Earlier quoted context omitted.
I am just excited because the more EVs mean fewer idiots in hot rods running without mufflers.
Well there are new classes of idiots I see pretty frequently - a typical tesla driver going 90 in 120 region of highway without any reason, presumably saving last bits of battery (that has at least some rationale, if they do it due to ie fear then they should not be driving or having license). Over say 50km part of highway, maybe 2000 cars need to overtake such almost stationary object (to regular traffic which gener…
Electric cars produce less brake dust pollution than combustion-engine cars
371–380 of 783 posts
Re: Electric cars produce less brake dust pollution than combustion-engine cars
#372Earlier quoted context omitted.
If you own a house, generally you can do things like install charging points (also backup batteries, solar panels, better insulation, all kinds of fun things) that renters can't. I'm sure there are some homeowners who can't - maybe listed buildings, or these weird HOA rules I hear about from Americans.
Yes, especially on the 6th floor :)
Re: Electric cars produce less brake dust pollution than combustion-engine cars
#373Earlier quoted context omitted.
If you own a house, generally you can do things like install charging points (also backup batteries, solar panels, better insulation, all kinds of fun things) that renters can't. I'm sure there are some homeowners who can't - maybe listed buildings, or these weird HOA rules I hear about from Americans.
Yes, especially on the 6th floor :)
Re: Electric cars produce less brake dust pollution than combustion-engine cars
#374Earlier quoted context omitted.
Public EV chargers are pretty widespread nowadays. Not as much as gas chargers obviously, but for most people in the country if you don't have a way to charge at home it's not fundamentally that different from not having a gas pump at your house. Plus, most people can charge at home with an extension cord. It's not particularly fast, but you should be able to get 4-5 miles an hour. In the worst case scenario where yo…
> Not as much as gas chargers In the UK at least, there are more EV chargers than gas/petrol stations: https://www.vertumotors.com/news/there-are-more-charging-poi...
In case it sounds like I'm gas station lobby: I'm not against EVs at all and don't own a car, I'm just wondering if this is a fair comparison
Re: Electric cars produce less brake dust pollution than combustion-engine cars
#375Earlier quoted context omitted.
which is the whole point of hybrids Part of the point, not the whole point. Regenerative breaking is absolutely a win; but there can also be a significant benefit from allowing the ICE to remain in the RPM "sweet spot" rather than moving around a larger range.
> […] but there can also be a significant benefit from allowing the ICE to remain in the RPM "sweet spot" rather than moving around a larger range. Which is why I'm surprised electric cars with range extenders aren't a bigger thing: * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Range_extender Have the powertrain be all-electric, and have a battery pack, but for those with range anxiety have a small generator as an option that woul…
Re: Electric cars produce less brake dust pollution than combustion-engine cars
#376Earlier quoted context omitted.
On paper, yes, but did that ever happen? Sorry for being sarcastic, but where I live the frugal hybrid is exceptionally rare and the "same big engine, but driving a much heavier car" hybrid is omnipresent. The kind of people who might buy the frugal one buy second or third hand while almost all buyers of factory new pick the "same big engine" option, and those are the ones who decide what's available on the second ha…
In most countries, yes. Despite the push for SUV-styled cards (which are heavier than a regular city car, but not by that much), engines have been small. Toyota Yaris - HSD - 1.5L 4cyl Renault Clio - E-Tech - 1.6L Hyundai Kona (SUV) - 1.6L Honda Jazz - 1.5L Peugeot 208 - 1.2L Peugeot 3008 (SUV) - 1.6L Peugeot 5008 (Family SUV) - 2L And the list goes on. Even BMW with it's xDrive puts out 1.5L engines. Huge engines ar…
Re: Electric cars produce less brake dust pollution than combustion-engine cars
#377Re: Electric cars produce less brake dust pollution than combustion-engine cars
#378Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's something I wish there had been more focus on, instead of focusing on massive heavy batteries, develop the hybrids further.
Not sure about the US, but the Japanese didn't stop focusing on hybrid development. More than half of all sales in Japan are hybrids, whereas electric is only a few percent [1]. Honda even recently announced that they're scaling back on electric to focus on hybrids: https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/japans... [1] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-12-19/hybrid-ca...
Re: Electric cars produce less brake dust pollution than combustion-engine cars
#379Earlier quoted context omitted.
You could possibly have come to an arrangement about getting a 50 Amp (think dryer plug) hookup in the garage and provided your own charger. Also depending on your driving patterns a trickle charger in a 20 Amp socket may have worked for you as well. Mine takes about 48 hours for a full charge on the trickle charger.
There's no garage, and the only driveway-facing outlet is at the front door - opposite where my parking spot is allocated (an extension cord would have to go under/through the landlord's cars.) I have to drive 60km to work every day. Only laws (accommodate EVs and/or WFH) or spending time sitting at a gas station will help me here. No landlord is interested in accommodating an EV unless it's a net benefit to them (an…
Having a car right out one's door is a real luxury though, no more than two steps through any weather. I can see the appeal, just not sure if the collective downsides are worth it compared to arranging good transport inside of, and between, cities. Outside of populated areas, yeah, whatcha gonna do, but at least inside of major settlements we ought to be able to get this done (in many cities it's already okay to not have a car, but imo the facilities to get to the countryside are relatively annoying and needlessly expensive)
Re: Electric cars produce less brake dust pollution than combustion-engine cars
#380We should obviously ban combustion engine cars, at least starting with cities. I can’t think of a single clearer win for air quality.
If all of us renters were forced to convert to electric there’d never be an open charger in any city again for the next five years, because no landlord will voluntarily afford that cost, and no municipal region can pass a ballot measure to afford that cost. California’s impending ban of combustion car sales hinges wholly on a magical DC-charging network that doesn’t exist in U.S. cities yet (i.e. at parking meters),…
There are smaller and more practical changes that would have huge benefits. More public transport, pedestrianised areas, encouraging people to drive smaller cars (lots of ways to do that - e.g. reserve some parking for small cars, tax vehicles on weight) would all have huge benefits.