Observer II Posted October 21, 2023 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2023 Just watched a pod, where the car expert is saying that EVs are not selling. If the public can't afford them or simply don't want them, it looks like a lost cause. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posted October 22, 2023 Report Share Posted October 22, 2023 They are expensive, especially if you need to drive longer distances and that coupled with the problems with finding charging points is bound to put many people off buying pure electric. That said, the sales are still increasing, but not as rapidly as the petrol hybrid market that doesn’t rely on big expensive batteries or suffer range issues. If you only drive short distances then the smaller EVs are not much more than their petrol equivalents so it’s horses for courses. Petrol still has the biggest market share but that’s slowly dropping while the big looser in all this is diesel who’s sales have plummeted in recent years. Bill 😊 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Observer II Posted October 22, 2023 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2023 Seems Toyota has it's head screwed on, and has resisted the headlong drive into EVs, they are producing an ICE model that runs on hydrogen, with an exhaust of water vapour. This seems a more rational option imo, as it retains the basic mechanics of ICE cars, thus preserving the maintainance industry. The Labour Party are now talking about subsidising (bribing) the public into EV purchase, but most folk can see the pitfalls in the EV propaganda, long charging times, insufficient public charging points etc. Ultimately, you can't avoid the realities of the market, supply and demand, if demand can't be attracted, it will fail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posted October 22, 2023 Report Share Posted October 22, 2023 They’re also investigating engines that run on ammonia, which is basically three hydrogen atoms plus one nitrogen, so no carbon involved other than in the lubrication. All good stuff but if you consider that the lack of electric charging points is enough to put people off buying EVs, think how that would play out with even less points to fill up with these alternatives. Betamax was good but failed because there wasn’t enough material compared to VHS and it’ll be much the same with these new fuel ideas. Toyota do produce a lot of pure EVs but their petrol hybrid is IMO is currently the best compromise in price, range and economy and that’s why I went with that option. Bill 😊 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Confused52 Posted October 22, 2023 Report Share Posted October 22, 2023 2 hours ago, Bill said: They’re also investigating engines that run on ammonia, which is basically two hydrogen atoms plus one nitrogen, .... All good stuff... Bill 😊 Ammonia is NH3 and I am not sure that the oxides of Nitrogen are a popular by-product at the moment, even less popular than CO2 in London and Warrington! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posted October 22, 2023 Report Share Posted October 22, 2023 That’s true Con but look on the bright side, if these cars spit out something like laughing gas we’d all be too busy laughing to worry about it. 😊 I don’t think these alternative fuels will find their way into personal transport any time soon as there’s just no infrastructure and they’re too expensive to make. Bill 😊 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Observer II Posted October 24, 2023 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2023 Just watched some pods on future car power technologies, the first being fuelled by water. Seems the hydrogen is seperated from the oxygen by electrolosis, the hydrogen used to fire the pistons in an ICE arrangement. I remember about 40 years ago, rumours of some guy in the US coming up with this, but he was bought out or bumped off by the oils companies. Well it seems Toyota are now working on it, and in rainy Britain it should prove economical. The other line of development is compressed air, so in time we may see EVs made redundant ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Confused52 Posted October 24, 2023 Report Share Posted October 24, 2023 1 hour ago, Observer II said: Just watched some pods on future car power technologies, the first being fuelled by water. Seems the hydrogen is seperated from the oxygen by electrolosis, the hydrogen used to fire the pistons in an ICE arrangement. I remember about 40 years ago, rumours of some guy in the US coming up with this, but he was bought out or bumped off by the oils companies. Well it seems Toyota are now working on it, and in rainy Britain it should prove economical. The other line of development is compressed air, so in time we may see EVs made redundant ! Just so you know there have been industrial processes based on electrolysis of water since the 1880's; it isn't anybody's trade secret. However generating the electricity needed is expensive and that was what Bill was saying before your post. Any use of Hydrogen is concerning because it is light and difficult to contain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Observer II Posted October 24, 2023 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2023 Storage presents problems, but seperation within a vehicle would negate that. While we're on the subject, I recall ideas of fuel cell technology for road vehicles at one time, what happened to that ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Confused52 Posted October 24, 2023 Report Share Posted October 24, 2023 24 minutes ago, Observer II said: Storage presents problems, but seperation within a vehicle would negate that. While we're on the subject, I recall ideas of fuel cell technology for road vehicles at one time, what happened to that ? Er.... Separation in the vehicle means generating electricity in the vehicle to separate the water then burning it to create heat to drive the engine! This is a most wasteful idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posted October 24, 2023 Report Share Posted October 24, 2023 Some cars do use fuel cells but they normally rely on Hyrogen which is not readily available everywher. I liked the Mr Fusion powered car from Back to the future where you only needed to chuck in an empty coke can and a banana skin to get almost unlimited power. 😊 The thing to take away from all this is that it’s all just part of evolution. Even if global warming was government conspiracy, the boffins would still be looking at better more efficient ways of getting from A to B. It doesn’t happen overnight and there’s no solution that doesn’t throw up a multitude of other issues but that’s the nature of development. But you don’t give up though because there’s a problem, you just take that problem as being the next hurdle in the race to achieve your goal. If you want to see some of the more extreme theories for this, check out your favourite YouTube channels for Zero Point Energy. 😊 Bill 😊 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil Sid Posted October 24, 2023 Report Share Posted October 24, 2023 odd how history repeats. the very first electric vehicles had a similar range to the early modern electric vehicles. ideal for urban use and short trips around town and powered by lead acid batteries that were easily replaced unlike the modern lithium ion ones in todays cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.