'Exploding' EV causes chaos this morning at Heathrow airport:
https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/uk-news/heathrow-airport-travel-chaos-fire-31164447
400+ mile range promised for new Volvo - models start at £70k though :o
https://businessmotoring.co.uk/new-volvo-es90-ev-promises-plus-400-mile-range/
If I could get one cheap enough, a 50 mile EV would be good enough for 99% of my car journeys. The prohibiting factor is the cost. Eventually I assume you'll be able to get a decent second hand one for a few £K. If I had to change my car now, I would definitely just buy a second hand petrol vehicle.
Would be great to be able to "fill up" overnight for about £7 or whatever it costs. Although the range doesn't compare to what you get from filling up with petrol. It's definitely the future, though.
Quote from: David L on March 10, 2025, 09:38:02 AM'Exploding' EV causes chaos this morning at Heathrow airport:
https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/uk-news/heathrow-airport-travel-chaos-fire-31164447
London Fire Service now reporting this was a diesel vehicle contrary to initial reports. Good news for travellers as tunnel will re-open quickly.
Think I would go the BYD or Chinese route rather than the old established names.
I have a hybrid Volvo XC40, the electric range is 25 miles on a summers day and about 14 on a freezing day.
I also have an Audi A4 2l diesel that does great mpg on the motorway and has never given me any issues and is good for many many more miles yet.
Quote from: David L on March 10, 2025, 12:59:50 PMLondon Fire Service now reporting this was a diesel vehicle contrary to initial reports. Good news for travellers as tunnel will re-open quickly.
Heh
Any EV except Tesla
#BoycottAmerica
Northvolt files for bankruptcy
https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/northvolt-sells-heavy-industry-battery-business-truckmaker-scania-2025-02-18/
'Dirty' diesel replaces electric in Brighton where they proved to be a bit of a 'lemon':
https://www.electrive.com/2025/03/21/uk-electric-bus-firm-loses-city-contract-to-diesel-competitor/
Plans to reintroduce EV Mini production at Cowley plant delayed:
https://www.witneygazette.co.uk/news/25040298.oxford-calls-save-jobs-cowley-bmw-mini-plant/?ref=socialflow&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR222RCaOyudSbI50VfznvBdy-wfJreq5Te8tydBpyx39HiUMerkjR4mhLI_aem_5fy-Hn0aU8rXmanwuM7-EQ#
Quote from: Slim on March 10, 2025, 12:53:46 PMIf I had to change my car now, I would definitely just buy a second hand petrol vehicle.
What he said.
Quote from: R6GYY on April 03, 2025, 10:14:50 AMQuote from: Slim on March 10, 2025, 12:53:46 PMIf I had to change my car now, I would definitely just buy a second hand petrol vehicle.
What he said.
We've had a 2010 ('dirty') diesel Golf Bluemotion since 2018. We are still only paying £36 per year road tax. From 1st April this year, most EV drivers will be paying £195. Drivers of new EVs that exceed £40k could pay up to £620/year ;D ;D
Quote from: R6GYY on April 03, 2025, 10:14:50 AMQuote from: Slim on March 10, 2025, 12:53:46 PMIf I had to change my car now, I would definitely just buy a second hand petrol vehicle.
What he said.
My car (petrol) is advertised for sale at present. More about the tyre kickers later. However, I was considering perhaps an EV in the future, only to learn from a neighbour, who had the same idea dashed by the fact that as our homes were built in the 50s, they receive their electricity supply as a looped service, meaning that I can't have a car charger installed without major upheaval.
Quote from: The Picnic Wasp on April 03, 2025, 11:54:36 AMQuote from: R6GYY on April 03, 2025, 10:14:50 AMQuote from: Slim on March 10, 2025, 12:53:46 PMIf I had to change my car now, I would definitely just buy a second hand petrol vehicle.
What he said.
