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Car Magazine - July 2018


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There is an interview in the above edition with Pascal Ruch, the head of Lexus Europe.

He advocates the self charging hybrid as the only realistic option for the next two or three years. He would say that but I tend to agree that, without the charging infrastructure, the introduction of fully electric cars will be slowed.

In the same edition there is a review of the Jag i-Pace. It comes out very well!

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I heard somewhere the other day that Elon Musk had said - paraphrasing here - if we stopped using electricity to refine oil, we would then have enough electricity for every car to be an EV. Not quite the full story, I assume none of his Teslas are free of oil-derived plastics for example? But infrastructure is so lacking. I am fortunate to have a drive in front of my private garage so I could plug in my car every night, putting aside any questions of range and cost! But round my way there's an increasing number of town-house style developments where parking is on street. Seems impractical to litter the pavements with charging points for everyone. Unless I suppose, fully antonymous vehicles will run round at night to designated fast charging points. Or we change the way we use our cars.

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How would he ship his cars round the world, fly supplies in to the factory? 

There is enough from the sun, just need to capture it, but then people want to charge at night so have to store it. Batteries are no good so you have to convert it.

One way is to use solar power to move a large amount of water up a very tall hill/tower/dam and then let it out at night through turbines.

So you store the electrical energy as potential energy, losses are less important when it's free and clean. It doesn't even need new technology like Battery storage does.

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It really doesnt matter what people think, its sales that count. Every single EV on sale today is production constrained. Apparrently Jaguar has a 2 year waiting list for the iPace, Zoe/Ionqi/Leaf all have long waiting times. Than there is the Model 3, even with Tesla still barely scratching the surface of their preorder waiting list the Model 3 is now the best selling 4 door saloon in the US. 

The Lexus marketing department car bury their heads in the sand for as long as they like, but by the end of this year Lexus will be the only major 'premium' brand with no EV to sell or even plugin hybrid.

The way diesel sales have plummet shows how qucikly the market can/will shift, Lexus needs an EV, and soon or they are going to become increasingly irrelevant in the premium market.

https://www.autoblog.com/2018/06/06/tesla-model-3-best-selling-midsize-premium-sedan/

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I've read on a few occasions over the last few years that Hydrogen powered cars are 'the future' for longer journies with electricity to be used for urban requirements. Toyota already has the Mirai, but there doesn't seem to much infrastructure in the U.K. to support it yet.

Anybody know if it really will be viable, or whether it will be a long forgotten unsuccessful format at some stage? 

I'm more than happy to admit that I don't understand science at all (back in the good old days before any National Curriculum I was able to drop all sciences at age 14, so I did!) so if somebody has a simple explanation that would be great. I read about hydrogen and hydrogen fuel cells, but it's all a bit of a mystery to me...

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Autocar has article on hydrogen fuel cell cars. What they dont mention the hydrogen has to be conpressed to about 10,000 PSI for it to be usable as a fule - thats not a typo 10,000 PSI of pressure versus 30-50 your put into a car tyre. That pressure alone to blow a nice sized hole in your house if not contained properly, without the combustion protential of pure hydrogen to worry about. I cannot even begin to imagine the complex safety/tools needed to manage a fuel under such pressure, let alone the costs and energy wasted associated. Add in the fact hydrogen fuel stacks still have to be hand assembled- partly when the Mirai is so expensive.

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/john-o’groats-land’s-end-hydrogen-fuel-cell-car

Mean while I've been driving EVs for the last 3.5 years, just this week I've done Leicester to Leeds round trip twice, and the only place I 'refulled' my car was at night charging up whilst I slept - using essentially the same electrical wiring that is needed for a power shower. Total cost of 550 miles for fuel = £15, and that's with rounding up/assuming 10% charging lossess. Didnt need to stop to refuel midway, didnt need to drive at 50mph.

The only barrier holding back EVs is price, our 200+ mile range EV is the same cost as brand new top spec RX so unaffordable for many (though the Miria is similiar). But cheaper 200 mile range EV are nearly here, Tesla Model 3 been the most anticipated, same price as a 3 series, 200 miles+ range, decent passenger/luggage space. Hydrogen cars are already dead end tech, why Toyota is still wasting time/money on them is beyond me.

 

28103198647_f65017c842_z_d.jpg

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