As someone who had been labelled a “climate change denier” ~ I do not deny the climate is changing. I do however dispute the cause ~ I am regarded by a group of Extinction Rebellion activists in a nearby village as well…………. You can imagine!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thus it was with wry amusement I found this link on the internet: https://gajitz.com/little-generator-trailer-lets-electric-cars-go-the-distance/ ~ as the image above shows!
Personally this reminds me of the last car I had before my present car which I bought new in 2019.
I sold a car that was proving very expensive to maintain and bought a second hand car which appeared most excellent. My plan was to keep this car until October 2021 when I would begin to receive my old age pension. I would then trade it in and copy a good friend of mine who recommended that I buy a new car on a 3 year PCP basis.
I however made a very grave mistake. One I kick myself about. A wise woman once told me: “Never, never assume anything!”
Well when it came to that car I did!
You see, I saw a car advertised which appeared too good to be true and stupidly, I did not invest £250+ for the RAC to inspect and examine said car at the used car dealer because the vehicle was only £1,500 and appeared to be in brilliant condition! It was a KIA Magentis 2.0 litre mid spec version and had just under 30,000 miles on the clock, a full service history and one owner. It also had a tow hook. There was another car at a another dealer that was nearly as good a bargain at the same price but it did not have a tow hook. It was the two hook that was the decider for me.
Why did I want a tow hook? Did I possess or intended on possessing a caravan or a trailer?
No!
I did however intend to have the vehicle converted to run on LPG. Like “EVs” refilling with Autogas requires journey planning! A minority of forecourts have Autogas and nearly all of those that do have just one pump (operable from two sides). I had owned and operated LPG cars since 1998 and as such had much experience with them. As a result I wanted a car with a tow hook so when I got it converted the LPG filler could be fastened to a steel plate welded onto the tow hook! This allowed me to fill up either side of the pump with ease!
I took the car to be converted to an installer in Devon.
Had this installer been a reputable installer they would have noted that the car had a problem and would have notified me to ascertain whether or not I still wanted to proceed with spending £2,000 on equipping a car I had bought for £1,500!
They did NOT!
So, what was the problem?
The problem lay in what the first owner of the vehicle towed behind the car!
You see, I had stupidly assumed that it was a caravan. A RAC inspection would have revealed that it had been a dinghy! As a result of many immersions in the North Sea, the car was very rotten underneath!
This would have been very very obvious to the installer who should have notified me! As it was I was notified by our friendly and very professional and extremely reputable local garage (a short walk away) when the car passed it’s MOT. The garage manager rang me and told me that the car had passed but there was an advisory which he would like to show me.
The car was up on the ramp. We both walked under and we both said in unison: “It was a dinghy!”
The garage manager went on to give his (extremely low) opinion of the LPG installer! He went on to say that he will do his best to address the underbody corrosion and with a bit of luck enable the car to pass the MOT in June 2021 – an event a few years away! He went on to ask: “Are you going to complain to the installer?”
“No.” I replied, continuing, “I’ll see he’s put out of business though! To that end could you please give me a report and some photographs and be prepared to answer questions from the regulatory authorities in the motor industry?”
He agreed and I subsequently had words with a certain number of individuals I know in the regulatory sphere. The result was that the installer went out of business.
The KIA Magentis lasted until May 2019 when it was no longer able to pass an MOT without being rebuilt. KIA had a scrappage scheme and the car was scrapped and I bought a new KIA on the 3 year PCP two years earlier than I would have wished. It was genuinely the case of a car that required the scrap yard! When COVID-19 hit I obtained a personal loan from the bank, ended the PCP agreement buy buying the car and that resulted in the monthly payments dropping by £60 pcm and the total cost of the car over the period of the two finance terms increasing by just £20! So all’s well that end’s well. For me at least if not the Devon installer!
Returning to the subject of what are now called “EVs”, the above demonstrates the general impracticality of them. True, small EVs with limited range are ideal for use within cities – for an owner to commute from a suburb to the city centre and back again, charging the car up overnight.
I state small EVs as the size of the battery is MOST important! You see, it must not be too large. Furthermore the EV must not have a supercar performance! Why? Because of the charge time! You see virtually all domestic residences have a single phase supply which limits the charger to 7.4kW! Buy a Mercedes EQS and you will not be ale to fully charge it overnight – without a 22kW charger – which requires a 3 phase supply!
A small EV is great for short journeys. This because the motor has no problem with short journeys. Unlike what is now called an ICE! Diesels are of course the worst for short journeys although petrol cars have issues as well.
For a LONG journey diesels are best!
Thus the ideal car would be a DHEV (Diesel Hybrid Electric Vehicle) with a modest size battery enabling use for short journeys and the diesel for long journeys. Furthermore the DHEV should be manually switchable. This means that the car driver selects the propulsion method! Why? Because if one uses the diesel, the further you go the better! Short journeys are the kiss of death to a diesel engine! If the DHEV can be plugged in overnight the car can be used for short journeys without the need to use the diesel.
From a pollution standpoint, using electric propulsion is the answer! For city centres I’m all in favour of zero emission vehicles! Why wouldn’t I be! You see, I’d love a DHEV which I could drive to Tesco Penzance on electric power (< 20 miles round trip) or drive up to my old stomping ground (> 800 miles round trip) on diesel power.
Of course, this common sense solution will NOT be taken up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Source for the paraphrased title: But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. (Matthew 16:23)