More e cars

Philip Edginton · Posted: Thu Oct 08, 2020 4:33 pm Post subject: More e cars

Just read on Piston Heads site that there is now an MGB EV on it's way. Battery in the front and E,motor at the back driving rear wheels.then saw the price estimated at £90k.

John Robins · Posted: Thu Oct 08, 2020 4:42 pm Post subject:

That’s an awful lot of beer tokens.

It looks good, but I think it’s about twice what I would want to pay. When you think about what economies of scale can be achieved by the motor industry the sense of buying a low production special like that is hard to find.

What happens to that battery if you hit something? Presumably you don’t get conc. sulphuric acid dripping on your feet, but there must be something unpleasant, even if only the cost of a new battery. The more I think about it the more it seems a good idea to buy something that has been designed from scratch with all the nasty bits well away from the accident.

Cheers
John

Stephen Blakey · Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2020 8:43 am Post subject:

It's great that people are prepared to fund these projects and that the UK is finally catching up with the rest of the world.

I'm afraid I would be very wary of a one-off. I've got pals who bought new Aerial Atom and three wheeler Morgan, both of which are produced in reasonable numbers, and both of which gave endless trouble. They both gave up and sold them. If that still happens with production vehicles, I don't hold out much hope for one-offs.

I take John's point about safety. 400V DC is pretty lethal.

Interesting, anyway.

Jolyon Harrison · Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2020 8:56 am Post subject:

Battery technology for powering cars has gone a long way past sulphuric acid. The latest batteries are lithium titanate with their own computerised management systems that control the rate of charge and discharge. I agree that the price of the B is heady but speaking to the people at JLR Special Vehicles, they are producing an electric E Type at an apparently outrageous price and they have huge world wide demand, usually from people who don't own another classic. The appeal is to own a maintenance-free apparent classic without the hassle of getting oily hands. Not for me but I can see the attraction.

John Robins · Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2020 4:37 pm Post subject:

I had lunch today with a retired accountant, a retired chemical engineer and a retired power station engineer.

The accountant said he could probably see where the £90k went, the chemical engineer was interested to know where all the lithium would come from into the future, and the power station man, who started work in the days of pulverised fuel boilers and steam turbines wanted to know where the volts and amps would come from on a dull and windless morning in January.

The 5th member of the group, a retired British Gas man, didn’t attend.

Cheers
John

Stephen Blakey · Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2020 6:03 pm Post subject:

Very good, John.

Between 2015 and 2019 my daily drive took me through the Chatsworth estate past the house. This is a popular route for classic cars and my delight at seeing so many rapidly turned to despair at the awful smell they leave behind. In some cases one had no choice but to drop back in the hope of finding some breathable air. There's quite a few Teslas and other EV's in the area and, sadly for someone who used to work in engine engineering, following one of those was like a breath of fresh air.

The old duffers in the FBHVC are doing the movement a disservice with their hostility to EV conversions and will put off a lot of younger enthusiasts.

John Robins · Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2020 8:30 pm Post subject:

I’m not knocking anything, Stephen, in fact I have been thinking about an electric for some reasons similar to those you mention. But it would be a modern car, not some sort of cross breed.

My lunchtime pals, all in their 70s, have nothing if not a practical view of life. We went to school together and have known each other for 60+ years, and, as usual, thanked providence for the advantages of having lived through the period from just after WW2 until now, rather than any other.

Cheers
John

Stephen Blakey · Posted: Sat Oct 10, 2020 11:44 am Post subject:

Hi John,

Sorry I got the wrong end of the stick there. Whilst agreeing with the accountant, the chemical engineer and the power station chap (who wouldn't), I had wondered if the non-appearance of British Gas was the punchline of a joke, given their reputation and their fierce competition with NPower for bottom place in the Which customer satisfaction ratings.

My current dealings with BG involve a property that was sadly empty when the music stopped and has remained so. They sent me an itemised bill for 0.0 units of electricity which apparently costs £438. Your accountant may struggle with that one.

Do you also know an economist whose take on the world is entirely based on assumptions?

John Robins · Posted: Sat Oct 10, 2020 2:56 pm Post subject:

Yes, reading it as an “outsider” it did come over as a joke, but in some respects it’s unfortunately true, particularly underlining the lack of understanding of how evs will still bust the planet displayed by the average journalist.

Unfortunately no economists in the group, it was probably beyond the remit of a country grammar school to produce such rarified professionals.

The accountant has survived two of life’s extreme dangers, playing hockey for Staffordshire, and working for many years for Arnold Weinstock. The gas man has had a recent brush with health difficulties which have left him with a depressed immune system, so he is presently a virtual gas man!

We were originally a larger cohort, but attrition has taken its toll.

Cheers
John