Nissan turns down buyers

[Peuty]

I should mention that in Metro Sydney and Melbourne (soon to be Brisbane as well), there will be dedicated roadside assist vehicles for EV's that have quick charge stations on board, should the need ever arise.

[grandpa_spec_F6]

Spose that's a sound investment considering it's new technology.

The other spin on that is it isn't environmentally friendly to keep a dedicated fleet of vehicles to service your other fleet of vehicles.

[Peuty]

I probably jumped the gun calling them dedicated, let's rephrase and call them normal roadside vehicles equipped to service EV's.

[RASER]

Originally Posted by Peuty

I should mention that in Metro Sydney and Melbourne (soon to be Brisbane as well), there will be dedicated roadside assist vehicles for EV's that have quick charge stations on board, should the need ever arise.

Useless is'nt it

GM/H @ FishermansBend [NOT BLUE] HQ, have a charge-station out front of its building for its new Volt, be ok in/around that industrial estate.

Till they can get a easy no-brainer say 400km range out of it, it will only be purchased by people using other peoples money [ie University and councils/government depts.] or wood ducks.

And the BIGGEST issue is the price, is it needs to be 15% more than similar priced ICE vehicle, as per hybrid.

The Hybrid is genius, this is not.

[Bud Bud]

Originally Posted by RASER

Till they can get a easy no-brainer say 400km range out of it, it will only be purchased by people using other peoples money [ie University and councils/government depts.] or wood ducks.

I don't agree, a 400k range is great for most people for the sake of convenience only because it means that they can travel for probably 4-8 days generally without having to divert from their day to refill, (in my case 500-550k 7-10 days) but EVs will still be able to travel that same amount of distance in those same amount of days as well, no problem. The only constraint is that they will have the added inconvenience of needing to be charged when they are not driven, but that's it. The only overall draw back I can see with EVs, is when you want to do 500ks in 5hrs because there is still no current substitute for conventional fuel.

My wife takes blood during home visits for the elderly for a large pathology company for a living. She knocks up between 65-80 kms every day, and afterwards, the vehicle is parked on company property over night, every night. I have another mate who fixes ATM's and racks up similar k's, possibly more and the car that he uses is also stored on site overnight as well. These are prime examples of what an EV of the future could easily be adapted for.

I reckon Milk was delivered in London in the 60's and 70's using EVs as well. (I think I recall the hapless Granville chatting up the milk lady on "Open All Hours" when she pulled up in an EV one morning)

The up side is, if EVs were introduced in the short term for these basic but important everyday tasks, there would more fuel left over for us to power our hobbies on the weekend later on in life!

Bud Bud

[Wretched]

Originally Posted by Bud Bud

I don't agree, a 400k range is great for most people for the sake of convenience only because it means that they can travel for probably 4-8 days generally without having to divert from their day to refill, (in my case 500-550k 7-10 days) but EVs will still be able to travel that same amount of distance in those same amount of days as well, no problem. The only constraint is that they will have the added inconvenience of needing to be charged when they are not driven, but that's it. The only overall draw back I can see with EVs, is when you want to do 500ks in 5hrs because there is still no current substitute for conventional fuel.

My wife takes blood during home visits for the elderly for a large pathology company for a living. She knocks up between 65-80 kms every day, and afterwards, the vehicle is parked on company property over night, every night. I have another mate who fixes ATM's and racks up similar k's, possibly more and the car that he uses is also stored on site overnight as well. These are prime examples of what an EV of the future could easily be adapted for.

I reckon Milk was delivered in London in the 60's and 70's using EVs as well. (I think I recall the hapless Granville chatting up the milk lady on "Open All Hours" when she pulled up in an EV one morning)

The up side is, if EVs were introduced in the short term for these basic but important everyday tasks, there would more fuel left over for us to power our hobbies on the weekend later on in life!

Bud Bud

These businesses would benefit with EVs with the fact that servicing I would imagine be a little cheaper due the fact there are a lot less moving components, no oil, coolant, etc need to be changed. Yes electricity will need to be paid for to fuel these up but what is the cost of that vs fueling up with petrol each week?

I personally won't get an EV in their current form but I can see the benefits to some people. I say bring them on and see what they can be applied to. The future is not EV nor hybrid but Hydrogen fuel cells. However until the infrastructure is built around them EVs and hybrids will be the stepping stone.

[2011G6E]

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

I guess Nissan had to question the potential buyers to see how gullible they are, and to make sure they carry a high enough level of smugness to own an EV, and to also have a strong ability to look down their noses at people who drive petrol cars.

And to also make sure they are dumb enough to believe that electric vehicles are so much better for the environment than an economical petrol or diesel powered one.

