EVcast #224: The British Invasion

i recently read a study on transportation, when in a congested traffic area to lower the speed limit from 55 to 45 which actually makes transit time the same but reduces the stop and start problem, reduces collisions, reduces pollution and increasesed gas milage and also allows EV's to compete with fossil fuelers.

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It was a really fun show. Thanks to everyone who took part, and listened!

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Robert - if you are reading these - have you switched your domestic electricity supplier? Ecotricity founder/MD Dale Vince is currently working on an EV and has big ideas about changing the way electricity is made in the UK.... http://zerocarbonista.com for more info

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Nikki,

I loved your interview with Mike Boxwell, Kate Elliott and Robert Llewelyn. I'm a big fan of Red Dwarf and the Kryten character in particular. The cat was pretty hilarious too.

Anyway I digress. One thing I didn't mention in listener feed back that Kate mentioned was how American cars were really crap back in the 70's, 80's and 90's.

Here's my experience. I owned a 1976 Ford Pinto wagon. It had a German made 6 cylinder V6 engine. That's about the only nice thing I can say about it. The engine never idled smoothly. I had to replace water pumps on it every 2 years. Removing that beast was an ordeal with 22 bolts holding it on and precious little space between the fan and the radiator grill.  Then there was the rack steering column I had to replace and it was a pain in the @#$%. My dad had to help with this one and he just drilled out the locking pins Ford lovingly put in there to make it impossible for the stearing arms to come loose. Unfortunately it made it impossible for the stearing rack to come off.

Another car I had the displeasure to experience, but fortunately not to own was the 1974 Chevy Vega and never was a finer piece of junk made by GM. (My brother bought it as a used beater to save his precious brand new 1980 Ford Mustang Cobra from the hazards of parking in shopping strip mall America.) Here' what went wrong with it. It's electric, Tonka toy like, electric fuel pump, mounted in the gas tank, would fail almost every six months. An outboard heavy duty electric pump did the trick. Its muffler failed and it needed a new one. It had its engine replaced but still had problems. Its wheel bearings gave out in the middle of rural Tennessee once on a trip in it from New Jersey back to Texas.

Finally there's my 1979 Chrysler Newport's break-fix of the month. The wheel bearings would fail every two years. (These American made car failures seem to come in intervals of two years.) I rebuilt its carburetor. The alternator would fail regularly. This was not Chrysler's fault though. I replaced them 3 times in one year. Two of them were rebuilt ones and the last one was from the factory. Problem solved! The indoor upholstery lining on the cabin roof gave out and had to be replaced. Its electrical pickup inductor failed once crippling the car until I replaced it. Its electric starter motor failed. I particularly loved this job because the replacement was 80 lbs and I replaced it during the time a cold front came through. I once replaced the air conditioning fan switch. I had to have the radiator recored because it leaked. Of course it burned a quart of oil every 500 miles.

So there's the flower of American craftsmanship. I now own a 2000 Toyota Camry with a 5 speed manual transmission and it has given me 160,000 care free miles. 
 

Rick, from the oil capitol of the world, Houston, TX.

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Very good show from our English cousins!  Somehow, it seemed much more refined than Bo and Ryan's usual shenanighans- like listening to Masterpiece theatre instead of the Marx Brothers;-)  (Just kidding Bo and Ryan- you know I love your shows)

It is always interesting to hear different perspectives on a given issue- in this case EV's of course;-)  I'm not sure it is any consolation, but the large sale of Radar Detectors in the US probably indicates that American drivers don't slow down all that much either.  And as much as I hate it, a slower speed limit is probably a good thing, both from a safety issue and a fuel, gas or electric, conservation concern.  But there are some loooong stretches of road into West Texas that already take an eternity with an 80mph speed limit as it is I do not look forward to traveling that stretch any slower- of course I could always buy a Radar Detector...

I think a big problem with car conversions is the same as it is going to be with new EV's- the cost of the battery.  Everything else, the electric motor, all the other electric management systems, are made out of well-known parts, and will come down in price rather quickly with the start of mass-production- but the batteries themselves- it is going to take more than mass-production, I think, to greatly impact their costs, at least in the near term.  And until that component is licked, it is going to be an uphill battle whether you are trying to sell a consumer an
EV upgrade kit or a new EV.  Now, my tech-loving, consciensious half happens to think it is worth it- but my poverty-stricken other half says we have to wait- which is what a lot of consumers are going to choose as well, unfortunately (oh great- I am talking about myself as 'we' now- too much time in the Texas sun yesterday;-)

I never did see the show Red Dwarf, but I used to really enjoy Junkyard Wars, and that is where I recognized Robert Llewelyn's name and voice;-)  you can catch his Car Pool videos at:  http://www.llewtube.com/

You can see Mike's site for Electric Revas at:  http://www.revaclub.com/

Kate' site is at http://www.pyoor.org/

And finally, you can see guest host Nikki Bloomfield's site at:  http://www.aminorjourney.co.uk/

So long y'all - should I say cheerio mates!

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Wow! The geographic emphasis matters not. This is about the best EVcast ever! Imagine that - a whole group of people who know EVs, and know what they're talking about. Fantastic!

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