Are we being forced to go electric?

[All uphill]

I'm no advocate or enthusiast for cars of any description and sold my old Volvo in December.

If I had to have a car once more the prospect of never having to suffer a petrol station again would be enough for me to choose an EV.

 

[Rusty Nails]

Can we have an end to a single , often fictitious, journey being touted as 'reason' not to adopt EV's?
In 368 pages there's been a ton of them and not one stands up to any scrutiny.

It depends on what you mean by scrutiny.

They are relevant in terms of what people see as practical and important to them and their car usage and that will decide how quickly the change to EV takes place.

Placed against the potential benefit to the environment they are less important but that is not straightforward to everyone, or the deciding factor in their choice.

Does EV or ICE suit your practical driving needs more?

 

[Gillstay]

With everything happening in the world today -the change to EVs will be one of the easier ones.

Climate change will have huge effect on us all.

https://www.theguardian.com/environ...mfortably-hot-days?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

Yep, but once you have to deal with big matters outside your control people instinctively look to what they can control.

25 yrs ago at a conference in Austria a German gave a talk on climate change and a lot of the audience who were normally very polite , just ignored him. Read newspapers etc. When I asked a question in English a lot of them were surprised. As happens here, they were thinking `only Germans are working to stop this '

 

[vickster]

Yep, but once you have to deal with big matters outside your control people instinctively look to what they can control.

25 yrs ago at a conference in Austria a German gave a talk on climate change and a lot of the audience who were normally very polite , just ignored him. Read newspapers etc. When I asked a question in English a lot of them were surprised. As happens here, they were thinking `only Germans are working to stop this '

Very few EVs in Austria I noted, mostly Teslas. They’re happy with their diesels, it being cheaper than electricity. Strict and stringent tax rules too especially on personal mileage use of company cars (esp if over 6000km a year).
And many town dwelling Austrians live in flats with no OSP

 

[icowden]

1. With a range of 600 miles in my car that is absolutely not a part of my planning for such a journey. For a return trip to Scotland it might be, but I might still not plan, just stop at any convenient petrol station.

That's a heck of a car.

. If, if, if, if. I would not drive that distance to go to a shopping centre...I am not that sad. I

But you must have had a destination in Haverfordwest. The vast majority of destinations have somewhere you can charge while the car isn't being used. I took my daughter to a hospital appointment earlier this week. There was a charge point. I went to the cinema last month. There was a charge point. I went to a meeting in Warwick a while ago - they had charge points. I went on a forest holiday in the Forest of Dean. They had a charge point. I went to visit the in-laws. They had a socket in their shed near the bit where you can park.

Last time I went on a Forest Holiday with an ICE car I had to take a detour to find a petrol station.

3. I have the cash but would never dream of spending that much on a means of transport. Those sorts of prices are out of the reach of many, especially those who do not have company cars with free/subsidised charging.

Absolutely fair enough and we have covered that EVs are currently quite expensive. That will change.

 

[Gillstay]

Very few EVs in Austria I noted, mostly Teslas. They’re happy with their diesels, it being cheaper than electricity. Strict and stringent tax rules too especially on personal mileage use of company cars (esp if over 6000km a year).
And many town dwelling Austrians live in flats with no OSP

Yep, my friend in Perth is always very sad about the lack of action in Australia, be it coal, timber, wildlife. He is in the cycle training business and there is deep resentment to teaching kids to cycle safely.

 

[vickster]

Yep, my friend in Perth is always very sad about the lack of action in Australia, be it coal, timber, wildlife. He is in the cycle training business and there is deep resentment to teaching kids to cycle safely.

Austria not Australia!!
They're keen to cycle in Austria, ironically many bikes are now electric (plus plenty of e-scooters which are legal)

 

[Gillstay]

Austria not Australia!!
They're keen to cycle in Austria, ironically many bikes are now electric (plus plenty of e-scooters which are legal)

I need new glasses !

 

[vickster]

I need new glasses !

You were the one who mentioned Austria in the first place too 😁

 

[FishFright]

It depends on what you mean by scrutiny.

They are relevant in terms of what people see as practical and important to them and their car usage and that will decide how quickly the change to EV takes place.

Placed against the potential benefit to the environment they are less important but that is not straightforward to everyone, or the deciding factor in their choice.

Does EV or ICE suit your practical driving needs more?

By scrutiny I mean scrutiny, google it if needed.

There are zero benefit ICE's except peoples vanity and stubbornness., its time is nearly done.

I don't have driving needs and have never owned a car, had a couple of small motorbikes briefly when younger though.

 

[Mike_P]

Fair point, but I think it's already proving practical and environmentally friendly. Hence Go Ahead buying 299 electric busses.

Presumably with a fair amount of the cost coming from Central Government. There have been awards of grants all over the place for bus operators to go electric.

 

[Rusty Nails]

By scrutiny I mean scrutiny, google it if needed.

There are zero benefit ICE's except peoples vanity and stubbornness., its time is nearly done.

I don't have driving needs and have never owned a car, had a couple of small motorbikes briefly when younger though.

In that case then, while your views on the benefits of driving EV to the environment are important, your views on the more mundane, practical benefits to individuals of choosing ICE or EV are as useful as advice on which comb to use from a bald man.

 

[Rusty Nails]

(1) That's a heck of a car.

(2) But you must have had a destination in Haverfordwest. The vast majority of destinations have somewhere you can charge while the car isn't being used. I took my daughter to a hospital appointment earlier this week. There was a charge point. I went to the cinema last month. There was a charge point. I went to a meeting in Warwick a while ago - they had charge points. I went on a forest holiday in the Forest of Dean. They had a charge point. I went to visit the in-laws. They had a socket in their shed near the bit where you can park.

(3) Last time I went on a Forest Holiday with an ICE car I had to take a detour to find a petrol station.

Absolutely fair enough and we have covered that EVs are currently quite expensive. That will change.

1. Not really. A 1.4cc Skoda. I am retired, have no need to or interest in getting from A - B quickly and can get around 60mpg on trips outside the city. (58mpg over 328 miles on a round trip to London last Sunday).

2. Good for you. I always go to the hospital by bus as it is on the bus route and parking is a faff, my local cinema does not have a car park and certainly no charging point, I gave up going to meetings when I retired, the FoD is not far from me so doesn't need refuelling...and I would never allow family members to pay for my car to be charged.

3. On my touring trip round the West country a couple of weeks ago I filled up before the trip and didn't need to think about re-filling until a few days after I came home. Beat that if you can in this silly and pointless game of point-scoring.


I changed my car in January. Thought carefully about buying an EV, which will almost certainly be my next new car, but the practicalities of the sort of driving I do ruled EV out at this point in time. Nothing I have read in this thread tells me I made the wrong choice for me, not even the extremely enticing possibility of having a car that remembers the best seat position for me

 

[midlife]

By scrutiny I mean scrutiny, google it if needed.

There are zero benefit ICE's except peoples vanity and stubbornness., its time is nearly done.

I don't have driving needs and have never owned a car, had a couple of small motorbikes briefly when younger though.

The benefit I derive from my £3.5k ICE is the current cost of owning /running it. Not vanity or stubbornness

 

[cougie uk]

Very few EVs in Austria I noted, mostly Teslas. They’re happy with their diesels, it being cheaper than electricity. Strict and stringent tax rules too especially on personal mileage use of company cars (esp if over 6000km a year).
And many town dwelling Austrians live in flats with no OSP

There are lots of EVs that don't look like EVs though. Teslas are an easy spot as they are obviously electric - but there's BMW and Audis etc etc that can be both. I'd bet you saw a lot of EVs and thought they were ICE.