BEVs

Use this board for general non-cycling-related chat, or to introduce yourself to the forum.

I appreciate the BEV mostly because they...

cost less to run than an equivalent petrol or diesel car
9
12%
are reducing the harm done to our planet and its lifeforms
10
14%
are quiet and smooth
7
10%
can be refuelled with my own renewable energy production
10
14%
can supply energy to the home and Grid
4
5%
No! I am concerned they are just another way of making the car seem acceptable
33
45%
 
Total votes: 73

reohn2
Posts: 45158
Joined: 26 Jun 2009, 8:21pm

Re: BEVs

Post by reohn2 »

It came up on my news feed so I thought I'd pass it on.
-----------------------------------------------------------
"All we are not stares back at what we are"
W H Auden
UpWrong
Posts: 2409
Joined: 31 May 2009, 12:16pm
Location: Portsmouth, Hampshire

Re: BEVs

Post by UpWrong »

It looks like a new L7e LEV is coming to the UK soon, courtesy of Silence, and it's not made in China, https://www.silenceuk.com/s04

Trust a scooter company to go where the car manufacturers won't! I'm interested. I believe each rear wheel has a separate motor. Exciting.
Biospace
Posts: 2008
Joined: 24 Jun 2019, 12:23pm

Re: BEVs

Post by Biospace »

UpWrong wrote: 22 May 2023, 11:09am It looks like a new L7e LEV is coming to the UK soon, courtesy of Silence, and it's not made in China, https://www.silenceuk.com/s04

Trust a scooter company to go where the car manufacturers won't! I'm interested. I believe each rear wheel has a separate motor. Exciting.
It's going to be very interesting watching the evolution of a new type of vehicle, are Western car manufacturers too large to risk putting their names to a still-developing market niche?

For all the horrors of how the Chinese Communist Party uses its power, their navigation to a position of global dominance means Chinese people are for the first time in the modern world able to contribute to its development.

Traditionally the Italian culture has brought us the best small cars for use in cities, their Microlino - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNp_M76wIws - suggests they've lost little of their ability.
reohn2
Posts: 45158
Joined: 26 Jun 2009, 8:21pm

Re: BEVs

Post by reohn2 »

I believe both the Microlino and the Silence may take off initially but all cars suffer the same problem,they're cars and as such will get stuck in the same jams other much bigger cars get stuck in,yes small cars are easier to park but they live,for the present time at least,in a world of giants and ever worsening town and city road surfaces,surfaces that aren't kind to small wheels and light cars that can't dodge potholes and sunken iron works which our town and city roads and streets are noted for.

I wish I could be more positive but there's a reason the Smart car went out of production
-----------------------------------------------------------
"All we are not stares back at what we are"
W H Auden
softlips
Posts: 667
Joined: 12 Dec 2016, 8:51pm

Re: BEVs

Post by softlips »

reohn2 wrote: 22 May 2023, 4:03pm I believe both the Microlino and the Silence may take off initially but all cars suffer the same problem,they're cars and as such will get stuck in the same jams other much bigger cars get stuck in,yes small cars are easier to park but they live,for the present time at least,in a world of giants and ever worsening town and city road surfaces,surfaces that aren't kind to small wheels and light cars that can't dodge potholes and sunken iron works which our town and city roads and streets are noted for.

I wish I could be more positive but there's a reason the Smart car went out of production
The Smart car is still in production?
reohn2
Posts: 45158
Joined: 26 Jun 2009, 8:21pm

Re: BEVs

Post by reohn2 »

softlips wrote: 22 May 2023, 9:54pm
reohn2 wrote: 22 May 2023, 4:03pm I believe both the Microlino and the Silence may take off initially but all cars suffer the same problem,they're cars and as such will get stuck in the same jams other much bigger cars get stuck in,yes small cars are easier to park but they live,for the present time at least,in a world of giants and ever worsening town and city road surfaces,surfaces that aren't kind to small wheels and light cars that can't dodge potholes and sunken iron works which our town and city roads and streets are noted for.

