What do you drive?

[Phil Silvers]

Just now, stuart_75 said:

But how do HM Govt charge "petrol style" prices for the electricity that goes in the car and regular electric prices for power that goes in the home? I'm paying 5p/kwh from 20.30-00.30 and then 13p/kwh outside that. I'm sure the this golden age of cheap electric motoring will not last long.

They will find a way to screw us but by 2030 there may be more advanced alternatives to elec, Toyota are edging their bets with elec cars and hydrogen. 

Whatever it is and It has to be a taxation that eventually hits the end user in the pocket.

[stuart_75]

1 minute ago, Davkaus said:

They don't, that approach is a non-starter without shifting millions into fuel poverty. The far more likely outcome is a mileage based tax.

Compulsory trackers fitted to cars? Jeez, its hard enough to get people to have a vaccine  

[Davkaus]

Just now, stuart_75 said:

Compulsory trackers fitted to cars? Jeez, its hard enough to get people to have a vaccine  

There's a few options for it really:

• Trackers- as you say, not popular, also prone to people finding ways to deactivate them
• Using the odometer and verifying it through MOTs, but this can easily be cheated as well
• Some sort of ANPR system that only charges tax on major roads, or when entering urban areas, to discourage car use around cities, but people who only drive in rural areas get off tax-free 

I'd expect an additional flat rate on all vehicles once VED stops being so lucractive too.

[Genie]

A tax on home car charging points.

[chrisp65]

The thing is, because of nuclear, electricity will be so cheap it won’t be worth metering and charging for it. 

Charging for toll roads penalises the people that live by toll roads.

So it must be some form of mileage tracker black box system.

 

[blandy]

4 minutes ago, chrisp65 said:

electricity will be so cheap ....it must be some form of mileage tracker black box system.

That's the positives and negatives right there, of the electrical charge discussion.

[Genie]

3 minutes ago, chrisp65 said:

The thing is, because of nuclear, electricity will be so cheap it won’t be worth metering and charging for it. 

Charging for toll roads penalises the people that live by toll roads.

So it must be some form of mileage tracker black box system.

 

True, but the government also want to stem the flow of people working from home so taxing them for driving to work will be counter productive in that sense.

Would there also be more resentment from those that have to leave home to work over those who can stay at home?

Its certainly a tricky one.

Ref the nuclear power I remember doing a report on it being too cheap to meter in my degree many years ago. Just pay a monthly fee and use as much as you like. I do like the sound of that that (NIMBY though  )

[chrisp65]

3 minutes ago, Genie said:

Ref the nuclear power I remember doing a report on it being too cheap to meter in my degree many years ago. Just pay a monthly fee and use as much as you like. I do like the sound of that that (NIMBY though  )

In the early ‘80’s I did a college project on Britoil. I argued that whilst the industry was saying peek oil had been hit and there would be none left worth drilling for in the North Sea by the year 1992, I thought that was wrong.

My idea was that as there were no alternatives on the horizon, the price could go up and up and people would simply be forced to pay. Higher prices would make extracting the oil still worthwhile so we’d probably be taking oil from the North Sea for decades more.

I had a distinctly low mark for thinking I knew better than the industry predictions.

I do keep meaning to hunt that lecturer down and have the paper re graded.

[Xela]

5 hours ago, Phil Silvers said:

We should all have gone electric over the past few years, bargain motoring after the initial outlay, artificially low motoring costs if I guess right until no more fossil fuels and governments have to recoup billions in lost income. In the future the cost of running electric will resemble today's petrol/diesels running costs but the electric car premium will level out too I guess.

Out of the reach of about 75% of people though I guess? Not practical either at the moment for a lot of people. I'm sure that will change in due course as battery tech gets better and prices come down.

ICE vehicles will still be on the road for the foreseeable. 

[NurembergVillan]

7 hours ago, blandy said:

That's the positives and negatives right there, of the electrical charge discussion.

Somebody needs to keep an ion you.

[sidcow]

17 hours ago, Genie said:

What I found weird about the roll out of electric cars is that the first generation are mainly ludicrously fast. I’m looking at Tesla mainly. 

People jumping out of 130bhp diesels into cars that are equivalent of double or triple that performance, which pulls down the range, and increase the amount of time it needs to be charged (and therefore the amount of drain on the grid which uses a lot of fossil fuel).

Then the Nissans and Renault’s of the world came along and said “here’s a small electric car that has a more normal power output… however, you can only drive about 20 miles on a charge, and it’s far more expensive than the petrol/diesel version”.

It’s taken too long to get a range of cars with a normal power output and a usable range imo which has been part of the fairly slow uptake (along with the price).

I think they've concentrated on more expensive models whilst they sort out research and development and ramping up of production.  The VW ID3 I think is going to be the first big selling "normal" car. 

