Would you have an electric car if you had the money for a new car and were in the market for one?

[Cousin Jack]

However by 2030 I will be 84 (assuming i haven't fallen off my perch), so maybe I should stick with what I have? Or buy a little electric something since I will only drive 5 miles to Tesco and I can top it up there? Or be really outrageous and buy a pure ICE toy like a Mazda MX5?

I'd say you need to be a bit more outrageous with your outrageousness.

I'd suggest this for sir...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-detail ... 5117262631

I like the outrageousness, but the running costs would cripple me! A neighbour had a Vantage, not only did it drink petrol like a fish, but servicing (collection on a truck since the nearest Aston Martin dealer is 160 miles away) was mortgage territory.

[mangocrazy]

Yeah, all of that. I'd like to own one for six months perhaps and then hand it back...

[Count Steer]

I'd certainly say so. Difference between, say 40 and 80mpg is about £800/year, so £2,400 over a 3-year lease. I'd very much prefer to save that!

Well, of course you would....it's not your car.

She thinks filling up with fuel is a blue job.

I assume that that's a 'bloke's job' (The alternative might put a smile on the petrol station attendant's face and might be a good deal for a £100 tank full but all the same.... ).

[Slenver]

I assume that that's a 'bloke's job' (The alternative might put a smile on the petrol station attendant's face and might be a good deal for a £100 tank full but all the same.... ).

A year's insurance maybe, but not a single tank full

[Mr. Dazzle]

(collection on a truck since the nearest Aston Martin dealer is 160 miles away)

I get Mrs. D's shitwagon Civic serviced, MoTd etc. at a local back street garage which isn't on a back street at all, it's directly opposite Aston Martin's old factory and current flagship dealer/classics workshop in on Tickford Street in Newport Pagnell. They've got some tasty tasty stuff parked on the forecourt, but it's somewhat let down by the fact you can see all the staffs' Ford Fiestas parked down the side

[Cousin Jack]

Yes, MK has a few tasty back-street dealers, I used to get Mrs CJs Merc done at a German car specialist, originally in Stony, who then move out to Sherington. The place was a big shed, but he had a fantastic Merc he was restoring, and often a couple of Porsches with their engines out on the bench.

[demographic]

UK sales

20230704_195721.jpg

Interesting, I would have put Kia a lot higher than that based on how many of their EV's I see on the roads round here.
Teslas make a fair showing locally, and I even saw a Ford Mustang Mach E when I was over the other side of town last night.

I'm still genuinely surprised Couchy sees so few EVs where he is cos anywhere I drive theres quite a lot of em. There's either very few where he is or his eyes are painted on.

On Sunday I drove about 6 miles out of town to walk the dog through some woodland and there and back there were about ten with two Teslas within 300 hards. Five Teslas in total (three whites and two greys) a couple of VW's and a couple of Kias and IIRC one Hyundai.
And pretty much all over Cumbria and Southwest Scotland where I'm working is more or less the same.

[mangocrazy]

Yeah, but are you seeing them because they're a novelty? I see hundreds/thousands of cars on a drive back from Sheffield to Stafford, and I always 'notice' a Tesla when I (infrequently) see one as they stick out like a sore thumb.

[wheelnut]

Well, of course you would....it's not your car.

She thinks filling up with fuel is a blue job.

I assume that that's a 'bloke's job' (The alternative might put a smile on the petrol station attendant's face and might be a good deal for a £100 tank full but all the same.... ).

I think he mean blue jobs vs pink jobs.

[Count Steer]

Yeah, but are you seeing them because they're a novelty? I see hundreds/thousands of cars on a drive back from Sheffield to Stafford, and I always 'notice' a Tesla when I (infrequently) see one as they stick out like a sore thumb.

Well, I've been playing 'yellow car' with EVs ever since Couchy said he doesn't see many in and around Mansfield. Most days I'd estimate they're between 5 and 10% of the vehicles I see (excluding commercials). (20-30% are SUVs). Lots of Teslas, Hyundais, Minis etc. (+ a few Twizys ).

