Lamborghini hops on the EV trend, revealing its new all-electric Italian bull
https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/18/business ... index.html
The Lamborghini Lanzador is only a concept car for now, but the Italian supercar maker says it offers a preview of the brand’s very first fully electric model which will go into production in 2028.
It’s not the sort of low-slung two-seat supercar for which Lamborghini is famous. While its overall low-profile shape is similar to that of a Lamborghini sports car, the 1,300 horsepower Lanzador rides higher off the ground so it can drive in rough terrain.
With no space needed for a gas engine — in a gas-powered Lamborghini sports car, it would be behind the seats — the Lanzador has small back seats. They can be moved or folded away opening more space for luggage under the car’s big tailgate. Under the hood, there’s even more space for storage.
The concept vehicle will be developed into only the fourth model line for the tightly focused performance brand, joining its two traditional sports car models and an SUV.
Lamborghini has been paving the way for this sort of new model for a long time. Products like the Urus SUV and the Huracán Stererrato, an off-road-capable sports car, have gotten customers used to the idea that Lamborghinis don’t always have to be low-slung two-seaters.
A link between luxe sports car and trusty SUV
The new electric model will provide the link between Lamborghini’s radical sports cars and its more practical SUV.
“For us, the fourth model is the absolutely logical extension of the existing portfolio, the perfect link between Urus and our super sports cars,” Lamborghini chief executive Stephan Winkelmann said in a statement.
And there’s a reason Lamborghini is introducing its first all-electric car as a new model line, rather than as a replacement for one of its current models.
Winkelmann has previously said that he feels electric vehicle technology isn’t yet ready for use in traditional two-seat high-performance sports cars. The batteries needed to provide the power and driving range an owner might want would be too heavy and bulky to allow the sort of fast cornering that makes a Lamborghini sports car so thrilling.
Other automakers, like Rimac and Automobili Pininfarina (which uses Rimac technology), already sell electric two-seat supercars costing millions of dollars. But even Mate Rimac, founder of Rimac, has admitted battery-powered cars still have limitations compared to gas-powered supercars.
Instead, Lamborghini will offer two-seat plug-in hybrid supercars that combine gasoline engines with electric motors for now, reducing the need for bulky batteries.
The Lanzador has four seats and rides higher off the ground than a traditional supercar.
The four-seat Lanzador, by contrast, has the space to house those big batteries. Porsche — which like Lamborghini is part of the Volkswagen Group — took a similar approach with its first EV. The Porsche Taycan EV has four seats and, unlike the Lanzador, four doors. Similarly, the Taycan’s extra length allows space to fit large battery packs to provide strong performance.
Lamborghini boasts that the Lanzador could comfortably be driven every day, like the gas-powered Urus SUV that currently accounts for half of all Lamborghinis sold.
The driver and front passenger seats are situated low in the cabin, to mimic the feel of a sports car. There’s no central touchscreen of the sort most modern cars have. Passengers have their own displays, though, and the driver sits in front of a digital screen that shows various types of information.
One electric motor powers the front wheels and another the back, providing all-wheel drive. The Lanzador also has numerous active aerodynamic features, fins and vents that can flip open and closed as needed. They can either allow for smooth, efficient airflow to maximize driving range or provide downforce for the strongest road-holding for cornering and acceleration.
Lamborghini has committed to selling only “electrified vehicles,” meaning either plug-in hybrid or fully electric, by the end of 2024. The company has not promised to entirely phase out internal combustion engines by any specific year, though.
PP
Electric Cars II - Not Silly!
Re: Electric Cars II - Not Silly!
Tesla braces for its first trial involving Autopilot fatality
The 2019 crash, which has not been previously reported, killed the driver and seriously injured his two passengers, including a then-8-year old boy.
https://www.nbcnews.com/business/busine ... rcna102136
Tesla is set to defend itself for the first time at trial against allegations that failure of its Autopilot driver assistant feature led to death, in what will likely be a major test of Chief Executive Elon Musk’s assertions about the technology.
Self-driving capability is central to Tesla’s financial future, according to Musk, whose own reputation as an engineering leader is being challenged with allegations by plaintiffs in one of two lawsuits that he personally leads the group behind technology that failed. Wins by Tesla could raise confidence and sales for the software, which costs up to $15,000 per vehicle.