My car (petrol) is advertised for sale at present. More about the tyre kickers later. However, I was considering perhaps an EV in the future, only to learn from a neighbour, who had the same idea dashed by the fact that as our homes were built in the 50s, they receive their electricity supply as a looped service, meaning that I can't have a car charger installed without major upheaval.
Lucky then that you are on good terms with your knowledgeable neighbour! Had you mistakenly bought an EV you'd have probably struggled to get half your money back on the used market. EV prices drop like the proverbial stone.
Quote from: David L on April 03, 2025, 01:19:30 PMQuote from: The Picnic Wasp on April 03, 2025, 11:54:36 AMQuote from: R6GYY on April 03, 2025, 10:14:50 AMQuote from: Slim on March 10, 2025, 12:53:46 PMIf I had to change my car now, I would definitely just buy a second hand petrol vehicle.
What he said.
My car (petrol) is advertised for sale at present. More about the tyre kickers later. However, I was considering perhaps an EV in the future, only to learn from a neighbour, who had the same idea dashed by the fact that as our homes were built in the 50s, they receive their electricity supply as a looped service, meaning that I can't have a car charger installed without major upheaval.
Lucky then that you are on good terms with your knowledgeable neighbour! Had you mistakenly bought an EV you'd have probably struggled to get half your money back on the used market. EV prices drop like the proverbial stone.
I'm not doing too well with the petrol car sale either. :(
Volvo now:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14569727/volvo-australia-hybrid-cars-recalled.html
Targets on selling EVs will become "more flexible"
;D
Quote from: David L on April 07, 2025, 01:10:12 PMTargets on selling EVs will become "more flexible"
;D
That's entirely a response to the Trump tariffs.
Quote from: Slim on April 07, 2025, 02:11:31 PMQuote from: David L on April 07, 2025, 01:10:12 PMTargets on selling EVs will become "more flexible"
;D
That's entirely a response to the Trump tariffs.
He's come along at just the right time for quite a few, hasn't he? Rachel Reeves is another I can think of - phew!
I'm beginning to feel quite sorry for poor old Ed Moribund.
https://order-order.com/2025/04/07/alexander-admits-scrapped-ev-targets-would-have-had-negligible-emissions-impact/
:o
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/c86jjg3j713o
EVs could be increasing CO2 emissions:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/motoring/360647525/new-study-finds-global-ev-adoption-has-failed-cut-co2
Quote from: David L on April 10, 2025, 08:32:31 AMEVs could be increasing CO2 emissions:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/motoring/360647525/new-study-finds-global-ev-adoption-has-failed-cut-co2
There's a big "if" in there:
(https://i.ibb.co/d0XsdZ7p/ev-if.png)
In the UK, only 33% of our electric power comes from fossil fuels.
Fisker 'Ocean' EV, anyone?
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/electriccars/article-14617891/Over-275k-unwanted-electric-cars-dumped-roadside-Nottingham-US-brand-went-bankrupt-year.html?ico=mol_desktop_home
I've just found out that a BMW garage just down the road from me will be dealing with these new Chinese BYD electric cars. I may just abandon Audi and get one of these in the future.
Quote from: David L on April 17, 2025, 11:34:47 AMQuote from: pxr5 on April 17, 2025, 10:33:30 AMI've just found out that a BMW garage just down the road from me will be dealing with these new Chinese BYD electric cars. I may just abandon Audi and get one of these in the future.
Burn Your Dreams ;)
I did say "may" and "in the future" haha ;)
You've picked an odd hill to die on here, considering fire safety is actually an EV strongpoint.
Quote from: Slim on May 11, 2025, 12:26:29 AMYou've picked an odd hill to die on here, considering fire safety is actually an EV strongpoint.
