Talk Morgan Forums Community Vehicle Talk (non-Morgan) Time for Electric Power?

Well done on your achievement

I like the sound of the lease arrangement and when the time comes for us to go EV that would be the way for us too.
I'm old fashioned and normally pay cash for large items, it's just a mind set that needs shifting on my part.

My son often tells me that I am the only person he knows who goes and actually buys cars. He tells me the concept of vehicle ownership is totally out of date....
Nick

Isn't there a dichotomy here between keeping a car for 2 years and being 100% Carbon Neutral?

Why a dichotomy I would have thought you would have to take the whole life cycle of a vehicle into account rather than its individual periods of ownership. What difference does it make whether (all other things being equal) you scrap say a 20 year old one owner car and scrapping a multi ownership 20 year old car?

There is much discussion about the 'ethics' of buying an EV. A conversation that doesn't happen when buying a Morgan or any other ICE car.

In the real world, EV buyers are simply purchasing a car - I didn't consider newts or polar bears when buying my Tesla... sure, it gives me a moments satisfaction to think I am not putting more particulates into London when I commute, but it's not the reason I bought it.

EV's are pretty equivalent to petrol cars - not quite, but nearly. My new Tesla was roughly the price of a decent BMW - but cheaper and easier to run. A lot cheaper and easier to run. It has roughly the same range as my performance petrol cars i.e. at 250 miles, start thinking of fuel - but it doesn't have the range of a diesel Audi... but then I'd never buy a diesel Audi or any car that did 500 miles on a tank.

My 140 mile commute costs me around £4 in volts. I can out accelerate Porsches if I want to (I rarely want to), I don't pay for any servicing (there is none), no road tax and no congestion charge (at the moment). At the end of the day, it's a just a very efficient saloon car with amusing performance. Being carbon neutral is not something I worry about with my Morgan or Tesla to be honest.

To me, that's the enormous advantage of EVs. For people who aren't bothered about environmental considerations, the performance and running costs are hugely attractive. And for those that are bothered, they offer a guilt-free way to enjoy personal transportation. What's not to like?

Spot on Tim,
Porsche performance (at less than £50k) without any of the costs, other than tyres: the Tesla Model 3 does eat rear tyres, mostly because 60% of the power and all the regenerative braking goes through them and PS4 rubber is not the cheapest.
If I'm honest I don't care much about the green issues: yes, it is nice not to be adding to the PM2.5 and other pollutants, but it wasn't a buying decision.

That's ok, Peter. I do care and so I'm glad you've chosen an EV.

I recall a few years ago arguing with you Tim over the move to EVs. I still have some concerns over the use of the likes of cobalt etc and where they come from and current battery technology but I’m sure there’s plenty of development in the pipeline. I’m assuming the private sector will be responsible for putting a good infrastructure in place rather than relying on a government that likes to talk about but seemingly doesn’t have plans in place. So......I’m being converted you will be pleased to hear and my next car will be electric in a couple of years time.

I am not sure. If you move on a car after 2 years then presumably you would replace it with a new one? If you keep it for 4 years then that would be one less new car produced over the period? It would be an interesting analyses.