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

[190]

This feature was handy 40 odd years ago whilst waiting for the AA.

That's an Austin Maxi, I've slept the night in one at Silverstone for the 1977 F1 race. James Hunt won.

 

[Wolfie1]

Well, it not quite flat as a bed :

No way, their next ad will be it has 4 wheels to allow you to get to a charging point conveniently and comfortably, Hyundai have increased sidewall thickness to give you a floating feeling whilst travelling over bumps

 

[Dryce]

Well, it not quite flat as a bed :

They look very good in the brochure image though!

Still doesn't sort out the issue of what to do with rear passengers in a car. That said I tend to find that over the years the only times we have used reclining seats to actually stop and rest has been while travelling singly or as a pair.

Maybe they should incorporate an extending roof shelter and provide a couple of extra beds up top.,

 

[Gollom]

There is nothing novel about theses reclining seats:

View attachment 122350

This feature was handy 40 odd years ago whilst waiting for the AA.

We have used this feature in the past when money was very tight for the odd weekend. As a matter of fact, my oldest may well exist because of this feature.....

Of course, can't do it in modern Mercs as the safety front head restraints will not come out so cannot get a fully flat bed

 

[Alfie]

Austin Maxi

A car ahead of its time in terms of functionality. Shame it was BL derived.

 

[del320]

They look very good in the brochure image though!

Still doesn't sort out the issue of what to do with rear passengers in a car. That said I tend to find that over the years the only times we have used reclining seats to actually stop and rest has been while travelling singly or as a pair.

Maybe they should incorporate an extending roof shelter and provide a couple of extra beds up top.,

Very Good!

You obviously have something like this in mind...

 

[markjay]

They look very good in the brochure image though!

Still doesn't sort out the issue of what to do with rear passengers in a car. That said I tend to find that over the years the only times we have used reclining seats to actually stop and rest has been while travelling singly or as a pair.

Maybe they should incorporate an extending roof shelter and provide a couple of extra beds up top.,

The car is very cleverly packaged with gimmicks that actually work and were designed to grab the attention of automotive journalists.

That said, a 'gimmick that actually works' isn't always necessarily a useful feature.... other examples are V2L, providing 240v outlets both externally from the charging port (to power your home during a black out... or to use a microwave while camping...) and internally inside the cabin (to charge a laptop). Personally, living in a flat in Central London, the only use I will ever have for this feature is probably for vacuuming the car with a proper Henry instead of the portable 12V B&D I am currently using.

As for the 'Zero Gravity' seats:

Hyundai Ioniq 5's Lazy Boy Seats Were Based On NASA's Zero-Gravity Posture Shuttle Research | Carscoops

Ioniq's seat design inspired by NASA's discovery that bodies have a neutral body posture in space.

www.carscoops.com

Hyundai did indeed succeed in grabbing the media's attention, partially with real innovative tech, partially with the outlandish design, and partially with a range of 'gimmicks that actually work' (but are not necessarily useful) - there are quite a few of these and most journalists did bite and covered these extensively.

 

[Dryce]

A car ahead of its time in terms of functionality. Shame it was BL derived.

It was of its time. We had one in the household when I was younger - my recollection is that there was quite an art to changing gear - even by the standards of the the other BL family cars of that era with transverse boxes and the north south / left right linkage translation.

People forget that along with the older mini that the Austin 1100/1300 and 1800 were very good in terms of packaging of space - and the hydrolastic / hydragas suspensions were pretty good.

 

[190]

A car ahead of its time in terms of functionality. Shame it was BL derived.

The Maxi I slept in belonged to a mate but I drove it often and would say it was one of BL's better efforts. It was practical, spacious and comfortable, with a modern for it's day OHC 1750 engine and 5 speed gearbox. It's Achilles heal was that gearbox. It's reputation suffered because early models had a cable operated gear change which was to say the least a challenge compared to other contemporary cars. Even though later models got a rod operated change the damage was done.

 

[Bellow]

No. There's only one parking spot next to the charger, and only one LCD display and one credit card reader.

Can't quite figure if the 'only one parking spot' is the charger's limit or a consequence of the land prices in London?
One credit card reader shouldn't be an issue as surely card is only required at commencement (and maybe termination) of charging?
And the LCD display- not the only method of monitoring charging progress?

 

[markjay]

By

Can't quite figure if the 'only one parking spot' is the charger's limit or a consequence of the land prices in London?
One credit card reader shouldn't be an issue as surely card is only required at commencement (and maybe termination) of charging?
And the LCD display- not the only method of monitoring charging progress?

The parking spot is the last space in a long parallel parking bay, which is a Pay-by-Phone bay (aka Pay-and-Display).

This is from Google Maps, showing the location before the new charging station was installed:

The EV charger parking spot is where the blue/grey Renault van is parked in the photo. The new charging station is located on the pavement between the Renault van and the black lockable bicycles shed. It could have easily been located behind the white Ford van, thus providing charging for 3 vehicles simultaneously, if this was the intention.