Yes indeed...study groups showed that people wanted the Prius for example to look a bit oddball and different to something like the quite normal looking Honda Civic Hybrid, and the reason was simple...people didn't just want to drive a Prius, they wanted to be seen to be driving a Prius, to say smugly "Look at me and how green I am and how environmentally aware I am and you are not".

The Volt is a much better idea, and shows real promise as you can indeed use it as a normal car where ever you may be. Kudos to it!

Originally Posted by Big Damo

Our TAFE is doing the training course for the Nissan technicians to be authorised to work on these, the only people who are authorised to service and repair these guys are the Nissan trained guys, not legally but I'm not going to be poking my hands into something which is carrying 400V+ through it, without the right tools and training, this ain't no 12V party where you short it out, blow fuses and burn your hand.

They have to wear face shields and full overalls just in case it gets arc-flash, which is like welding burn when connecting up the battery bank etc.

...which is the elephant in the room that no one mentions about these things...they have a much higher risk factor than any other vehicle on the road in an accident situation. Emergency personnel in overseas countries where these cars are more common have had to undergo special training about what to watch out for in crashed hybrids and full-electric cars, and there have been public campaigns about not touching anything at an accident scene just in case.

[steve.zissou]

The leaf is not a game changer - in Australia I guarantee the stats will show that 95 of leaf drivers will run out of juice once a month.

the GMH Volt is more like it - its not a hybrid in the camry or prius sense. it more like a leaf with a generator strapped to it so if you run out of electric power your not fubar. but if you use it like a leaf you'll never need to fuel it up (I think Jay leno did some huge milage on his volt and only used a few gallons of petrol cause he charged it every day).

am i a bad person that every time i see a prius or if i see a leaf, i want to bag up the rears in third and pass them side ways????

I'd consider a volt though (can i get extractors for it - i'll need to get that phone app that imitates a v8 exhaust as you drive)

[mike_nofx]

Originally Posted by grandpa_spec_F6

Bring on the hot-swappable battery solution!

First of all we need to get the big wigs to agree on a universal battery! Or series of batteries! Hopefully this will eventuate with large motor manufacturers moving to a global production model.

Personally I'd love something like the Tesla Roadster, as long as it got a guaranteed 400km per charge and look under 5 mins to recharge or swap the battery.

Now that's an interesting idea!

Have service stations that don't provide petrol, but ready to go, charged batteries that you swap out... Like they do with swap'n'go BBQ gas bottles.

That way you don't need a charger everywhere you go and there is no down time between recharges.

[tranquilized]

Originally Posted by mike_nofx

Now that's an interesting idea!

Have service stations that don't provide petrol, but ready to go, charged batteries that you swap out... Like they do with swap'n'go BBQ gas bottles.

That way you don't need a charger everywhere you go and there is no down time between recharges.

Theres a company called Better Place that have been working on this model for a while. Basically you rent your cars battery off them, they have stations scattered around the place where you can pull in, and the battery is changed over in about a minute. You dont have to worry about long term battery life and associated expenses with this system either. Bit of genuis I reckon.

http://www.betterplace.com.au/

Obviously the Leaf is not compatible with any such model...

[RASER]

While anybody spending $50k + ORC on a "toy" needs his/her head read

This other SUPERIOR electric one is only $10k, better range, better vehicle full-stop, & a modern day F1-God-designer designed it:

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/...iew-murray-t27

Price: £7000 (est); 0-62mph: 14.9sec; Top speed: 65mph; Economy: 100 miles (NEDC cycle), 130 miles (ECE15 cycle); CO2: 0g/km (tailpipe); Kerb weight: 680kg; Engine: Zytek electric motor; Installation: Rear, transverse, RWD; Power: 34bhp; Torque: na; Gearbox: single speed
& 3-seater like his F1

I would be interested!

http://www.gordonmurraydesign.com/press-350mpg.php

[stalker]

Originally Posted by RASER

While anybody spending $50k + ORC on a "toy" needs his/her head read

This other SUPERIOR electric one is only $10k, better range, better vehicle full-stop, & a modern day F1-God-designer designed it:

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/...iew-murray-t27

Price: £7000 (est); 0-62mph: 14.9sec; Top speed: 65mph; Economy: 100 miles (NEDC cycle), 130 miles (ECE15 cycle); CO2: 0g/km (tailpipe); Kerb weight: 680kg; Engine: Zytek electric motor; Installation: Rear, transverse, RWD; Power: 34bhp; Torque: na; Gearbox: single speed
& 3-seater like his F1

I would be interested!

http://www.gordonmurraydesign.com/press-350mpg.php

oh i hope people buy these imagine the fun that could be had, walk down the street pushing them onto their sides...

i can see it now driving down the road with the wife and 2.5 kids walking behind me.