lol-lol

I have been reading about the Zoe ZE40, apparently it actually has the same battery pack as the ZE50 and has, wait for it, 24% extra battery capacity which could be swapped in if cells went down. Probably hauling around about 75 kilos of batteries which are not fully plumbed in. Similar to stories we heard about TESLAs a year or two ago which were allegedly fitted the larger battery packs but software stopped it being accessed. One should be able to tell by weighting the vehicle. BZ4X with its 71.4 kWh pack but only 64 kWh available but I think Toyota released some in to the useable buffer from the reserve buffer after Bjorn Nyland tore them a new one. Toyota who led the way with petrol-hybrid with the Prius seem to make such a hash of this BEV launch. T"he battery of the Toyota bZ4X FWD has a total capacity of 71.4 kWh. The usable capacity is 64 kWh. An estimated range of about 210 miles is achievable on a fully charged battery" https://ev-database.org/uk/car/1564/Toyota-bZ4X-FWD#:~:text=The battery of the Toyota,on a fully charged battery.

My Yamaha Tracer 700 takes even less space, can go two in the lane CHIPs style. Some hybrid bikes now coming out, full EVs still rare but are about but dropped in price to extent car EVs have. There are about 300 million electric motorbikes currently and growing very fast. Energy run costs of less than 10 USD a MONTH !

Catholics have big families. Worked for Northern Ireland getting the majority vote.

Well I could see the Kia EV9 for the jaunts down the A roads and motorways, taking the daughters and sons and the grandchildren in the one car rather than taking two cars and only needing one nominated driver. I would do as I do now and use a car like the Zoe, or hopefully the Renault 5 for shorter journeys and 1 to 3 people and then the bigger motor for long haul and when needing 4 to 7 seats. Most of the family are 6 footers or more, some nearer 6 ft 6 inches.

Are you nearly 5m tall. How about an SUV like most people are going for ? Go upwards instead of taking all that road length, shorter queues, drivers can turn off quicker.

Long cars are a problem. if cars were shorter and the queues were shorter then drivers would be able to get to their turning quicker and queues would be shorter or non existent.

The totally brilliant Kia EV9. UK Car of the Year by a massive margin....... Not so cheap to buy, potentially cheap to run. Good range with 100 kwh battery, fast charging with 800v architecture. I want one, well when there is a cheaper LFP version.

An article online from our UK public funded BBC. I like it, others may not..... https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20240311-evs-lost-their-luxury-status-symbol-reputation EVs were once luxury vehicles. Now, they're for every driver .........Eventually, EVs for everyone Alongside the lower-cost EVs other automakers are introducing, Chinese EVs could represent a tipping point. Yet experts caution models by BYD and other Chinese EV manufacturers may not hit the market immediately. While the Chinese firm started selling some of its models in Mexico last year, and currently produces them in Europe, Helveston says North America will be a tough market to penetrate. The US currently charges a 25% tariff on Chinese EV imports, which eats into the signature selling feature of these cars: affordability. US President Joe Biden also recently announced an investigation into the sale of Chinese EVs in the US on "national security" grounds, while Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said she is worried about China's ability to flood the US market. "There are plenty of barriers here that are going to make it really hard," says Helveston. "Either they're going to have to import the cars, which is going to make them too expensive, or they're going to have to set up shop here, which is going to be really hard to do." Ultimately, sales are going up and prices are going down – which means EVs no longer carry the cachet they once did. As the cost of batteries drops, automakers are getting close to the point where their EV offerings match their petrol-guzzlers.

Particularly China has geared up for massive production of lithium based batteries for its own EV market and for exported cars ie TESLA, BYD, SAIC etc. The automotive rechargeable battery technology has moved on from lithium batteries to lithium iron phosphate and very recently to sodium batteries so less lithium is needed. China is going through a bit of a economic hiccup and of its hundred or so EV companies some are to the wall and not the Great Wall (Chinese EV joke). Also the super scaling of battery production, particularly by BYD and CATL, is massively driving down the unit price of kwhs of batteries of each kind. We are just the lucky recipients whether it is buying a RHD TESLA, BYD, MG etc. LG Chem, as in my Zoe, and other South Korean firms are doing the same but no one is close to matching the Chinese in this endeavour.

I think one might siut one of my daughters as she only drive about a mile to work and no ICE car would be good to do that sort of journey with bad effects on the engine etc but it would still be capable of South Wales to Worcester for range. Superb does not suit many as seen by Octavia outselling it several fold. My mark 1 superb was probably the worst Skoda of the dozen I had, handling and parking to name two areas of mediocrity. Would like the 280 hp 4x4 version maybe just for a week. Like the Passat and Chrysler 300 good for the freakishly tall though.

