50 minutes ago, lol-lol said:

Journeys of any length will be mostly done by a FSD car being summoned from the local car hire company and it will arrive in your road and you will pop yourself in the back. In some cases, longer journeys, this FSD car will take me to the Solihull Birmingham interchange station where I can get on a train that does two or three times the speed of a car on UK roads.

Will this scenario work getting two people, two suitcases, Dog plus food and a mobility scooter from Lancashire to Devon?

Edited 5 August5 Aug by Stonekeeper

2 minutes ago, Stonekeeper said:

Will this scenario work getting two people, two suitcases, Dog plus food and a mobility scooter from Lancashire to Devon?

One would expect a full range of vehicles including cars or vans with the ability to have mobility scooters to be able to be loaded and unloaded.

One family member obsessed with cars or van with side opening side doors, battle between VW Buzz and Kia PV5.

Being 6 and a half feet tall adds to requirements !

Seriously - being in the industry - you must be stark raving bonkers to think that full self driving vehicles are 'the near future' for much of the population.

Yes there are a few places where they are being trialled but not without faults / problems and only in very small geographical areas. Whilst the industry (and certain well known billionaires) are prone to make extravagant claims they don't currently stack up and don't reflect reality.

There is then the issue of interior cleaning / sterilisation etc. between users (eg the drunk coming home from the pub who throws up int he back, or the person going to the hospital with a contagious disease).

Add to the above a human being's natural self preservation instinct and lack of trust, plus the differing nature of many parts of the UK (many don't live in cities which are where full self drive will be commercially viable) and we're decades away from it.

Kia ev4 march 26 £25,500 inc fees

some good deals in that auction.

Edited Friday at 20:064 days by Graham Butcher

On 02/08/2026 at 20:09, Graham Butcher said:

The problem with misinformation is that it may not be actual misinformation but factual information based in information that is not yet general knowledge.

Are you by any chance related to Rush Limbaugh, Graham?

On 05/08/2026 at 15:10, skomaz said:

Seriously - being in the industry - you must be stark raving bonkers to think that full self driving vehicles are 'the near future' for much of the population.

Yes there are a few places where they are being trialled but not without faults / problems and only in very small geographical areas. Whilst the industry (and certain well known billionaires) are prone to make extravagant claims they don't currently stack up and don't reflect reality.

There is then the issue of interior cleaning / sterilisation etc. between users (eg the drunk coming home from the pub who throws up int he back, or the person going to the hospital with a contagious disease).

Add to the above a human being's natural self preservation instinct and lack of trust, plus the differing nature of many parts of the UK (many don't live in cities which are where full self drive will be commercially viable) and we're decades away from it.

This seems to be the way (This is the Way). Use different models incluidng this Chinese one in the vid below. Waymo is a Google company.

Some yjousands of imports into the US despite the over 100% Ad Valorem tariff. Arriving in many US cities,as well as London and Tokyo.

Thirty Chinese cities have driverless taxis, not Waymo but local brands, as well as projects in Singapore and some ME Gulf states.

South China Morning Post

Chinese robotaxis race Waymo to take driverless cars global

Baidu’s Apollo Go, WeRide and Pony.ai are outnumbering their US counterparts with more projects in various stages of commercialisation.

https://waymo.com/waymo-in-uk/

Good solution which probably works better in the US, Australia etc thanks the cramped roads of Europe but might work for trunk operations like my old company did from Morocco thru Spain and France. Might work for 20 foot container trailers better than 40 foot or High cube 40 foots. 30 mpg for a truck is an operators dream.

Unit elecricity price on Agile going to over 60 p per kwh during eclipse tomorrow !

17p in the afternoon.

Use less than normal and get an hour free on Sunday from Octopus 🐙

Edited 21 hours ago21 hr by lol-lol

5 hours ago, lol-lol said:

Unit elecricity price on Agile going to over 60 p per kwh during eclipse tomorrow !

17p in the afternoon.

Use less than normal and get an hour free on Sunday from Octopus 🐙

What, are octopuses seriously suggesting that 2 hours of darkness because of the eclipse will mean that their solar farms won't be able to contribute to the grid, so the grid itself is at risk of collapse unless people switch off their power-hungry devices? As a reward for complying, they will give you a free hour on Sunday? Really?

In a few more weeks it will automatically be dark at the same time as the eclipse is taking place, and it will be colder, as it will be winter, and those with electric heating will not be using the same power-hungry devices to do washing, cook dinners, etc., and yet we don't normally have power restrictions or get asked not to use power during the hours of darkness.

That has set my BS sensors tingling, so what is your position on this then? I think this is a test to see how compliant people are.

I'm with OVO, and I have a smart meter, and I have solar, but no batteries, and OVO has not sent me anything asking us to reduce our consumption tomorrow evening during the eclipse???