Tesla faces two trials in quick succession, with more to follow.
The first, scheduled for mid-September in a California state court, is a civil lawsuit containing allegations that the Autopilot system caused owner Micah Lee’s Model 3 to suddenly veer off a highway east of Los Angeles at 65 miles per hour, strike a palm tree and burst into flames, all in the span of seconds.
The 2019 crash, which has not been previously reported, killed Lee and seriously injured his two passengers, including a then-8-year old boy who was disemboweled. The lawsuit, filed against Tesla by the passengers and Lee’s estate, accuses Tesla of knowing that Autopilot and other safety systems were defective when it sold the car.
Musk 'de factor leader' of Autopilot team
The second trial, set for early October in a Florida state court, arose out of a 2019 crash north of Miami where owner Stephen Banner’s Model 3 drove under the trailer of an 18-wheeler big rig truck that had pulled into the road, shearing off the Tesla’s roof and killing Banner. Autopilot failed to brake, steer or do anything to avoid the collision, according to the lawsuit filed by Banner’s wife.
Tesla denied liability for both accidents, blamed driver error and said Autopilot is safe when monitored by humans. Tesla said in court documents that drivers must pay attention to the road and keep their hands on the steering wheel.
“There are no self-driving cars on the road today,” the company said.
The civil proceedings will likely reveal new evidence about what Musk and other company officials knew about Autopilot’s capabilities — and any possible deficiencies. Banner’s attorneys, for instance, argue in a pretrial court filing that internal emails show Musk is the Autopilot team’s “de facto leader”.
Tesla and Musk did not respond to Reuters’ emailed questions for this article, but Musk has made no secret of his involvement in self-driving software engineering, often tweeting about his test-driving of a Tesla equipped with “Full Self-Driving” software. He has for years promised that Tesla would achieve self-driving capability only to miss his own targets.
Tesla won a bellwether trial in Los Angeles in April with a strategy of saying that it tells drivers that its technology requires human monitoring, despite the “Autopilot” and “Full Self-Driving” names. The case was about an accident where a Model S swerved into the curb and injured its driver, and jurors told Reuters after the verdict that they believed Tesla warned drivers about its system and driver distraction was to blame.
Stakes higher for Tesla
The stakes for Tesla are much higher in the September and October trials, the first of a series related to Autopilot this year and next, because people died.
“If Tesla backs up a lot of wins in these cases, I think they’re going to get more favorable settlements in other cases,” said Matthew Wansley, a former General Counsel of nuTonomy, an automated driving startup and Associate Professor of Law at Cardozo School of Law.
On the other hand, “a big loss for Tesla — especially with a big damages award” could “dramatically shape the narrative going forward,” said Bryant Walker Smith, a law professor at the University of South Carolina.
In court filings, the company has argued that Lee consumed alcohol before getting behind the wheel and that it is not clear whether Autopilot was on at the time of crash.
Jonathan Michaels, an attorney for the plaintiffs, declined to comment on Tesla’s specific arguments, but said “we’re fully aware of Tesla’s false claims including their shameful attempts to blame the victims for their known defective autopilot system.”
In the Florida case, Banner’s attorneys also filed a motion arguing punitive damages were warranted. The attorneys have deposed several Tesla executives and received internal documents from the company that they said show Musk and engineers were aware of, and did not fix, shortcomings.
In one deposition, former executive Christopher Moore testified there are limitations to Autopilot, saying it “is not designed to detect every possible hazard or every possible obstacle or vehicle that could be on the road,” according to a transcript reviewed by Reuters.
In 2016, a few months after a fatal accident where a Tesla crashed into a semi-trailer truck, Musk told reporters that the automaker was updating Autopilot with improved radar sensors that likely would have prevented the fatality.
But Adam (Nicklas) Gustafsson, a Tesla Autopilot systems engineer who investigated both accidents in Florida, said that in the almost three years between that 2016 crash and Banner’s accident, no changes were made to Autopilot’s systems to account for cross-traffic, according to court documents submitted by plaintiff lawyers.
