Thread: EV general discussion

I was about 30 posts back when I got sick of the thread.

...but saw mounting use of "legacy" to describe some vehicles?

what is a legacy vehicle?

who started using the word and why do others use it.?

There was/is a Honda Legacy.

A legacy is something shared or passed down or onward in a. "family"

Legacy is an Australian highly accredited organisation that cares for families of deceased or injured soldiers.

Please tell me how it relates to a vehicles status.

Originally Posted by ramblingboy42

I was about 30 posts back when I got sick of the thread.

...but saw mounting use of "legacy" to describe some vehicles?

what is a legacy vehicle?

who started using the word and why do others use it.?

There was/is a Honda Legacy.

A legacy is something shared or passed down or onward in a. "family"

Legacy is an Australian highly accredited organisation that cares for families of deceased or injured soldiers.

Please tell me how it relates to a vehicles status.

The Subaru Legacy had to be renamed for the Australian market as the Liberty - so there is a link

Maybe its the Subaru Legacy I see occasionally , not a Honda?

Originally Posted by PhilipA

Funny thing is that many/most seem to hate the "modern" conveniences like lane keeping, accident warning, stop start, etc.
Over time it will become more evident what is good and what is dross.
I understand VW is now reducing things included in menus on screens and reverting to buttons as that is what the customers want.
YOU may like your do dads but do the majority of the population may not.
BTW, all the things you mention are not things that are exclusive to EVs but can be incorporated into ICE vehicles which are now just as computer centric as EVs.

I was puzzled a while ago that the AC in my 2018 Everest would not go onto highish fan. It turns out that it was because the drivers door was ajar and even when closed did not rectify until the next start. This is the type of glitch that happens when everything is controlled by a computer.

Also wait until your screen craps itself. You will not be able to do anything at all in the car. This has happened often in fact I understand to most pre 2018 Teslas.
Regards PhilipA

VW got in big trouble because what they did was rubbish. Their interface was abysmal and the whole thing barely worked, making it very hard to operate their cars.

The problem is that EV's and modern cars in general are many times to complex to be managed with buttons. As you've pointed out so are many ice cars too.

I sat in a BYD and thought holy batman look at the buttons. Buttons everywhere. I said to a make who has one "How do you work out how to operate everything?". He replied that it was even in ownership hard to know whether settings were in menus, or that there was an actual button for them. So mostly it was easier to ask the voice assistant.

Tesla have a very very swish user interface that is intuitive and polished. It makes it easy to do what you need to do. What's more they have put a lot of effort into minimising driver distraction. I was pretty surprised with it recently. I had a nail in the tyre and a slow leak. I happened to notice a tyre symbol at the lights and clicked it. "The tyre is only slightly low so this message has been suppressed while driving". This is exactly what airbus do in critical phases of flight with their warning system. Very clever and I didn't expect to see that in a car.

A day in the life of that car is you get in and just drive it. It remembers everything about your last trip and just sets it (according to driver profile). The only thing I would actually touch the screen for typically is music and navigation - which can also be done with voice. This is exactly what happens with any car that uses Carplay.

Initially there may be a learning curve for a little while.

Originally Posted by Tins

I was going to point out the "sponging on the poorer taxpayer" argument, but you did it far more eloquently ( and politely ) than I was going to...

Well.. the ICE car has like over 100 years of development and inertia. Do we just say "screw it - it's just too hard"?

We know that EV's (even charged from coal) still have lower emissions than ICE. There are and have been very big subsidies for ICE cars in the past. It's almost certainly going to be cheaper to do what they are doing now than to deal with the alternatives.

Since the number of people who are prepared to "drive less" seem pretty thin on the ground we need to accept that EV's are "Less Bad" than the alternative.

Are electric cars better for the environment than fuel-powered cars? Here'''s the verdict - ABC News

"Overall, every electric car will produce fewer emissions than its petrol equivalent, no matter where they are charged.Even with an electricity grid that still uses some fossil fuels, electric cars have much lower overall carbon emissions, and that will continue to drop as the electricity gets greener."