As you know, I'm good at that - tin foiler ;)
I'm not sure Ed Miliband and his creed have really thought about this:
https://www.aol.com/scientists-caution-against-charging-electric-115100506.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cueW91dHViZS5jb20v&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAHtUW2SJmIv4wioUBWwxEYqGciiteIK_PexG2UohGu6TQ42guQ_oKR4AAzH4isHQ66AMC9s9d6GNFLHpaNIkHrZjXaEZFAAvyJ-v7otdSqjnwlAWvogEW5DCauCPWU_iOKfTYZKSGmX16_GbAf4K8H5-MdquTLq7RbxCtRQqmDnG
Brand new car incoming - and it's electric. My wife found it and fell in love with it immediately. So we've put in an order for a
Audi Q4 e-tron 45 S line Sportback 5dr Electric Auto Quattro. You can't really tell in the photos but it's a lovely Violet colour. The price includes a fitted charger at home too. There are some great deals out there as electric car take up has slowed down a lot, and the dealer told me they are under pressure to make sure 1 in every 4 cars sold has to be electric. We got loads off the book price and a great deal on our current Audi trade-in so it was a no brainer really. We'll probably be getting it the week after next as it's in stock. The matrix led lights on these are bonkers
(https://i.imgur.com/8T3aFgt.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/0jI9qvt.jpg)
Stunning car! But I wouldn't be able to buy one unless I had someone younger with me to help me remember its name. Whatever happened to the Ford Cortina concept of naming cars?
GM attempting to nullify California EV mandate:
https://archive.md/JqqJi
Quote from: David L on May 20, 2025, 12:06:45 PMGM attempting to nullify California EV mandate:
https://archive.md/JqqJi
Link not working at the moment but also reported here:
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/general-motors-urges-lawmakers-block-121400474.html
The new mindset.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/20/sing-when-youre-winning-how-karaoke-heralds-the-triumph-of-chinese-carmakers
:o
https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/article-14761681/Used-electric-cars-lose-half-value-two-years-manufacturers-blamed-discounting-new-prices.html#:~:text=Electric%20cars%20are%20losing%20more,of%20its%20original%20new%20cost.
:o
https://www.reuters.com/world/us-coast-guard-responding-cargo-ship-fire-near-alaska-no-injuries-reported-2025-06-04/
(https://i.ibb.co/TMxg20Bp/Gsn-Ze4-Bas-AU5-9-N.jpg)
:o
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/tesla-fire-hurricane-helene-florida-b2622240.html#
A 2020 Tesla. Don't know if it's fixed now but clearly there was something a bit amiss with the paint they used five years ago.
First image is the passenger side skirts, second is the edge of the boot lid.
(https://i.ibb.co/dJpSwsKb/PXL-20250606-123914671.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/mVpqqFSn/teslarust.jpg)
Oh, that's horrendous! Clearly an issue with bonding, as if the metal was not right before the paint was applied (or they forgot to use primer 😄). It looks like the metal could be galvanised but was not effective in that area or an ineffective etching primer was used. As if catastrophic depreciation is not upsetting enough!
"Musk! You're fired!" ;D
Oh dear! Mercedes EV SUV declared a flop by Mercedes executive. It costs £155k, only £20k more than the popular diesel model.
https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/electriccars/article-14779973/Mercedes-exec-calls-electric-version-iconic-SUV-complete-flop.html
:o
https://www.countytimes.co.uk/news/25207044.welshpool-factory-fire-caused-electric-vehicle/
Looks like we might be about to see a lot of companies collapsing as BYD triggers a price war in the EV market:
https://carnewschina.com/2025/06/03/byds-new-price-war-triggers-backlash-from-industry-and-regulators/
We used our new EV to travel to Scotland and back. Gave the car a full charge at a charging place near us (still to get one at home) before setting off. Had a pee break on the M6 - about half way (190 mile trip) and stuck some more charge in which took 15 minutes and arrived at our destination with 50% range left. We charged once while we were there and that did us while we drove around the area. Coming home, charged up fully again and did the whole journey of 190 miles in one go with 93 mile range left in the car now. The quoted range of this Q4 is 329 miles, so 283 miles is pretty good considering we had the a/c going continuously.
