ALL ELECTRIC- THEN DRIVERLESS. ?

HERBIEMERCMAN

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I have owned big mec diesels for years and still have a good one, it is not just ecconomy with me, i am a bit like Fred Dibanah was with steam engines. I know the Green Enviromental paranoia lot have put forward a non statistcal vendta on our cars, (not trucks, tains and buses), the real poluters.
However some of my pub mates have bought all elecric cars, circa 20K each, the novelty of plugging them in where there phone tells them, they enjoy the technology, they also think they are "non poluters", the base evidence proves this is not the case. However their cars are state of the art, BUT three of them after spending all that money still cannot drive from Preston to Manchester in rush hour in less than 45 mins to one hour, some days with accidents etc much more time,twice per day, this is circa 8 boring smelly hours in your car per week?
There are some fantastic cars today some which do 0 to 60 in 3 seconds, BUT it is quickly becoming a joke, as it is like a sea drying up but people are still buying the top boats, IMHO the roads are well out of date and dangerously overcrowded, total grid lock and mega pot holes etc. If you are over 50 and enjoyed your motoring, then you have had the best of it, a sad day where many women in their pyjamas obese with an obese child drive one mile every day in their car to take little Johny to school, very sad, it cannot last IMHO. We have allowed machine and materialistic values take over, "playing the oesterich" on what really matters. What do you think? Herbie.
 

Craiglxviii

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I think...(in this country):

Road maintenance is dangerously underfunded.

New road construction has not been looked at with an integrated eye.

Alternatives to road transport e.g. rail and canal for hub & spoke distribution have been systemically ignored in favour of the road lobby for four decades and should be revisited in the light of modern scheduling software.

Now at a more global level:

The public has been misled over what “pollution” is and it’s effects. This must be revisited and open source data made freely available.

Vehicle taxation should be applied based on the conclusions behind that data (particulates, NOx etc).

Neither one nor another form of prime mover should receive subsidies. That levels out the playing field to whichever is actually the most affordable to run (and which is taxed according to its pollutants level).

The sale of HAL ==> HiD conversion kits should be punished by hanging.
 

LostKiwi

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they also think they are "non poluters", the base evidence proves this is not the case.
No it doesn't. We've already had this discussion on the forum and it was made clear then that electric cars are less polluting over their entire lifetime than ICE cars.
There are some fantastic cars today some which do 0 to 60 in 3 seconds, BUT it is quickly becoming a joke
Why? Of the top 10 fastest 0-60 production cars 3 are either electric (Tesla P100D with ludicrous+ update is 2nd fastest - and is a 4 seater 4 door saloon to rub salt in the wound) or Hybrid (Porsche 918 Spyder is fastest and is hybrid). I was even contemplating the other day that a used Tesla is within reach now....

People are too dependant on cars and will use them where they could easily walk (and I'm as guilty as the next person).
 

LostKiwi

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'93 500SL-32, '01 W210 Estate E240 (RIP), 02 R230 SL500, 04 Smart Roadster Coupe, 11 R350CDi
I think...(in this country):

Road maintenance is dangerously underfunded.

New road construction has not been looked at with an integrated eye.

Alternatives to road transport e.g. rail and canal for hub & spoke distribution have been systemically ignored in favour of the road lobby for four decades and should be revisited in the light of modern scheduling software.

Now at a more global level:

The public has been misled over what “pollution” is and it’s effects. This must be revisited and open source data made freely available.

Vehicle taxation should be applied based on the conclusions behind that data (particulates, NOx etc).

Neither one nor another form of prime mover should receive subsidies. That levels out the playing field to whichever is actually the most affordable to run (and which is taxed according to its pollutants level).

The sale of HAL ==> HiD conversion kits should be punished by hanging.
Absolutely bob on Craig!
 

Craiglxviii

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Go to ‘Murica. Over there, malls are designed with a series of interlocking parking lots that have little external pedestrian access. They fully expect one to come out of a store, get into one’s car, drive out of the car park and turn into the next car park down the road. Might only be 50 yards.
 

umblecumbuz

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... We have allowed machine and materialistic values take over, "playing the oesterich" on what really matters. What do you think? Herbie.

I heartily agree with this view.

We get overly concerned with frivolous details, like 'Has the latest model got piddle lighting (oh dear, a typo!) or sequential indicators, or whatever - and we get aggressive to the point of violence if we feel we've been slighted by another motorist -while the real values in life, like honesty, integrity, loyalty, concern for others, seem to be fading.

Just my take. Guess it's the way I was brought up.
Sermon over.
 

Submariner1

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I think...(in this country):

Road maintenance is dangerously underfunded.

New road construction has not been looked at with an integrated eye.

