So... what car do you guys drive when not flying?

[Flashback]

I think the problem with Australia is that there are some vast distances between places and if installing charging stations is going to be as efficient as the NBN roll out, don't hold your breath.
The other thing I want to know is, how are we going to power the charging stations?

Solar power, innit!

 

[JessicaTam]

I think the problem with Australia is that there are some vast distances between places and if installing charging stations is going to be as efficient as the NBN roll out, don't hold your breath.
The other thing I want to know is, how are we going to power the charging stations?

Petrol stations have stores of fuel, so it makes sense that charging stations have batteries for storage of energy generated by renewables.

 

[TheRealTMA]

Solar power, innit!

Bah! This is Australia. Feds don’t support anything but coal or, the new madness, natural gas.

Maybe Twiggies new Hydrogen plans will get the nod soon, but...

 

[jb747]

Petrol stations have stores of fuel, so it makes sense that charging stations have batteries for storage of energy generated by renewables.

You really just know that it will be powered by a diesel generator, don't you?

 

[jb747]

Australia will have no choice, as the cars we buy will fade away. But, it remains a big place, and the requirements of the UK are not the same as ours.

I did look pretty seriously at the Tesla 3 last year. Ultimately I decided that the available charging options didn't fit well enough with my planned use of the car. Of course, 2020 severely curtailed my driving plans, so my actual driving could have easily been accommodated by a T3. Beyond that though, I wasn't really all that much of a fan of the car itself, so that played into things.

Next car...almost certainly. But then mobility scooters have been EV for years.

 

[jb747]

Well here is a bit of blast from the past. I was hunting around on youtube, and discovered a recent video about the '92 HSV GTS. I bought myself one of these as my present to myself for passing QF command training (in December 92).

I got quite a surprise when they showed the car's serial number. It didn't just look like mine. It was mine. It was an interesting journey into the past, looking at a car that I sold back in 1996.

 

[JohnM]

Well here is a bit of blast from the past. I was hunting around on youtube, and discovered a recent video about the '92 HSV GTS. I bought myself one of these as my present to myself for passing QF command training (in December 92).

I got quite a surprise when they showed the car's serial number. It didn't just look like mine. It was mine. It was an interesting journey into the past, looking at a car that I sold back in 1996.

Hmmm - something's happened to it:

 

[equus]

Petrol stations have stores of fuel, so it makes sense that charging stations have batteries for storage of energy generated by renewables.

The difference is that you don't lose (unless you have leaks) petrol or diesel by storing it or transporting it. Electricity has losses everywhere - battery cycles are not that efficient, transmission lines have losses, and even stored in (most) batteries, the charge slowly dissipates.

 

[TiredOldFlyer]

I think it will be some time before electric cars will be practical, particularly in Australia.
The quoted range is established on a flat road with no headwind at 90 kph.
It is not commonly discussed but from my research it seems that using the heater/airconditiong reduces the range by up to 30%. Then of course there are hills - causing another substantial loss of range as well as the effect of temperature - batteries are not good at low temperatures. There is a heating mechanism for the batteries but this uses battery as well.

 

[tgh]

The difference is that you don't lose (unless you have leaks) petrol or diesel by storing it or transporting it

All petroleum products lose their calorific value over time and modern electricity storage is arguably more efficient.
Without hitting the books (or google) iirc the higher the refinement the higher the loss.. happy to be corrected tho...

 

[Saltywings]

I think it will be some time before electric cars will be practical, particularly in Australia.
The quoted range is established on a flat road with no headwind at 90 kph.
It is not commonly discussed but from my research it seems that using the heater/airconditiong reduces the range by up to 30%. Then of course there are hills - causing another substantial loss of range as well as the effect of temperature - batteries are not good at low temperatures. There is a heating mechanism for the batteries but this uses battery as well.

Having driven my Tesla Model S for close to 50k kms now I can say the average true range - at least based on my driving needs (about 3:1 city:highway/rural) - is the quoted range minus ~22%. i.e. around 470km from a quoted ~602km range. This is with AC, music etc. always on and range mode (the slightly more efficient driving mode) disabled.

Based on my conversations with other EV owners (many brands beyond Tesla), a 20% discount from the quoted EPA range will pretty much always leave you on the right side of the calculation in all but the most adversarial driving conditions.

 

[jb747]

Hmmm - something's happened to it:

Hopefully nothing bad, especially after so long.

I've contacted the bloke who made the video, and will try to find the owner.

These rego checks are interesting, though they leave you with as many questions as answers. I know that my MR2 is still registered in Victoria, but it's now recorded as being blue, when it was green. The R32 is still on the road too.

 

[Quickstatus]

Is there a way of checking what happened to a car via its VIN number without paying $$$

 

[Muppet501st]

Is there a way of checking what happened to a car via its VIN number without paying $$$

You can do the $2 PPSR check,

https://transact.ppsr.gov.au/ppsr/QuickVINSearchResult?si=7&wsi=7

 

[jb747]

Some states (WA and Vic for sure, but haven’t checked the others), allow you to do a registration check on a number or a VIN. Using that I was able to see that my green MR2 is now supposed to be blue, but that it still has the same engine (engine swaps are common in them now). Curiously, it no longer has the personalised (MR2 specific) plate that it wore, though that plate is still on issue. For pretty obvious reasons, there’s no way to make the leap of contacting the owners.

I periodically scare my wife by suggesting that I’d like to get hold of a 95-98 MR2 to rebuild....

 

[chelzmalee]

On the back of @jb747 finding his old HSV thought I'd share my blast from the past - saw my very first car the other day. Still on the road...



The old girl is a 1989 Ford Laser KE. It didn't have the body kit or those wheels on it when I had it... however I did put the scratches on the drivers side - a pole jumped out and hit me.

I think when I sold this it had like 290,000k's on it. That was around 2006... I can't imagine where it's at now. Was a great little car, though.

 

[Cossie]

Anyone lend me half a million?

Artcurial

Artcurial

www.artcurial.com

 

[TheRealTMA]

Anyone lend me half a million?

Artcurial

Artcurial

www.artcurial.com

Sure. 12%?

 

[Cossie]

Sure. 12%?

If there is a "dot" between the 1 and 2, I may consider your offer!

 

[tgh]

There has been good money in collecting wheels and the increasing customer base probably underwrites current values.
A good mate, now deceased, created a nice collection of wheels that have steadily been sold off by his widow for a significant profit.