Electric Cars. Real aternative or ego boosters?

[general]

I drive a tesla model 3, newry to dublin return daily. (work car)

home charger, night time rate of 19p /kwh. £6.50 to charge car at home, where as i was burning through £30 diesel a day previous. Very rarely use the superchargers (unless i was on a trip to wexford or somewhere further from home - the superchargers can be expensive charging 75p/kwh BT Ultimate chargers, tesla own superchargers can be diffent prices depending on time of day, roughly 40 cent / kwh.

plug in 4 times per week, saving approx 70% on fuel costs.

BIK of 22 Euro per week. previously paid 80 euro a week.

car is a class drive, reactive when needed and fun to drive. very comfortable and build quality is very good (everyone has read the reports of quality being better or worse in others).

I think alot of people are caught up in the stigma of wanting to drive petrol or diesel

[markl121]

For me the number one issue will be range and charge time. I drive a lot, and don't really want to be hanging round an apolegreen for half an hour until it charges enough to get home.

[RadioGAAGAA]

My boss went to pick up his all electric Audi. Dealer told him hydrogen will be ushered in quicker that people think. Replacing electric cars. (Ain't gonna  be tomorrow but food for thought)

Ah, not convinced.

I got a run in a Merc fuel cell motor in Hamburg over 10 years ago now. Was a demo model that Merc were renting to people for evaluation.

Never went anywhere. Big problem has remained unchanged - efficiently storing the hydrogen and avoiding embrittlement over the long term.

Mad fact - there is more hydrogen in a litre of water than there is in a litre of liquid hydrogen! (~110 g of H2 in a litre of water, ~ 71 g of H2 in a litre of liquid H2)

[general]

For me the number one issue will be range and charge time. I drive a lot, and don't really want to be hanging round an apolegreen for half an hour until it charges enough to get home.

Home charger sorts that out - i very rarely use the public ones.

in terms of range - the vehicles are there, just down to budgets! My only regret is not getting a longer range model! Positives far out weigh the negatives however in my case

[markl121]

For me the number one issue will be range and charge time. I drive a lot, and don't really want to be hanging round an apolegreen for half an hour until it charges enough to get home.

Home charger sorts that out - i very rarely use the public ones.

in terms of range - the vehicles are there, just down to budgets! My only regret is not getting a longer range model! Positives far out weigh the negatives however in my case

Home charger maybe but I live in a townhouse and home charger would mean running wire over the footpath which you just know someone will trip on. Sometimes travel the length of Ireland and stay over so would probably still need public chargers. Interested in this solid state development though that could be a game changer

[snoopdog]

Just something I noticed looking at electric cars. My inlaws have the new Toyota and I've seen thr hyundai's is there any safety concerns with electric cars thry don't seem to be built as strongly as a diesel or petrol? Thr impression I get a lot of weight removed to get further on a charge. Also why do they all have crappy looking wheels. A neighbour has a x model tesla. Ugly yoke. Prob 90k euro in the south. He was putting hub caps on it I asked him do thry not have alloys he said it was for speed. I had to stop myself from laughing. He does about 10kms a week. And the hubcaps look shite.

[tbrick18]

I believe Toyota have stopped investing in electric car research and are instead switching to hydrogen.
Toyota were/are the leaders in hybrid so I'd say they are onto something they believe to be commercially viable.
I wouldn't touch electric with a barge pole.

Did you read the post 3 above your own?

I actually didnt but that is interesting.
I know a few people in the industry and the general thinking is that Toyota/Lexus were the trailblazer in hybrid and subsequently battery vehicles.
Now they seem to be the same with hydrogen. They reckon the tech they have for hydrogen vehicles will become the norm.
Those hybrid lexus jeeps/cars were about for a long time before the notion became mainstream. It could be the same for hydrogen.

https://www.toyota.co.uk/hydrogen

[trailer]

Problems with electric cars...

1) They look f**king horrendous. You'd need a paper bag over yer head to drive one as you'd die from embarrassment
2) The cost of them is scandalous
3) Time to charge them and lack of chargers. Who has time to wait on car charging at a charging point or waiting for one to become free
4) They'll be obsolete in about 5-10 years.
5) Contrary to popular belief they are not some environment saving vehicle that produces only rainbows and fluffy rabbits as by products.

