Mr Dyson

[Darcydog]

Originally Posted by steve-45

Rethink Dyson and his electric vehicles, what I would like to know is when is someone going to produce a cost effective model that can compete with an internal combustion engined model ?

Good question- I don’t think it will happen overnight - the technology is there regarding the motor. The issue is the power delivery. Batteries are a long way off.

The fact is that with current technology we need some sort of ICE to either power the vehicle when the battery runs out or to power a generator to power the electric motors and/or recharge the battery.

[andymc]

Originally Posted by steve-45

Rethink Dyson and his electric vehicles, what I would like to know is when is someone going to produce a cost effective model that can compete with an internal combustion engined model ?

VW is turning over its entire Zwickau plant to producing ground-up EVs, including the all-electric I.D. which will be a parallel replacement for the Golf late next year/early 2020. Two versions expected, one with a 250 mile range and the other with a 375 mile range. Their plan is to produce a million EVs a year by 2025 and have them priced at the same level as ICE cars.

Hyundai, which has already brought out the 280-mile range Kona for IIRC £31k, has announced that it will be upgrading the battery of its Ioniq saloon to give it a range of approximately 200 miles. That car is capable of charging from 20-80% in just 15 minutes at a superfast charger.

Kia is now bringing out the e-Niro, another with over 280 miles of range, for under £30k. It is also upgrading the Soul EV to give it a range of 180-200 mile range.

Tesla's Model 3 is outselling all its US competitors - BMW, Mercedes and Audi - with its long-range version. They have just launched their mid-range one (260 miles), which will probably be available in RHD in mid-late 2019. I think it's set to be around £35k here.

At the moment prices for brand-new EVs are still higher than those of ICE cars, but it's worth remembering that the cost of fuelling an EV should be no more than 15-20% that of fuelling the average ICE car, and possibly a lot less than that. The cost of servicing is even lower again.

[Groundsman Willie]

Originally Posted by Darcydog

Good question- I don’t think it will happen overnight - the technology is there regarding the motor. The issue is the power delivery. Batteries are a long way off.

The fact is that with current technology we need some sort of ICE to either power the vehicle when the battery runs out or to power a generator to power the electric motors and/or recharge the battery.

This reminds me of the Top Gear electric car challenge. James May used the batteries from an electric milk float, and kept them charged up with a small petrol generator. 100's of miles range on a gallon of unleaded. Genius

[Darcydog]

Originally Posted by Groundsman Willie

This reminds me of the Top Gear electric car challenge. James May used the batteries from an electric milk float, and kept them charged up with a small petrol generator. 100's of miles range on a gallon of unleaded. Genius

Yep!!

(I would like to leave it at that but it’s too short apparently.......

[topman]

Originally Posted by Darcydog

Hi John - I know what you mean - I also have a friend who is a Farmer and whilst he does have an old classic Massey Ferguson- he uses Valmet tractors.

He also bemoans the fact that people don’t support British Farmers

Out of idle curiosity, which tractors should he buy?

[Les4048]

New Holland T7 range built in Basildon and there’s been tractor production there for over fifty years

[MissMoppet]

Not so long ago Dyson was turned down by Bath council because he wanted to turn the old Stothert & Pitt crane factory into an engineering school of excellence. Shouldn't they have snatched his arm off? Isn't that what we so desperately need? I believe he spent thousands on the design, presumably now down the plug hole. Makes you wanna give up doesn't it?

[MSS]

Originally Posted by MissMoppet

Not so long ago Dyson was turned down by Bath council because he wanted to turn the old Stothert & Pitt crane factory into an engineering school of excellence. Shouldn't they have snatched his arm off? Isn't that what we so desperately need? I believe he spent thousands on the design, presumably now down the plug hole. Makes you wanna give up doesn't it?

Actually, that is incorrect. The council had approved the plan despite objections from their own planners and the Environment Agency due to concerns about flooding.

Dyson wanted to build a modern building on a heritage site. The plan was finally turned down by the Secretary of State I believe because of the concerns over flooding.

I was under the impression that part of the UK had an abundance of unused industrial sites. I wonder why his decision was that there would be no school if not on that particular site.

It is not uncommon for businesses to build a plan that cannot possibly be approved in order to justify moving operations offshore. One common excuse is "planning" and the other is the "lack of engineering skills", which is strange given that the whole world comes to the UK for it's engineering skills and when the operations are moved offshore, unskilled workers are often trained to carry out the jobs.

It's a very complex world where profits and personal wealth are concerned and nothing is quite what it may appear.

[Groundsman Willie]

The experts say we're doomed. They must be right. The newspapers say we're doomed. They must be right. The BBC say we're doomed. They're always right.
Anyone who says otherwise, is confused. Or stupid. Or misunderstood the question.
I know, cos that's what the experts say. Except the experts who say we're going to be fine, they're wrong. Don't ask why, they just are.
If by some miracle we are OK, the experts will tell us that we're not as OK as we could have been.
The experts want us to fail, and by god they won't quit until we do.

[topman]

https://www.theguardian.com/business...erverbusiness4

How times (and opinions) change?