1912Staver

The performance potential of electric's is not in question by many of us. Much more important in my opinion is if they are really better for the environment than non- electric vehicles. And if so how large is the margin ? Enough to justify a substantial change in peoples lives? Slightly off topic but still pertinent is the question of recreations like the ever popular Cruise Ship industry. These things are floating Climate Change factory's. I know they plug in to shore power when berthed in ports that have the plug in facility's but most of the time are consuming many tons of Diesel fuel each day, each ship. How can people expect us vintage car people to stop spoiling the planet if recreations like this are a growing industry ? They accomplish nothing, transport no one anywhere. Greg

Like I said before , I try to keep my life simple. I spent 1/2 my career keeping an aging {built 1992, many upgrades along the way} , heavily automated and electronically monitored and controlled ship sailing. After many 3 or 4 in the morning sessions of trying to figure out why the *&%$ thing wouldn't work I have simply had enough of that sort of "advanced technology". Todays treasure is often tomorrows trash , especially where electronics are concerned. As long as someone else is paying for it why not ? {the taxpayer usually} But vehicles are something that comes straight out of my pocket. Different set of priority's. Also this is a "vintage vehicle " forum, how many on here do you think are really fans of the latest "new tech" ? Greg

Actually the only thing I am trying to show is that in the world of alternative vehicles; I see electrics as simply alternative vehicles as no one seems to be able to show they are superior environmentally or cheaper to use, that there is a vast range of options out there. End of I.C. 's from me. If you don't already know about vintage Lotus products and other "pared down to the essentials" vehicles and all of their charm, you probably won't benefit from this exposure. Greg

As I have yet to see the point of an electric vehicle , or seen the point demonstrated on this forum up to now at least , no. Greg

Longer video, wider smile! Greg

I don't know; I drove my MGA , admittedly a small step up in complexity from a 7 as a daily driver for 10 years. Over 200, 000. miles of use. Had a pretty serious crash when a cell phone distracted driver pulled a Lh. turn right in front of me, a 30 MPH or so front impact. Both the MGA and myself survived although the insurance CO. wanted to write off the MG. I worked at a restoration shop at the time and repaired it myself on a fixed price contract. Once again a disclaimer , a disposable Toyota was substituted each year for the 3 worst months of winter around here. More to save my MG from salt as much as anything else. I have owned it for 40 years at this point and would like another 20 at least before I turn it over to its next keeper. Do any of you think Tesla's will have that sort of appeal? No top up for all that 10 years, just the flat tonneau for parking. Warm and dry is often overrated. You can buy a brand new 7 { Caterham} but yes they are more complicated than the superior original version. Or you can buy a kit that is as simple as the factory Series 1 , but you have to put it together yourself. Or scratch build it yourself, 2 books with full plan's and builders group's on the web around the world. What other car is still being avidly built 60 years after its introduction ? I always wanted to move "up" to a factory Lotus 7 from the MGA, however the word got out about their all round excellence and the prices shot up far beyond my reach. I have had to make do with 2 different home built knock off's over the year's. The first one was sold on to one of the local vintage racing guy's years ago, it was built in the early 1960's so vintage legal. The second one I still have, built in the later 1980's {not by me , builder now deceased] as a pure track car. Can you have this much fun in a Prius e ? Greg

So as I see it the practicality angle is on its way to being solved or at least improved. And will probably get better in this regard over the next decade. At least as long as you live somewhere warmish and don't leave your immediate area much. Or live in a very sparsely populated area. And assuming you are willing to accept something as complicated electronically as say a Tesla as a daily driver. Disclaimer, I personally like vehicles as simple possible. My ideal vehicle is a series 1 Lotus 7. The simplicity of a Model T Ford in a package that has road manners like nothing else. What about the other two questions ? a} are electrics ; whole picture considered , better for the planet than IC ? b} is a typical electric cheaper in overall cost to own and operate than an IC vehicle ? Greg Ideal vehicle below, not much room for a battery pack.

Now that is interesting ! Here in often gray Raincouver B.C. things might take a bit longer to reach the break even point. But long term it definitely would be promising. Greg

I am sure there are people who would take on this truck. Big question is are there any close enough to make it a practical proposition. Texas is a long way away from many forum members. Greg in Canada, ….. 2000 miles away, give or take

Any idea of what percentage of the required power is supplied by the cells ? Practical innovation or window dressing ? Greg

Interesting video statement # 2, we have to sell this concept based on performance. I probably got the quote wrong, however that is the gist of Mr. Porsche converters message. Where is the energy to provide all this thrilling performance coming from ? If self owned solar cells then I don't see a big problem. If plugging in to the grid then not so environmentally friendly. I hope no real 356 Speedsters were harmed in this effort. Intermeccanica ? Personal prejudice, I don't like rear engine {motor} cars at all. Use a 550 replica as a starting point and I could probably be won over. Greg

An interesting statement by the gent doing the Porsche conversion in the video. " you can charge it on solar " . Is this a practical charging method ? How long would this take ? Assuming a solar cell that a less than millionaire's can afford, say an all up cost similar to the cost of the same sort of energy provided by gasoline. Would it take say 200 years of use to amortise the cost of the solar cell ? Greg