What I glean from that is, unsurprisingly, they're more popular where there's more money.

[Mr. Dazzle]

I can't work out if I like those electric Mini "plug socket" wheels or not.

[cheb]

The have a look of old fashioned science fiction to me, maybe the 1970s.

And no I don't like them.

[Couchy]

Yeah, but are you seeing them because they're a novelty? I see hundreds/thousands of cars on a drive back from Sheffield to Stafford, and I always 'notice' a Tesla when I (infrequently) see one as they stick out like a sore thumb.

Well, I've been playing 'yellow car' with EVs ever since Couchy said he doesn't see many in and around Mansfield. Most days I'd estimate they're between 5 and 10% of the vehicles I see (excluding commercials). (20-30% are SUVs). Lots of Teslas, Hyundais, Minis etc. (+ a few Twizys ).

What I glean from that is, unsurprisingly, they're more popular where there's more money.

The last bit is exactly right, mansfield is a poor ex mining town where the average car is well under £5k and bought cash.
I do see people saying you can buy an EV for that, assuming these people did it will be rubbish with a range barely 50 miles. Sounds ok but a lot of these have no off street parking so they’ll be charging at the public charge points and in a lot of cases paying more per mile than diesel. As these people are priced off the road it’ll come back and hit all of us as they also do the lowest paid essential jobs that keep the country going.
So those that can afford it are raking them up what’s the answer for those that can’t ?

[Horse]

What I glean from that is, unsurprisingly, they're more popular where there's more money.

The last bit is exactly right, mansfield is a poor ex mining town where the average car is well under £5k and bought cash.
...
So those that can afford it are raking them up what’s the answer for those that can’t ?

Even if they could charge at home, if it needs installation of a charger (£1k?), that's going to influence options and choices.

But it's not that clear-cut as a 'rich area' Vs 'poor'. In the affluent areas, living costs are higher in those areas (look at housing costs as one example). Much of the housing is flats, so similarly low opportunities for charging.

[Couchy]

What I glean from that is, unsurprisingly, they're more popular where there's more money.

The last bit is exactly right, mansfield is a poor ex mining town where the average car is well under £5k and bought cash.
...
So those that can afford it are raking them up what’s the answer for those that can’t ?

Even if they could charge at home, if it needs installation of a charger (£1k?), that's going to influence options and choices.

But it's not that clear-cut as a 'rich area' Vs 'poor'. In the affluent areas, living costs are higher in those areas (look at housing costs as one example). Much of the housing is flats, so similarly low opportunities for charging.

Basically cost of running a car is going to increase simple as that. Fast forward 100 years and these times if cheap personal transport will have been a blip, the majority will be back in cities with no need for their own transport. So go buy a V8 now and enjoy it while you can you owe it to the future generations who won’t be able to

[Mr. Dazzle]

Speaking of cheap leccy cars for the masses, the Rolls-Royce Spectre is now on sale.

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/ro ... ce/spectre



AFAIK the original Silver Ghost was so called because it was so quiet, R-R have retained that naming trend across multiple years and vehicles now. So if ever there was a brand suited to electric drive....

[weeksy]

The last bit is exactly right, mansfield is a poor ex mining town where the average car is well under £5k and bought cash.
...
So those that can afford it are raking them up what’s the answer for those that can’t ?

Even if they could charge at home, if it needs installation of a charger (£1k?), that's going to influence options and choices.

But it's not that clear-cut as a 'rich area' Vs 'poor'. In the affluent areas, living costs are higher in those areas (look at housing costs as one example). Much of the housing is flats, so similarly low opportunities for charging.

