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Old 14 Jul 2017, 09:35 (Ref:3751104)   #5
Akrapovic
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Originally Posted by GORDON STREETER View Post
What I don't think is that has anyone looked at the bigger picture ? The majority of people that live in say the UK live in a street that is overcrowded with cars, a good percentage of them would probably only do a small mileage a day and an electric car would work, but where would they charge them ?
At the moment they are free of road tax, how would the government pay for road repairs ? I won't even think about people breaking down with flat batteries !
I don't really think that's the bigger picture. That's just basic infrastructure. The bigger picture extends FAR beyond charging and road tax. And people are certainly looking at that, yes.

Where do we charge the cars? Well we already have electricity in the streets in lamp posts and parking meters. This is how LA and SF are doing it - replacing every second or third parking space with an electric car spot and using lamp posts with built in charging units. These issues can be solved if people are willing to think creatively rather than just sit and say "Yeah but that takes work. And thought. And we haven't done it before". We already have an electric grid. Adapting it to charging cars is no different to adapting it to add new types of street lights, or build a new housing estate.

Car tax hasn't gone on roads for decades. It's just another revenue stream. A lot of cars which were free or extremely low tax bands are now £140 a year. Electric cars currently aren't, but tax bands aren't forever. The next change in car tax regs will almost certainly tax electric cars and that's that. Car tax regs aren't really about taxing vehicles that use roads, but encouraging car manufacturers to take a certain route with development. Once that path has been travelled, the taxes are adjust accordingly.

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Originally Posted by nicanary View Post
Governments all over the world have gone anti-ICE in their bids to appear "green" and up-to-date with modern issues, but the alternatives just aren't practicable. All-electric is a pipedream.
I'm not green nut (Because I REALLY want my Bentley V8), but electric cars are not a pipedream. There are lots of things that were once not practical which now are common. Even the petrol car was once completely impractical and a pipe dream. You couldn't even fuel it because we had no petrol stations. And now look at it. Flying? I bet few thought that would be common when the Wright bothers did their first flight.

Electric cars are not practical for most right this very second. And they are still over expensive for what they are. But that doesn't make it a pipe dream, and being sustainable does not make it only for the vegan hippies. As much as I absolutely love a massive petrol V8 (with as many turbo and super chargers as can be physically attached), that doesn't mean it'll always be the best way to transport people about (although it may always be the most entertaining way to have a motor race!).

Electric cars are in the early stages. But being an early technology does not make something a pipe dream. ICE have had a hundred years of development. The computer has had 50 years. Planes have had a hundred years. And yet we're writing off electric cars based on a handful of early versions? That's not how technology works, and if you stick you're head in the sand then you'll only get left behind, because whether we like it or not (and with motorsport I do not like it), electric cars are coming. And let me make it clear - I'm really not an eco warrior. I struggled to even care about the VAG emissions stuff, and that was huge for even normal people. But electric car progression is light speed (see that, electricity reference? I'm here all day folks!) and they do have several advantages already to petrol cars. As time goes on, it'll become more available to consumers, at lower prices, and the disadvantages will continue to drop.

Last edited by Akrapovic; 14 Jul 2017 at 09:41.
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