I pay less than £300 a month for the Renault Zoe and similar for the Renault Arkana. Pretty cheap PCP deals but that was in the time when finance was cheap ie before the UK economy, inflation etc, when for a Burton, 1.9% and 3.9% APR I recall, plus there was the UK Government subsidies on the Zoe EV at the time that made it nice and cheap. Whilst inflation has gone up to high level, relative to the last 15 years, price of EVs has plummeted as biulding them is getting cheaper due to the huge drop in lithium price both for pue lithium batteries and the LFP ones and also that UK is in recession and car companies just need to shift some cars, EVs and ICE....

Well the UK price of the Dacia Spring, base model I presume, will be......... https://www.carwow.co.uk/dacia/news/7042/new-dacia-spring-price-specs#gref I really liked my Dacia Logan of a few years ago and this is going to be a cracker I reckon as it has been in mainland Europe selling 140,000 plus and this model is much better than that one. NEW DACIA SPRING COSTS FROM £14,995

Charles Algernon Parsons, decades ahead of is time........ (even though named Algernon)...........

It was rhetorical. Porsche use the term "Turbo" just to state it is a performance version, no exhaust blown compressor, no supercharger just immensely powerful electric motors and battery packs.

It was a chap called Frederick Wilson Taylor who was the brilliance that Henry Ford and many other production facilities used his techniques of industrial engineering in the principals of scientific management. Ford was a businessman who used those principals that Taylor explained.

Most Powerful Porsche ever......... (Keep looking at the spec but just cannot find the Turbo on it, any ICE fans know where it is ?? ) With up to 1,092 horsepower, it takes just 2.1 seconds for the Turbo GT to reach 60 mph. All told, the Taycan Turbo GT is the most track-capable Taycan the company has built to date. And it already has the accolades to prove it. On February 23, the Turbo GT Weissach completed a lap of WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in 1:27.87—faster than any other electric car before it. And in early January, a development prototype lapped the Nurburgring in 7:07.55—faster than any other EV or sedan, gas or electric.

Our understanding of it and the human creation of the laws as shown by the fact us thermodynamics people had to come up with Zeroth law after the publication of the first 3 laws Great to call the new law the Zeroth law, - The zeroth law of thermodynamics says temperature is an empirical parameter in thermodynamic systems. It states the transitive relationship between the temperatures of multiple bodies in thermal equilibrium. The law says: If two systems are both in thermal equilibrium with a third system, then they are in thermal equilibrium with each other. Thermodynamics explains why ICE will always be crap efficiency as you have to either raise Temp H to beyond what modern materials can stand or lower Temp C to near ambient which makes the engine over large, heavy etc. As battery energy density increases at a fantastic pace and electrical motors already in the over 90% there is no future contest for even with the advent of turbochargers free energy supply. Most intelligent people know it quite aside from the pollution issues. .

Trust the Tory fan boy to do all he can to support the Cons even in the face of adversity.

Air Products, world's largest hydrogen producer, is putting a hydrogen plant in the Humber estuary using some of that lovely car cheap North Sea wind energy to produce hydrogen for U.K. and other countries.

Regret not going to the open day where I was invited to test. 6 out of the 7 cars were EVs. Did not realise that some much lightening work had gone in to the Scenic. Beat the BMW 5 buy a dozen points and the others were way behind. Peugeot was not too bad either. I think a EV version of the prettier Rafela is needed with the same 87 kWh battery. Lots to look forward to.

