For help, advice and discussion about stuff not related to aviation. Play nice: no religion, no politics and no axe grinding please.
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By cockney steve
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1732715
Older British cars had a simple vented reservoir-cap. Some wonderful designs had the master-cylinder below the floor, inside the chassis-leg (Morris Minor) :puker: Yep! fill the aperture with spills and slush and rot the Master and the structural- member!

Japanese cars introduced a very soft inverted "top-hat" with a stiff rim which seated on top of the reservoir, under the lid. Unlike most British offerings, the Res. was big enough for all linings to wear out and still have reserve-fluid. Thus, the fluid was hermetically-sealed the crown of the top-hat lay on the surface and moved up and down with fluid displacement. No loss, no replacement and no topping-up until leakage or failure occurred.
Good engineering, designed for reliability and integrity, rather than to rust from the inside -outwards and sell brake-fluid. (an abomination in itself, Citroen use green LHM (and advise that automatic-transmission fluid can substitute under duress, without destroying the rubber components.) Rolls-Royce adopted the Citroen braking and suspension techniques when the Shadow was designed and abandoned the RR363 (AKA DOT3 brake-fluid) with the series 2 Shadow and adopted LHM (which is no longer a Total monopoly and can be had from Castrol and other sources.

Thread- drift at it's finest! :oops:
Flyin'Dutch', kanga liked this
#1732749
Interesting take on residuals from a Dutch bank*

"From next year, the residual value (RV) of electric vehicles (EVs) will decline at a slower rate than that of diesel or petrol cars, a report by Dutch bank ING predicts. As a result, the RV of an EV bought in 2020 will be between 40% and 50% in 2025. For a petrol car, the RV will be 35% to 42.5%, while a five-year-old diesel will fetch just 27.5% to 35% of its original sticker price."

Rob P

*
https://www.fleeteurope.com/en/new-ener ... ola&curl=1
Colonel Panic liked this
#1738058
It always seems to be that the next 2 years will be the time that sales of EVs take off. 2020/21 seems to be no exception with a host of new models planned for release this year.

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new- ... -2019-2020

One that’s not really mentioned in the above piece is the new MG EV - perhaps because it’s available now. Range not brilliant, and not as sophisticated as some, but the price will make it popular.

Is it time to make the switch or will you be sticking to ICE? if loads of people make the switch, will the charging infrastructure be able to cope?

And off at a slight tangent, there are loads of people with no off street parking or garages in a block at the rear of their house so will find it difficult to charge at home. Will these people always be at a disadvantage?

Another tangent... is the development of EVs now so far forward (most manufacturers planning something soon) that H2 will not get a look in? What about bio-fuels.... is there any future for ICE powered by bio-ethanol or diesel?

Personally, I don’t know what to do .........
#1738064
With our smaller car, a diesel Mini now 7 years old bought new, a pure electric charged overnight at home would probably have coped with almost any of the journeys it has had to do. We wouldn't want to replace it with anything much bigger. The EV Mini would be ideal, but when it's launched in UK with a lot of Europeans content the exchange could be expensive. There is not yet any other incentive to change unless that or our newer, larger, diesel fails one of the new ulez if any are setup somewhere we are likely to visit.

So I think we'll be waiting for some general EV price drop, through cheaper technology through competition or excise measures. Being now retired, empty nesting, with no elderly relatives to visit (or bury!) , we feel no great pressure, as long as both cars keep going.
#1738069
I understand the Benefit in Kind tax rate on pure electric vehicles falls to 0% from 6th April 2020. It then rises by 1% over the next two years.

Compared to the US this appears to be a progressive tax policy for company car drivers unless I've missed something.
By PaulB
#1738074
CloudHound wrote:Hanging on to see when the Kia Soul EV will be available as the range is considerably more.


The autocar link suggests March.... but who knows? Looks like it'll be more expensive than the MG although more "sophisticated"
By PaulB
#1738080
Flyin'Dutch' wrote:The only thing that matters with an EV is range unless you just want a second car as city runabout.


<devil’s advocate>If 99% of your journeys are short commutes to the shops, or work or whatever, and you only very occasionally do a long journey, do you really need a 300 mile range?</devil’s advocate>
By riverrock
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1738084
95% of the journeys I do are within the round trip range of my Zoe. Just back from a trip to see friends 200 miles away so took our diesel, but we could have done it with one stop in the Zoe.
Available range is now useable for most people.
#1738101
CloudHound wrote:I’m considering the MG at the moment. Have to replace the Mitsubishi PHEV end of March.

Hanging on to see when the Kia Soul EV will be available as the range is considerably more.


I’m wondering if the EV will shrug off the various status and images that have been so important in marketing and owning cars. MG had a certain cachet, The badge is the same, but the product very different.
White goods, such as washing machines, fridges, vacuum cleaners are judged simply
Washing machine, cleans my clothes
Fridge, keeps my food cold,
Vacuum, cleans my carpet
EV, gets me from A to B

No need to tick any other boxes surely?
Flyin'Dutch' liked this
User avatar
By Flyin'Dutch'
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1738111
@riverrock and @PaulB

If you don't have access to another car for long journeys then the range of most EVs is a limiting pain in the neck.

If that longer journey is a once a year holiday then that is fine but if it is more frequent the organising of that alternative mode of transport is fraught with hassle, cost and inconvenience.

Easy to consider from one's armchair but reality is very different - I now know.
Miscellaneous liked this
#1738115
Jim Jones wrote:Washing machine, cleans my clothes

Oh I don't know, some have the potential to burn your house down. :wink:

Jim Jones wrote:No need to tick any other boxes surely?

I know what you mean, Jim, but maybe just not the best analogy? :D

FD wrote:If that longer journey is a once a year holiday then that is fine but if it is more frequent the organising of that alternative mode of transport is fraught with hassle, cost and inconvenience.

Indeed and owning an ICE for such trips sort of defeats the purpose and negates much of the benefit. :D
User avatar
By stevelup
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1738120
Flyin'Dutch' wrote:The only thing that matters with an EV is range unless you just want a second car as city runabout.


I can't agree with that. There are myriad decision factors that go into choosing a car whether it's an EV or not.
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