The future of electric cars

[Homer_Jay]

Who said electric cars are slow -

https://www.youtube.com/embed/6eGhjhx8O9M?rel=0


Will motor racing ever be the same watching these things buzz around Bathurst   

[callmejoe]

Now that's some wow factor.

[Kangaron]

A pit stop to top up may slow it down a tad.

[lukeycat]

My brother in laws father has a tesla the acceleration is intense.


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[me217]

ive been following the tesla's for a awhile and they are an amazing piece of kit. they would make an awesome daily driver.

[Vitara_JaycoSwift_Outback]

The Formula E cars go alright. Very different without the sound of an engine and no where near as exciting. They have a mandatory pit stop where they swap into a new car. 

[loanrangie]

The electric superbikes are also pretty quick.

[feisty]

The electric superbikes are also pretty quick.

Never heard of them. Did a search. This one sounds pretty wicked in a buck rogers sort of way...

https://youtu.be/Q4xNsZ4SOdQ

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[loanrangie]

Never heard of them. Did a search. This one sounds pretty wicked in a buck rogers sort of way...

https://youtu.be/Q4xNsZ4SOdQ

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There is a whole series for electric superbikes.

[feisty]

Gees I gotta get out more...

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[edz]

Not just electric cars either https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiADDbeFanU

[cheif carlos]

Great car, but still lacks in many situations
1. Couldn't do a desert crossing
2. Still couldn't beat the cruiser anywhere over a 700km race
3. One to upset many - Not a green car coal is burnt to produce power, and how high are recycling costs?
4. At those settings how long will batteries last? My guess no where near the claimed 400kms

Otherwise great car for people who don't leave the concrete jungle

[lukeycat]

Great car, but still lacks in many situations
1. Couldn't do a desert crossing
2. Still couldn't beat the cruiser anywhere over a 700km race
3. One to upset many - Not a green car coal is burnt to produce power, and how high are recycling costs?
4. At those settings how long will batteries last? My guess no where near the claimed 400kms

Otherwise great car for people who don't leave the concrete jungle

Totally agree that's something they don't tell people who purchase these cars due to the way Australia generates its power the emissions from generating the power required to charge is worse than using petrol or diesel lol


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[Hewy54]

Totally agree that's something they don't tell people who purchase these cars due to the way Australia generates its power the emissions from generating the power required to charge is worse than using petrol or diesel lol


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I do not have figures, but I would be very surprised if this statement is correct.
Added to the fact that it is possible to recharge an electric vehicle via solar, thus making it even more attractive on the renewable energy side.
Just did a quick search
Professor David MacKay produces an interesting section on electric cars in his book Sustainable Energy - Without the Hot Air when he examines the efficiencies of the G-Wiz and Tesla Roadster. He concludes: "Electric vehicles can deliver transport at an energy cost of roughly 15 kilowatt hours (kWh) per 100km. That's five times better than our baseline fossil-car, and significantly better than any hybrid cars."

[lukeycat]

I do not have figures, but I would be very surprised if this statement is correct.
Added to the fact that it is possible to recharge an electric vehicle via solar, thus making it even more attractive on the renewable energy side.

I'm an environmental scientist and have looked into it quite a bit a good explanation can be found http://shrinkthatfootprint.com/electric-car-emissions in countries that don't use coal as there main power source the benefits are much greater, our issue is coal powered generation, sure solar is used but not widely enough yet


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[Hewy54]

So worst case scenario is that electric cars run off the coal based grid are no worse than petrol, but best case is that they are many times better if we use alternative fuel source for our energy.
Instead of driving our emission hungry petrols and justifying it by saying we are no worse than electrics, should we be encouraging solar and alternative energy generating means?

[lukeycat]

Yeh it works out at an electric car being the equivalent of a petrol vehicle running at 10.9L per 100km which is pretty common these days unless your drive an amarok like me hahahahaha

There's some interesting reading on the breakdowns state by state when comparing petrol vs electric http://www.drive.com.au/motor-news/petrol-cars-greener-than-electric-20120704-21ifc.html in tassy electric is the clear winner due to hydro whilst in vic with our inefficient brown coal it's worse.

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[tk421]

Totally agree that's something they don't tell people who purchase these cars due to the way Australia generates its power the emissions from generating the power required to charge is worse than using petrol or diesel lol


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Actually in Australia its similar to the average car. Its equivalent to 26mpg (US)  or 9.04L/100:

"In coal heavy India, China, Australia and South Africa electric cars using grid power are just like typical gasoline vehicles, in the 25-30 MPGUS range.  In the UK, Germany, Japan and Italy they are as good as the best petrol hybrids, in the 45-50 MPGUS range. But in low carbon supply places like France, Brazil, Switzerland and Norway they are in a different league, averaging well beyond 100 MPGUS for equivalent emissions."
Read more at http://shrinkthatfootprint.com/electric-cars-green#lHZp64g5q2D033b8.99

[lukeycat]

Actually in Australia its similar to the average car. Its equivalent to 26mpg (US)  or 9.04L/100:

"In coal heavy India, China, Australia and South Africa electric cars using grid power are just like typical gasoline vehicles, in the 25-30 MPGUS range.  In the UK, Germany, Japan and Italy they are as good as the best petrol hybrids, in the 45-50 MPGUS range. But in low carbon supply places like France, Brazil, Switzerland and Norway they are in a different league, averaging well beyond 100 MPGUS for equivalent emissions."
Read more at http://shrinkthatfootprint.com/electric-cars-green#lHZp64g5q2D033b8.99

Oops I used a British conversion which differs from the US mpg would be awesome if the civilised world took on a common unit of measurement lol. At the moment I'll stick to my diesel until I can tow a tonne over rough terrain without having to recharge every couple of hundred kms hopefully one day with technology that will change


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[tk421]

Oops I used a British conversion which differs from the US mpg would be awesome if the civilised world took on a common unit of measurement lol. At the moment I'll stick to my diesel until I can tow a tonne over rough terrain without having to recharge every couple of hundred kms hopefully one day with technology that will change


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I'm waiting for this:

[Hewy54]

I'm an environmental scientist and have looked into it quite a bit a good explanation can be found http://shrinkthatfootprint.com/electric-car-emissions in countries that don't use coal as there main power source the benefits are much greater, our issue is coal powered generation, sure solar is used but not widely enough yet


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I find it frustrating (and get a little wary) when people use different units when discussing scientific findings. The author uses one unit to point out electric car emissions, then changes to another unit for petrol. Why not use grams of CO2/km for each so an easy comparison can be made?

[lukeycat]

I find it frustrating (and get a little wary) when people use different units when discussing scientific findings. The author uses one unit to point out electric car emissions, then changes to another unit for petrol. Why not use grams of CO2/km for each so an easy comparison can be made?

Totally agree mate a lot of the info available online is like this and it makes things quite confusing almost seems like they are not comparing apples to apples sometimes.

That electric plane is pretty cool would hate for the batteries to run out though would make for an interesting landing.


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[Hewy54]

leaving out any arguments about emissions, the Tesla is still a really cool car. Have seen some footage of it at summernats and it blew the other cars away. My SIL has one and it still astounds me to have an electric car that has the luxury level of a BMW 7 series, performance of a Ferrari with a boot front and back and NO noise!

[edz]

One for those that want  to get fit drive and power the house ..  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbtB-Zblf0U   
And the latest version https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7aapY_yMnQ

[oldmate]

I'm waiting for this:

It only powers the flux capacitor, the motor is still a normal internal combustion engine, which is fine, unless you need to go back to 1885.