Biggest EV depreciation will come with the end of government rebates.

At the moment the Federal government is handing out incentives left right and centre to coax people into an EV.

When the rebates end, on EVs and renewables- the cost of living is going to skyrocket.

No government official has answered the big question - once fuel excise drops significantly - what are they going to tax then?

Like my solar panels - early adopters reaped the benefits with huge FITs. No longer the case.

Early EV adopters are getting cheap to run vehicles. At current electricity prices and no excise. “Watch this space”. We’re all going to pay down the track!

Originally Posted by Captain_Rightfoot

I'm working on my old car. Water in oil so engine out and while i'm going a gearbox rebuild.

Anyone who thinks EV's are complex really needs to have a think about how amazingly improbable ICE drivetrains are. It's literally insane and illogical all rolled up. Burn air and push on stuff to convert to rotational energy. All while not catching fire, melting, and while keeping the oil, the fuel, and the water apart while being processed in the one device. It's easy to forget that it's taken more than 100 years of manufacturing refinement to get to where we are now. I am convinced that ICE cars will become like old aircraft. We could never build a concorde again now because we have simply lost the ability to do it.

Yes EV's have considerable electronic complexity but mechanically they are much simpler. At the same time they have taken such a big technological jump. The interface and use experience has moved on. It's comical watching my Daughter who has now done the majority of her driving on an EV struggle with an ICE car. I watch her drive off without the lights on, or walk up to it and try to get into a locked car. Manage a handbrake start on a hill. All comical.

I remain convinced that in 20 years time we're going to look back and laugh at all this. Look at that old ice car. How quaint.

There is actually a new Supersonic passenger jet in design testing now.

The reason it was so limited was to do with laws about supersonic flights over US soil by commercial airlines.

The new prototype uses tech to quieten the boom and will allow for its use domestically.



As for interface etc, there is morning evidence large screens are a huge factor in vehicle incidents / driver distraction.

And let’s talk vehicle lighting (Segway) - modern lighting is constantly being criticised for being less effective and/or causing more dazzling of other motorists. The trend is causing more issues than it’s solving.


Remember that tech isn’t always the solution - paperless offices don’t exist - pencils and paper still rule.

Originally Posted by Tombie

There is actually a new Supersonic passenger jet in design testing now.

The reason it was so limited was to do with laws about supersonic flights over US soil by commercial airlines.

The new prototype uses tech to quieten the boom and will allow for its use domestically.



As for interface etc, there is morning evidence large screens are a huge factor in vehicle incidents / driver distraction.

And let’s talk vehicle lighting (Segway) - modern lighting is constantly being criticised for being less effective and/or causing more dazzling of other motorists. The trend is causing more issues than it’s solving.


Remember that tech isn’t always the solution - paperless offices don’t exist - pencils and paper still rule.

The point I was making with concorde was they can never build another concorde. All the design, all the tools, all the people who knew are gone. That was not to say they can't make another supersonic aircraft - but they've had to start again.

Re driver distraction - it's always been a problem. I know a number of people who had crashes back in the day while adjusting radios. Personally I'm more worried about phones than car systems because at least the car systems are regulated. In the tesla at least all the "fun" stuff is inhibited unless the car is in Park.

Re headlights - I do agree. Some of the new ones are pretty dazzling. Lucky they are on it. Tesla and maybe other manufacturers have active headlights now. They dim the beam for people and things. But not the whole headlight - but just the bit with the car. They rolled it out last software update. Very impressive. I wish I could get that for the defender. No more driving along in the dark wondering if a roo is going to jump out because someone in the distance is approaching.



PS My office is all but paperless. I had to print out some course notes (because I was asked to) the other day and it was a palava. No one knew how to do it. Didn't use them anyway.