Thread: 400,000 miles in a Tesla Model S in 3 years

I admire you going bush, not only do you kill cats you have a go at EV's. It's probably the only reason I have kept my 130, to me it seems the perfect car with it 1.5T payload and square styling to turn into an EV one day. However I'd be just as happy to park it up and put a few rocks around it, pop the bonnet and plant a fig tree in it, making it a worthy garden ornament.
Car manufacturers when they see the sales more clearly will make a far better 4x4 EV perhaps than any retro fit. And I'd image the defender along with all traditional motor vehicles will be worth virtually nothing. The defender already is outside its bubble anyway.
The Prius we have which is no way an EV, did 2500Klm on $220 of fuel last holiday. The wife puts $30 in every 2 or 3 weeks. Imagine if your house could charge your car and the only service was at 200 000km for a battery check like a Tesla can do. The guys I know with Teslas say tyres and brake pads are it, and even then if you use the electric motors rather than brakes the pads last for eons. When people realise all this is possible and not that expansive you suddenly feel like you have been sucking BS through a straw for some time. Fossil fuel is dead, people will want the savings and technology rather than nostalgia. Who drives a 3 on the tree Kingswood these days.....

Of course some people like the feel of certain types of engines. V8's in particular are found attractive by many enthusiasts, as V twins are to motorcyclists. There is something just plain enjoyable about the power impulses of a good engine - take that away and everything could become bland.

And it is worth remembering that unless you have your own non-polluting power station, electric vehicles are just swapping liquid fuel pollution for coal fired pollution. I have yet to see any figures on amount of pollution per unit electric energy from fuel or coal type generators. Does anyone here know?

Originally Posted by Silenceisgolden

Of course some people like the feel of certain types of engines. V8's in particular are found attractive by many enthusiasts, as V twins are to motorcyclists. There is something just plain enjoyable about the power impulses of a good engine - take that away and everything could become bland.

And it is worth remembering that unless you have your own non-polluting power station, electric vehicles are just swapping liquid fuel pollution for coal fired pollution. I have yet to see any figures on amount of pollution per unit electric energy from fuel or coal type generators. Does anyone here know?

Have to disagree there mate, Ive had V8's from 460 big block Ford down to 3.5 rover V8's & all sorts of Diesels in between. Go drive a performance EV and you will never pine for V8 sound or any engine sound ever again. SILENCE actually IS GOLDEN mate , Driving an EV you soon realise how noisy the world is & loud exhausts become rather offensive. EV power is anything but bland , its so intuitive & you feel more connected to the car & is a superior driving experience to anything Ive driven ever before. I'll never buy another Internal Combustion car, if I do it will soon be converted to Electric.

Most Owners of EV are smart (environmentally conscious) enough to have solar Installed , You charge for free , drive for free , use no resources.

AND I suppose most people don't realise the Extraction, refining & delivery of Petrol / Deisel uses the same amount of Electricity that would be consumed if it was used directly in EV's .

Originally Posted by goingbush

Have to disagree there mate, Ive had V8's from 460 big block Ford down to 3.5 rover V8's & all sorts of Diesels in between. Go drive a performance EV and you will never pine for V8 sound or any engine sound ever again. SILENCE actually IS GOLDEN mate , Driving an EV you soon realise how noisy the world is & loud exhausts become rather offensive. EV power is anything but bland , its so intuitive & you feel more connected to the car & is a superior driving experience to anything Ive driven ever before. I'll never buy another Internal Combustion car, if I do it will soon be converted to Electric.

Most Owners of EV are smart (environmentally conscious) enough to have solar Installed , You charge for free , drive for free , use no resources.

AND I suppose most people don't realise the Extraction, refining & delivery of Petrol / Deisel uses the same amount of Electricity that would be consumed if it was used directly in EV's .

Nearly 50 years ago I ripped the engine out of my C10 BSA and replaced it with a car battery and starter motor. I got about three times around the block before the starter motor flew to bits. I was mesmerised by the silence, and the incredible torque. After the starter blew, I refitted the gutless side wacker engine and un-manageable gearbox and tried again - noisy, vibrating - but I liked it MUCH better.

Many years later I swapped my Norton for a BMW K75 triple, very, very smooth, and very quiet and boring as dog droppings.