Driving an EV is super smooth and the acceleration of this Q4 45 Quattro is incredible. In fact it's better than the V6 Audi A7 I used to own up until 2019. There are charging stations everywhere now - there is one near us (less than a mile) which has 12 superfast chargers. In Wigtown, where we stayed, has a dedicated charging area too, with 10 charging stations. Even the one on the motorway was easy to use - a bit more expensive there though. Early days but overall I'm quite impressed.
EVs causing environmental damage?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0k36v50zvro
Fire starts in e-bike park under skyscraper in China:
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/electric-bike-blaze-erupts-huge-195526770.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvLnVrLw&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAADpbJfuYrXZNjDEBxVYx7anMAUIISHp4qvbctxiSxTuYQhxRNgHdTxjoKLxrwa6IEt4KiW1xPUaGSxhm3WrZrfbvnxB8TdBM55R9LG99xNo52jqLNrMVgHy8f3ZtGJ0oDxmhNw-aXwBV6KAuOPrFCJjmXnnbFg30aq-hSHDLASN9
More grief for another company in the EV sector:
https://bmmagazine.co.uk/news/edf-buys-ev-charger-firm-pod-point-for-just-10m-four-years-after-352m-london-float/
Had our home charger installed today. Only took a couple of hours. I think we could easily have managed without but it's a lot cheaper to charge at home, if quite a bit slower. Put it round the far side of our garage, so it's nicely out of the way.
Quote from: pxr5 on June 18, 2025, 05:33:05 PMHad our home charger installed today. Only took a couple of hours. I think we could easily have managed without but it's a lot cheaper to charge at home, if quite a bit slower. Put it round the far side of our garage, so it's nicely out of the way.
Thinking recently it might be wise to have one installed even if I was only thinking of a plug in hybrid at some stage.
It turns out however, that my house, being built in the 50s has a looped (with neighbouring house) electricity supply. This means installing a charger would be dangerous as things stand. I thought this was going to be a major issue and expensive to change but it turns out that the grid companies will excavate and reinstate free of charge, such is the government pressure to get us all driving electric cars.
Still a bit of form filling and planning application to go through, but I think the company selling the charging system takes care of most of that too. I'd better get a move on though as it will all take a few months.
S P Energy were excellent to deal with on the phone which is a strange but satisfying thing to report.
Hey, Geoff Buys Cars, if the 5p cut in Fuel Duty hadn't happened in 2022/23 and then frozen to 2025/26 the Government would have an extra £10billion (based on the OBR estimate of an extra £2.6 billion when it is reversed in 2026/27)
So go stock your Petrol Head up your anal sphincter Geoff :)
Although £703m would be better off spent by the Government doing a Tebbit and telling people ON YER BIKE*!
*Human powered bike of course not an Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycle and certainly not an illegal Electric Motorcycle.
Another Lithium battery plant fire, this time in Taiwan. Twelve workers and 3 firefighters injured. Preliminary loss estimate - US$154.5m. Toxic air requires monitoring for at least 3 days.
A pretty regular occurrence these days.
https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/news/6157873
:o
One of Hawaii's main shipping companies will no longer transport EVs citing fire risk:
https://www.khon2.com/local-news/electric-vehicles-will-be-harder-to-access-in-hawaii/
The madness continues - Hyundai issue warning to Ioniq 5 owners. "Park outside, away from structures" ;D
https://www.autoblog.com/news/fire-risk-hyundai-ioniq-5s-worst-recall-year
That's actually due to a manufacturing failure, it's not an inherent problem with EVs. And as your article points out, it affects 10 vehicles.
For perspective:
Chrysler recalled approximately 2,700,000 petrol-driven Jeeps due to concerns over the risk of fuel leakage and fire in 2013. More than 70 deaths and fifty-eight injuries, court cases, nine figure payouts.
General Motors issued a recall for 413,418 petrol Chevrolet Cruzes in 2012, due to a risk of engine compartment fires. Thirty fires are known to have occurred due to the problem (trapped fluids near hot exhaust or engine components), according to GM.