Probably more to the point are the questions a] is the electric car ; all factors considered , better for the environment. b} is the electric car cost competitive with conventional IC engine cars. c} is the electric car able to be a practical alternative operationally, range, cold performance, safety and no doubt other considerations I am unaware of. Some of these questions can be answered "probably" however others are at this time still quite unclear. Greg in Canada

If you need a center block this is the wrong engine. The only Buick 6 I know of with cylinder pairs is the big 6 of 1914 - 1916. A totally different engine. I need some blocks for one myself. Same as the blocks used on Buick's larger 4 also 1914 - 1915 era I have been told. Greg in Canada

What was the range after a couple of 12 second runs ? I have no doubt electric vehicles can be very fast. However it always comes at a substantial range cost. Battery's only store so much power. Especially 2003 battery's. Greg

So far there are several pages of Model A parts , but little else that I can see. Greg

I personally preferred the Canada of 25 years ago compared to the USA of 25 years ago. Both had many triumphs as you mention, but Canada also managed to swing a reasonably decent, accessible by all health care system. Apart from that one detail the USA definitely was near the top of the western world. Greg

I can give examples that come close , Scandinavia, Canada 30 years ago. Greg

I don't know how many in North America are aware of China's "new silk road" initiative. The Chinese are constructing the transportation infrastructure to become by far the worlds leading manufacturer of nearly everything for nearly everyone. And much of the transportation will use IC based transport, trucks, ships and to some extent trains. Some of the trains will be electric but will the power come from ? Probably not solar or wind. Is it really a good environmental plan to produce a huge percentage of the worlds products in a central location and transport it to end users. Good economics no doubt, it has definitely worked for Asia thus far. We in the West are out scaled by Asia in a way that is almost unimaginable in the context of the western world. Greg

I am not exactly sure how you conclude I don't care. But every pocket has its limits. There are many environmentally influenced decisions I make each year. But no, for the time being at least I am not going to give up my IC engine vehicles. Especially when the leading option, electric is both very expensive and of questionable overall environmental advantage. What else would suggest a little guy do ? The nearest store is 40 minutes away by bicycle. In good weather I have ridden it many times. It rains a lot around here , really a lot [ officially a costal temperate rain forest } so decent cycling days are limited. Grow all my own food ? Greg

If my tiny potential and that of other people in my situation is key to the planets survival then we are indeed doomed. I have a pretty tiny carbon footprint. No SUV, no cell, 85 year old smallish house, a very natural yard with 0 chemical additives, etc. Very little "consumer" spending . I do without much that most North Americans take for granted so that I might have a few $ each month for my one weakness , old cars. I live in a temperate part of the continent so little spending on heating, 0 spent on cooling. Heaven help us all if I am a bigger part of the problem than I imagine. But yes, for the good of the planet please carbon tax me truly into the poorhouse. Greg.

As I previously mentioned things like air travel and industrial emissions all but guarantee that overall , global solutions to environmental problems are a long , long way away. I might even buy a electric car if everyone else gives up air travel, we all have to do our part after all. I haven't been on a commercial jet since about 2005, and probably won't use one for the foreseeable future. Electric airliners ? Even Musk can't con investor's on that one. Greg

Gunsmoke , I am far from disagreeing with your above comment. Except perhaps that Tesla is part of the solution and therefore worthy of taxpayer subsidy's. I am probably as much of an environmentalist as almost anyone on this forum. However I am not wealthy. All my pennies count in this downwardly mobile retired life I now live. And I would have to agree with the opinions expressed by a number of people on this thread that the question of the electric car and its overall environmental impact is still a very unclear situation. Also besides China I think you will find country's like India and Indonesia have a very large pollution problem. Along with a incredibly large population. I really can't see the wisdom in Western Country's causing themselves substantial economic harm; largely shouldered by middle class and lower citizen's, as long as such huge populations in Asian country's are polluting on such a grand scale. The 21 st. century will probably see China become truly dominant in the world economy, why hand them a large advantage by trying to solve the worlds problems on the backs of average Western citizen's? Greg in Canada

I am afraid it will be a very long time before I welcome a very expensive , very complex vehicle into my life. My current very simple, near as can be imagined to trouble free, very economical to operate regular use car is a $10,000.00 Hyundai Accent. For the price of the cheapest Tesla {$64,000.00 Canadian before incentives} I could buy a number of Accents, probably 4 or even 5. So far 280,000 virtually trouble free KM. I simply cannot afford any $40,000.00 +, daily driver. Otherwise my priority {hobby car } budget would be non-existent. If someone in North America built a vehicle like the Accent I would definitely consider one. However they all seem to concentrate on significantly larger, more expensive, products. Some of us don't need a luxury SUV Greg in Canada

Tesla wouldn't be the first manufacturer to loose money on each car sold. The more popular your product the more money the organization looses. It all has to end sooner or later. Alco was one of the finest cars built in the teens. The company took a few years to realize their error. They still make locomotives, just no cars for many years. Perhaps Musk will survive as a rocket manufacturer and drop cars to survive. Greg in Canada