The charging is operated via the LCD panel, and I don't see how it can accommodate two people at the same time, just as a petrol station pump may have many nozzles on the same side but only one can be used at any given point of time.

Why only charge one car at the time? I don't actually know. Possibly taking-up three public parking spaces was considered too much (I don't think property prices come into it, the parking slots all belong to the Council anyway). Or, perhaps this being a fast charger, it can only support maximum charging speed for one car at the time, and a more-expensive charger would have been required to support three vehicles fast-charging together. Or, it may be the case that the Council didn't think that more than one additional charging space was needed? Given that there are two older slow public chargers around the corner from the new charger. And, a reminder that the entire street has been converted to lamppost charging, though, again, you can only park next to the lamppost chargers if you have a Resident's Parking Permit, while the public chargers can be used by any EV or PHEV for free for up to 4 hours.

 

[markjay]

Talking of gimmicks.... this Fifth Gear review is very professional (well, it would be, it's VBH ), one of the very few reviews that managed to avoid focusing on pointless marketing gimmicks:

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Also, it's 17 minutes, most of it is breathtaking scenery... unless you live in Scotland and already know it by heart (and in which case you are very lucky)

 

[Alfie]

By


The parking spot is the last space in a long parallel parking bay, which is a Pay-by-Phone bay (aka Pay-and-Display).

This is from Google Maps, showing the location before the new charging station was installed:

The EV charger parking spot is where the blue/grey Renault van is parked in the photo. The new charging station is located on the pavement between the Renault van and the black lockable bicycles shed. It could have easily been located behind the white Ford van, thus providing charging for 3 vehicles simultaneously, if this was the intention.

The charging is operated via the LCD panel, and I don't see how it can accommodate two people at the same time, just as a petrol station pump may have many nozzles on the same side but only one can be used at any given point of time.

Why only charge one car at the time? I don't actually know. Possibly taking-up three public parking spaces was considered too much (I don't think property prices come into it, the parking slots all belong to the Council anyway). Or, perhaps this being a fast charger, it can only support maximum charging speed for one car at the time, and a more-expensive charger would have been required to support three vehicles fast-charging together. Or, it may be the case that the Council didn't think that more than one additional charging space was needed? Given that there are two older slow public chargers around the corner from the new charger. And, a reminder that the entire street has been converted to lamppost charging, though, again, you can only park next to the lamppost chargers if you have a Resident's Parking Permit, while the public chargers can be used by any EV or PHEV for free for up to 4 hours.

Ahh but petrol stations can serve two vehicles simultaneously. One each side. With better positioning of an EV charging point in a car park, it could serve four cars simultaneously. But I guess thats too obvious for the council to think of.

 

[Deleted member 159894]

A car ahead of its time in terms of functionality. Shame it was BL derived.

My old dad had one, hated it so it didn’t last long with us, he did approve of the seats and the radio for some reason.

It was traded in for a Fiat twin cam which was a flyer at the time.

 

[markjay]

My old dad had one, hated it so it didn’t last long with us, he did approve of the seats and the radio for some reason.

It was traded in for a Fiat twin cam which was a flyer at the time.

This one?

Good move

EDIT: Might have been a Ritmo 130TC, though... not a bad choice either, mind.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

It was of its time. We had one in the household when I was younger - my recollection is that there was quite an art to changing gear - even by the standards of the the other BL family cars of that era with transverse boxes and the north south / left right linkage translation.

People forget that along with the older mini that the Austin 1100/1300 and 1800 were very good in terms of packaging of space - and the hydrolastic / hydragas suspensions were pretty good.

I learned to drive in a Morris 1800 when I was a child. It was parents car, inherited from my grandad when I was a toddler and probably kept it almost 20 years. Great car, shame it rusted terribly.

 

[grober]

Prompted by another thread,

Electric Car Insurance | Pod Point

An introduction to electric car insurance that covers what you need to know before looking for a policy, including an overview of cost factors and providers.

pod-point.com

 

[SW18]

These are opening everywhere around me and they look very impressive - though at £0.39/kWh they should be.

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EV Power - MFG EV Strategy & Charging Points - Motor Fuel Group

 

[Dryce]

These are opening everywhere around me and they look very impressive - though at £0.39/kWh they should be.

Meanwhile in Scotland at the end of this week Hunterston B will be finally taken off the grid with no replacement. And Torness planned to shutdown in 2028 with no replacement.

I wonder how much energy Holyrood expects to get via the connector with England when the wind doesn't blow.

(Interestingly - the new connector to Norway doesn't come ashore in Scotland ... but in the north of England).

 

[Tonye]

It was traded in for a Fiat twin cam which was a flyer at the time.

Maybe a FIAT 131 SUPERMIRAFURY,
Been there, fast as feck.