The lawyers tried to blame the lack of change on Musk. “Elon Musk has acknowledged problems with the Tesla autopilot system not working properly,” according to plaintiffs’ documents. Former Autopilot engineer Richard Baverstock, who was also deposed, stated that “almost everything” he did at Tesla was done at the request of “Elon,” according to the documents.
Tesla filed an emergency motion in court late on Wednesday seeking to keep deposition transcripts of its employees and other documents secret. Banner’s attorney, Lake “Trey” Lytal III, said he would oppose the motion.
“The great thing about our judicial system is Billion Dollar Corporations can only keep secrets for so long,” he wrote in a text message.
PP
The 2019 crash, which has not been previously reported, killed the driver and seriously injured his two passengers, including a then-8-year old boy.
https://www.nbcnews.com/business/busine ... rcna102136
Tesla is set to defend itself for the first time at trial against allegations that failure of its Autopilot driver assistant feature led to death, in what will likely be a major test of Chief Executive Elon Musk’s assertions about the technology.
Self-driving capability is central to Tesla’s financial future, according to Musk, whose own reputation as an engineering leader is being challenged with allegations by plaintiffs in one of two lawsuits that he personally leads the group behind technology that failed. Wins by Tesla could raise confidence and sales for the software, which costs up to $15,000 per vehicle.
Tesla faces two trials in quick succession, with more to follow.
The first, scheduled for mid-September in a California state court, is a civil lawsuit containing allegations that the Autopilot system caused owner Micah Lee’s Model 3 to suddenly veer off a highway east of Los Angeles at 65 miles per hour, strike a palm tree and burst into flames, all in the span of seconds.
The 2019 crash, which has not been previously reported, killed Lee and seriously injured his two passengers, including a then-8-year old boy who was disemboweled. The lawsuit, filed against Tesla by the passengers and Lee’s estate, accuses Tesla of knowing that Autopilot and other safety systems were defective when it sold the car.
Musk 'de factor leader' of Autopilot team
The second trial, set for early October in a Florida state court, arose out of a 2019 crash north of Miami where owner Stephen Banner’s Model 3 drove under the trailer of an 18-wheeler big rig truck that had pulled into the road, shearing off the Tesla’s roof and killing Banner. Autopilot failed to brake, steer or do anything to avoid the collision, according to the lawsuit filed by Banner’s wife.
Tesla denied liability for both accidents, blamed driver error and said Autopilot is safe when monitored by humans. Tesla said in court documents that drivers must pay attention to the road and keep their hands on the steering wheel.
“There are no self-driving cars on the road today,” the company said.
The civil proceedings will likely reveal new evidence about what Musk and other company officials knew about Autopilot’s capabilities — and any possible deficiencies. Banner’s attorneys, for instance, argue in a pretrial court filing that internal emails show Musk is the Autopilot team’s “de facto leader”.
Tesla and Musk did not respond to Reuters’ emailed questions for this article, but Musk has made no secret of his involvement in self-driving software engineering, often tweeting about his test-driving of a Tesla equipped with “Full Self-Driving” software. He has for years promised that Tesla would achieve self-driving capability only to miss his own targets.
Tesla won a bellwether trial in Los Angeles in April with a strategy of saying that it tells drivers that its technology requires human monitoring, despite the “Autopilot” and “Full Self-Driving” names. The case was about an accident where a Model S swerved into the curb and injured its driver, and jurors told Reuters after the verdict that they believed Tesla warned drivers about its system and driver distraction was to blame.
Stakes higher for Tesla
The stakes for Tesla are much higher in the September and October trials, the first of a series related to Autopilot this year and next, because people died.
“If Tesla backs up a lot of wins in these cases, I think they’re going to get more favorable settlements in other cases,” said Matthew Wansley, a former General Counsel of nuTonomy, an automated driving startup and Associate Professor of Law at Cardozo School of Law.
On the other hand, “a big loss for Tesla — especially with a big damages award” could “dramatically shape the narrative going forward,” said Bryant Walker Smith, a law professor at the University of South Carolina.
In court filings, the company has argued that Lee consumed alcohol before getting behind the wheel and that it is not clear whether Autopilot was on at the time of crash.
Jonathan Michaels, an attorney for the plaintiffs, declined to comment on Tesla’s specific arguments, but said “we’re fully aware of Tesla’s false claims including their shameful attempts to blame the victims for their known defective autopilot system.”