Last month (July 2025) Ford recalled 694,271 petrol SUVs over concerns that cracked fuel injectors could cause the vehicle to catch fire. Eight actual fires were linked to the faulty injectors.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Cruze
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeep_Grand_Cherokee
https://attorneygroup.com/blog/jeep-fuel-tank-recall
https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/ford-recalls-over-694000-us-vehicles-over-fire-risk-2025-07-16
Quote from: Slim on August 01, 2025, 01:56:38 PMThat's actually due to a manufacturing failure, it's not an inherent problem with EVs. And as your article points out, it affects 10 vehicles.
For perspective:
Chrysler recalled approximately 2,700,000 petrol-driven Jeeps due to concerns over the risk of fuel leakage and fire in 2013. More than 70 deaths and fifty-eight injuries, court cases, nine figure payouts.
General Motors issued a recall for 413,418 petrol Chevrolet Cruzes in 2012, due to a risk of engine compartment fires. Thirty fires are known to have occurred due to the problem (trapped fluids near hot exhaust or engine components), according to GM.
Last month (July 2025) Ford recalled 694,271 petrol SUVs over concerns that cracked fuel injectors could cause the vehicle to catch fire. Eight actual fires were linked to the faulty injectors.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Cruze
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeep_Grand_Cherokee
https://attorneygroup.com/blog/jeep-fuel-tank-recall
https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/ford-recalls-over-694000-us-vehicles-over-fire-risk-2025-07-16
Good work. Main takeaway - Chrysler have sold a lot of Jeeps
:o
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/breaking-two-new-electric-universal-epic-universe-buses-destroyed-by-fire-just-outside-park/ar-AA1JiOIZ?apiversion=v2&noservercache=1&domshim=1&renderwebcomponents=1&wcseo=1&batchservertelemetry=1&noservertelemetry=1
Quote from: David L on August 02, 2025, 01:11:29 PMGood work. Main takeaway - Chrysler have sold a lot of Jeeps
That's fair, but it wasn't my main takeaway. Petrol vehicles are a lot bigger fire risk than EVs. That's mine.
Porsche scales back EV plans due to poor demand:
https://electrek.co/2025/08/27/another-german-automaker-just-walked-away-from-big-ev-plans/
Nothing about any type of car manufacture is environmentally friendly or safe. Just look at tyres alone. People are the problem. Two car families used to be the sign of success and now it's regularly three or four in driveways around here. Used to be a quiet place, now you risk your life crossing the road. We are the new locusts.
More caution around shipping EVs
An update on our home charging. I'd just fallen into the renewal period for our energy with EDF, meaning I wouldn't get penalised for changing tariff. So I chose an EV tariff that gave us an off-peak rate of 8.99p per kWh from midnight to 5am (peak tariff, 25.74p, is the same as a standard deal, so pretty good so far). First issue: I set my EDF tariff in the Ohme (my charger) app, but it incorrectly took the tariff times of 0100-0600. I left it at that to test and ran it last night by just plugging in and going to bed. Of course the last hour was charged at peak rate. I've reported it to Ohme, but in the meantime I've changed the Ohme app to one that charges between 0000-0500 (British Gas actually) - the car, and Ohme charger, doesn't really care what the tariff is, so I'd prefer it if I could set this manually by setting the times and tariff myself. But it can't be done and maybe the reason for this is to force people to do things in a certain way, for whatever reason I'm not sure yet. Anyway it is what it is and until Ohme can get the tariff information correct it will be fine using the British Gas times/rates.
Last night's charge over 5 hours, at my Ohme charger's max 7.46 kWh (from 0100-0600) took my car (82 kWh) from 23% to 73% and cost £9.50 (but an hour of that was at peak rate). Next time I'll get a more precise reading charging at off-peak charging only. I'm quite impressed at the cost to charge so far though.
