I'm in me electric nerd car, broom broom [split topic]

[Sebastian Cobb]

Not sure I agree with all the militant active travel, all cars are evil stuff but I'm leaning into it, it's really fucking mental how much space, especially in cities is ceded to cars, to the detriment of literally everything else.

Paris recently enforced a 'no passing law' that killed most cut-through traffic and now the place looks like this: https://twitter.com/parents4future/status/1453675042269798401

[Sebastian Cobb]

I have a 2016 XC90 Volvo to work on next week that needs a new engine. $14,000 ($2.5k of that is labo(u)r )
Most of the 4 cyls use oil, have no dipstick and the electronic low oil warning is not vigilant enough so it is easy to ignore as the car trains you to disegard what seems like yet another glitch. Can fix oil use with a set of improved pistons for $4500 but most of them do damage to other parts from continued operation with low oil level.

Imagine spending more than a grand on a car though

[buzby]

I have a 2016 XC90 Volvo to work on next week that needs a new engine. $14,000 ($2.5k of that is labo(u)r )
Most of the 4 cyls use oil, have no dipstick and the electronic low oil warning is not vigilant enough so it is easy to ignore as the car trains you to disegard what seems like yet another glitch. Can fix oil use with a set of improved pistons for $4500 but most of them do damage to other parts from continued operation with low oil level.

The VEA engine's lack of a dipstick and the 3-bar electronic 'level meter' that doesn't actually mean anything are a complete farce (I have one on by 2017 V40 D2). You can only accurately read the oil level using VIDA at a Volvo workshop, so even if you don't ignore the low oil warning, you can't tell how much to put in and run the risk of overfilling it.

The twin turbo D4 version of the engine had terrible EGR cooler problems for two years after it was introduced, and they had many attempts at fixing it (eventually traced to overcooling when the engine was cold causing consensation to form in the cooler which turned the soot into tar - fixed by adding a thermostatic valve into the coolant line supplying it)

Mind you, the Volvo-Yamaha V8 they used to use in the XC90 had it's own share of issues, as did the AWD system transfer case/angle drive

[MojoJojo]

I think the hybrid ones are the best compromise so you drive around with your full tank but rely largely on the battery. If the battery goes flat, you still have your normal engine to drive about on.

Maybe it's different in Canada, but for most people in the UK the occasions where you need to drive more than 300miles in one go are so few and far between that extended range equipment is expensive dead weight. The longer recharge times are offset by being able to fill up at home.

Friend has a tesla. Ignoring the car, I wished my car worked like that.

[MojoJojo]

If companies were serious about this whole thing they would standardise the batteries, have them easily removable and then at petrol stations you would just swap your one for a full one, and put your one to charge for someone else. That would alleviate the long battery charge times making filling up on a journey more manageable

I haven't thought through the practicalities of that but it seems like a reasonable idea

The practical aspect is that there are huge advantages to plumbing the battery into the heating/aircon system, which makes swapping batteries difficult.

Having coolant go through the batteries means you can heat the cabin space from the waste battery heat. You also need it stop the batteries catching fire with higher charge speeds. My tesla owning friend just realised that if you put a supercharger in the satnav, the car will will warm up the battery for supercharging on the way.

Nissan Leafs get sagged off a bit as the battery isn't actively cooled.

Ultimately, the problem is that batteries aren't just generic commodities, they're a rapidly developing piece of tech that is the most important piece of an evs performance.

[dissolute ocelot]

I think the hybrid ones are the best compromise so you drive around with your full tank but rely largely on the battery. If the battery goes flat, you still have your normal engine to drive about on.

Trouble is most plug-in hybrids have a battery-only range of 30-40 miles, and the Skoda Superb only does 20 miles. So you have to charge it every day: fine if you have a house with a drive and a fairly short commute, but even then most people who buy them bought it for tax reasons and then drive on petrol most of the time (they have tightened up on this).

[MojoJojo]

Interesting Panorama the other night about cobalt mining in the DRC (applies to all batteries I suppose but Tesla seemed to be at the front of the cunt queue)

In the 19th century it was rubber, during the second world war it was uranium, now it's cobolt. The problem isn't using cobolt, the problem is King Leopold set up a state to extract natural resources through brutal cruelty, and the rest of he world has been basically fine with this.

I get a bit annoyed when the problems of cobolt mining are brought up in relation to EVs, as if the extraction of oil was completely problem free.

[Mr_Simnock]

Trouble is most plug-in hybrids have a battery-only range of 30-40 miles, and the Skoda Superb only does 20 miles. So you have to charge it every day: fine if you have a house with a drive and a fairly short commute, but even then most people who buy them bought it for tax reasons and then drive on petrol most of the time (they have tightened up on this).

My BMW 225xe does 20-27 miles on a full charge depending on driving style and temp etc etc, it only costs £1.30 to charge and most days it covers all I need. It's an easy routine to get into to charge cars every day. The next version of the 225xe will get a 50 mile battery, that would be perfect for me and would result in me using the engine maybe once a week tops if I got one.

[Captain Z]

Yes, but again it doesn't address the problem of millions of households that can't charge at home.

It's good that charging times are dropping significantly. Still though, a pure EV that can't be charged at home leaves you with an inconvenience and less leeway for emergencies etc.

[Ferris]

Trouble is most plug-in hybrids have a battery-only range of 30-40 miles, and the Skoda Superb only does 20 miles. So you have to charge it every day: fine if you have a house with a drive and a fairly short commute, but even then most people who buy them bought it for tax reasons and then drive on petrol most of the time (they have tightened up on this).