In the Florida case, Banner’s attorneys also filed a motion arguing punitive damages were warranted. The attorneys have deposed several Tesla executives and received internal documents from the company that they said show Musk and engineers were aware of, and did not fix, shortcomings.
In one deposition, former executive Christopher Moore testified there are limitations to Autopilot, saying it “is not designed to detect every possible hazard or every possible obstacle or vehicle that could be on the road,” according to a transcript reviewed by Reuters.
In 2016, a few months after a fatal accident where a Tesla crashed into a semi-trailer truck, Musk told reporters that the automaker was updating Autopilot with improved radar sensors that likely would have prevented the fatality.
But Adam (Nicklas) Gustafsson, a Tesla Autopilot systems engineer who investigated both accidents in Florida, said that in the almost three years between that 2016 crash and Banner’s accident, no changes were made to Autopilot’s systems to account for cross-traffic, according to court documents submitted by plaintiff lawyers.
The lawyers tried to blame the lack of change on Musk. “Elon Musk has acknowledged problems with the Tesla autopilot system not working properly,” according to plaintiffs’ documents. Former Autopilot engineer Richard Baverstock, who was also deposed, stated that “almost everything” he did at Tesla was done at the request of “Elon,” according to the documents.
Tesla filed an emergency motion in court late on Wednesday seeking to keep deposition transcripts of its employees and other documents secret. Banner’s attorney, Lake “Trey” Lytal III, said he would oppose the motion.
“The great thing about our judicial system is Billion Dollar Corporations can only keep secrets for so long,” he wrote in a text message.
PP
Re: Electric Cars II - Not Silly!
Washington investigates Tesla’s ‘Elon Mode’ autopilot
https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/31/cars/tes ... index.html
US highway safety regulators are investigating an apparent hidden feature in Tesla’s Autopilot software that can reportedly disable the safety prompts Tesla gives to drivers to keep their hands on the steering wheel. The regulators are demanding information from the automaker about whether consumers could try to circumvent the safety controls on Tesla’s driver-assist technology.
In a letter to Tesla dated July 26 and made public by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration this week, US authorities expressed concern that the recent discovery of the setting — which has since been widely and unofficially dubbed “Elon mode” — could encourage unsafe driving behavior.
“NHTSA is concerned that this feature was introduced to consumer vehicles and, now that the existence of this feature is known to the public, more drivers may attempt to activate it,” wrote NHTSA Acting Chief Counsel John Donaldson in the letter. “The resulting relaxation of controls designed to ensure that the driver remain engaged in the dynamic driving task could lead to greater driver inattention and failure of the driver to properly supervise Autopilot.”
The letter was first reported by Bloomberg. NHTSA’s demand for information comes after a user on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, in June claimed to have accessed a non-public setting in Tesla’s software such that it no longer periodically prompts, or “nags,” drivers to apply torque to the steering wheel while Autopilot or Full Self-Driving modes — the company’s more advanced driver-assist package — are active.
The X user later claimed to have performed a 600-mile test drive with the reminders disabled.
Tesla didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. NHTSA declined to comment.
CNN has not been able to independently verify the X account’s claims or the identity of the account holder. In an email, the user declined to reveal their identity or to prove their assertions about the Tesla setting.
NHTSA’s letter called on Tesla to provide information including how many of its cars may have the software containing the hidden feature, as well as what it takes to access it and why the company installed it on consumer vehicles in the first place. It also requests records of crashes and near-misses involving Tesla vehicles that had the hidden setting enabled.
The letter set a deadline of Aug. 25 and warned that failure to comply could result in fines of up to more than $26,000 a day.
A subsequent filing released by NHTSA showed that Tesla did respond to the agency’s request for information by the deadline, but that the company requested and received confidential treatment for its report, meaning the information Tesla provided to NHTSA will not be made public.
Autopilot features are demonstrated in a Tesla Model S during a Tesla event in Palo Alto, California October 14, 2015.
Federal regulators investigating Musk Tesla 'Full Self Driving' tweet
The probe into the apparent hidden feature comes as part of a wider, long-running review by NHTSA of Tesla’s Autopilot software, following multiple crashes allegedly attributed to the technology.