A further update on the cost to charge. When I first looked at the electricity charges I took the information from my smart meter display. However, when checking EDF's app there is a massive discrepancy between what the display shows and the actual usage. I suspect the display is not reporting off-peak data, only full price. Anyway after recalculating: on the first charge to 73% it cost £3.62 and the next one on to 98% was £2.30. So to put 77% worth of juice in cost a total of £5.92 (this also includes anything else running at the house from 0000-0500). This makes much more sense - my car is 82 kWh and at 8.99p per kWh equates to £7.32 for a 0-100% charge.
We've also started to set the washing machine to run after 0000, benefitting from a much cheaper rate too - as well as all the other devices running overnight - NASs, Pis etc.
We did a run to Oswestry and back today - a 220 mile round trip and I've got 93 miles range left.
Carney pauses 2026 EV mandate:
https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/article/carney-pauses-2026-ev-target-announces-buy-canadian-policy/
;D ;D ;D
https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/technology/horse-reveals-drop-range-extender-conversion-evs
Bentley delay EV's in preference to petrol-powered models due to low demand:
https://www.thesun.co.uk/motors/36811000/british-car-brand-snubs-evs-for-petrol-engines/?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_campaign=sunmenfacebook&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwdGRleANBPxlleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHgrTjh3Ptcy4QzEdrGO-H_b42ITJBOqnCFSVqucjb_h-oyiiIdgItAHLGQJB_aem_IyY2Z255obOwsq8Hs13mqA#Echobox=1758640261
Porsche too:
https://www.carscoops.com/2025/09/porsches-electric-u-turn-has-cost-it-over-2-billion/
I've had my Q4 etron since June and frankly I doubt I'll ever go back to petrol/diesel. The dealer said something to me when were ordering: imagine if cars had always been electric, then a new technology was developed where you had to put a stinky, flammable liquid into a tank bolted to the bottom of the car and all of sudden the whisper quietness of electric is replaced with the din and pollution of an engine. Made me think anyway. Nope, I'm not going back.
Bish, Bash...............
Bosch lay off more employees after losing €2.5bn.
https://www.euronews.com/business/2025/09/26/germanys-bosch-to-cut-13000-jobs-at-its-auto-parts-business
European politicians killing their auto industry.
All energy storage comes with a risk; we've already established (since you posted this in a thread dedicated to EVs) that fossil-fuel driven vehicles present a dramatically higher risk to life than their electric counterparts. No idea why you persist with an argument you've already lost.
Volkswagen to cut production of EVs:
https://www.msn.com/en-ie/cars/news/volkswagen-audi-will-pause-ev-production-in-europe-report/ar-AA1Npyd2
Beware EVs in transit! Avoid the M5 this morning:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3vz291qx4ko
Sales of electric cars hit record high in September:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwyd094168go
Chinese EV giant BYD sees UK sales soar by 880%:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3w5jl2jgqwo
Quote from: pxr5 on October 07, 2025, 05:39:33 PMSales of electric cars hit record high in September:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwyd094168go
Chinese EV giant BYD sees UK sales soar by 880%:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3w5jl2jgqwo
The Chinese are in the process of killing the European car industry. While European governments continue to force EVs on us all the Chinese will continue to provide those products at a much discounted price. I'm sure the politicians must've known this would happen.
If you drive an EV, familiarise yourself with the manual door release:
Statistically, driving an EV is an extremely good way from preventing yourself getting caught in a vehicle fire.
'Fast' charger using BESS - bad idea
"I don't think you need an engineering degree to say that looks a bit unsafe" ;D
I don't have an engineering degree, but I reckon this looks a bit unsafe. And I must be right, because they knocked the whole mulit-storey car park down. Kings Dock, Liverpool, New Year's Eve 2017, started by a petrol car fire.
(https://i.ibb.co/39WTNSj0/kingsdock.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/BHJgF59Z/kd2.webp)
https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/national/one-person-confirmed-dead-after-electric-bus-blaze-in-auckland/
20 (not 12 as captioned) people were killed in a bus fire that occurred two days after that one, in India. Petrol fire.
