August 20, 20196 yr 3 hours ago, Pietpower said: As per Wiki coal fired stations are about 37% efficient (probably less in SA). Add the 90% EV efficiency and you are down to 33% which is similar to diesel??? Yeah efficiency talk is often not apples for apples. Combustion efficiency (aka how much of the fuel is burnt) is around 96%. But then there's the parasitic losses and the pumping losses (pumping losses are way less on a Diesel), and the drive train losses, the truly scary part of it all is how only about two thirds of your flywheel power even makes it to the road (when tested on a rolling road Dyno). But we'll get there. Maybe, in some dream world, the SA Government will drop the taxes on EVs, batteries will get less expensive, Toyota will get into the game properly... and so on 🙂
August 20, 20196 yr 26 minutes ago, plonkster said: Toyota will get into the game properly... That or you better start making Hydrogen haha.
August 20, 20196 yr 3 minutes ago, PJJ said: That or you better start making Hydrogen haha. Toyota is rather conspicuous in their absence. They made the first Hybrid car 20 years ago already, and one could argue they were ahead of just about everyone else... and then... nothing. Toyota isn't stupid though, so their absence is also indicative of something. I'm just not sure exactly what 🙂
August 20, 20196 yr Just now, plonkster said: Toyota is rather conspicuous in their absence. They made the first Hybrid car 20 years ago already, and one could argue they were ahead of just about everyone else... and then... nothing. Toyota isn't stupid though, so their absence is also indicative of something. I'm just not sure exactly what 🙂 Well they are currently a market pioneer in Hydrogen fuel cell cars, the only problem is, no one cares haha. No wait, that is a bit mean of me to say, but it is kind of true. But Toyota does have a plan, they have started rolling out Hydrogen filling stations in the UK and in a way its almost genius, with the massive push towards renewables there are times that the grid in GB and GER goes into negative price territory (Or just very low prices), if you have a massive electrolysis setup that can start drawing current to make Hydrogen, who cares about the efficiency? So you end up with a nice grid scale storage mechanism, win-win I think.
August 20, 20196 yr How ironic is it that I came across this advert today. It is too good to be true... https://vbuowegwe.myshopify.com/products/free-shipping-small-electric-car?fbclid=IwAR0LuuMBwnHKGYvLkCegOyf-fUQ6SlFoCCyB8R-eHCjRzSj2gK3BAxLHfWU
August 21, 20196 yr Can't see if it is 128USD or 168USD, but even if it is 200USD, that's like half the price of a Vuka scooter.
August 21, 20196 yr 14 minutes ago, plonkster said: Vuka scooter I wonder what it would take to electrify a Vuka... 😛
August 21, 20196 yr You can buy electric scooters, but it is probably more practical to electrify a bicycle because you can then ignore the rules of the road, and there are no licensing requirements.
August 22, 20196 yr 21 hours ago, DeepBass9 said: ignore the rules of the road Yeah, funny story about that. In Groningen the light goes green for cyclist a few seconds before it goes green for the cars, but unlike other Dutch cities... it goes green for all directions AT THE SAME TIME! So you have streams of cyclists going in 8 directions at the same time... and unlike in South Africa you are actually expected to INDICATE your intention 🙂 And it is raining... and there's a baby strapped to the bike behind you... 🙂
January 7, 20206 yr On 2016/09/22 at 8:36 PM, Travis said: I am keeping the cruiser for weekends. Lucky for me its a 100 Series 4.2TDi, not a barbie Prado 4.0V6 I cover 2-3000Km's per month. Cruiser sits on 11l/100km, not terrible, still R4000 per month. I think the electric car adoption requires a total mind shift. You go from driving a car with gears and vibrations and noise ( even the best mercs have a litttle bit of it) to absolute silent, smooth drive, with instant power. Driving has become relaxing, and at the same time I am consuming 100% renewable energy. It's a good feeling. I encourage you all to take one for a drive. Comparing this to a VW UP is wrong, Interior quality is on par with a 5 series, the interior passenger space is better than a big SUV, Can comfortable seat 4 fully grown men. It is quicker off the line that a GTI+ it drives itself in traffic! Fully charges in 3.5 Hours. 78km per hour charge rate on the wall charger. Or DC quick charge to 80% is 20min Bonus that it is free to charge at BMW garages. No fuel requirement means to affected by petrol attendant strikes, Carbon fibre/lightweight construction means no possibility of hail damage. No Oil means no oil changes+Filters+Air filters+++. You change the brake fluid+cabin filter every 3 years. Regen brakes means no brake pad wear or disk replacement in the life of the car+your wheels don't get covered in brake dust. Electric AC means the cabin is always the right temp where most cars AC gets slightly warm in traffic. This is the future. I can only imagine the Tesla Model 3 is going to be even better I know this is a few years on - but I have just bought a 2nd hand 2017 i3 and I have to confirm that I fully agree with all of the above! And it is a great conversation piece Just gave a waiter at a restaurant a spin - his mouth hung open... Any update on your experience since?
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.