This fall, two lawsuits against Tesla over its Autopilot technology are expected to go to trial. The first, scheduled for September, involves a 2019 crash in California that saw a Tesla Model 3 driving off of a highway and slamming into a tree at high speed. The second case, expected to go to trial in Florida in October, according to Reuters, involves a highly publicized 2019 crash in which a driver’s Model 3 drove beneath a large truck, causing the top of the car to be shorn off.
PP
https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/31/cars/tes ... index.html
US highway safety regulators are investigating an apparent hidden feature in Tesla’s Autopilot software that can reportedly disable the safety prompts Tesla gives to drivers to keep their hands on the steering wheel. The regulators are demanding information from the automaker about whether consumers could try to circumvent the safety controls on Tesla’s driver-assist technology.
In a letter to Tesla dated July 26 and made public by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration this week, US authorities expressed concern that the recent discovery of the setting — which has since been widely and unofficially dubbed “Elon mode” — could encourage unsafe driving behavior.
“NHTSA is concerned that this feature was introduced to consumer vehicles and, now that the existence of this feature is known to the public, more drivers may attempt to activate it,” wrote NHTSA Acting Chief Counsel John Donaldson in the letter. “The resulting relaxation of controls designed to ensure that the driver remain engaged in the dynamic driving task could lead to greater driver inattention and failure of the driver to properly supervise Autopilot.”
The letter was first reported by Bloomberg. NHTSA’s demand for information comes after a user on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, in June claimed to have accessed a non-public setting in Tesla’s software such that it no longer periodically prompts, or “nags,” drivers to apply torque to the steering wheel while Autopilot or Full Self-Driving modes — the company’s more advanced driver-assist package — are active.
The X user later claimed to have performed a 600-mile test drive with the reminders disabled.
Tesla didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. NHTSA declined to comment.
CNN has not been able to independently verify the X account’s claims or the identity of the account holder. In an email, the user declined to reveal their identity or to prove their assertions about the Tesla setting.
NHTSA’s letter called on Tesla to provide information including how many of its cars may have the software containing the hidden feature, as well as what it takes to access it and why the company installed it on consumer vehicles in the first place. It also requests records of crashes and near-misses involving Tesla vehicles that had the hidden setting enabled.
The letter set a deadline of Aug. 25 and warned that failure to comply could result in fines of up to more than $26,000 a day.
A subsequent filing released by NHTSA showed that Tesla did respond to the agency’s request for information by the deadline, but that the company requested and received confidential treatment for its report, meaning the information Tesla provided to NHTSA will not be made public.
Autopilot features are demonstrated in a Tesla Model S during a Tesla event in Palo Alto, California October 14, 2015.
Federal regulators investigating Musk Tesla 'Full Self Driving' tweet
The probe into the apparent hidden feature comes as part of a wider, long-running review by NHTSA of Tesla’s Autopilot software, following multiple crashes allegedly attributed to the technology.
This fall, two lawsuits against Tesla over its Autopilot technology are expected to go to trial. The first, scheduled for September, involves a 2019 crash in California that saw a Tesla Model 3 driving off of a highway and slamming into a tree at high speed. The second case, expected to go to trial in Florida in October, according to Reuters, involves a highly publicized 2019 crash in which a driver’s Model 3 drove beneath a large truck, causing the top of the car to be shorn off.
PP
Re: Electric Cars II - Not Silly!
Mercedes unveils new electric vehicles with better range than any Tesla model
https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/04/cars/mer ... index.html
Mercedes-Benz has just unveiled new “close-to-production” concept vehicles that could outdo Tesla cars by going more than 466 miles on a single charge. That’s compared with a range of less than 380 miles for any Tesla model.
The German automaker’s Concept CLA Class, revealed Sunday at the IAA Mobility auto show in Munich, comprises four new models: a sedan, a station wagon and two SUVs. The company did not specify when exactly they would enter production.
The vehicles will each have a range of more than 750 kilometers (466 miles), versus Tesla’s (TSLA) Model 3 and Model S, which have the brand’s highest ranges and each can go for just under 375 miles off one charge.
Meanwhile, BMW also made a splash at the show by revealing a new electric vehicle that boasts a longer range and faster charging, in further evidence of German automakers’ efforts to fend off growing EV competition.