Too right !
Just going to get my Amp put on STAR at a local dealer !
Doing 50 mph downhill .... rock face on the left, oncoming traffic on the right!
( no way to avoid)

Loud Thunk!!
2DE733CB-F5D8-41A7-9171-09687B97C71B.jpeg

Stopped on the way back ... a nice 1.5” to 2” drop off the red concrete road surface ... fortunately as you leave the pothole, its a totally smooth fairly shallow gradient.

Has it buckled the recently straightened and repowdercoated wheel! Who knows ??

Er it certainly wouldn't do the ABC struts any good!

Hopefully the smooth gradient as you leave the hole, might have saved some serious grief.

Give it a week when the hole has self excavatied and the exit path is a sheer drop .. and we have a seriously effective suspension killer!

They redid this road cheaply after 15 years! Last year
Ohh well it should be sorted in 2032! Budgets permitting ...
 
OP
HERBIEMERCMAN

HERBIEMERCMAN

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I think one of the most popular items people have is their car, they are a great asset, i can load mine up in my driveway and then drive to Stranraer and fill a Marina trolley with all my stuff. You can enjoy the drive as Scotland is not like the north west and the south for congestion, most people IMHO would give up anything before their car. The key point in my thread is that the roads are increasingly getting log jammed, especially in the rush hour and the school runs, apart from putting a steel top deck on the roads like they do in the USA what else can be done? Herbie.
 

Craiglxviii

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Herbie. What CAN be done as opposed to what SHOULD be done, as opposed to what can be AFFORDED and all of that as opposed to the CAPACITY/ SKILLS we have are all violently st odds.

What SHOULD be done is a review of the tonnage/ minute traffic across all roads, then a thorough rebuild of those roads down to the 36-48” foundation level as required to meet the newly corrected grade.

What CAN be done depends on SKILLS, CAPACITY and CASH. Also political will.

Because non motorway urban routes belong to local councils mostly, CASH is tight to non existent. Councils have demonstrated that they don’t care about road maintenance.

Fewer people are working on’t’roads and in construction in general. Natural wastage followed by an influx of cheap Eurolabour took care of our needs but now we lack enough people with the right SKILLS.

So, in short, expect roads to be patched.

To give you an idea of why foundations are so important... the M1 has been completely resurfaced around 12 times since the mid 60s. The Fosse Way has been completely resurfaced four times since 40AD.
 

d215yq

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We have allowed machine and materialistic values take over, "playing the oesterich" on what really matters. What do you think? Herbie.

I've thought that a long time, but at the end of the day it just makes all my second hand purchases and "substance over style" things a lot cheaper than the latest rubbish people pay over the odds for. Meanwhile not buying all that junk means I can spend parts of my life (and have) working part time, studying or not working at all whilst enjoying friends, family, travel and the simpler things in life and learning how to fix up buildings/play guitar/about cars/other things that interest me.

Last year I bought a flat. OK it's Spain prices but despite being in the 3rd biggest city in a nice area the 4 bedroom flat was 45k, half price of the others because "if doesn't have a lift and is top floor, and that's not what home buyers want nowadays". There's bargains to be had everywhere for non materialistic non lazy people precisely because most people are materialistic/lazy so take advantage.

You like your old diesel (as do I) so keep it and don't worry. And if it becomes impossible to drive anywhere due to regulations/government fear not, there'll be lots of old, uncool petrol/hybrid/whatever estates lieing around to pick up for peanuts and run in a similar way whilst car buyers have moved on to some other marketing gimmick...
 

ajlsl600

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if this not in right place feel free to move it... d251yq yr about spot on !!!today . a great deal of ..tech....? just has one chasing ones tail to either,work to keep paying to keep the tech,working .or working to keep replacing ,updating the tech . and I am damn certain THAT is a design feature !!!!,and i aint going for it in any way i dont have to.latest example digital cameras ,have just changed,again and if you own a DSLR ,i do.. they have now done away with the mirrors so now the DSLR,s are, or are about to be worth ,not much , i have about ,from the late 80,s 5k of 35mm SLR camera kit and lenses. also now worth bugger all .i aint falling for it again my A classs , clk 320, current DSLR will run until they cant work and if i replace my SL600 it will be with some kind of older,simpler classic that has VERY little if any tech... IN my view battery cars are never going to be any good outside the towns and cities .premature replacement of my current power tool batteries pxxses me of enough ,i aint gettin involved with 5k battery packs that are likely buxxered in 5 yrs and cant get me a 100 miles. . i have no intent of planning my pub visits 10hrs in advance !!!.. when they make one at 1, mondeo prices . 2,that can run a normal weeks miles. 3. and charge in 3,4 hrs without causing premature battery death 4. batteries that dont cost half the car . i might start thinking differently.

i am NOT against progress ,i am against progress ,that in whatever guise has the main intent of having me hanging from the commercial hook like it or not..eg
petrol cars great,petrol cars bad. go buy diesel ,diesel good ,then diesel bad, electric good, get my point.
 

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