I wish I could be more positive but there's a reason the Smart car went out of production
The Smart car is still in production?
I thought I'd read somewhere that the original Fortwo version had ceased production :?
I stand corrected.
They aren't a popular city car,quite a rarety in the UK these days IME
-----------------------------------------------------------
"All we are not stares back at what we are"
W H Auden
Carlton green
Posts: 3645
Joined: 22 Jun 2019, 12:27pm

Re: BEVs

Post by Carlton green »

reohn2 wrote: 22 May 2023, 10:08pm
softlips wrote: 22 May 2023, 9:54pm
reohn2 wrote: 22 May 2023, 4:03pm I believe both the Microlino and the Silence may take off initially but all cars suffer the same problem,they're cars and as such will get stuck in the same jams other much bigger cars get stuck in,yes small cars are easier to park but they live,for the present time at least,in a world of giants and ever worsening town and city road surfaces,surfaces that aren't kind to small wheels and light cars that can't dodge potholes and sunken iron works which our town and city roads and streets are noted for.

I wish I could be more positive but there's a reason the Smart car went out of production
The Smart car is still in production?
I thought I'd read somewhere that the original Fortwo version had ceased production :?
I stand corrected.
They aren't a popular city car,quite a rarety in the UK these days IME
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_(ma ... 0hatchback.

Still in business, sort of.

The original smart car concept actually works quite well (I know two long term owners who are delighted with theirs) but the cars were, to my mind, far too expensive for the utility that they offered.
Don’t fret, it’s OK to: ride a simple old bike; ride slowly, walk, rest and admire the view; ride off-road; ride in your raincoat; ride by yourself; ride in the dark; and ride one hundred yards or one hundred miles. Your bike and your choices to suit you.
reohn2
Posts: 45158
Joined: 26 Jun 2009, 8:21pm

Re: BEVs

Post by reohn2 »

Carlton green wrote: 23 May 2023, 9:20am ......The original smart car concept actually works quite well (I know two long term owners who are delighted with theirs) but the cars were, to my mind, far too expensive for the utility that they offered.
Yes the Smart car is too expensive for what it offers in return.
The Microlina and Silence cars will be the same because unless they're mass produced and the price is drastically reduced,along with the other drawbacks I mentioned up thread they simply won't sell.
-----------------------------------------------------------
"All we are not stares back at what we are"
W H Auden
User avatar
squeaker
Posts: 4112
Joined: 12 Jan 2007, 11:43pm
Location: Sussex

Re: BEVs

Post by squeaker »

UpWrong wrote: 22 May 2023, 11:09am It looks like a new L7e LEV is coming to the UK soon, courtesy of Silence, and it's not made in China, https://www.silenceuk.com/s04
And the prospect of RHD = virtually nil (unless they go for the Japanese market...)
"42"
UpWrong
Posts: 2409
Joined: 31 May 2009, 12:16pm
Location: Portsmouth, Hampshire

Re: BEVs

Post by UpWrong »

reohn2 wrote: 23 May 2023, 10:14am
Carlton green wrote: 23 May 2023, 9:20am ......The original smart car concept actually works quite well (I know two long term owners who are delighted with theirs) but the cars were, to my mind, far too expensive for the utility that they offered.
Yes the Smart car is too expensive for what it offers in return.
The Microlina and Silence cars will be the same because unless they're mass produced and the price is drastically reduced,along with the other drawbacks I mentioned up thread they simply won't sell.
European manufacturing is expensive because of wages and environmental controls. We have to decide whether those things, along with quality control and safety, are worth the extra dosh compared to the ethical dilemma of buying Chinese manactured cars. But yes, prices ought to fall with bigger production lines. Microlino have expansion plans and I'm sure Silence have too. I get the impression both companies know what they are doing so I expect will stay the course, or get bought out by bigger players.
Last edited by UpWrong on 23 May 2023, 10:46am, edited 1 time in total.
UpWrong
Posts: 2409
Joined: 31 May 2009, 12:16pm
Location: Portsmouth, Hampshire