Big European carmakers such as Volkswagen and Renault are already being squeezed by Chinese rivals in cheaper EVs, while Tesla has vowed to turn its factory near Berlin into Europe’s biggest car plant.
BMW’s Vision Neue Klasse vehicle, also still in concept stage, uses newly developed battery cells that can store over 20% more energy than those previously used by the company. Overall, charging speed and range are expected to be improved by up to 30% compared with the brand’s previous models, according to the company.
“With the Neue Klasse, we have embarked on the biggest investment in the company’s history,” Frank Weber, a BMW board member, said in a statement.
The new vehicle is due to roll out in 2025.
For Mercedes, the Concept CLA Class is meant to represent “an entirely new all-electric segment of entry-level vehicles at Mercedes-Benz,” appealing to more buyers, according to CEO Ola Källenius.
While announcing the line-up beside brand ambassador Roger Federer Sunday, he said the new vehicles “could easily take you from Munich to Hamburg on a single charge.”
The longer range may help the legacy automaker lure more customers, as range anxiety is often cited as a major consideration in consumers’ decisions about whether to buy an EV.
Källenius also teased another upcoming vehicle Sunday while discussing Mercedes’ G class, a line of SUVs, saying: “The little G will be electric.” The new vehicle could be a competitor to Tesla’s Model Y, which is also a compact SUV.
In a report Thursday, UBS analysts said they had received a preview of the company’s latest models and felt “strongly reassured” about Mercedes’ product pipeline for the next two to three years.
In another encouraging sign, the company’s management also indicated they were confident that the new EVs would “reach the same profitability” as their gas-powered counterparts, the analysts added.
PP
https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/04/cars/mer ... index.html
Mercedes-Benz has just unveiled new “close-to-production” concept vehicles that could outdo Tesla cars by going more than 466 miles on a single charge. That’s compared with a range of less than 380 miles for any Tesla model.
The German automaker’s Concept CLA Class, revealed Sunday at the IAA Mobility auto show in Munich, comprises four new models: a sedan, a station wagon and two SUVs. The company did not specify when exactly they would enter production.
The vehicles will each have a range of more than 750 kilometers (466 miles), versus Tesla’s (TSLA) Model 3 and Model S, which have the brand’s highest ranges and each can go for just under 375 miles off one charge.
Meanwhile, BMW also made a splash at the show by revealing a new electric vehicle that boasts a longer range and faster charging, in further evidence of German automakers’ efforts to fend off growing EV competition.
Big European carmakers such as Volkswagen and Renault are already being squeezed by Chinese rivals in cheaper EVs, while Tesla has vowed to turn its factory near Berlin into Europe’s biggest car plant.
BMW’s Vision Neue Klasse vehicle, also still in concept stage, uses newly developed battery cells that can store over 20% more energy than those previously used by the company. Overall, charging speed and range are expected to be improved by up to 30% compared with the brand’s previous models, according to the company.
“With the Neue Klasse, we have embarked on the biggest investment in the company’s history,” Frank Weber, a BMW board member, said in a statement.
The new vehicle is due to roll out in 2025.
For Mercedes, the Concept CLA Class is meant to represent “an entirely new all-electric segment of entry-level vehicles at Mercedes-Benz,” appealing to more buyers, according to CEO Ola Källenius.
While announcing the line-up beside brand ambassador Roger Federer Sunday, he said the new vehicles “could easily take you from Munich to Hamburg on a single charge.”
The longer range may help the legacy automaker lure more customers, as range anxiety is often cited as a major consideration in consumers’ decisions about whether to buy an EV.
Källenius also teased another upcoming vehicle Sunday while discussing Mercedes’ G class, a line of SUVs, saying: “The little G will be electric.” The new vehicle could be a competitor to Tesla’s Model Y, which is also a compact SUV.
In a report Thursday, UBS analysts said they had received a preview of the company’s latest models and felt “strongly reassured” about Mercedes’ product pipeline for the next two to three years.
In another encouraging sign, the company’s management also indicated they were confident that the new EVs would “reach the same profitability” as their gas-powered counterparts, the analysts added.
PP
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Woody
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- Age: 59
Re: Electric Cars II - Not Silly!
When all else fails, read the instructions.
