Contributor Leaderboard

That go compare advert, Christ you could never get sick of kicking that singer Soap powder adverts promising stain removal that they were saying they could do thirty year ago AAARRRGGGGHHHH :lol: Gold adverts and loan adverts with 2000%+ interest and those 'Have you had an accident' ones, yes pet you have, with your bluddy fringe :lol: :lol:

Yes that's why Tesco issue bio-degradable FREE bags and no hassle at the tills! :lol:

On the contrary; early in the discussion Monsta clearly stated that once 'people get a taste for electric cars' sales of diesel and petrol will plummet and the internal combustion will be dead; he is, in fact, wholeheartedly proposing the electric car as a viable replacement for the traditional version; this, as my argument has always been, is not the case now, and won't be for a long time - if at all. It's not an argument, as you claim, based on price but on practicality. There is no practical use for electric cars as they are able to be produced now other than for short runs. That's been the case for a hundred years, and will likely be so for another. Monsta - i'm not 'against' electric cars at all, and nor am I arguing against them; I maintain they have a purpose, but it's not as a replacement for the traditional powered car. I use the bus because I don't need a car; that, I might add, is about as green as it gets. Your point is not relevant though; the government isn't going to give me one for nothing, it costs £23,000. If I buy a car now, and I am - coincidentally - in the process of looking for one - it will be so that I can visit people further afield, go to weekend race meetings at Donington, Oulton, Brands and so on, get in and go whenever I want and take on a bit more freedom than I currently have with the bus and rail network. I certainly won't be buying one that offers me no greater range than the X21 and costs over £20 grand, and neither will anyone who isn't very wealthy and wants a trendy plaything.

Our point was never that there are viable alternatives now, and the key word here is "viable". Our point is, the technology IS here, its just not in production because of the cost. As you acknowledged, the technology is here now, but would cost millions of pounds to implement. the whole argument is based on price, and because of that, will never be won by any other power source other than combustible. Would you have one if the government would swap your car for one of these for free? (yeah, yeah, i know, you don't own a car! my point stands though.)

I take it by your statement you will also be driving on holiday to foreign countries such as greece, Austrailia, America etc, as obviously, you just paid 23,000 for a car, why can't you use it? Ok, ok. the battery wont get us that far, as is just won't last that long. Scalextric has been around since i was a kid. are you telling me placing a track in the road to boost cars battery is also a non starter? It wouldn't even have to be in all lanes, you could place it in a slow lane, so you just pull off the main road and drive along that section at a slower speed for half an hour to recharge, before rejoining the main carriageway. ( I find your defeatist attitude on this to be in the same league as Monsta and Bedlington's development. Instead of pointing out what we can't do... how about pointing out something we can do?

nobody has said its useless at long distances only put forward alternatives i.e trains and a car share idea! who in reality drives from northumberland to brighton every day? eh i think you'll find it does check out the nissan site it rated for 100miles range doing 90mph! funny two figures! in the U.S theres already a 50,000 long waiting list!

Hang on, the two of you have just defeated your own argument; you're openly admitting that the Nissan Leaf, one of the most advanced and modern of the new breed of electric cars, is utterly useless for anyone wanting to travel any distance. In suggesting that it's better to use an alternative you're pointing out its mighty limitations. besides, I don't want to take the train, because I've just spent £23,000 on a car, and for £23,000 it should be able to do the job without me having to take the train. When i get to my destination I want to be able to get in my car and visit brighton, pop over to Goodwood for some racing, call on relatives in Maidstone, etc; I don't want to be limited by having to use the train. Battery replacement is, in an ideal world, a great idea, but the same limitations apply - you can only go so far on one set of batteries, and you will have to have these battery replacement centres every few miles as not everybody is starting from the same place and heading for the same destination. Monsta, batteries last 100 miles, but not at a safe and steady 60mph on the motorway they don't, and no matter how much you try to dress it up, battery technology isn't advancing at the rate of 'twofold every couple of months' - as already pointed out in 60 years battery technology, as needed for cars, is simply static. Furthermore, you again point out the limitations in electric cars design as you state, quite correctly, it is designed for urban transport; it might have passed your notice that all but a very few (the Tesla etc) are designed for urban transport, because - quite simply - of the problems i've highlighted. I've already stated electric cars are great as 'city cars' - but who other than the wealthy looking for a plaything and an 'I'm green, I am' sign is going to pay £23,000 for an urban car? As you said, take the train, or the bus. I'm interested to see how many Nissan Leaf's are sold in the UK in the next twelve months - i'll bet yo any money its in two figures, no more than a hundred.

I'm with monsta here... If i want to travel to london, what better way than to use one of the many car-share schemes? Park your car at the train station, Bit of a play on the laptop on the way down (and at an average speed much higher than the car!) then hire another electric car with a short range when your down there. It's on its way! Embrace it!

As Mr. Darn suggests exchange batteries is a great solution, I have read of exchange power modules (but I think they were hydrogen for Vancouver transit) and battery technology is moving along fast. With regenerative braking and solar power to assist with the travel range it could become feasible, but anything less than 500 km isn't really practicable considering the terrain and weather.