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Thread: Electric Cars in South Africa? Eskom? Price Range? Possibility?

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    Electric Cars in South Africa? Eskom? Price Range? Possibility?

    We recently did a write up on electrical cars in South Africa. Personally i would love to drive one myself. I think they are cool. especially considering the amount you could save on petrol. plus the fact that you probably wont hear any noise from the engine. Surprisingly not all of them are weak either. some are actually super fast with super power. check it out. and let me know your thoughts... How do you think it would effect Eskom? Should the govenment introduce tax rebates?

    http://www.jarrod.co.za/blog/?p=10794#more-10794

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    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
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    Do you watch Top Gear? The Tesla is pretty awesome on the performance side, but comes with some hefty drawbacks too.

    The question that has to be asked is "are rechargable type electric cars really green?"

    And if you're charging off the Eskom grid - that's coal based energy you're topping up with there, me matey. You may be reducing carbon emmisions in your neighbourhood, but you're adding to them elsewhere.

    Those hydrogen cell jobs look a lot closer to the answer...
    Last edited by Dave A; 28-Sep-11 at 09:23 PM.

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    Gold Member twinscythe12332's Avatar
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    Not to mention the battery packs... are you really going to see the saving when you look at your electricity bill? The tesla draws 70 amps to charge the batteries to capacity... in 4 hours.
    I don't know what other green cars are doing, but what about safety? I saw plenty of light-weight cars on a TV show that had some terrible looking sturctural integrity.
    take a look at the tesla site:
    http://www.teslamotors.com/goelectri...wall-connector

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    yeah. lol. i hear your points. today there was a blackout in cape town. i can't imagine what that would have meant for people with electric cars - that werent charged up. You have a point about the safety issue tho. Are electric cars safer?

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    I think that electric cars are a total waste of time. Just another going green fad that will end up making some people very rich by driving the normal consumerism. The Jule is a case in point!

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    Gold Member irneb's Avatar
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    Even if you can get "clean" & cheap elec the tech at present is still just not good enough. The lithium batteries have a very short lifespan and is expensive, dangerous, pollutant, difficult to recycle, and the raw materials are extremely scarce. As for hydrogen cells ... the compression needed to get enough in the same space as a petrol tank and have similar energy means that if that tank ruptures you'd take out a city block. Perhaps alcohol based fuel cells, but even they're not without problems.

    At present your best bet is hybrids. I don't mean those STUPID Prius-like things. It should be like Diesel electric, i.e. no gearbox, small battery / capacitor. You get all the benefits of electric like regenerative breaking, high power in short bursts, etc. But your mechanical side is reduced greatly, no gearbox, no changeover between ICE and electric like with the Prius, and the ICE can run at its most efficient RPM - no reving up and down. Not to mention, it's been tested and proved for decades.

    Why these car manufacturers waste their time with this new fad of "stupid" hybrids seems to be ulterior in motive. They are heavy, usually less efficient than their ICE counterparts, excessively complex, breakage prone, etc.

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    Gold Member irneb's Avatar
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    Actually to see a sample of what I mean by a Diesel-Electric-Hybrid, though this one uses Petrol: http://www.reghardware.com/2011/05/0..._x75_supercar/

    Basically the wheels are turned using electric motors. The Petrol ICE is only used as a generator. I think they went that route not so much because of efficiency, but rather to save weight. Thus you can install a mediocre ICE and still get huge performance from the electrical motor(s), while reducing your weight by omitting the gearbox (rather than compromising on the structural integrity).
    Gold is the money of kings; silver is the money of gentlemen; barter is the money of peasants; but debt is the money of slaves. - Norm Franz
    And central banks are the slave clearing houses

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    Diamond Member Justloadit's Avatar
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    You think the electric vehicle is a new thing?

    Think again "Porsche Had World's First Hybrid 100 Years Ago "
    Victor - Knowledge is a blessing or a curse, your current circumstances make you decide!
    Solar pumping, Solar Geyser & Solar Security lighting solutions - www.microsolve.co.za

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    Gold Member irneb's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Justloadit View Post
    You think the electric vehicle is a new thing?

    Think again "Porsche Had World's First Hybrid 100 Years Ago "
    Actually, that's not the so-called-hybrids which are this "new-fad" coming out - which I'm referring to. That one is a combustion engine used as generator with electric motors in each wheel hub, thanks for the link

    It's exactly what I was referring to as the Diesel-Electric idea, instead of what's commonly referred to as Hybrid these days. I even mentioned that it's been "tried and tested for decades", just didn't realize I should've said 10 decades. It's even still in major use with trains and very large trucks ... exactly because of all its benefits as opposed to anything using some form of unnecessary gearbox, clutch and swap-over mechanics to change from combustion engine to and from electric motor engagement.

    It's as if the new stuff is a huge step backwards from what was available in those days. Methinks there must be some reason why they go with this logically stupid form of hybrid, where something around 100 years ago was already a more efficient idea.
    Gold is the money of kings; silver is the money of gentlemen; barter is the money of peasants; but debt is the money of slaves. - Norm Franz
    And central banks are the slave clearing houses

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    Diamond Member Justloadit's Avatar
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    Maybe they do not want to be seen as copying?
    Victor - Knowledge is a blessing or a curse, your current circumstances make you decide!
    Solar pumping, Solar Geyser & Solar Security lighting solutions - www.microsolve.co.za

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