Basically cost of running a car is going to increase simple as that. Fast forward 100 years and these times if cheap personal transport will have been a blip, the majority will be back in cities with no need for their own transport. So go buy a V8 now and enjoy it while you can you owe it to the future generations who won’t be able to

Will they care in 100 years ? with the development of completely different transport and even matter diffusion type Star Trek jobbies... maybe 20 years there'll be a problem, but 100... i can't see it making a difference as transportation is likely to be so different then

[Mr. Dazzle]

You can also look at it from the other direction.

Did people have cars 100 years ago? Or Deliveroo? Did they have jobs?

Who knows, might even bring back the High Street, walkable cities and jumpers for goalposts.

[Count Steer]

Yeah, but are you seeing them because they're a novelty? I see hundreds/thousands of cars on a drive back from Sheffield to Stafford, and I always 'notice' a Tesla when I (infrequently) see one as they stick out like a sore thumb.

Well, I've been playing 'yellow car' with EVs ever since Couchy said he doesn't see many in and around Mansfield. Most days I'd estimate they're between 5 and 10% of the vehicles I see (excluding commercials). (20-30% are SUVs). Lots of Teslas, Hyundais, Minis etc. (+ a few Twizys ).

What I glean from that is, unsurprisingly, they're more popular where there's more money.

The last bit is exactly right, mansfield is a poor ex mining town where the average car is well under £5k and bought cash.
I do see people saying you can buy an EV for that, assuming these people did it will be rubbish with a range barely 50 miles. Sounds ok but a lot of these have no off street parking so they’ll be charging at the public charge points and in a lot of cases paying more per mile than diesel. As these people are priced off the road it’ll come back and hit all of us as they also do the lowest paid essential jobs that keep the country going.
So those that can afford it are raking them up what’s the answer for those that can’t ?

I know Mansfield very well. It's not all poor. I imagine there are clusters of EVs, possibly in places like Berry Hill and further afield like Ravenshead, but overall it's not survived the loss of all the main industries very well (hosiery, shoes, stuff like Metal Box etc not just mining - it all seems to be service industries/warehouse jobs). The old pit villages have suffered even more.

I imagine though that as more manufacturers dedicate more production to non-ICE the competition will increase and prices will drop. At the moment it's all early adopter/premium pricing and very iffy on cost benefits on the total cost of ownership. It will probably look very different in 20 to 30 years time but it's a bit like turning an oil tanker.

[Couchy]

Well, I've been playing 'yellow car' with EVs ever since Couchy said he doesn't see many in and around Mansfield. Most days I'd estimate they're between 5 and 10% of the vehicles I see (excluding commercials). (20-30% are SUVs). Lots of Teslas, Hyundais, Minis etc. (+ a few Twizys ).

What I glean from that is, unsurprisingly, they're more popular where there's more money.

The last bit is exactly right, mansfield is a poor ex mining town where the average car is well under £5k and bought cash.
I do see people saying you can buy an EV for that, assuming these people did it will be rubbish with a range barely 50 miles. Sounds ok but a lot of these have no off street parking so they’ll be charging at the public charge points and in a lot of cases paying more per mile than diesel. As these people are priced off the road it’ll come back and hit all of us as they also do the lowest paid essential jobs that keep the country going.
So those that can afford it are raking them up what’s the answer for those that can’t ?

I know Mansfield very well. It's not all poor. I imagine there are clusters of EVs, possibly in places like Berry Hill and further afield like Ravenshead, but overall it's not survived the loss of all the main industries very well (hosiery, shoes, stuff like Metal Box etc not just mining - it all seems to be service industries/warehouse jobs). The old pit villages have suffered even more.

I imagine though that as more manufacturers dedicate more production to non-ICE the competition will increase and prices will drop. At the moment it's all early adopter/premium pricing and very iffy on cost benefits on the total cost of ownership. It will probably look very different in 20 to 30 years time but it's a bit like turning an oil tanker.

Yes there's a few more here in Berry Hill but even then not many. I think tbh folk here think electric is wizardry and are scared more than not being able to afford it