Electric Vehicles

[JoeMorgue]

I don't remember Doug's review, but one thing that is remarkable is how tight those things are on the inside. That dog house in the middle leaves little room for the driver and passengers.

The original, Hummer H1 will go down in history as the vehicle that got the worst reputation solely because they tried to make it something it was not.

The actual military HMMWV was a spectacular vehicle... as a military vehicle. But it was crap road vehicle. The centerline transmission and drivetrain hump, the drop axel, the engine were all designed for low-mid speed off roading, undeveloped roads, and over terrain.

It was basically just a military vehicle that was technically road legal to make logistics easier. It was never meant to be a civilian production car.

 

[Dr. Keith]

The original, Hummer H1 will go down in history as the vehicle that got the worst reputation solely because they tried to make it something it was not.

The actual military HMMWV was a spectacular vehicle... as a military vehicle. But it was crap road vehicle. The centerline transmission and drivetrain hump, the drop axel, the engine were all designed for low-mid speed off roading, undeveloped roads, and over terrain.

It was basically just a military vehicle that was technically road legal to make logistics easier. It was never meant to be a civilian production car.

Agreed. Same could be said of the original Jeep, but by the time the Hummer came out Jeeps had become much more civilized.

ETA: I love GM's decision to revive the Hummer brand for electric vehicles. Cheeky.

 

[JoeMorgue]

Agreed. Same could be said of the original Jeep, but by the time the Hummer came out Jeeps had become much more civilized.

And ironically the venerable and much loved Jeep CJ gave way to the (relatively, I mean it was still a bare bones vehicle) more civilized Wrangler in the mid 90s specifically because Jeep lost the military contract to Hummer so the Uncle Sam was no longer payed the R&D for the utilitarian CJ series (which had always been repacked military vehicles with just enough safety features to appease the government and comfort features to not be laughed out of a civilian market) got replaced with something which shared more parts and more design cues from things like the Cherokee and Wagoneer which were, again slightly we're still talking Jeeps, more civilized.

 

[GlennB]

UK slashes grants for electric car buyers while retaining petrol vehicle support

"The UK government has cut grants for electric car buyers, to the horror of the automotive industry as it tries to rapidly shift away from fossil fuels.

The maximum grant for electric cars was reduced from £3,000 to £2,500 with immediate effect on Thursday. The government also lowered the price cap for cars eligible for the subsidy from £50,000 to £35,000.

The cut is likely to be controversial, only a fortnight after the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, extended a generous implicit subsidy for drivers of petrol and diesels by freezing fuel duty."

Rather odd, especially following a recent announcement that the UK gov. is aiming to halt all sales of pure ICE vehicles by 2030. Do I smell lobbying by the fossil fuel lot?

 

[The Don]

UK slashes grants for electric car buyers while retaining petrol vehicle support

"The UK government has cut grants for electric car buyers, to the horror of the automotive industry as it tries to rapidly shift away from fossil fuels.

The maximum grant for electric cars was reduced from £3,000 to £2,500 with immediate effect on Thursday. The government also lowered the price cap for cars eligible for the subsidy from £50,000 to £35,000.

The cut is likely to be controversial, only a fortnight after the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, extended a generous implicit subsidy for drivers of petrol and diesels by freezing fuel duty."

Rather odd, especially following a recent announcement that the UK gov. is aiming to halt all sales of pure ICE vehicles by 2030. Do I smell lobbying by the fossil fuel lot?

Maybe the incentives don't need to be there if it's soon going to be impossible to buy an ICE car.

 

[JoeMorgue]

Maybe the incentives don't need to be there if it's soon going to be impossible to buy an ICE car.

Yeah that's the whole "Just abandon the rural areas" thing I keep bringing up but being told I'm being dramatic/wrong about.

 

[Dr. Keith]

Yeah that's the whole "Just abandon the rural areas" thing I keep bringing up but being told I'm being dramatic/wrong about.

Like the whole UK is the size of Oregon or something, do they even have what you and I would call rural areas?

I can't imagine a "last gas for 200 miles" sign in the UK. Not even "final petrol for 300 km" if we want to feel more local.

 

[JoeMorgue]

The push to force ICE vehicle out by legislation/taxation/etc is not unique to the UK.

 

[lomiller]

Maybe the incentives don't need to be there if it's soon going to be impossible to buy an ICE car.

Yeah that's the whole "Just abandon the rural areas" thing I keep bringing up but being told I'm being dramatic/wrong about.

Prediction: If it happens at all the rules against ICE won't apply to trucks and the definition of a truck will be extended to include the SUV's that are already targeted at the consumer market. The only thing eliminated will be small cars with internal combustion engines that are already relatively efficient compared to the larger vehicles car makers really want to sell.

 

[GlennB]

Maybe the incentives don't need to be there if it's soon going to be impossible to buy an ICE car.