Quote from: Slim on October 27, 2025, 01:33:22 PM20 (not 12 as captioned) people were killed in a bus fire that occurred two days after that one, in India. Petrol fire.
Were most of them on the roof of the bus?
No idea.
https://interestingengineering.com/transportation/chinese-catl-ev-burst-into-flames
Diesel car burst into flames, took out ten other vehicles. Awful. Last month.
https://www.london-fire.gov.uk/incidents/2025/september/fire-at-car-park-stratford/
Quote from: Slim on October 29, 2025, 12:30:15 AMDiesel car burst into flames, took out ten other vehicles. Awful. Last month.
https://www.london-fire.gov.uk/incidents/2025/september/fire-at-car-park-stratford/
Diesel Watch thread?
Honestly David this has been a self-evidently self-defeating, low effort thread but I think the proper context helps it a bit.
IMHO the evidence that is most salient around these products is the behaviour of the manufacturers and the ridiculous depreciation on re-sale. Of course, there are many wealthy enough for value to be an abstract concept but something has to change to make EVs a sensible choice for the majority. Either a technology shift or 'nudge' policies by the government.
In the meantime I will continue to highlight issues that are ignored elsewhere.
The majority of your posts in this thread are pointless news items about an EV fire or explosion which have nothing to do with the issue you raised there and, given that electric vehicles actually address this problem rather than causing or exacerbating it are a perverse waste of time and resources as well as being potentially misleading to casual browsers. I will start to delete those.
Quote from: Slim on October 29, 2025, 10:14:21 AMThe majority of your posts in this thread are pointless news items about an EV fire or explosion which have nothing to do with the issue you raised there and, given that electric vehicles actually address this problem rather than causing or exacerbating it are a perverse waste of time and resources as well as being potentially misleading to casual browsers. I will start to delete those.
I'm not at all surprised, that's your modus operandi to censor things you disagree with.
Quote from: David L on October 29, 2025, 12:07:14 PMQuote from: Slim on October 29, 2025, 10:14:21 AMThe majority of your posts in this thread are pointless news items about an EV fire or explosion which have nothing to do with the issue you raised there and, given that electric vehicles actually address this problem rather than causing or exacerbating it are a perverse waste of time and resources as well as being potentially misleading to casual browsers. I will start to delete those.
I'm not at all surprised, that's your modus operandi to censor things you disagree with.
Only a genuine, literal idiot would agree with the proposition that EVs pose an enhanced fire risk and whether I disagree with it is not the point. In the past I have removed posts which are verifiably, objectively misinformation or disinformation. That's it. If I could be bothered to spend the next half hour doing so, I could point you to 100 posts with which I passionately disagree and which have remained unmolested.
Nothing to do with opinions.
Quote from: Slim on October 29, 2025, 12:20:43 PMQuote from: David L on October 29, 2025, 12:07:14 PMQuote from: Slim on October 29, 2025, 10:14:21 AMThe majority of your posts in this thread are pointless news items about an EV fire or explosion which have nothing to do with the issue you raised there and, given that electric vehicles actually address this problem rather than causing or exacerbating it are a perverse waste of time and resources as well as being potentially misleading to casual browsers. I will start to delete those.
I'm not at all surprised, that's your modus operandi to censor things you disagree with.
Only a genuine, literal idiot would agree with the proposition that EVs pose an enhanced fire risk and whether I disagree with it is not the point. In the past I have removed posts which are verifiably, objectively misinformation or disinformation. That's it. If I could be bothered to spend the next half hour doing so, I could point you to 100 posts with which I passionately disagree and which have remained unmolested.
Nothing to do with opinions.
I might be wrong, but I think I remember posts of mine about a certain tennis player being removed. Anyway, your prerogative.
EV sales in US predicted to collapse after federal tax incentives disappear:
https://www.carscoops.com/2025/10/ev-sales-to-collapse-60-from-last-month-says-j-d-power/
Is pay-per-mile coming to EVs?