Edited 16 hours ago16 hr by Graham Butcher

On 08/08/2026 at 10:35, lol-lol said:

Good solution which probably works better in the US, Australia etc thanks the cramped roads of Europe but might work for trunk operations like my old company did from Morocco thru Spain and France. Might work for 20 foot container trailers better than 40 foot or High cube 40 foots. 30 mpg for a truck is an operators dream.

Sounds great, but I seriously doubt it will take off or even be approved for use in Europe and the UK owing to weight and also possibly length limits on trucks on our roads.

1 hour ago, Graham Butcher said:

What, are octopuses seriously suggesting that 2 hours of darkness because of the eclipse will mean that their solar farms won't be able to contribute to the grid, so the grid itself is at risk of collapse unless people switch off their power-hungry devices? As a reward for complying, they will give you a free hour on Sunday? Really?

In a few more weeks it will automatically be dark at the same time as the eclipse is taking place, and it will be colder, as it will be winter, and those with electric heating will not be using the same power-hungry devices to do washing, cook dinners, etc., and yet we don't normally have power restrictions or get asked not to use power during the hours of darkness.

That has set my BS sensors tingling, so what is your position on this then? I think this is a test to see how compliant people are.

I'm with OVO, and I have a smart meter, and I have solar, but no batteries, and OVO has not sent me anything asking us to reduce our consumption tomorrow evening during the eclipse???

Yes a bit of a gimmick i suppose.

Just makes people think is the plan.

UK Solar currently can add add about 6 GW in ideal conditions and time but not at 1800, 1900, 2000 hours, even my tracking arrays are getting much than at 1300 BST, 1200 GMT but I think home solar is adding maybe a GWh at that time. All across the world the amount of home solar and home batteries is growing much quicker that Grid silar farm and BESS plants.

Electricity is oft cheaper than the weekdays and has been negative for us tracking tariffs but is not due to be super cheap this Sunday looking at Agike Predict so an hour of free is welcome and I may put 2 or even all 3 EVs on charge whilst keeping an eye on total current draw. Heat water ad well jf enough headroom. Duller days head after this heat wave it is reckoned. May go back to GO night time cheap tariff.

1 hour ago, Graham Butcher said:

Sounds great, but I seriously doubt it will take off or even be approved for use in Europe and the UK owing to weight and also possibly length limits on trucks on our roads.

Indeed, more of an OZ, US thing. Chiba seems to be quickly rolling out full electric trucks with no ICE onboard.

Perhaps we will get smaller, shorter, lighter unit in Europe.

1 hour ago, lol-lol said:

Yes a bit of a gimmick i suppose.

Just makes people think is the plan.

UK Solar currently can add add about 6 GW in ideal conditions and time but not at 1800, 1900, 2000 hours, even my tracking arrays are getting much than at 1300 BST, 1200 GMT but I think home solar is adding maybe a GWh at that time. All across the world the amount of home solar and home batteries is growing much quicker that Grid silar farm and BESS plants.

Electricity is oft cheaper than the weekdays and has been negative for us tracking tariffs but is not due to be super cheap this Sunday looking at Agike Predict so an hour of free is welcome and I may put 2 or even all 3 EVs on charge whilst keeping an eye on total current draw. Heat water ad well jf enough headroom. Duller days head after this heat wave it is reckoned. May go back to GO night time cheap tariff.

Why is only Octopus doing this? I haven't heard of anyone else doing it. Jacob Rees-Mogg has even released a video speaking about the fact that only Octopus are doing it, and then he goes into one about the folly of it.

1 hour ago, lol-lol said:

Indeed, more of an OZ, US thing. Chiba seems to be quickly rolling out full electric trucks with no ICE onboard.

Perhaps we will get smaller, shorter, lighter unit in Europe.

Maybe but I doubt it, it will either be full on battery powered trucks, or stay with the status quo for a bit longer. We can't really cut down the payloads as we need to move much more food in from the ports seeing as we are giving up huge amounts farmland to solar farms.

Edited 6 hours ago6 hr by Graham Butcher

It could be the AI has decided for the Energy Company that more people might be inside watching on the telly the Partial Solar Eclipse just before SunSet. Having a cuppa etc etc. Or outside parties. But then they might not be wanting lights on in beer gardens etc. PS, Remember the Perseid Meteor Shower a few hours after the Partial Eclipse. Best viewed outside where dark, so away from lighted areas.

Edited 7 hours ago7 hr by Evolution13

1 hour ago, Evolution13 said:

more people might be inside watching on the telly the Partial Solar Eclipse just before SunSet.

Would be the safest way, It isn't safe to look at the Sun without special glasses

6 hours ago, Evolution13 said:

It could be the AI has decided for the Energy Company that more people might be inside watching on the telly the Partial Solar Eclipse just before SunSet. Having a cuppa etc etc. Or outside parties. But then they might not be wanting lights on in beer gardens etc. PS, Remember the Perseid Meteor Shower a few hours after the Partial Eclipse. Best viewed outside where dark, so away from lighted areas.