Re: BEVs

Post by UpWrong »

squeaker wrote: 23 May 2023, 10:40am
UpWrong wrote: 22 May 2023, 11:09am It looks like a new L7e LEV is coming to the UK soon, courtesy of Silence, and it's not made in China, https://www.silenceuk.com/s04
And the prospect of RHD = virtually nil (unless they go for the Japanese market...)
Those in the UK who have owned micro-cars say it's not an issue. I'm relaxed about it. I won't be doing much overtaking in them.
Biospace
Posts: 2008
Joined: 24 Jun 2019, 12:23pm

Re: BEVs

Post by Biospace »

UpWrong wrote: 23 May 2023, 10:44am European manufacturing is expensive because of wages and environmental controls. We have to decide whether those things, along with quality control and safety, are worth the extra dosh compared to the ethical dilemma of buying Chinese manactured cars. But yes, prices ought to fall with bigger production lines. Microlino have expansion plans and I'm sure Silence have too. I get the impression both companies know what they are doing so I expect will stay the course, or get bought out by bigger players.

While price is an issue, I'm not so sure it's so much of an issue as many try to suggest especially now cars are more often than not rented rather than purchased outright. Vehicle design appears to have stalled, manufacturers are massive with such a strong desire to preserve their brand image that most products are bland, unadventurous and more often than not formed by focus groups.

Were there was a product which better suited people's needs it could sell exceptionally well - something much more economical on fuel, more versatile and more fun to use. I sense a lack of enthusiasm among the masses for a new car because they see little or no improvement over the last 20 years, in which time bureaucracy has increased, as have maintenance and repair costs.

Despite fuelling costs of a Nissan Leaf being a quarter of a similar petrol car until energy prices rose last year, there has been no dash to buy them. I think that's quite remarkable.

I see little to attract me in most modern cars. Huge external dimensions give little of the internal room you might expect, shape and form is unattractive and clumsy to my eyes, there is a complexity which turns them into a throwaway product when not very old, despite there being extremely little wear or corrosion. Driving them is an underwhelming experience with little awareness of speeds being travelled on better roads, yet suspension is still firmly rooted in technologies from the horse-drawn era.

In contrast, those little machines made by scooter companies look hugely practical for trips under 30 miles, and look great fun.
Biospace
Posts: 2008
Joined: 24 Jun 2019, 12:23pm

Re: BEVs

Post by Biospace »

Almost completely overshadowed by apparent near delight at the nation's struggles post Brexit, post Covid and with a decades-old lack of UK energy policy - "Vauxhall cars also susceptible to infection, it turns out... Who knew?" (EU remainer infection thread) with regard to the recent Peugoet/Vauxhall/Chrysler warnings over the UK's lack of gigafactories, was Nissan's announcement that the replacement model for the current Leaf would be built in Sunderland, from 2026.

So much of what goes on in the North-East of England seems invisible to most English people despite the wonderful 'can-do' attitude which seems to be increasingly absent elsewhere, whether it's one of the world's finest working, open air museums or the car manufacturing plant just outside Sunderland.

Nissan landed in the mid 1980s with government encouragement and produces cars we should all be very proud of, it was their first overseas plant to export cars to the Japanese home market, such was the quality of build. Without Nissan, would Toyota have decided to invest so heavily in Derbyshire?

In 2021 they submitted plans to increase its renewable energy production from wind and solar three fold, so that every UK bought Leaf could be said to be built with RE - 20% of the plant's electricity supply coming from RE. Does anyone know if this is going ahead?
UpWrong
Posts: 2409
Joined: 31 May 2009, 12:16pm
Location: Portsmouth, Hampshire

Re: BEVs

Post by UpWrong »

Fingers crossed for JLR to announce battery plant in Somerset: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65698529
Biospace
Posts: 2008
Joined: 24 Jun 2019, 12:23pm

Re: BEVs

Post by Biospace »

UpWrong wrote: 26 May 2023, 3:20pm Fingers crossed for JLR to announce battery plant in Somerset: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65698529
Over a week later, has there still been no official announcement? We've promised Tata £500m for the Bridgwater plant, with a further £300 for their British steel interests.

"We're paying the price for the lack of industrial strategy" Jurgen Maïer, who continued to contrast the UK's "ad hoc" approach with the methodical, "holistic" German way.

As heard on Radio 4 this morning, https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001ml4q from 48m08 to 57m40.
Post Reply