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OFSO
- Chief Pilot
- Posts: 18741
- Joined: Sat Aug 22, 2015 6:39 pm
- Location: Teddington UK and Roses Catalunia
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Re: Electric Cars II - Not Silly!
Similar article in FT Weekend today. Trying to stop the wave of imported Chinese EVs for two years to give Europe time to catch up. Pathetic.
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ExSp33db1rd
- Chief Pilot
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Re: Electric Cars II - Not Silly!
Just read of two women brought to a stop when their hired Tesla EV ran out of charge due to not being given some sort of adapter to use the only re-charging stations that they had been able to find, then they couldn't use the now non-working electric handles for the locked doors, the Hire Co. not having briefed them about the alternate manual system available, and they eventually climbed through the boot and used a manual handle therein to exit the vehicle.
Madness, just off to B.P.
Madness, just off to B.P.
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OFSO
- Chief Pilot
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Re: Electric Cars II - Not Silly!
FRANCE TAKES ACTION: Most Asian exports are likely to be excluded from France’s new electric vehicle purchase subsidy scheme as of next year, as Paris looks to clamp down on EVs from China.
Paris is set to issue a decree Tuesday that spells out new new criteria for awarding the subsidy; the list of eligible vehicles will be published in mid-December, a French government official told reporters on Monday. The scheme pays up to €7,000 for lower-income people buying an EV and €5,000 for others.
Adieu: Buyers of some Asian-made cars might still get the cash, “but it will not be the majority of them according to modeling we have done,” the official said.
Paris is set to issue a decree Tuesday that spells out new new criteria for awarding the subsidy; the list of eligible vehicles will be published in mid-December, a French government official told reporters on Monday. The scheme pays up to €7,000 for lower-income people buying an EV and €5,000 for others.
Adieu: Buyers of some Asian-made cars might still get the cash, “but it will not be the majority of them according to modeling we have done,” the official said.
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barkingmad
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Re: Electric Cars II - Not Silly!
More Bad News on EVs;
https://dailysceptic.org/2023/09/20/you ... ctric-car/
Is reality finally breaking through to SOME of Europes politicos or for how much longer will we have to endure this pro-EV bombardment of horse manure?
https://dailysceptic.org/2023/09/20/you ... ctric-car/
Is reality finally breaking through to SOME of Europes politicos or for how much longer will we have to endure this pro-EV bombardment of horse manure?
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OFSO
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Re: Electric Cars II - Not Silly!
Some of the largest insurance companies are refusing to provide cover for electric vehicles
Electric car owners are being warned of expensive car insurance charges, with some drivers already being charged more than £5,000 for one year of cover.
The vast majority of the largest car insurance companies offer electric car cover despite a handful of EV drivers seeing an enormous price hike.
However John Lewis is no longer accepting EVs under their insurance policies.
Electric car owners are being warned of expensive car insurance charges, with some drivers already being charged more than £5,000 for one year of cover.
The vast majority of the largest car insurance companies offer electric car cover despite a handful of EV drivers seeing an enormous price hike.
However John Lewis is no longer accepting EVs under their insurance policies.
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Fox3WheresMyBanana
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Re: Electric Cars II - Not Silly!
My Province now has no EV dealers at all.
The only pure electric one was taken over, and has closed in the last 6 months.
None of the existing dealerships are registered with the government for the EV sales rebate, i.e. they won't sell EVs.
Some sell a few hybrids. None have trained mechanics for EVs.
The provincial government has extended the rebate to vehicles bought out of province, but with no mechanics I doubt there'll be more than a handful sold.
The only pure electric one was taken over, and has closed in the last 6 months.
None of the existing dealerships are registered with the government for the EV sales rebate, i.e. they won't sell EVs.
Some sell a few hybrids. None have trained mechanics for EVs.
The provincial government has extended the rebate to vehicles bought out of province, but with no mechanics I doubt there'll be more than a handful sold.
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OFSO
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Re: Electric Cars II - Not Silly!
Germans are waking up to a future deficit of EV mechanics (and heat pump installers and techs).
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OFSO
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Re: Electric Cars II - Not Silly!
Thinking about a new second car, I looked at the economics of the Dacia Spring, €21,000 in the "faster" version. The cheapest electrickery car one can buy here.
