is really impressive, everything clunks shut nicely, there's no squeaks or rattles on anything.

The only thing that's a bit disappointing is the bluelink phone app which is functional... but that's about it.

 

[Larse]

The biggest change has just been that it's an auto with an electric handbrake. I'm so used to using feeding in a little torque and then releasing the handbrake on a hill start, whereas with this I guess you just put it in drive, release the hand brake and then move your foot from the foot brake to the accelerator trusting that the car won't roll because it's an auto.

I think these should have hill-start assist. Just take your foot off the brake and it will hold until you accelerate. Not sure if it's full assist (stays braked until you accelerate) or timed - holds for a couple of seconds to allow you to get on the accelerator after releasing the foot brake.

 

[JockyBrewer]

I think these should have hill-start assist. Just take your foot off the brake and it will hold until you accelerate. Not sure if it's full assist (stays braked until you accelerate) or timed - holds for a couple of seconds to allow you to get on the accelerator after releasing the foot brake.

Oh it definitely has something, like you though I'm not sure how confident I can be in it. I need to park on a steeper slope and find out.

 

[Larse]

Oh it definitely has something, like you though I'm not sure how confident I can be in it. I need to park on a steeper slope and find out.

Yeah. Worth testing in a controlled environment. I'd say it's the full whack, Hyundai aren't known for being cheapskates with the features. My car has it. You just stop on the hill and let your foot off the brake and it holds until you press the go pedal. Even does it on the flat. You can feel the brakes locking on when you're stopped.

 

[xozzx]

I got my Kia Niro EV about 6 weeks ago. I dont have a home charger yet (selling house so not keen to spend £1k getting it fitted) but have free charging at work. So far done about 1500 miles and total cost £0. I make sure to charge to 100% on a Friday which so far has easily got me through the weekend then usually charge Mon and Wed to 80% to keep plenty of range. When I go to visit my parents at christmas Ill need to charge on public chargers but still works out slightly cheaper per mile than my old diesel, its a 4.5hr drive and we have a 4yr old so always make at least one longish stop which will be enough time to get fully charged again before carrying on.

Like Jockeybrewer I love all the features - heated seats and steering wheel, reversing camera, lane assist, adjustable adaptive cruise control, etc but the main huge benefit is being able to turn on the climate control and demisters from my phone while eating breakfast . smooth drive, quiet and loads of torque... drove my wifes petrol car the other day and hated it, cant see myself going back to ICE car now

 

[old dog new tricks]

Brake hold button down in the row where heated seat switches are press that and once you press the brakes it will hold even when in drive you just press the throttle pull away.
Regards the hand brake you do not need to take it off it does it automatically just press the throttle.
The drive system will not let you roll it takes the slack of the vehicle and will creep forward if brake hold not applied.

Yes the app is average but can set charge schedule pre warm and remote unlock etc enough to stop it being ott.
I have an Ohme charger it's got a slightly better app that seemlessly works with octopus

 

[JockyBrewer]

I wonder if Musk’s new appointment will help advance EVs in the US?

Likelihood is that if it does it’ll be for Teslas only. Or that he’ll be out the revolving door that Trump is installing in the Whitehouse before he can do anything.

 

[Larse]

I wonder if Musk’s new appointment will help advance EVs in the US?

Likelihood is that if it does it’ll be for Teslas only. Or that he’ll be out the revolving door that Trump is installing in the Whitehouse before he can do anything.

Is that confirmed?

Probably will and of course all imports will be hammered with tariffs, so Tesla will only be competing with other US marques.

But as with all trade wars, Tesla's overseas (and others) operations will be equally hammered.

 

[JockyBrewer]

Is that confirmed?

Probably will and of course all imports will be hammered with tariffs, so Tesla will only be competing with other US marques.

But as with all trade wars, Tesla's overseas (and others) operations will be equally hammered.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpqd4vw0ejeo

Billionaire Elon Musk has been tasked with leading incoming President Donald Trump's new Department of Government Efficiency (Doge).

In a statement on social media, the US president-elect said Musk - along with former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy - would "dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies".

It is a role that the tech entrepreneur has arguably prepared for through his business leadership, and one he has spent months arguing for.

But it is also one that is expected to garner him influence over government policy - and the regulatory environment his enterprises exist in.

Nothing to do with transport, but if he's in Trump's ear then he'll be getting something.

 

[Larse]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpqd4vw0ejeo




Nothing to do with transport, but if he's in Trump's ear then he'll be getting something.

From what I've heard subsequently, he's not likely to be directly involved in government structures otherwise he'd have to divest himself of his business interests, so it seems that this will be an external committee. More bloat.

Interesting to see what they;ll do about labour laws that would stop them from firing everyone left, right and centre.

 

[JockyBrewer]

From what I've heard subsequently, he's not likely to be directly involved in government structures otherwise he'd have to divest himself of his business interests, so it seems that this will be an external committee. More bloat.

Interesting to see what they;ll do about labour laws that would stop them from firing everyone left, right and centre.

Not a politics thread so I'll stick to the question of EVs.

Musk is obviously very pro EVs and autonomous cars and has a ton of patents in the area so I could see him dismembering the DMV and other opposition to allow him to flex those. However I doubt he will last that long with Trump.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Autoexpress user survey of home chargers - overall winner is Hypervolt (but almost bottom for build quality and ease of use), second is Easee (but almost bottom for reliability), just behind is Zappi, which is consistently pretty good across the board. It would seem that Rolec is one to avoid, despite being cheap.
https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/features/361708/best-home-wallbox-chargers-what-do-owners-think

 

[hoppyscotty]

My Rolec was great. Just a dumb charger and I fell for the trap that you need a smart charger but I've had nothing but problems with my smart charger and turns out the features it has are not really required as the car has all the charging and scheduling functionality that is needed so my good old faithful Rolec would have been fine. I think if you have solar and batteries then you might need some smart charger functionality to manage the storage and use of your stored electricity, but for simple scheduling of charging then the car can do all that.

 

[Nicks90]

Now I have solar and a battery, but I went the other way and had the charger installed independently of the battery and solar
The solar panels cope with my day time demand and charge the battery (if it's not cloudy) and my house uses the battery in the evening and overnight. OVO controls the car charging via direct connection to the grid and I only pay 7p k/w for EV charging. So why would I waste my solar battery capacity charging the car and then using leccy at 24p k/w for the house?

 

[Larse]

Now I have solar and a battery, but I went the other way and had the charger installed independently of the battery and solar
The solar panels cope with my day time demand and charge the battery (if it's not cloudy) and my house uses the battery in the evening and overnight. OVO controls the car charging via direct connection to the grid and I only pay 7p k/w for EV charging. So why would I waste my solar battery capacity charging the car and then using leccy at 24p k/w for the house?

This is fast becoming the standard. On top of which, some people have found that their car's charging port has burned out due to the constant on and off charging from solar.