New petrol and diesel car sales will be 'banned from 2030'

[190]

2.5 tonne electric SUV's have never made any sense to me. The manufacturers are doing them for two reasons.

1. Relative wealth of the buyers who can afford £80k
2. They make by far the biggest impact on overall company emissions targets to avoid the EU fines.

15 years ago electric vehicles were originally envisaged to be small and very low drag. I'm sure one of the Japanese manufacturers made one with record breaking low drag coefficient of 0.2

 

[rf065]

Or perhaps slipstreaming on fast motorways. Automated tail gating /self driving convoys.

Might work in big countries with m/ways that go on forever with very few junctions.
Not sure how a convoy of say 10 or 15 vehicles would work in the UK when you can have numerous exit slip roads within a short section, every single vehicle would need to be automised.
So anyone who drives a car for pleasure, might as well find something else to do.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Might work in big countries with m/ways that go on forever with very few junctions.
Not sure how a convoy of say 10 or 15 vehicles would work in the UK when you can have numerous exit slip roads within a short section, every single vehicle would need to be automised.
So anyone who drives a car for pleasure, might as well find something else to do.

To be safe, all cars in a convoy would have to be autonomous whilst in convoy. Non-Autonymous vehicles - or those who choose to - could drive normally.

Junctions need not be an issue, autonomous vehicles - or those choosing to switch to autonomous mode for the purpose convoying - would have the destination set, which would enable the car and the convoy to know when that vehicle is expected to join and separate. Makes no difference whether it’s 20 or 200 miles.

 

[Dryce]

Might work in big countries with m/ways that go on forever with very few junctions.
Not sure how a convoy of say 10 or 15 vehicles would work in the UK when you can have numerous exit slip roads within a short section, every single vehicle would need to be automised.
So anyone who drives a car for pleasure, might as well find something else to do.

I don't think governments view the provision and control of major road infrsatructure as having anythging to do with driving a car 'for pleasure'.

As regards current UK motorways then the slip roads are not that numerous over non-urban sections. And urban sections are increasingly managed with variable speed limits and lane access restrictions.

My view is that if self-driving vehicles become the norm then access to motorways and urban areas would logically be restricted to these classes of vehicles.

In the interim then options such setting up managed use and controls of limited self driving systems for HGVs or non-HGVs should be considered where it improved efficiency of use of the motorway network.

 

[Dryce]

Junctions need not be an issue, autonomous vehicles - or those choosing to switch to autonomous mode for the purpose convoying - would have the destination set, which would enable the car and the convoy to know when that vehicle is expected to join and separate. Makes no difference whether it’s 20 or 200 miles.

Convoy management can also interact with smart signage and traffic enforcement to direct other road users.

 

[Tonygw]

Or perhaps slipstreaming on fast motorways. Automated tail gating /self driving convoys. Offset the cost to the lead vehicle by using some form of road energy charging where savings from the slipstreaming are credited .

Audis have had this feature built in for a few years now. I see a lot of Audi drivers make full use of the tailgate, slip stream option, works very well..
Some even have an automated flash you lights like crazy feature, not sure what that's for though??

 

[markjay]

Might work in big countries with m/ways that go on forever with very few junctions.

Australian Road Trains come to mind....:

 

[C240Sport97]

Never knew lampposts could be charging points!

spotted in Wapping

 

[SW18]

Never knew lampposts could be charging points!

spotted in Wapping

View attachment 106990

There are lots of a similar sort round my way, from this company: char.gy. They're only 5kW though, so a slow charge for a full EV. And as yet they don't have dedicated parking bays which makes them tricky to use. But if one day every lamp post has one, and EVs are left plugged in to be used for grid balancing, it could be a big thing...

 

[Dryce]

There are lots of a similar sort round my way, from this company: char.gy. They're only 5kW though, so a slow charge for a full EV. And as yet they don't have dedicated parking bays which makes them tricky to use. But if one day every lamp post has one, and EVs are left plugged in to be used for grid balancing, it could be a big thing...

Lighting is relatively low energy compared with EV charging requirments. So it's unlikely the cables are suitable as things stand for anything other than slow charging of a small number of EVs. So the question is perhaps how much it would cost to recable or possible to increase the voltage on the existing cabling and amend the charging installation in the lamppost to supply a lower voltage to the light.

 

[C240Sport97]

And as yet they don't have dedicated parking bays which makes them tricky to use.

this one was right next to a parking bay

 

[Tonygw]

If the lamp post chargers are in big cities the councils will also put parking meters on the parking bays next to the lamp post chargers, so you pay to charge and to park, 50P for 20 minutes should pay for their big Christmas party after a 30 hour EV charge

 

[martyz]

Still many years before they have the correct fuel and it won't be coming out of a lamp post

 

[PhantomF4]

Back in the early seventies I was with the Navy in Bardufoss, Northern Norway on winter exercises for the whole of January and February. Being well inside the Arctic Circle it was well below freezing and dark 24/7.

On our off-duty periods we used to ski to Andselv, the local town and I was intrigued to see every parked car plugged into a flexi rubber socket sticking out of the ground (snow) and learned that it was to keep car batteries topped up and power the sump heaters in cars. This meant no need for choke, engines warmed and ready to go and no flat batteries.

I reckon that if there was such forward thinking back in the seventies, there will now be a recharging point for every car parking space in that town and probably many more across Norway.

 

[SW18]

Back in the early seventies I was with the Navy in Bardufoss, Northern Norway on winter exercises for the whole of January and February. Being well inside the Arctic Circle it was well below freezing and dark 24/7.

On our off-duty periods we used to ski to Andselv, the local town and I was intrigued to see every parked car plugged into a flexi rubber socket sticking out of the ground (snow) and learned that it was to keep car batteries topped up and power the sump heaters in cars. This meant no need for choke, engines warmed and ready to go and no flat batteries.

I reckon that if there was such forward thinking back in the seventies, there will now be a recharging point for every car parking space in that town and probably many more across Norway.

Et voila! This is indeed the case, and now Norway’s EV stats are amazing: more than 1 in 2 new cars sold is full EV; most users never visit petrol stations (too many convenient charge points elsewhere). It’s a massive step-change, and shows it can be done on a national scale. (Cue lots of people telling me Norway is small, the U.K. is different, ‘it’s not green if the electric came from fossil fuels’, how will I drive to Cannes once a year, etc, etc ).

 

[Deleted member 37751]

how will I drive to Cannes once a year....

....while towing my 70ft boat...

 

[ChipChop]

Et voila! This is indeed the case, and now Norway’s EV stats are amazing: more than 1 in 2 new cars sold is full EV; most users never visit petrol stations (too many convenient charge points elsewhere). It’s a massive step-change, and shows it can be done on a national scale. (Cue lots of people telling me Norway is small, the U.K. is different, ‘it’s not green if the electric came from fossil fuels’, how will I drive to Cannes once a year, etc, etc ).

What an inspirational line up of electric cars. Dull as dishwater.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

....while towing my 70ft boat...

Lee, you’re in a different league. How many times do I have to say, take a few weeks off work and sail it down to Cannes.

My berth in Monaco is vacant if you want to use it. I won’t let it go because of the wait to get another. Shame to see it wasted.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

What an inspirational line up of electric cars. Dull as dishwater.

Is that because they’re EVs or because they’re small family cars and city cars?

 

[SW18]

What an inspirational line up of electric cars. Dull as dishwater.

Sadly the same can be said for just about any car park in the U.K...