Electric + Human-Powered Vehicles

[Irrev-Black]

Some hybrids and fossilburners to be taxed more.

When do they go after USA-sourced behemoth utes? (And let's not forget, those things are mainly here because Abbott and Hockey killed car manufacturing in Oz.)

https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/politi ... 5eska.html

[stylofone]

Some hybrids and fossilburners to be taxed more.

When do they go after USA-sourced behemoth utes? (And let's not forget, those things are mainly here because Abbott and Hockey killed car manufacturing in Oz.)

https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/politi ... 5eska.html

I was reading about a new VW plug-in hybrd, it can go about 60kms in electric mode, while in petrol mode the electric motor can reduce fuel consumption to under 2L/100km (so they claim). All-electric is still better IMO, but depending on your driving pattern, a plug-in hybrid can have very very low fuel usage.

[stevebrooks]

Our Next Energy.

Claims to be already test driving BMW's with their new batteries. Claims to double driving range using new chemistry and innovations such as duel chemistry battery packs using cheaper materials than standard Lithium batteries.

https://one.ai/products/gemini

[stevebrooks]

Big push in Kenya to convert the countries petrol powered taxi-bikes to e-bikes, many advantages exist in that country that make it a very good idea both for public and drivers;

Mr Lugalia has been in the motorbike taxi business for five years, transporting people and goods around Nairobi.

He would spend about 1,000 Kenyan shillings a day - just over $6 (£5) - on fuel when he used a petrol bike.

Nairobi drivers earn on average about $10-15 a day, according to the country's Boda-Boda Association.

Since going electric, Mr Lugalia says he spends no more than $1.42 a day - so his profits are now up and that makes him very happy.

"Because of the cost of petrol, I am able to save a lot more using my electric bike," says Mr Lugalia with a smile.

Instead of filling up with petrol, Mr Lugalia now swaps the bike's electric battery once, sometimes twice, a day at one of the growing number of swap stations in Nairobi. A fully charged battery will allow him to drive for about 80km (50 miles), almost a whole day's work.

"Electric is the future in Kenya," Mr Lugalia tells the BBC.

Note that due to some advantages the cost of electricity in Nairobi is almost ridiculously cheap, the chief reason being, oh surprise, it is almost entirely supplied by renewables, thus making E powered bikes very cheap to run. Due to this fact it probably isn't a model that can work everywhere, at until other countries manage to get electricity prices down also, but it's a very interesting push from the Kenyan government.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-67781109

[Irrev-Black]

(Sort of relevant, what with the muskoid tendency to touchscreen All Of The Functions.)

Volkswagen is going back toward knobs 'n' dials.

https://gizmodo.com/volkswagon-losing-t ... 1851111038

Monitoring those upside-down footprints on the dashboard?

According to a survey of 2,000 Americans conducted by Kaspersky in November and published this week, 72 percent of drivers are uncomfortable with automakers sharing their data with advertisers, insurance companies, subscription services, and other third-party outfits. Specifically, 37.3 percent of those polled are "very uncomfortable" with this data sharing, and 34.5 percent are "somewhat uncomfortable."

However, only 28 percent of the total respondents say they have any idea what kind of data their car is collecting. Spoiler alert: It's potentially all the data. An earlier Mozilla Foundation investigation, which assessed the privacy policies and practices of 25 automakers, gave every single one a failing grade.

In Moz's September Privacy Not Included report, the org warned that car manufacturers aren't only potentially collecting and selling things like location history, driving habits and in-car browser histories. Some connected cars may also track drivers' sexual activity, immigration status, race, facial expressions, weight, health, and even genetic information, if that information becomes available.

https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/12/ ... a_privacy/

[stevebrooks]

I've noticed a trend overseas, and probably growing in Australia here also, that with the availability of parts from scrapped Tesla's there's a growing conversion industry for classic cars.

For instance;



Granted it's an expensive thing to do there is however a TV series into its second season so it must have a lot of followers.

https://www.vintagevoltage.tv/

[Irrev-Black]

I've noticed a trend overseas, and probably growing in Australia here also, that with the availability of parts from scrapped Tesla's there's a growing conversion industry for classic cars.

For instance;



Granted it's an expensive thing to do there is however a TV series into its second season so it must have a lot of followers.

https://www.vintagevoltage.tv/

It was a very watchable show, but so many of the cars were yacht-level expenditure. A 'leccy Porsche 356 might be the dream for me, but I could never justify it as a reality.

[stylofone]

I've noticed a trend overseas, and probably growing in Australia here also, that with the availability of parts from scrapped Tesla's there's a growing conversion industry for classic cars.

For instance;



Granted it's an expensive thing to do there is however a TV series into its second season so it must have a lot of followers.

https://www.vintagevoltage.tv/

Generally I am appalled by car culture, but that was an exception. There's something about the Mini, it's cool and daggy at the same time. The fact that it works so well proves that a lot of modern design is wasted energy.

My uninformed speculation is that it's always going to be tricky and impractical with old cars. If capitalism wasn't stupid we could have standardisation and it would be less expensive to do. Something like the open source car. If a version of this had taken off in the 60s the you could learn how to do it in high school. It still hasn't taken off even now as far as I can see. The EU is all talk, they forced phone makers to standardise chargers, but what about engine mounts, battery compartments, that sort of thing. I'm pretty sure it's a fantasy based on how the car industry works.

https://www.motorauthority.com/news/109 ... -000-video

[stevebrooks]

I've noticed a trend overseas, and probably growing in Australia here also, that with the availability of parts from scrapped Tesla's there's a growing conversion industry for classic cars.

For instance;



Granted it's an expensive thing to do there is however a TV series into its second season so it must have a lot of followers.

https://www.vintagevoltage.tv/

It was a very watchable show, but so many of the cars were yacht-level expenditure. A 'leccy Porsche 356 might be the dream for me, but I could never justify it as a reality.

Yeah that's always going to be a problem, just getting the chassis for a 365 to make into an electric car is going to cost more than many modern electric cars. One of the advantages of doing this sort of thing in the UK is the approval process, it's also why we don't have a boutique car industry in Australia. In the UK can you build your own car from scratch, everything, chassis, steering and etc and have it tested and approved, yes just a single car. In Australia getting approval to use a custom built chassis will take so much time and effort trying to push it through government departments it's not worth it, you could never start a company and start building 3 wheeler Morgan clones (given you have approval from Morgan of course), which is why most custom car makers in Australia just use an existing chassis and running gear from one of the big car makers.

Yacht level expensive isn't a surprise for such a niche industry, the fact that it exists to the level it does is due in large to the UK regulatory system.

[Irrev-Black]

Sub-zero Teslas are free of charge, it seems.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/chicago- ... 17227.html