EV general discussion

The more things change, the more they stay the same. In 1902 James Trackson rolled down Brisbane's Elizabeth St in Brisbane's first car. But Trackson drove headlong into a fractious debate with horse riders, who were adamant that the new fangled contraptions had no place on city roads. The Newcastle Morning herald and miners advocate wrote the new " crude form of mechanically driven carriages" wouldn't impact on the demand for the reliable horse.

Now this is part of an opinion piece on e-scooters in Brisbane, but could easily be about the take up of EV's in Australia. Crude insults will not stop the EV revolution. It is happening, and if we don't get onboard, we will be left behind.

Another great video from Harry's Garage on Youtube - he has mad s few videos now on the practical use of EV vehicles - the outcome is pretty consistent - and that is there is really nothing wrong with EVs as they stand at the moment - range etc is OK .

The issue he has is the supporting infrastructure - eg charging. Poor at home charging and very expensive to install higher capacity units, most public chargers are only low to medium capacity with only a handful of chargers in the entire UK able to charge to full capacity very quickly. He also raises good points about the ability to find vacant chargers. For sure infrastructure will continue to get better but the ability to get a decent charge into a vehicle quickly will certainly be an issue for a long time.

His comments at the end of the video are very relevant to everyday use of a EV.

For me - a small EV to run around town would be great but would always have to be a second vehicle with an ICE as my primary vehicle for the moment.

Audi RS e-tron GT real-world review plus why fast chargers are essential to the success of EV - YouTube

Garry

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Originally Posted by bob10

The Driven, EV insiders. EV News. EDIT . Not a religion , just the way of the future. There have been Luddites at every major turning point in the history of the World. No surprise there.

The Driven | Electric Vehicle Insiders

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Perhaps those Luddites were right?

ICE was a major turning point, Coal fired power generation another.

In time to come, how will they look back on the people digging up Lithium and Graphene and making big batteries?

Or Copper for huge infrastructures to charge said batteries?

Or perhaps the environmental impacts of thousands of huge fans and silicone panels across the landscape?

What has always seemed like “the best idea” at the time has often upon reflection been a bloody disaster.

I suspect this will be no different.

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Originally Posted by bob10

Crude insults will not stop the EV revolution.

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Why are a lot of your posts laced with passive aggressive statements?

And it’s Evolution.

Doubt you or I will see its full implementation though.

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Originally Posted by Tombie

Why are a lot of your posts laced with passive aggressive statements?

And it’s Evolution.

Doubt you or I will see its full implementation though.

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It is part of an evolution, or a short term change to address a looming problem that was first identified in the 1970's.

I don't expect to see wind turbines around in another 30 years.

DL

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Originally Posted by 101RRS

nd that is there is really nothing wrong with EVs as they stand at the moment - range etc is OK .

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i cant use an EV to drive from adelaide to syd in 16hours

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Originally Posted by Eevo

i cant use an EV to drive from adelaide to syd in 16hours

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I couldn’t have done the run from Whyalla to Tanunda and return on any of the latest EVs.

Especially towing the trailer and all done in 11 hours.

And harping on,

We did Windorah to Brisbane straight through,1280Km, the other night, loaded with RTT on.

No hope in an EV,but possibly in a vehicle with a fuel cell, if hydrogen was available,24hr, in a few places, somewhere along the way.

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Originally Posted by scarry

No hope in an EV,but possibly in a vehicle with a fuel cell, if hydrogen was available,24hr, in a few places, somewhere along the way.

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But that is the point Harry is making - you could have done that trip if high power recharge infrastructure had been in place.. For sure not there yet but it will come just as fuel filling stations started appear in the early 1900s.

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Originally Posted by 101RRS

But that is the point Harry is making - you could have done that trip if high power recharge infrastructure had been in place.. For sure not there yet but it will come just as fuel filling stations started appear in the early 1900s.

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Only hurdles to overcome:

I can fuel up with liquid fuel in minutes and get back on the road with a 1000km range.
High power charge still takes 20-50 minutes - if lucky.
High power charges *currently* (pun intended) greatly reduce battery lifespan.

Even if there were power points at the same distances as there are Servos, I still cannot match the convenience of hydrocarbon fuel with current EV.

Who knows what will happen down the line…