Got round to running quotes for a MG4 Long Range, plenty under £500 year for me. Most buyers go fo the standard range which would be a bit cheap. Even putting in no voluntary excess only added about £30 a year. I think insurance is usually much cheaper in the Shires than the highly populated parts of SE England. Should get my renewal quote from LV for the Zoe and the Arkana which I am expected to be broadly in line with the 5% RPI inflation there is at the moment. Thank God for the rise in pensions and cut in National Insurance to pay fo it and all the other rising costs and thankfully big fall in cost to charge the EV at least on the home tariff. £422.50 Compulsory £350 Voluntary £250 Total £600 Included Included AddAnnually £32.00 Included More Details i Call to claim, do everything else yourself online. No admin fees. You’re in control. £443.81 Compulsory £350 Voluntary £250 Total £600 Included Included AddAnnually £27.99 AddAnnually £19.99 More Details £450.17 Compulsory £350 Voluntary £250 Total £600 Included Included AddAnnually £27.99 AddAnnually £19.99 More Details £464.13 Compulsory £350 Voluntary £250 Total £600 Included Included AddAnnually £27.99 AddAnnually £19.99 More Details £472.99 Compulsory £425 Voluntary £250 Total £675 Included Included AddAnnually £44.95 AddAnnually £24.95 More Details 6 months free subscription with bp pulse, includes £27 charging credit. Ends 3/9/24 Read More i This policy does not include windscreen and glass cover as standard £477.96 Compulsory £400 Voluntary £250 Total £650 Included Included AddAnnually £30.90 Included More Details £480.58 Compulsory £500 Voluntary £250 Total £750 Included AddAnnually £9.99 AddAnnually £39.99 AddAnnually £29.99 More Details i This policy does not include windscreen and glass cover as standard £489.74 Compulsory £350 Voluntary £250 Total £600 Included Included AddAnnually £24.99 AddAnnually £31.49 More Details i Winner of Moneyfacts Car Insurance Provider of the Year 2022 award £492.86 Compulsory £350 Voluntary £250 Total £600 AddAnnually £22.00 AddAnnually £33.00 AddAnnually £44.00 AddAnnually £29.00 More Details i Free user friendly app which is rated #1 on the App Store £497.71 Compulsory £425 Voluntary £250 Total £675 Included Included AddAnnually £44.95 AddAnnually £24.95 More Details

It takes so long to do. Much more interesting with my EV and hybrid is going to cost to insure which is due for its annual quote. Some have gone for Chinese EVs, UK press has praised them hugely over the past year but thankfully the press are moving to concentration on European cars such as Citroens, Dacias, Peugeots and Renaults though the Polestars, Smarts and Volvos still get some attention. Chinese EVs are not what most EV buyers are interested, unless it is a Chinese RHD TESLA. I can see, like we saw in motorcycles many years ago, EVs being sold and software locked down to lower horsepowers ie limited to 100, 125, 150 kWs to help keep insurance costs down, sam for hybrids like the new MG3 ie a sub 20k car with more than 200 hp with the EV power being the bigger part.

James puts most of the points nicely. He does fail to mention that battery density and the popping up of Superchargers if happening between 20% for battery density and 50% per annum fo new charges so his projection of millions of public chargers is off I think and a couple of hundred of chargers is more like like the mark not millions as he rather ill considered stated. 300,000 this decade is the widely accepted this decade and with the massively increasing range on the long range models, and most ie 90% of the EVs doing their charging at home, a million chargers, logically, will not be needed by 2035, 2040 or ever. The massive amount of UK government help, even from a Conservative Government is massive in both cash and diverse ways of helping the transition to EVs..... https://www.gov.uk/transport/zero-emission-and-electric-vehicles

Is that for your Superb which average miles versions are selling at around £16k ? This is half the value of a new EV which would be around £33k. Did a Compare the market on my current to cars, and I am expecting my quote from LV in the next couple of days and maybe the quote might be in the £1k zone which is only really about what inflation would take the cost too. My lad, 27, is also on the Zoe insurance. Last year it was the Arkana mild hybrid that jumped in cost and the EV went down massively, probably due to second hand prices. So not worries cost of my EV insurance at present though oddly LV did not pop up on the Compare the Market cheapest insurers. Some companies I would not go with again, Tescos being one of them as they are acting as a broker and I found them absolutely terrible to deal with. Always prefer to deal with a direct Insurer rather than broker. In summary, not worries, yet, about insuring my BEV or MHEV Renaults. Product Cover Last year's price This year's price (2023) RENAULT ARKANA ICONIC MHEV AUTO VK72*** Comprehensive 10 Apr 2023 to 09 Apr 2024 £466.43 £368.72 RENAULT ZOE RIVIERA LTD EDITION RAPIDCHARGE R135 AUTO VK71*** Comprehensive 10 Apr 2023 to 09 Apr 2024 £490.64 £520.07

Thanks. MG4 long range is quite a high spec machine, no Extreme but still over 240 hp. I think the insurance from me would be quite a lot less as worcestershire would be a lower I expect a backwater sort of place. Most go for standard range I would expect. Good car in most respects. Be interesting to see how the fast parcel operators react to any raised insurance costs on the tens of thousands of SAIC Maxus EV vans they have. Do not like their software. Much prefer Renault's Google software and their offerings on the EV front and half a dozen new Renault EVe to cater for many tastes and insurance will still be cheapish from what I have seen.