More recently I replaced the 4 cylinder engine in my Oka with a 6 cylinder engine. Faster, much smoother, much quieter - but I liked it better with the original engine. Some people like the sort of feedback an internal combustion engine gives, we find it part of the enjoyment of motoring. I do understand that we who like motoring with feedback are doomed to a bland existence before long, and while I am a total supporter of Elon Musk I am not looking forward to the day when I am forced to go electric.

New cars are bad for the environment.

I would love to convert the D1. Electric Disco Stewie! But if I dont have the time, who is going to convert it for me?

The E-car conversion business could be booming!

whats a typical cost for a conversion?

Originally Posted by goingbush

Have to disagree there mate, Ive had V8's from 460 big block Ford down to 3.5 rover V8's & all sorts of Diesels in between. Go drive a performance EV and you will never pine for V8 sound or any engine sound ever again. SILENCE actually IS GOLDEN mate , Driving an EV you soon realise how noisy the world is & loud exhausts become rather offensive. EV power is anything but bland , its so intuitive & you feel more connected to the car & is a superior driving experience to anything Ive driven ever before. I'll never buy another Internal Combustion car, if I do it will soon be converted to Electric.

Most Owners of EV are smart (environmentally conscious) enough to have solar Installed , You charge for free , drive for free , use no resources.

AND I suppose most people don't realise the Extraction, refining & delivery of Petrol / Deisel uses the same amount of Electricity that would be consumed if it was used directly in EV's .

Im sorry but i don't really care how fast an EV car can be. There's nothing like the sound of a good old V8 revving to 7,000rpm or that Glorious sound of a V10 hitting 9,000rpm.
How boring are those EV formula cars to watch? No sound. Might as well be playing with slot cars 🤣🤣

Its largely marketing, no one would walk down the street to use a pay phone if you could find one, but we all bought mobiles with vigour . Remember how kingwood lovers feared the world was going to stop with the introduction of unleaded fuel over lead based super. In the end they just sold the pile of **** and bought another, the commodore. Its what people want to hang onto for fear of change over what could be. It's why V8 super cars ditched the 4cyl turbos, and never will line up against EV's, because of fear that people will realise there is something better then V8 resource sucking slugs. However that generation will eventually die and I have to admit sound is what they all cling too, even the guy I know who races porches. But EVs have their own cool sound, just few are willing to be the leader. Perhaps Turnbull love of coal can be explained the same, fear of change. However in the end and quite simply the earth can't sustain fossil fuel any more, other wise there will be silence, real silence and lots of it.

It takes 6 to 18 moths to off set the manufacturing of a house hold solar system pending the size. Last for 25 years, cost nothing to run, and down to about $800 a kW these days. A 7.5kW system can easily power an average house with a pool and aircon during the day plus return money. With a moderate battery ($5000) it can power the house at night. Upgrade to a 10kW system and chuck a mid size battery ($10 000) and the E car is covered for 500km round trip each day in Tesla's case. There is also developing technologies so you can sell your cars excess charge to the world when parking. Now I can't ever see the fossil fuel industry being so generous.

Oil and coal takes constant surveying, takes a decade from X marks the spot to digging a filthy big hole, then takes endless resources to drill, dig, train, or float the bounty. Then feed it into a coal power station or refinery that last 50 years, has constant maintenance, and belches carbon like a bush fire in the power stations case. Off shore oil has the very real threat to potentially destroy the whole marine environment, something I don't want for great australian bite regardless of the assurance they can deal with raging seas down there.
China is on the cusp of unleashing EVs on the world, at a price we all can enjoy. And possibly the reason most car manufactures have gone to the drawing board to develop EV's for their brand, otherwise they are going out of business. However for them its a long way from a Datsun 1200 to a Skyline Nismo. And traditional car manufacturers are being forced to stop looking at EVs through fossil fuel eyes. That is where Musk's first attempt at a EV is an absolute cracker, it has little to do with traditional thinking. Just like the pay phone and the mobile. And keep in mind the first 6 pack sized cary bag phone was $2500, 18 months later the tiny Nokia dumb phones were $900. It will be very exciting to see what the next 5 yeas produces.