Trailer's verdict... Avoid

I actually saw on the news that Dublin port are running a pilot boat on some bio diesel. No modifications needed to the engine at all. Will work in all diesel engines. That is where this is headed.

[armaghniac]

Problems with electric cars...

4) They'll be obsolete in about 5-10 years.

Trailer's verdict... Avoid

I actually saw on the news that Dublin port are running a pilot boat on some bio diesel. No modifications needed to the engine at all. Will work in all diesel engines. That is where this is headed.

What will replace electric cars? I'd say many cars will remain electric, once the range is increased and the weight of the batteries reduced they will be quite feasible for a lot of people. They'll be easy to maintain and service. 
Biodiesel in Dublin Port uses old chip oil and the like, there are only so many chip shops, even in Dublin. You could grow stuff for biodiesel but you would be better to eat it. Biodiesel might be useful for ships or aircraft, but not so much for cars.

[gallsman]

Problems with electric cars...

1) They look f**king horrendous. You'd need a paper bag over yer head to drive one as you'd die from embarrassment
2) The cost of them is scandalous
3) Time to charge them and lack of chargers. Who has time to wait on car charging at a charging point or waiting for one to become free
4) They'll be obsolete in about 5-10 years.
5) Contrary to popular belief they are not some environment saving vehicle that produces only rainbows and fluffy rabbits as by products.

Trailer's verdict... Avoid

I actually saw on the news that Dublin port are running a pilot boat on some bio diesel. No modifications needed to the engine at all. Will work in all diesel engines. That is where this is headed.

Famously applies to every single electric car and absolutely no ICE cars. 

[seafoid]

Problems with electric cars...

1) They look f**king horrendous. You'd need a paper bag over yer head to drive one as you'd die from embarrassment
2) The cost of them is scandalous
3) Time to charge them and lack of chargers. Who has time to wait on car charging at a charging point or waiting for one to become free
4) They'll be obsolete in about 5-10 years.
5) Contrary to popular belief they are not some environment saving vehicle that produces only rainbows and fluffy rabbits as by products.

Trailer's verdict... Avoid

I actually saw on the news that Dublin port are running a pilot boat on some bio diesel. No modifications needed to the engine at all. Will work in all diesel engines. That is where this is headed.

1. Depends on the price
2. Leasing is good value
3. Most people charge at home. It's much cheaper than petrol
4. If they are , leasing is a good idea
5. Battery technology continues to improve. Less pollution than petrol. Less waste of energy

[trueblue1234]

Biofuels have limitations too. I can't see it being wide spread. If it was undertaken as a main fuel source it would have to be produced in huge quantities. Imagine the farmland that would be required to sustain that. Not feasible in my view. Hydrogen is the way forward. We just have to kick our heels a bit.

[Franko]

I reckon Hydrogen is the way too

It basically a slightly modified petrol engine

It has potential to work with trucks and plant too, which batteries are quite a bit off on in terms of range

[trailer]

I reckon Hydrogen is the way too

It basically a slightly modified petrol engine

It has potential to work with trucks and plant too, which batteries are quite a bit off on in terms of range

JCB and truck companies already using Hydrogen. The user experience is so much easier than electric.

[Franko]

Problems with electric cars...

1) They look f**king horrendous. You'd need a paper bag over yer head to drive one as you'd die from embarrassment
2) The cost of them is scandalous
3) Time to charge them and lack of chargers. Who has time to wait on car charging at a charging point or waiting for one to become free
4) They'll be obsolete in about 5-10 years.
5) Contrary to popular belief they are not some environment saving vehicle that produces only rainbows and fluffy rabbits as by products.

Trailer's verdict... Avoid

I actually saw on the news that Dublin port are running a pilot boat on some bio diesel. No modifications needed to the engine at all. Will work in all diesel engines. That is where this is headed.

1. Depends on the price
2. Leasing is good value
3. Most people charge at home. It's much cheaper than petrol
4. If they are , leasing is a good idea
5. Battery technology continues to improve. Less pollution than petrol. Less waste of energy

5. Only if you forget that you have to actually make the battery in the first place