Electric Vehicles (EV) Thread

[GroveHillWanderer]

So again not quite what I had been thinking of but here are a couple of interesting videos where a guy tries to make a Tesla work as a submarine.

In the first video he isn't successful as the Tesla still floats despite putting extra weight in. In the second video he does manage to get it pretty much totally submerged and despite having tried to seal everything up with tape a large amount of water still gets in to the engine compartment, boot (trunk) and electronic wiring.

In both cases, despite getting quite large amounts of water into the car as mentioned, and despite a large number of error messages coming up immediately after emerging from the water, the car is still able to drive just fine the following day after having been dried out, with apparently no major or permanent damage.

The videos are a bit long but it's quite easy to just scroll through to the most relevant parts, where the vehicle goes through the water - and what happens afterwards.

[Dannie Boy]

I think I’d prefer a submarine!!


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[Dannie Boy]

This is UK specific, but pretty scary figures - the worst car has just 30% residual value after 3 years!!
https://www.whatcar.com/news/the-10-fas ... nnel=email

[PeteC]

Maybe I don't remember correctly, but I recall something published that an ICE vehicle loses 50% when you drive it away from the dealer.

No idea what scale, what geographic area, or the era that study was based upon.

[Dannie Boy]

I seem to recollect it being 30%, but yes it’s instant devaluation I don’t know what the least devaluation figures are but will try to find out


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[Dannie Boy]

I haven’t found one for electric cars but for ICE cars these are the least depreciating cars
https://www.whatcar.com/news/the-10-slo ... s/n17098#2

Edit, these are the figures for EV’s
https://www.whatcar.com/news/the-10-slo ... /n24528#11

[STEVE G]

I keep seeing these articles about how much EV's depreciate in value but I've looked for a cheap secondhand Tesla in Europe and not found anything that is remotely near the figures quoted.

[Dannie Boy]

This won’t help the popularity of EV’s as Tesla recall 2m cars!!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-67693935

[pharvey]

Well yes, this report is regarding the issue in the UK, but I very much doubt we are alone with this issue and certainly not the worst effected. The smaller petrol engines or Hybrids are still the way to go and will be for a fair while yet.


"A target for the number of high-powered electric vehicle charge points near motorways has been missed, analysis from the RAC shows.

The government wanted every motorway service station in England to have at least six rapid or ultra-rapid chargers by the end of 2023.

Data from the motoring organisation suggests that only four in 10 now meet this criteria.

The Transport Department said charging facilities are available at most sites.

Rapid or ultra-rapid devices are seen as important for making longer journeys, to ensure people are confident they will have sufficient charge for the trip and that it will delivered quickly enough if they pull over to top up.

In December, the RAC, a breakdown cover and insurance provider, looked at data from charger locator business Zapmap.

It found that 178 additional faster chargers had been installed since April.

However, only 46 of 119 sites now had six of these high-powered charging facilities in place. Rapid charge points can add about 100 miles of range to an electric vehicle (EV) in around 35 minutes.

Leicester Forest on the M1 and Barton Park on the A1 (M), had no charging facilities of any kind."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-67858961

[Dannie Boy]

I didn’t notice it mentioned, but service stations have been notorious for ripping customers off for the price of petrol/diesel so wouldn’t surprise me if it’s the same for EV’s. They may be doing motorists a favour by not meeting the levels expected?


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[STEVE G]

A couple of months ago I had a look at the BYD Dolphin and was pretty impressed considering the price.
I just want a local runabout for going to the shops and to the beach and that kind of thing, I've got other vehicles if I wanted to do a long journey.

[STEVE G]

Incidentally, I've just been looking into the BYD Dolphin again and the higher performance version has power and acceleration not far off the latest version of the VW Golf GTI which is pretty impressive considering it only costs about 20,000gbp in Thailand.

[pharvey]

Incidentally, I've just been looking into the BYD Dolphin again and the higher performance version has power and acceleration not far off the latest version of the VW Golf GTI which is pretty impressive considering it only costs about 20,000gbp in Thailand.

As far as I can see the BYD Dolphin is not available in the UK (yet), but I'm sure the "Higher Performance" model would be somewhat more than GBP 20K. Personally, I still don't really trust the safety of Chinese made vehicles (EV's or otherwise) - I have seen first hand and also experienced Expat friends in the automotive industry who are still based in China share my concerns. I've no doubt the last comment will result in several others detailing "Oh so wonderful safety stats", but I am what I am.

A BYD Dolphin with the performance of a VW Golf GTI? Well, I love fast cars, but don't have that level of "Death-Wish". VW, Mercedes et al may have have some bad press in recent years over the whole emissions fiasco, but not on safety.

[pharvey]

I didn’t notice it mentioned, but service stations have been notorious for ripping customers off for the price of petrol/diesel so wouldn’t surprise me if it’s the same for EV’s.

Oh, absolutely no doubt and the Service Stations and "Landowners/Landlords" (UK Government?) need to be sorted out - costs are ludicrous for everything and anything. You're a tad trapped on the UK Motorways to a certain extent as in you would have to travel a fair way off them for cheaper fuel/food. Those with "Company Cars/Allowances" who don't care regarding price, certainly don't help! That said, I had a fuel allowance but would always make sure I had a full tank before hitting the AM roads and Motorways.

I was always taught as a youngster to prepare for your trip (without GPS and Smartphones!!), Tyres, Brakes, Oil, Brake/Clutch Fluid, Radiator, Screen-wash, FUEL AND ROUTE (plus alternatives) et al.... Something to this day I will always check, though it seems a computer is needed now for most things!!

They may be doing motorists a favour by not meeting the levels expected?

So basically better off without the EV? Charge at home, risk the range or pay through the nose. The UK at least is far from ready for EV's other than for those of us have facilities at home/accessible locally or don't do a great deal of mileage.

[Dannie Boy]

It’s a sad state of affairs that in principle EV’s are a great way forward in terms of environmental sustainability but at the moment the cost of EV’s are generally still too high, charging infrastructure insufficient and charging costs outside the home expensive - sort those out and they’ve cracked it!

Edit. Thailand is no doubt better off than most western countries but still not perfect.

I’m also still waiting to see the new battery technology hit the market - it’s getting closer but still not quite there.

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