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/electriccars/article-15264513/Pay-mile-tax-explained-does-road-pricing-work-fair-EV-demand.html?ico=mol_desktop_electriccars
I've always thought that putting the road tax on fuel duty would be fairer - big, heavy lorries that degrade the roads quickly use more fuel, so they'd pay more. Frequent drivers use the roads more than occasional drivers so again, they'd pay more as well. So it makes sense to me to do something equivalent for EVs.
I'm glad I didn't get to see this car up close today in my local Home Bargains store. I'm in there every couple of days picking things up for the dogs. Where the car entered the shop is where my preferred checkout is situated. Makes me shudder to think.
The car is a Skoda Enyaq with L plates. What on Earth the woman in the BBC photo is doing, or being allowed to do walking along the affected area outside is beyond me considering the Police and Fire Services presence, doing their best to make the area safe. Sorry I can't post images yet, but it's a quick search online. Home Bargains Milngavie.
[edited by a friendly admin to include image]
(https://i.ibb.co/x829F1np/homebargains.webp)
Thank you friendly admin, and for the new paragraph. This photo is a much better perspective than the one I looked at which must have been cropped. It made it look like woman was directly outside the window, when in fact she was just a shopper making her way out unharmed fortunately.
I assume it was the learner driving which made me think of the Vauxhall Viva my instructor had in 1978. It would have just bounced back off the kerb. Cars are so ridiculously powerful nowadays.
I don't say that as a grumpy old man. I've always liked cars and miss driving regularly, but it's the sheer number of cars on the road and the poor standard of driving which forms this opinion. I used to think nothing of driving to London or Colchester without a map or satnav, now a drive around the local area is sufficient. This T.E.D thing really is a game-changer and a curse. Don't ignore thyroid symptoms and assume your GP understands nothing of the disease links if you have to visit.
~£255 extra per year - bummer
Ford abandoning EVs:
https://thedriven.io/2025/12/16/ford-takes-massive-29-billion-hit-as-it-turns-tail-and-retreats-from-evs/
China introducing new "no fire, no explosion" standards for EV batteries:
https://www.carexpert.com.au/car-news/china-introduces-no-fire-no-explosion-ev-battery-standards
EV sales target for 2025 missed - "discounts unsustainable":
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0417v3v21ko
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/01/08/business/gm-ev-costs
European boss of Stellantis says nobody really wants electric cars:
https://archive.md/ACyqR
Net zero 'zealot', Dale Vince, fails to get electric aircraft project off the ground as reality collides with ambition
https://archive.md/YNEc6
https://archive.md/qlzN8
Bizarre video - he explains why battery-powered commercial air travel isn't possible, then admits that Vince had no intention of pursuing that route in the first place. I suppose he must have written it, realised it was pointless but he thought the figures were so interesting that he couldn't help himself.
Hydrogen-electric, which was the actual plan, is quite viable and plausible and has a considerably more promising long-term future than aviation fuel. But most of the infrastructure would have to be created from scratch, just like it was for the existing solution.
Would be interesting to see what will replace aviation fuel - green hydrogen maybe. But I won't be here to see it. I suspect air travel will become more of a luxury than it is now.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15600255/Millions-EV-drivers-spied-government-mobile-phones.html
That last time I paid for electricity to charge my Q4 was the end of November to get me to Oswestry and back. It cost me about £5. Since then I haven't paid a penny to charge the car, making use of the free 4 hours of electricity I get from EDF on Sunday mornings. Even having to charge from 0000-0500 costs me less than £7 full a full charge. For me, at this time, it's an absolute no brainer having an electric car.
EDF have extended my EV Tariff by 2 hours. It was 0000-0500 and now it's 2300-0600. I actually had to use the tariff hours earlier in the week as I didn't get any free on the Sunday. It cost £3.38 to go from 35% to 88% charge. In doing so it's classed as off-peak use; so much so, that it will give me 16 hours free electricity to use a week on Sunday. It's crazy how cheap it is to run an electric car.