Car (or bike) Chat!

[Macca]

this one only does 4mph so not a rd model. some do both 4 and 8 which latter is for rd use. i will likely just use it on a nice day for the equ of a walk

The ones you see on the road here aren't road models either, doesn't stop then using them on the road. I've even seen one on the dual carriageway with half a mile of HGVs stuck behind it.

[struth]

The ones you see on the road here aren't road models either, doesn't stop then using them on the road. I've even seen one on the dual carriageway with half a mile of HGVs stuck behind it.

i wouldnt take this on a rd; well an anyway busy rd. it does have lights but, bugger that. bastards up here would just run over you

[Macca]

i wouldnt take this on a rd; well an anyway busy rd. it does have lights but, bugger that. bastards up here would just run over you

I agree it's insanity but doesn't stop them here. Have you got the all-weather transparent plastic covering for it?

[struth]

I agree it's insanity but doesn't stop them here. Have you got the all-weather transparent plastic covering for it?

no.. i will have get a cape. im trying to clear the sheds myself... not easy as i cant walk much lol. no bugger to help either as is usually the case I thought it might go down the side run of kitchen but it if does i will not get passed it so had to get it out.

[struth]

well thats it fitted into the summerhouse and locked up. stuff that was in summerhouse is now in workshop which i dont really use now.lol.
think ive done myself a mischief

[Barry]

The ones you see on the road here aren't road models either, doesn't stop then using them on the road. I've even seen one on the dual carriageway with half a mile of HGVs stuck behind it.

I hope one of the HGV drivers notified the police. I've heard of mobility scooters ending up on motorways and even trundling along in the wrong direction!

[dave2010]

I was never sure that our home charging unit (BP Chargemaster) was working properly, but now it's gone off completely. Real bummer since the council started charging for top ups in the local town.

Trying to get someone to come and repair or replace it turns out to be non trivial too. So with service levels like this why should I bother to recommend EVs to anyone? It's a pity - as I do think electric vehicles are almost certainly the way to go, unless hydrogen can be made viable

On a good day EVs are good, and we recently did a round trip of slightly under 1000 miles with relatively few problems. One stupid thing - supposedly one can do other things whiie EVs are charging, but that doesn't always work out too well - depending on how fast the public chargers are. The Tesla chargers are really fast, so there's only just enough time to go for a pee - which could be at times be useful. Unfortunately the Perth and Kinross council have decided that they can't afford to keep the bog open at the Broxden charger location, which is really not at all helpful.

Charging times need to be matched to activities which are feasible at each location, so chargers close to supermarkets and shopping centres might be sensible, as also destination chargers at hotels and B&Bs.

There's a complete lack of joined up thinking about service provision - but then that's nothing new, is it? This is the UK, after all.

[Filterlab]

It sounds like the normal, wanky, pathetic lack of focus that blights this country so often.

"Here's new technology that will significantly change the planet's ecology - but we can't afford to supply provision for it, and if it breaks it'll be unrepairable leaving you stranded and out of pocket.

By the way, the current alternative to this new technology will be banned in 8.5 years' time.

Welcome to the future!"

My next car will burn fossils. There's still no genuinely useable alternative.

[struth]

yes its just the things that have put me off. No, or few chargers ; what there are will be being used or out of action/ and or very slow. In Scotland especially you need car heating a good chunk of year as well. My power box would also need changing etc/ permissions got etc for a home charger etc.
I will stick with fossil fuel too

[dave2010]

It sounds like the normal, wanky, pathetic lack of focus that blights this country so often.

That's a new emolji to me - sounds like an STD!

"Here's new technology that will significantly change the planet's ecology - but we can't afford to supply provision for it, and if it breaks it'll be unrepairable leaving you stranded and out of pocket.

By the way, the current alternative to this new technology will be banned in 8.5 years' time.

Welcome to the future!"

It's not only the infrastructure roll out which is a problem, but a lack of sensible technical support for chargers. Maybe BP have a subversive interest in making sure that their home chargers don't work properly! Totally useless customer service - we've been waiting two days for the service company to get back to us - despite promising that they would within 48 hours, and today after a reminder, assuring us that we'd hear from them by 5pm - which was over 30 minutes ago. Probably won't hear until the middle of next week - and yes - I have checked several times that the charger unit is not responding to reboots etc. Perhaps we should ask for £100 or more of free charging to compensate for the inconvenience.

I have also escalated the issue back to Arnold Clark Renault who sold us the car and the charger was included as an enticement to buy - but no response from them either. Not much point in having freebies from sellers if they don't work, eh! Everyone is going to pass the buck - "not my fault, gov!"

My next car will burn fossils. There's still no genuinely useable alternative.

There ought to be a useable alternative, and gas guzzling cars should be restricted. However more attention should be paid to domestic heating and industry - which are still major users of fossil fuels.

I would hope that if you buy a car in a few years time that EVs would be more attractive. Things aren't all bad. EVs are beautifully quiet, and there are no fumes from petrol or diesel. When things work the running costs are relatively low - our recent trip cost around £20, but with a petrol vehicle it would have been over £100. However, we'd have to do a lot of miles to "recover" the additional cost of the EVs over petrol, diesel or other hybrids.

Plugin hybrids might still be a reasonable compromise - though I'm not sure that they are going to be allowed - and they do need to have a better everyday range. Most give out at around 30 miles.

However it does seem that Tesla are the ones who are able to provide decent infrastructure. Chargeplace Scotland appears to be run by some who couldn't do a booze up in a brewery.

I think I'll run our Peugeot out to make sure the brakes haven't rusted up - so far I think keeping it as a backup has made a lot of sense - though we don't use it much and it's a pain having to keep charging the battery up as it doesn't get as many runs as it used to.