Well, dunno if I'd call nearly 9 years 'soon'. Call me an old cynic but, just maybe, they got the favourable headline about the end to ICE vehicles and are now showing their true colours?

 

[Dr. Keith]

The push to force ICE vehicle out by legislation/taxation/etc is not unique to the UK.

But it ain't happening in your state or mine anytime soon. And if it ever does, lomiller is right that the exceptions will be huge.

 

[wobs]

Like the whole UK is the size of Oregon or something, do they even have what you and I would call rural areas?

I can't imagine a "last gas for 200 miles" sign in the UK. Not even "final petrol for 300 km" if we want to feel more local.

Not really an issue when you can buy hybrids.

 

[Kestrel]

Like the whole UK is the size of Oregon or something, do they even have what you and I would call rural areas?

I can't imagine a "last gas for 200 miles" sign in the UK. Not even "final petrol for 300 km" if we want to feel more local.

I have traveled on roads with no services warning signs but can’t recall any that exceeded 100 miles. What is the longest stretch of highway without services in the contiguous 48 states?

 

[acbytesla]

I have traveled on roads with no services warning signs but can’t recall any that exceeded 100 miles. What is the longest stretch of highway without services in the contiguous 48 states?

The longest distance for a an Interstate Freeway without fueling services in the United States is on I-70 between Green River and Salina Utah at 105 miles. But there are even much longer stretches on other highways. The longest used to be between Lakeview, Or and Denio, Nevada that was 179 miles. But the station at Denio was closed on my last trip so now you have to go all the way to Winnemucca making it 211 miles. I've driven this road at least a dozen times. The sign that says "Next Gas 179 miles" was still there.

 

[Kestrel]

The longest distance for a an Interstate Freeway without fueling services in the United States is on I-70 between Green River and Salina Utah at 105 miles. But there are even much longer stretches on other highways. The longest used to be between Lakeview, Or and Denio, Nevada that was 179 miles. But the station at Denio was closed on my last trip so now you have to go all the way to Winnemucca making it 211 miles. I've driven this road at least a dozen times. The sign that says "Next Gas 179 miles" was still there.

The Tesla Superchargers in Green River and Richfield, Utah make the I70 EV gap 105 miles, the same as for gas cars. The Supercharger in Winnemucca makes driving to Denio, Oregon in a Tesla possible. Finding the juice to get back could be a problem.

 

[acbytesla]

The Tesla Superchargers in Green River and Richfield, Utah make the I70 EV gap 105 miles, the same as for gas cars. The Supercharger in Winnemucca makes driving to Denio, Oregon in a Tesla possible. Finding the juice to get back could be a problem.

Cool. Denio is in Nevada. I'm sure you meant Lakeview. Also, my memory may not be great. Denio is 117 miles from from Lakeview not 179 miles. It still is 211 miles from Lakeview to Winnemucca. Now I'm totally questioning my memory.

 

[Kestrel]

Cool. Denio is in Nevada. I'm sure you meant Lakeview. Also, my memory may not be great. Denio is 117 miles from from Lakeview not 179 miles. Now I'm totally questioning my memory.

I thought the I70 no services gap was 85 miles. You are not the only one with faulty memory.

Right now the Tesla charging network is good enough to support drinking to most major US destinations. All routes to that destination may not be possible. I can drive from my home in Colorado to Yellowstone but have to go via Jackson, Wyoming. The Wind River route to Yellowstone does not work at this time. Nor is it possible to drive from here to Alaska.

Electrify America seems to be making good progress building a fast charging network usable by other EV brands.

The lack of charging stations in rural areas doesn’t make them impractical for rural residents because you can charge at home.

 

[acbytesla]

I thought the I70 no services gap was 85 miles. You are not the only one with faulty memory.

Right now the Tesla charging network is good enough to support drinking to most major US destinations. All routes to that destination may not be possible. I can drive from my home in Colorado to Yellowstone but have to go via Jackson, Wyoming. The Wind River route to Yellowstone does not work at this time. Nor is it possible to drive from here to Alaska.

Electrify America seems to be making good progress building a fast charging network usable by other EV brands.

The lack of charging stations in rural areas doesn’t make them impractical for rural residents because you can charge at home.

Most of the roads in Yellowstone Park are closed to almost all vehicular traffic every winter. But it provides killer snowmobiling. I went twice with a buddy of mine who is a fanatic.

 

[arthwollipot]

There are large areas of Australia where you can drive for days with no petrol stations.

Completely laying aside the question of why you'd want to, of course.

 

[cullennz]

There are large areas of Australia where you can drive for days with no petrol stations.

Completely laying aside the question of why you'd want to, of course.

My brother did it with his mates when he was young and on holiday once.

Geezes knows why.

The vehicle was like a restaurant/petrol station/ spare car parts store on wheels though.