Banning combustion engines in the UK, is it worth it..?

[Olliebeak]

What about clockwork cars, they would be environmentally friendly as they dont use any power or fossil fuels. They are also easy to manufacture with no sensors,,ecu or other related rubbish.  You would just have a large clockwork motor in the car with a highly tenshioned  (why cant I spell anymore) spring wound up by a huge key sicking out the side of the car, when the spring winds down you just get out and get the wife to wind it up with the key!

These cars would be made in Hong Kong as they have the "world class" experience to manufacture such vehicles.

Sporting cars e.g Westfields could have muliple motors for more speed , a key sticking out of the bonnet, boot lid and each side., the more motors the more hp.

   

[Phil J]

Whilst I think this is a very good idea it should be modernised and upgraded by making it self winding just like the watch I'm wearing. 

 

[Nick Algar - Competition Secretary]

23 hours ago, Captain Colonial said:

Friend of mine works for JLR at Gaydon and had a Tesla on trial for a month.  He drove it from there to Goodwood for the FoS.  He then had to drive it to a local village to recharge it at a standard single-phase charging point for an hour in order to have enough charge to get to the nearest three-phase fast charging point - at Heathrow.  When he got to Heathrow, he recharged it again in order to get home.  He started from Goodwood at 1730, and got home at 0200 - if he'd have used his MGB, he's have been home by 2030.  Not impressed.

Tesla came dead last in reliability in the latest Which? ratings as well.

I've been out in it, but there are so many dumb things about it that it's unreal:

> No storage pockets in the doors or the centre console, just a glove box you can't reach from the driver's side

> No separate charging cable storage area, so great dirty massive charge cable gets to mix with the other stuff in the boot.

> Unlocking the doors to let a passenger in while you're in the driver's seat takes FOUR separate inputs to the touch screen

> Rear headroom is awful, hard to just get in without bashing your brains out

If that's the future, I'm keeping the past.

Thanks for the insite Scott, that sounds just so badly thought out. I had a look at the latest one with gull type doors and all the fancy stuff and just thought WHY, why did they mess about with all the basic car stuff that has been sorted over the years to get where we are now ????????

[Nick Algar - Competition Secretary]

You know the thing that is Stupid about all of this is we are rushing headlong into batteries when there may be a viable alternative.

Ethanol process

They need to be pouring money into seeing if this process can be made to work. It has so many advantages:-

1. Decreases Co2.
2. Completley renewable if Solar panels are used as power.
3. Uses existing distribution channels and structure to power vehicle.
4. Range no longer a problem

I could go on but those are the main ones. Seems like a no brainer to me to really push this and see if it can be made to work large scale.

[John K]

13 minutes ago, Nick - Joint North East AO said:

You know the thing that is Stupid about all of this is we are rushing headlong into batteries when there may be a viable alternative.

Like Fuel cells, the powers that be are not actually interested in a solution - there will be some corporate back scratching artificial solution with turns out to be a problem that then needs another solution which needs another 2 billion investment fund... Rinse and Repeat... going on here

All the power that be have vested interests in perpetuating this for as long as possible...

[SootySport]

4 hours ago, Olliebeak said:

What about clockwork cars, they would be environmentally friendly as they dont use any power or fossil fuels. They are also easy to manufacture with no sensors,,ecu or other related rubbish.  You would just have a large clockwork motor in the car with a highly tenshioned  (why cant I spell anymore) spring wound up by a huge key sicking out the side of the car, when the spring winds down you just get out and get the wife to wind it up with the key!

These cars would be made in Hong Kong as they have the "world class" experience to manufacture such vehicles.

Sporting cars e.g Westfields could have muliple motors for more speed , a key sticking out of the bonnet, boot lid and each side., the more motors the more hp.

   

You forgot to mention friction motors as well.  The wife and kids could push the car backwards for about a mile and that would get you to the shops and back, no pollutants released and no need to build more power stations.  For track days and sprinting @geefin and his mate Dan can design and build a decent battery powered Westfield.   I honestly believe this forum can solve any environmental and technical problem thrown at it.

[Man On The Clapham Omnibus]

3 hours ago, Nick - Joint North East AO said:

You know the thing that is Stupid about all of this is we are rushing headlong into batteries when there may be a viable alternative.

Ethanol process

They need to be pouring money into seeing if this process can be made to work. It has so many advantages:-

1. Decreases Co2.
2. Completley renewable if Solar panels are used as power.
3. Uses existing distribution channels and structure to power vehicle.
4. Range no longer a problem

I could go on but those are the main ones. Seems like a no brainer to me to really push this and see if it can be made to work large scale.

Interesting. My initial thoughts were that it was just another perpetual motion scheme, but it seems to be more credible than that according to the references. I'm surprised that the Americans are adding 10 - 15% ethanol to fuel. We're using 5% currently, with 10% on the cards for later. Of course gin is 37% ethanol...

[CraigHew]

I think we should all buy a horse. 

[DamperMan]

Or pigs and run an IC engine off the gasses .     We can grow diesel,   And grow ethanol.   

The old idea was to make cars which lasted a long time and could be upgraded and updated by changing body panels etc.   

The mechanics of modern cars last for ever.   Corrosion rairly an issue, It's just the electronics and our obsession with new why most the cars are in the scrappy.     

Places like New Zealand where imports are expensive make do with old cars and repair.      Plenary of every day driver mk1 escorts over there.  Also there's not the culture of needing to show wealth.   

Recycling is good,   Reusing is better!   

If taxes were based on environmental impact, new cars would be massively taxed old cars or recycled cars (kit) would be cheep. (75% of the energy  most cars ever use is in its manufacture) .     Then just levy the rest on fuel.     If your old car does 20mpg, and new one 100 then let that be financial incentive to change car.   

Pensioners doing 2k a year don't need a new Kia. 

Off course we all know the truth.   The whole economy depends on us buying new.   The government likes the vat on cars.   Car manufacturers employ thousands of people.   That's good for the country.     Marketing people spend all day thinking about how to part people with money for products they don't need. Bingo.. we all need to change the second most expensive thing we own for a new one...    which is worse in every tangible way except we think we are saving the planet.      Then every 2 years there will be a technology jump which means we buy more.  

 

[Sparkymart]

This will be us in 25 years time

 

[John K]

1 hour ago, Sparkymart said:

This will be us in 25 years time...

Is it just me, or does that actually seem not too bad a propect..?

I mean, it IS a V8....

[Northwarks]

Was discussing with some guys at work, they all have classic cars of some sort, they are concerned about petrol stations disappearing ... but as a bunch we will be in our 70s ... so will that be even a concern 

[corsechris]

Just ban breeding - that'll fix it.

[Stuart]

It will cause the scrapmen some trouble. Cars are currently recycled by shredding and you can't shred lithium batteries. AFAIK you can't recycle them either. Nor carbon fibre.

[DonPeffers]

A neighbour of mine's thinks battery cars will be a nightmare (cost, weight, range, battery life and recycling; not to mention thieves removing your expensive batteries) and we should go straight to hydrogen power which can be refuelled quickly and use existing petrol stations.