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Norway: 37% of new vehicles sold in January were electric

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Re: Norway: 37% of new vehicles sold in January were electric

#161
post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I bought a used Nissan Leaf last month. No way I am EVER buying another non-electric car. It's quiet. It's got surprising torque for an economy car. It's got a lot of room for a compact car. I'm 6'5" and gave plenty of head room, legroom, and vertical field of view. Have not been to a gas station in 5 weeks.

Most modern compact cars get 1000 km (or even more) on a single tank, so if you don't drive all that much, you don't need to visit gas stations more often than it's just wise to, to check tyre pressures and clean the gunk of your wind shield (this time of the year is pretty bad when it comes to mud flying on the streets). The difference is, a compact traditional car sells for 15 k€ new, while Leaf goes for 40 k€. Eve…

I like to track the progress of disruptive tech by how extreme the "but it cant do X" comments get. If the big demographic problem for EVs is people who "don't drive all that much" but do drive a few hundred miles out to their cabin in the woods then it seems they're making pretty good progress.

Re: Norway: 37% of new vehicles sold in January were electric

#162

Can someone provide data showing how electric cars reduce emissions overall? Having something like this ready would help when discussing with people who are not sure of the benefits of EVs ("it still uses energy right?").

http://www.ucsusa.org/clean-vehicles/electric-vehicles/life-...

"Over their lifetime, battery electric vehicles produce far less global warming pollution than their gasoline counterparts—and they’re getting cleaner."

The also have a tool that has info about specific car models and state by state grid carbon production:

http://www.ucsusa.org/clean-vehicles/electric-vehicles/ev-em...

"Electric cars tend to produce less carbon pollution than gas-powered ones—but just how much less? Enter your ZIP code below to see how different types of vehicles stack up in your area. Entering a make, model, and year will narrow results to a specific EV model."

Re: Norway: 37% of new vehicles sold in January were electric

#163
post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Charging at night time uses base load, so greater proportion of nuclear power. Maximum efficieny of a gasoline engine is about 30%, versus 96% for an electric motor, though the battery does have less efficiency. Electricity generated at a power plant using fossil fuels and steam turbines is more efficient than locally in an engine. It's cheap to transport electricity over wires. Fuel still needs to be piped and truck…

If one strives to reduce emissions from their EV, it would be better to use a charger at the workplace when plenty of solar energy is available during the day.

You can get chargers that connect to the internet and track the carbon content of your electricity on a minute by minute basis, allowing you to charge when it is best for the grid and for the planet.

Re: Norway: 37% of new vehicles sold in January were electric

#164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most modern compact cars get 1000 km (or even more) on a single tank, so if you don't drive all that much, you don't need to visit gas stations more often than it's just wise to, to check tyre pressures and clean the gunk of your wind shield (this time of the year is pretty bad when it comes to mud flying on the streets). The difference is, a compact traditional car sells for 15 k€ new, while Leaf goes for 40 k€. Eve…

I like to track the progress of disruptive tech by how extreme the "but it cant do X" comments get. If the big demographic problem for EVs is people who "don't drive all that much" but do drive a few hundred miles out to their cabin in the woods then it seems they're making pretty good progress.

When stepping out of the comfort zone (i.e. no crawling speed or disabling A/C or heating), Leaf's range is less than 100 miles on full charge.

It's not very much – in fact, quite the opposite. Unless you share the city you live in with, say, your parents, in most cases you probably couldn't make a trip to meet them without stopping to charge.

Re: Norway: 37% of new vehicles sold in January were electric

#165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I like to track the progress of disruptive tech by how extreme the "but it cant do X" comments get. If the big demographic problem for EVs is people who "don't drive all that much" but do drive a few hundred miles out to their cabin in the woods then it seems they're making pretty good progress.

When stepping out of the comfort zone (i.e. no crawling speed or disabling A/C or heating), Leaf's range is less than 100 miles on full charge. It's not very much – in fact, quite the opposite. Unless you share the city you live in with, say, your parents, in most cases you probably couldn't make a trip to meet them without stopping to charge.

