Electric vehicles-Conversions

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Re: Electric cars/vans/bikes-Conversions/Secondhand..etc

Post by Mandrake »

More on the new Arial here:

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new- ... ar-1180bhp

Including the claim it will do 0-100 mph in 3.8 seconds. :shock: :shock:

Four separate electric motors of 295bhp each - one for each wheel, and a hybrid design with 100-120 miles of all electric range with a turbine based range extender.
In the flagship 4x4, each wheel has a compact, disc-shaped Equipmake motor, with integral epicyclic gearbox and its own inverter mounted above, sited inboard to drive it individually via a short axle. Above the rear motors and inverters sits the compact range extender turbine, which drives a 35kW generator at 120,000rpm when required.
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Re: Electric cars/vans/bikes-Conversions/Secondhand..etc

Post by Mandrake »

"Royal Mail's new electric vans unveiled"

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/technology-41025771

That second picture looks like the (new) postman pat van to me. :rofl2:
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Re: Electric cars/vans/bikes-Conversions/Secondhand..etc

Post by CitroJim »

Mandrake wrote: 23 Aug 2017, 17:54 "Royal Mail's new electric vans unveiled"


Good to see they're British made in Banbury :)

They may look a bit 'Postman Pat' but to my eye they're quite attractive...

I really hope they're a great success and we see them rolled out all over the UK as soon as possible..

It's a real no-brainer to use an EV for postal work... Surprised it's taken Royal Mail this long to cotton on...
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Re: Electric cars/vans/bikes-Conversions/Secondhand..etc

Post by bobins »

Mandrake wrote: 23 Aug 2017, 17:54 "Royal Mail's new electric vans unveiled"

That second picture looks like the (new) postman pat van to me. :rofl2:


Styling inspired by - Ferrari ? Rocket ships ? Pininfarina ? 60s icons ? ..........Nope - a red loaf of bread on wheels :-D
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Post by CitroJim »

bobins wrote: 23 Aug 2017, 18:06 Styling inspired by - Ferrari ? Rocket ships ? Pininfarina ? 60s icons ? ..........Nope - a red loaf of bread :-D


Reminds me a little of the Citroen TUB Van...

Image

I see the Royal mail are also buying 100 EVs from Peugeot...
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Re: Electric cars/vans/bikes-Conversions/Secondhand..etc

Post by white exec »

...like a small piggy looking for a meal.
Like the red jobbie from Banbury, and the electric dustcart below. :)
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Re: Electric cars/vans/bikes-Conversions/Secondhand..etc

Post by Mandrake »

Here's one for all the "long tailpipe" theory subscribers:

https://electrek.co/2017/08/28/electric ... oes-green/

In summary, the carbon emissions of electricity generation in the UK have dropped by roughly two thirds in just the last 4 years, so the CO2 production per mile of EV's by way of the "long tailpipe" (back to where electricity is generated) has dropped to about 1/3rd of what it was in winter 2012/2013.

So for example a Nissan leaf that was 97g/km of CO2 back then by way of electricity generation is now 27g/km. Have any already on the road ICE vehicles reduced their CO2 emissions "in the field" without modifications by the same amount over the same period of time ? I'm guessing not. :-D

Of course this is based on the average energy generation mix of all electricity suppliers in country - if you're on a 100% renewable electricity supplier now (as I am) or use solar panels you are already effectively at 0g/km, at least for electricity use to fuel the car. (Not including manufacture of the vehicle when new, which produces CO2 for ICE and EV)
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Post by NewcastleFalcon »

Mini Tesla model S. Starts at $499



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Post by NewcastleFalcon »

If you don't fancy paying $499 for a little Tesla, you can make a simpler electric "car" out of bottle tops/straws and a 9 volt battery!



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Post by Mandrake »

I watched this Nova documentary "Search for the Super Battery" last night, and found it quite interesting - there wasn't anything I didn't already know as I try to keep up on battery technology but it's a good watch and summary of the situation:



One disclaimer though, the presenter is well known tech Journalist David Pogue, who apparently seems to fancy himself an actor, but just comes across as cringe-worthy in places, especially near the beginning. :lol: But if you can get through the first 5 minutes you should find the rest quite interesting.

Some of the stuff included is a demo of an electric car from 1909 (from Jay Leno's collection of course!) testing of Lithium Ion batteries to destruction, which is frightening to be honest, a demo of a plastic electrolyte battery that is fire and explosion proof, can be cut with scissors or pierced with a screwdriver and keep working, some talk about clean energy generation etc, demonstration of exactly how a lithium Ion cell is made in the lab and whats inside, demonstration of a number of grid storage technologies including flow batteries and flywheels...and a very safe and cheap salt water battery that may (along with flow batteries) be excellent for grid storage in the future... quite a good mix of stuff.
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Re: Electric cars/vans/bikes-Conversions/Secondhand..etc

Post by Mandrake »

So the new 2018 Nissan Leaf has been officially announced today, and I have to say its rather underwhelming:

https://www.slashgear.com/2018-nissan-l ... -05498511/

It's not the next generation car many hoped for, it's basically a midlife face-lift, with the major changes being body styling and interior design/equipment. It looks like it is using the same basic chassis under the styling changes, on SpeakEV one leaf owner commented that the doors were identical. The 7.2kW onboard charger (instead of 3.6kW) is still an option instead of fitted as standard in most cars with this range of battery size, which is disappointing.

Battery pack is 40kWh, up on the previous 30kWh lifting real world range from about 107 miles to something like 140-150 miles - about the same as the current 40kWh Zoe, maybe slightly less as it is a bigger car. The motor power is increased from 80kW to 110kW which is a useful bump in performance.

Larger batteries to be available "next year"... So yeah, just a facelift and modest evolution in design, no Model 3 killer that's for sure, although I'm sure it will undercut the Model 3 in price and will therefore be the defacto standard for entry level EV motoring just like the orginal Leaf was. Nissan seem to be content to plod along in a gradual evolution rather than attempt to introduce anything revolutionary.
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Re: Electric cars/vans/bikes-Conversions/Secondhand..etc

Post by RichardW »

Mandrake wrote: 06 Sep 2017, 07:35 Larger batteries to be available "next year"... So yeah, just a facelift and modest evolution in design, no Model 3 killer that's for sure, although I'm sure it will undercut the Model 3 in price and will therefore be the defacto standard for entry level EV motoring just like the orginal Leaf was. Nissan seem to be content to plod along in a gradual evolution rather than attempt to introduce anything revolutionary.


They have an R&D budget and shareholders to answer to, rather than Elon Musk's (almost) infinitely deep pockets!!
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Post by Mandrake »

Maybe so, but GM also have shareholders and were financially struggling a few years ago much more so than Nissan (had to be bailed out by Uncle Sam) and managed to release the 238 mile 60kWh Bolt a full year ago and by all accounts it's a pretty decent car!

The new leaf is underwhelming even compared to last years bolt let alone next years Model 3...Nissan have been well behind the curve for range and battery capacity for a few years now and this just continues the trend. Just compare it to the 40kw Zoe and Hyundai ioniq back when they released. Or the Kia Soul for that matter.
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DAF's lastest offering



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