We have a driveway and our commutes are short/non-existent so I think we'd be alright with it. We haven't had a car since 2011 and are both really keen to be car-free but with small kids there's the odd occasion where you just need to have one (3am hospital visits, swimming lessons at short notice, science museum that takes an hour on the bus vs a 10 minute drive etc).

I'd guess 95%+ of the time we'd be within the electric range but who knows.

Sorry, I'm wary of turning this into an esoteric "ooh this is how much I drive thread" which I doubt is of interest to anyone.

[FiremanJim]

Interesting Panorama the other night about cobalt mining in the DRC (applies to all batteries I suppose but Tesla seemed to be at the front of the cunt queue)

This is interesting because Musk claims Tesla use virtually no cobalt in their cars. I'm guessing he's talking bollocks.

https://mobile.twitter.com/search?q=From%3Aelonmusk%20cobalt&src=typed_query&f=live

[mothman]

Sorry, I'm wary of turning this into an esoteric "ooh this is how much I drive thread" which I doubt is of interest to anyone.

Yeah but if you're getting a car because you need one - and that will always remain a factor to some degree no matter how much public transport increases (if indeed it ever does, today's Tories wholeheartedly echo whichever of their forebears it was who said - paraphrasing - "only losers use public transport") - then how far/much you travel has to be a factor.

I have a 70 mile daily round-trip commute. I'm not happy about it, even car-sharing, but that's the result of where I live and where my job is. I can't do said job anywhere else; and I like my home and know empirically I'd be unlikely to find anywhere as good nearer to work.

My next car will be electric. It'll have to be a hybrid, I'm saying a plug-in one as a non-negotiable part of that stipulation. Range is absolutely a factor. And I've really no idea what I should be looking into (apart from rather fancying a BMW i3), so threads like this are very helpful.

[Clatty McCutcheon]

Interesting Panorama the other night about cobalt mining in the DRC (applies to all batteries I suppose but Tesla seemed to be at the front of the cunt queue)

Also, the alternative to terrestrial cobalt mining is to mine the deep seabed for cobalt-rich crusts, so unfortunately there seems to be no ethical and non-environmentally damaging way to get cobalt for batteries.

[Ferris]

Yeah but if you're getting a car because you need one - and that will always remain a factor to some degree no matter how much public transport increases (if indeed it ever does, today's Tories wholeheartedly echo whichever of their forebears it was who said - paraphrasing - "only losers use public transport") - then how far/much you travel has to be a factor.

I have a 70 mile daily round-trip commute. I'm not happy about it, even car-sharing, but that's the result of where I live and where my job is. I can't do said job anywhere else; and I like my home and know empirically I'd be unlikely to find anywhere as good nearer to work.

My next car will be electric. It'll have to be a hybrid, I'm saying a plug-in one as a non-negotiable part of that stipulation. Range is absolutely a factor. And I've really no idea what I should be looking into (apart from rather fancying a BMW i3), so threads like this are very helpful.

I meant me personally going on about how much I drive. I find other peoples' experience is perfectly valid and interesting but have a complex around talking about myself too much which is coming to the fore here.

You're right - it's an inherent part of the thread so carry on.

[Glebe]

I'm in me electric nerd car, Brum Brum

[Sebastian Cobb]

I've met that car.

[PlanktonSideburns]

Isn't that true of every car on the road now though? The fast charging capability would be linked to the battery wouldn't it? Or would it? I don't know

I don't know Either actually. I guess it's a battery and a cable thing? Don't the fast chargers have different cables

[Barry Admin]

For anyone who doesn't get the reference:

[Dr Rock]

Fuck the planet, get a Jaguar. Ignore that they are third from bottom on that list.

[Glebe]

For anyone who doesn't get the reference:

That's a new one on me

[Blumf]

I've met that car.

Another #metoo story.

[Glebe]

Another #metoo story.

Rumours about it for years. Time's up, Brum!

[beanheadmcginty]

One up the Brum, no harm done.

[Sebastian Cobb]

One up the Brum, no harm done.

alright "rangerover man"

[Blumf]

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Nissan-unveils-US-18-billion-Ambition-2030-electric-car-agenda-with-a-Tesla-Cybertruck-competitor.581986.0.html

Nissan just started taking reservations for its Ariya electric SUV priced at US$46,000, but the Japanese carmaker is not stopping here, it seems.
...
Besides the Nissan Ariya that is already a fact, the company has a few concepts lined up to hit the conveyor belts:

• Nissan SURF-OUT - a Tesla Cybertruck electric pick-up competitor;
• Nissan CHILL-OUT crossover EV;
• Nissan MAX-OUT sports convertible;
• Nissan HANG-OUT family EV that "changes the perception of mobile space."

Wot? No Nissan TITS-OUT?

[FiremanJim]

Fuck the planet, get a Jaguar. Ignore that they are third from bottom on that list.

That would probably be good for the environment. It's apparently much more environmentally friendly to buy a used petrol / diesel car than a new electric one

[Dr Rock]

And they create jobs by breaking down every week.

[Ferris]

And they create jobs by breaking down every week.

Also ecologically sound because you frequently have to abandon it by the side of the road and take the bus.

[Paul Calf]

Surprised how low Volvo are on that. I know their reputation suffered under the Ford era but I'd heard that the Chinese company that bought them were working hard to bring them back to the 'reliable tank' era.

I've got an 11-year-old Volvo with 110,000 miles on the clock and it's still running like a tank despite my having battered the front end right in on two separate occasions.

[Sebastian Cobb]

I liked in one of the Dirk Gently books Dirks jag breaks down and the breakdown mechanic starts talking about how much work it's likely to be, so Dirk jumps into his breakdown truck, drives it half a mile down the road and hides in a ditch, 10 minutes later his Jag comes screaming up behind it, which he then re-steals as the mechanic goes to look at his truck.