One to watch?

[Pink Duck]

Channel 5 are giving a whole 55 min programme on the subject of “Should I Buy an Electric Car?” this evening from 19:00–19:55 BST.

Production dated 2021, summary “Alexis Conran investigates as Britain gears up to make the switch to electric.”

Will be interesting to see the angle taken and the public reaction after.

 

[Epico]

55 minutes of daily mail readers?

 

[MoBo]

I'll get it on catch up (important match tonight!).

Interesting to see if they do their research properly. Read an article last month where the author stated that because electric cars are so heavy they will pollute the air with brake dust more than ICE cars... (I think it was in the Daily Mail as well ).

Can't remember the last time I touched the brakes...

 

[pault1981]

I'll get it on catch up (important match tonight!).

Interesting to see if they do their research properly. Read an article last month where the author stated that because electric cars are so heavy they will pollute the air with brake dust more than ICE cars... (I think it was in the Daily Mail as well ).

Can't remember the last time I touched the brakes...

I think I can guess by your location and car colour which match that is. YNWA.

 

[MoBo]

I think I can guess by your location and car colour which match that is. YNWA.

Correct! YNWA

 

[Dilly]

I'll get it on catch up (important match tonight!).

Interesting to see if they do their research properly. Read an article last month where the author stated that because electric cars are so heavy they will pollute the air with brake dust more than ICE cars... (I think it was in the Daily Mail as well ).

Can't remember the last time I touched the brakes...

Oddly enough, I seem to be using the brakes more with this year’s updates.
I’m not driving faster. Honest…

 

[Adopado]

Watched it. A few relevant points made but a bit of a scattergun approach with cringy presentation. Interviewed government reps but got nothing from that ... pointed out the dire state of public charging but didn't specifically ask what exactly they are they doing about it. Referred to financial support to buy a home charger ... which doesn't exist anymore. Obviously didn't set out to "sell" a vision of EV ownership that people can aspire to. In my view it will just reinforce the prejudices of those who are presently reluctant to switch and will frustrate those who know how different and positive it can be. The only positive note on charging was actually a Shell replication of the petrol station model. The Braintree Gridserve would have been more relevant. No mention of the massively different (and successful) Tesla supercharger approach ... despite referring to rapid chargers as "Superchargers" several times.

 

[HenryT]

The 'superchargers' reference made me laugh too. Almost seems a bit like the Biden agenda not to mention the 'T' word...

 

[Js1977]

Didn't watch it...too late already bought four... Ill wait for should you have bought an electric car...on that note, I wonder if there were equivalents of diesel cars but judging by the comments on here it sounds like its UK gold material.

 

[Dilly]

Well, he was dumb enough to walk away without checking whether the car was charging from the lamppost!

 

[Casss]

God… I can’t even with TV in this country anymore.

Such drivel. Felt like a shell advert disguised as a documentary.

 

[WannabeOwner]

he was dumb enough to walk away without checking whether the car was charging from the lamppost!

He probably did, but that wouldn't have "sold copy" ...

 

[Avendit]

God… I can’t even with TV in this country anymore.

Such drivel. Felt like a shell advert disguised as a documentary.

It probably was. Oh wait, it was TV, not a museum, so harder to tell.

Is there space and enthusiasm to crowd source a better version? Would it help? Could we get it aired with an equivalent viewership?

 

[Pink Duck]

For a programme made up to 14 months ago addressing the curious fossil drivers it wasn’t too bad. Could have done with mentioning things like leasing, insurance, lance-based street-side approach and opting for EV travel modes, but should have some beneficial impact on decision-makers by raising the UK’s less than stellar public charging networks. Was good to see the clip of Shapps with his blue de-badged Model 3 at Braintree, ‘superchargers’ I suspect wasn’t an intentional hint at the leading, unmentioned US maker.

In 2020 there were around 40,000 true public chargers in Netherlands. I suspect the difference surprising under-secretary was his figure including the ~20,000 semi-public private residency types. However, his main point stands and was pleasing to hear agreement with Tesla on chargers-first.

Also good that committed EV drivers got to state their delight with BEV drivetrain, though suspect viewers will have heightened fear of public chargers.

 

[WannabeOwner]

good that committed EV drivers got to state their delight with BEV drivetrain, though suspect viewers will have heightened fear of public chargers.

Not sure what I made of ways of making "trailing a cable across the pavement" safe ... and that Car Insurance companies are now offering / including trip-hazard cover too.

Bjorn has shown some interesting videos of induction charging from a plate in the road. I had assumed the losses would be unacceptable, but that didn't appear to be the case ... maybe that will be the way forward.

 

[Pink Duck]

I suspect a lot comes down to local council budgets in terms of digging up road or pavement. It was interesting to see in the GUL-E trials that the concrete curb stones themselves had been cut away to allow the cable to reach the road surface while staying flush. There are losses with inductive charging plus few EVs come with the required charging plates/electronics and associated extra mass, while cables/property-hosted EVSE can be altered more easily. It may just be that a once/twice-a-week trip to better quality public charging (GridServe, Shell Recharge) may suffice, like fossils and petrol stations.

 

[WannabeOwner]

I suspect a lot comes down to local council budgets in terms of digging up road or pavement.

Indeed but we have dug up the road numerous time for Water, Sewage, Electricity, Gas, Phone, Cable TV, Fibre ...

The only problem I see digging up the road for EV charging is that with the others you would have sold the whole street the service, all-at-once, but of course everyone has to change-car to get that payback with EV charging. Although it seems like a money maker for Councils. £X spend for infrastructure and then £Y income every year for 10? 20? years thereafter.

In Bjorns video there was a massive cabinet/shed associated with the road charger. On a street with narrow pavement and terraced housing I have no idea where that would go, and how far away it can be sited.

There are losses with inductive charging

Didn't seem like it in Bjorn's video (but I agree with you that it seems to me "there must be losses")

few EVs come with the required charging plates/electronics

Costs a £grand-ish to install a wall-charger though ... so maybe one-or-the-other is similar cost? (I don't know the answer to that one)

It may just be that a once/twice-a-week trip to better quality public charging (GridServe, Shell Recharge example) may suffice as with current fossils and petrol stations.

I'm glad I have off-road parking, and I admire early adopters who have to put up with that sort of 3rd party charging, particularly given how unreliable the current 3rd party charging is.

 

[Adopado]

I'm glad I have off-road parking, and I admire early adopters who have to put up with that sort of 3rd party charging, particularly given how unreliable the current 3rd party charging is.

Indeed. I wouldn't knowingly buy a car secondhand that had been living entirely on public charging ... you can guarantee that the battery has needed to be maxed out far more frequently and has had to drop well into the danger zone on more occasions.

 

[Casss]

Indeed. I wouldn't knowingly buy a car secondhand that had been living entirely on public charging ... you can guarantee that the battery has needed to be maxed out far more frequently and has had to drop well into the danger zone on more occasions.

This is going to be the new version of "Spent 90% of it's life on the motorway, not B roads / town" with manual ICE cars isn't it..

I'd bet many people in the market for a used EV at this point in time are unaware too.

 

[Dilly]

Poor infrastructure or not, neither Tesco nor Morrison’s locally have had much by way of petrol or diesel for over a week!
I only have a small of amount of petrol left for my mowers but for now, the wild rabbits are keeping the lawn trimmed!
if I get desperate the tank in our PHEV is still full, I’ll suck some from there. It rarely uses the the engine anyway.