Always the worry and especially during half times on big football matches which is where Dinorwig would be in standby to go from tickler to full 1.8 GW in about 20 seconds. Something powerstations with either gad or steam turbines cannot do due to thermal stresses.

Hopefully the Gren Glen hydro will be on stream early in the next decade. If not brownout could become a thing.

11 hours ago, Graham Butcher said:

Maybe but I doubt it, it will either be full on battery powered trucks, or stay with the status quo for a bit longer. We can't really cut down the payloads as we need to move much more food in from the ports seeing as we are giving up huge amounts farmland to solar farms.

It's not giving up it is help protecting both the land and the waterways.

Just leave gaps between the solar arrays and crops will grow better and animals have some. shade. Over waterways the panels vastly reduce evaporation and preserve water for the dry periods. The power generated can be used to help with the irrigation needed to counter act climate change in part being brought about by the increased levels of CO2 furthering the Greenhouse effect we are increasingly suffering from.

Loads of stupid radio phone in,s in Scotland over pylons and the £250 a year for the some. People seem to not understand about the substations and objections. Michael Shanks MP is a waste of space IMHO. Secretary of State for Energy Security. & Chris Stark Climate Expert is a plonker IMO. He spins some real crackers. Him and others are so keen for new nuclear in Scotland. Some how missing the point that there will still be those peed off about mega pylons. There is no Labour or Tory UK Prime Minister that will be able to force new nuclear on Scotland it needs to be the will of the people. So ask them if they want Nuclear power stations in Scotland. They might vote yes. But ask everyone who pays taxes in Scotland not just those on the voters roll.

Edited 51 minutes ago51 min by Evolution13

20 minutes ago, Evolution13 said:

Loads of stupid radio phone in,s in Scotland over pylons and the £250 a year for the some. People seem to not understand about the substations and objections. Michael Shanks MP is a waste of space IMHO. Chris Stark Climate Expert is a plonker IMO. He spins some real crackers. Him and others are so keen for new nuclear in Scotland. Some how missing the point that there will still be those peed off about mega pylons.

The new T pylons are some much less obtrusive. Shorter, squat. Saw a row of them from the M5 which are in place to take power from Hinkley C to the high voltage national grid. If tol many complaints then bury them like in Snowdonia. I gather Belgium is burying electricity lines as a national policy now.

24 minutes ago, lol-lol said:

It's not giving up it is help protecting both the land and the waterways.

Just leave gaps between the solar arrays and crops will grow better and animals have some. shade. Over waterways the panels vastly reduce evaporation and preserve water for the dry periods. The power generated can be used to help with the irrigation needed to counter act climate change in part being brought about by the increased levels of CO2 furthering the Greenhouse effect we are increasingly suffering from.

Quick question: have you actually seen any evidence of this spacing and animals / crops using the space created?

I personally have not; there are loads of solar farms near me, and they all seem to cram in as many panels into a field as they can, along with all the controllers and grid connections. I'm puzzled just as to how having solar farms is protecting the waterways.

The farmers are saying that they are being encouraged to take land out of production, and this is leading to ever more importation of food crops that they could be growing. Isn't that just shifting the CO₂ problem onto other countries when they produce extra food for the UK and also the same with the road transportation of those foods to the docks, shipping them across the seas, and then further transportation here in the UK?

@lol-lol you posted before about new pylons. These are not what are planned to run up and down and across Scotland. The High Energy Transmission network upgrades in Scotland are being planned and carried out by 2 private organisations not the National Grid. Also not a Public Organisation.

Edited 26 minutes ago26 min by Evolution13

Interesting video by Dave Takes It On, where he tests ignoring the system on a Tesla which is telling him that he needs a charging stop to complete the planned trip. Then the car suddenly tells him (which he knew it would) that if he were to keep below 50mph, he should be able to make the trip and arrive with about -3% of range left.

So, is it another way to slow down travel in the interests of road safety? The same argument that Wales used when dropping 30mph roads down to 20mph? Similar to what our government are planning to do on rural roads?

12 minutes ago, Graham Butcher said:

Interesting video by Dave Takes It On, where he tests ignoring the system on a Tesla which is telling him that he needs a charging stop to complete the planned trip. Then the car suddenly tells him (which he knew it would) that if he were to keep below 50mph, he should be able to make the trip and arrive with about -3% of range left.

So, is it another way to slow down travel in the interests of road safety? The same argument that Wales used when dropping 30mph roads down to 20mph? Similar to what our government are planning to do on rural roads?

Partly explains the congestion on the motorways, having to keep to 60 in the 2nd lane to overtake Lorries but maintain your range?

if you're that worried stay behind them.