I'm not saying that the six-year-old Leaf is the answer to all vehicular needs, I'm saying that for people who need to fly to visit their parents, or have a range-extending hybrid as a second family car, or who just don't drive much beyond their commute, then EVs with sub 100 mile ranges still meet 95% or more of their daily driving needs without needing to recharge and there are many happy owners of such cars already.

The demographic that it serves successfully is growing every year, as more cities ban or fine cars with emissions, as battery prices drop, as people get less scared of the new, as people experience and like the peppy driving feel of an EV, as more models are produced by more manufacturers and more niches are filled and as charging networks expand.

I think we can all look back and see amazing progress from cars like the EV1 and how many assumptions have been shattered in the last decade or so. It just amuses me that as this kind of progress happens, then there will always be something to complain about (and the complaints will often be geniune and factual) that just a short time ago would have seemed like science fiction. Like the comedian that talks about his seat-neighbour complaining that the airplane wi-fi is slow.

Re: Norway: 37% of new vehicles sold in January were electric

#166
post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why can't that be an option on laptops? I'd take that trade off.

It is on pretty much any quality laptop from this decade. I don't remember the last time I've had to replace a laptop battery.

I toast mine every 6mo-3 years if I actually use it on battery often (i do). Most laptop owners just want a compact desktop, and use theirs as one. Obviously batteries last longer than the tech is viable in that case. Smart usage used to make a larger difference, but the new batt tech seems less sensitive to heavy useage.

Re: Norway: 37% of new vehicles sold in January were electric

#168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just checked: a Porsche GT4 (€88k in Belgium) costs €180k in Norway. So might be both Norway and Denmark. I have an honest question (and don't downvote me for this), but how do you enjoy life in Scandinavian countries? Everything seems to be taxed to hell: income, wealth, cars, alcohol, etc. Does that actually leave any room for fun that involves spending money? People don't need to be living in massive luxury and yo…

> People don't need to be living in massive luxury and you don't always need to spend money to enjoy yourself, but aren't these countries pushing it? I think a lot of it comes down to material vs non material quality of life. First of all, very little of taxes evaporate in e.g wars. That helps. Most of it seems to fund things that make me happy or at least not worried. I'm not worried about getting sick, old, whether…

What you described is a life of a house cat, happy that the food's always there and that there's lots of time to sleep. A bleak life devoid of any ambition and goals.

I can't imagine the brainwashing required to make people accept that.

Re: Norway: 37% of new vehicles sold in January were electric

#169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Keyword: semi-premium. Electric vehicles are only accessible to the rich at the moment. We need to make it possible for poorer people to get electric vehicles too.

I always find myself chiming in that poor people typically buy used cars. And that you can buy a slightly used Nissan Leaf off craigslist for less than $10,000 USD. Financed over 5 years that's about $150/mo.

Or a civic for $2500 that is even cheaper to maintain.

Disclaimer, I bought a civic for $800 and put over 300,000 miles, with an average of 36mpg. Sold it years ago for a used toyota (now with 368k), it is still on the road. Proper maint is cheaper than buying a virtue signalling fashion accessory.

Re: Norway: 37% of new vehicles sold in January were electric

#170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> People don't need to be living in massive luxury and you don't always need to spend money to enjoy yourself, but aren't these countries pushing it? I think a lot of it comes down to material vs non material quality of life. First of all, very little of taxes evaporate in e.g wars. That helps. Most of it seems to fund things that make me happy or at least not worried. I'm not worried about getting sick, old, whether…

What you described is a life of a house cat, happy that the food's always there and that there's lots of time to sleep. A bleak life devoid of any ambition and goals. I can't imagine the brainwashing required to make people accept that.

I see the opposite - I don't have to worry about the food being there so I can choose to take risks such taking a year off with kids, or starting my own company. I think that the separation of my health insurance from my employment for example, is very important in that respect.

What I described is basically the reality in any oecd country (there is one outlier and it's not Sweden). If it's a brainwashing scheme it's a pretty large one.

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