It consumes, according to Dacia, 1Kw per 5kms (without heating or a/c on, which is a cheat as heat or a/c is always on in Spain. 13°c this morning, driving to the gym, 28° this afternoon.)
1Kw currently costs 30 Euro cents. The trip to the gym and back, 30kms, would therefore cost €1.80 of the electric stuff.
My vastly bigger and faster Mondeo estate uses 5.2 litres of diesel per 100 kms on urban runs (4.2 on the autobahn at 100kph) and at a diesel price of €1.70 a litre the trip to the gym costs me €2.64.
So yes, cheaper, but also a nastier drive.
Looking at using solar power, LeRoy Merlin currently have panels for €1000, Li Battery for €2000, and controller for €1000. Reckon in cables and I could do an installation for €5000, ignoring the fact that my roof slope facing south is far away from the car park, on the other side of the house facing North and facing Big Mountain blocking the sky.
Therefore, ignoring a few inconvenient facts, for the cost of a new Dacia Spring-plus-solar installation of €26,000 I could be driving for no cost at all.
It consumes, according to Dacia, 1Kw per 5kms (without heating or a/c on, which is a cheat as heat or a/c is always on in Spain. 13°c this morning, driving to the gym, 28° this afternoon.)
1Kw currently costs 30 Euro cents. The trip to the gym and back, 30kms, would therefore cost €1.80 of the electric stuff.
My vastly bigger and faster Mondeo estate uses 5.2 litres of diesel per 100 kms on urban runs (4.2 on the autobahn at 100kph) and at a diesel price of €1.70 a litre the trip to the gym costs me €2.64.
So yes, cheaper, but also a nastier drive.
Looking at using solar power, LeRoy Merlin currently have panels for €1000, Li Battery for €2000, and controller for €1000. Reckon in cables and I could do an installation for €5000, ignoring the fact that my roof slope facing south is far away from the car park, on the other side of the house facing North and facing Big Mountain blocking the sky.
Therefore, ignoring a few inconvenient facts, for the cost of a new Dacia Spring-plus-solar installation of €26,000 I could be driving for no cost at all.
Re: Electric Cars II - Not Silly!
I saw an article about some quarry in the UK and the house-size lorries used to transport the rocks. The quarry is up fairly high, and the place they take the rocks is down at water level (I forget wither it's coast or river). They converted these massive vehicles to be fully electric with regenerative braking, and the running costs are virtually zero. The energy produced driving fully-loaded down the hill is more than enough to drive the empty lorry back up the hill. Lack of a big diesel engine improves reliability and reduces maintenance, and I bet there's a lot less wear on the braking system too.
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Fox3WheresMyBanana
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Re: Electric Cars II - Not Silly!
One suspects a railway would make even more sense.
Re: Electric Cars II - Not Silly!
The Luton airport car park fire might cast a shadow!
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Woody
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Re: Electric Cars II - Not Silly!
Latest information is that a Range Rover was the first vehicle to catch fire, not an EV, also it was definitely an ICE vehicle that brought the North bound M40 to a standstill on Sunday afternoon, I was driving the other way and it was destroyed completely.
When all else fails, read the instructions.
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Fox3WheresMyBanana
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Re: Electric Cars II - Not Silly!
Tragic
...that it didn't spread to the whole of Luton
...that it didn't spread to the whole of Luton
Re: Electric Cars II - Not Silly!
Beds fire service are stating it was a diesel powered vehicle that started the bonfire.
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OFSO
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Re: Electric Cars II - Not Silly!
He added the fire likely started in a diesel car, before spreading to nearby vehicles.
"We don't believe it was an electric vehicle," he said.
Odd considering how hard it is to start a fire in a stove, using diesel taken from my old Mercedes 200D. Threw lit matches into pool of diesel, flame went out.
Of course if it was a Range Rover, that explains it.
And if it was an electric car, "they" would never admit it as it goes against green policy.
"We don't believe it was an electric vehicle," he said.
Odd considering how hard it is to start a fire in a stove, using diesel taken from my old Mercedes 200D. Threw lit matches into pool of diesel, flame went out.
Of course if it was a Range Rover, that explains it.
And if it was an electric car, "they" would never admit it as it goes against green policy.