What I don't understand is why they all have to be so radical in looks/design.  Just because it's electric it's GOT to look all weird? 

[sidcow]

16 hours ago, chrisp65 said:

The thing is, because of nuclear, electricity will be so cheap it won’t be worth metering and charging for it. 

Charging for toll roads penalises the people that live by toll roads.

So it must be some form of mileage tracker black box system.

 

Nuclear energy is stupidly expensive. Wind is cheap, solar more expensive than wind, but nuclear is more expensive than coal and gas. They're only building new ones to keep the industry and skill sets alive I reckon. It makes no financial sense to build them now. 

What they should do is spend all those billions on new wind turbines and massive battery storage solutions. 

Edited August 20, 2021 by sidcow

[ismail-villa]

Cupra Leon VZ3 (2L 300hp). I wish I owned it . Just something about it that makes me desperate to own one. One day...

[Xela]

There is an independent Merc garage nearby. I drove past the other day and was sure they had an 500E there. I couldn't see properly as its on a roundabout but the colours looked right and it had the flared arches. Could have just been a replica though, as the originals are hens teeth now. 

For people not in the know, it is the Mercedes sports saloon that Porsche built for them, as it was too wide to get down the production line. 

Good video on it. 

 

[Genie]

I’ve always had a thing for these. 

[Xela]

45 minutes ago, Genie said:

I’ve always had a thing for these. 

The estates are huge! 

[Xela]

Here's a question. Something me and a couple of the lads were at work were chatting about - you can tell work is slow...

Perfect 2 car garage for you... being realistic. Not a Bugatti and Rolls,  but 2 cars, that you would have to cover all eventualities if you could justify it. I ended up with the following, within a reasonable price range:

Early 00's Porsche 911 (996) Turbo - c£40k

Early 00's BMW X5 3.0d  c£5k. Prefer the 1st generation, think it has aged really well. 

I think of a big estate, but went with the SUV

Porker covers off the speed, and it reliable as well. First of the water cooled 911's and has the mezger engine, which means it doesn't suffer the problems of the non turbo engine

Beamer covers off the daily duties - shopping, decent load carrying size, 4wd, higher driving position etc. 

Only thing missing is I would like a cheap convertible as well, although I wouldn't want a 911 convertible. Something like an MX5, SLK, Z4 etc.

As you can see, not a massive fan of modern cars. 

 

[Genie]

28 minutes ago, Xela said:

Here's a question. Something me and a couple of the lads were at work were chatting about - you can tell work is slow...

Perfect 2 car garage for you... being realistic. Not a Bugatti and Rolls,  but 2 cars, that you would have to cover all eventualities if you could justify it. I ended up with the following, within a reasonable price range:

Early 00's Porsche 911 (996) Turbo - c£40k

Early 00's BMW X5 3.0d  c£5k. Prefer the 1st generation, think it has aged really well. 

I think of a big estate, but went with the SUV

Porker covers off the speed, and it reliable as well. First of the water cooled 911's and has the mezger engine, which means it doesn't suffer the problems of the non turbo engine

Beamer covers off the daily duties - shopping, decent load carrying size, 4wd, higher driving position etc. 

Only thing missing is I would like a cheap convertible as well, although I wouldn't want a 911 convertible. Something like an MX5, SLK, Z4 etc.

As you can see, not a massive fan of modern cars. 

 

I’d have a Range Rover Velar for the school run, shops, holidays and stuff

Flashy, but not quite as much of a handful as the big Range.

Second car for speed and fun would be an Audi R8. 

Edited August 23, 2021 by Genie

[chrisp65]

 

This pair, with the KG converted to electric would about cover everything I need.

[Phil Silvers]

6 minutes ago, Xela said:

Here's a question. Something me and a couple of the lads were at work were chatting about - you can tell work is slow...

Perfect 2 car garage for you... being realistic. Not a Bugatti and Rolls,  but 2 cars, that you would have to cover all eventualities if you could justify it. I ended up with the following, within a reasonable price range:

Early 00's Porsche 911 (996) Turbo - c£40k

Early 00's BMW X5 3.0d  c£5k. Prefer the 1st generation, think it has aged really well. 

I think of a big estate, but went with the SUV

Porker covers off the speed, and it reliable as well. First of the water cooled 911's and has the mezger engine, which means it doesn't suffer the problems of the non turbo engine

Beamer covers off the daily duties - shopping, decent load carrying size, 4wd, higher driving position etc. 

Only thing missing is I would like a cheap convertible as well, although I wouldn't want a 911 convertible. Something like an MX5, SLK, Z4 etc.

As you can see, not a massive fan of modern cars. 

 

Sorry no likes, nice choice. That 500e above is quality to pal.

I'd go Toyota Landcruiser 200 series, about 9/10 years old - 30-40k, unbreakable and unstoppable.

and a Lotus Exige 430 cup in John Player special livery 90 - 100k