VW e-Transporter & e-California

Last week on another social medium. Someone posted about in-considerate parking at some local shops to me.

My first response was, why in a small town like ours (30 000 people) do people feel the need to drive to these shops (post office, hairdressers and vet). The responses were startling why people justified their need to drive...

I personally take 90% of my trips through my town on foot or cycle.
I can walk end to end in 45mins or cycle across in about 10 minutes.

Every excuse thinkable was thrown.
If we want real environmental change we must change the attitudes of people driving less than 5miles in a direction to access shops, work or services.

We need an infrastructure that supports the bike or walker. Not only will it benefit our health, it will help the environment and probably benefit our finances to.
If you feel a need for an EV for short miles around town.
Do you even need it period...???
 
zinglefiffy said:
Ive been round and round in circles on this in recent years trying to decide what's best to do in our position.
It seems that currently, we in the west cannot live the life we are accustomed to without damaging the planet, and there are NO magic wands on the horizon. That won't change until someone (government) grabs the thing by the balls and changes the framework by which we all live via regulation (or indeed, lack of).

The best we can do at a personal level is really research our options before making a purchase based on currently least-worse environmental impact for your expected useage.

So, to my eyes, and i'm welcome to be corrected and educated further, it seems that if you want long-term ownership, a family workhorse, versatile, with some long-distance travel included, your best option is a cali-type modern diesel vehicle - but if you need a small, nippy, low maintenance, commuter car which just gets you to work and back, an EV is a very obvious option - but neither are truly green.
Click to expand...
If and when an electric Cali is available your individual decision will be important. Don’t leave it to or blame it on politicians.


With a lifetime of well over 10 years, mileage probably 100,000 miles, you will decide whether to purchase a vehicle that will burn 3000+ gallons of diesel, or not.


I have an electric car - it’s quiet, smooth, a great drive, and I charge it using renewable electricity (from Bulb). I know it’s not going to save the world on its own, but surely everything helps - and in this case helps a great deal.
 
No one has considered the " Elephant in the Room ".

1. Doesn't matter what the West does the 3rd World countries want what we have and are not going to do anything that stifles that goal.

2. Over Population.
 
Sp0_0k said:
Just amazing how shortsighted humans are. Reduce this, reduce that, ignore the main issue.
Even when all 20 billions will be riding horses and eat grass with them, it won't be a balanced ecosystem.
We are at the point when cow farts alone are a huge ecological disruption.
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What a shame we can't harness all that bovine methane. We would all be talking about how many miles we were getting per fart. Some vehicles like the Beach would lend themselves to a direct injection system where you could actually have the beast on board. Of course those with an Ocean wouldn't have the same range as their methane generator would have to be smaller. You might suffer more trouble from the moo valve but think on, milk on draught. The club shop would need to start selling shovels though.
 
silversurfer said:
If and when an electric Cali is available your individual decision will be important. Don’t leave it to or blame it on politicians.


With a lifetime of well over 10 years, mileage probably 100,000 miles, you will decide whether to purchase a vehicle that will burn 3000+ gallons of diesel, or not.


I have an electric car - it’s quiet, smooth, a great drive, and I charge it using renewable electricity (from Bulb). I know it’s not going to save the world on its own, but surely everything helps - and in this case helps a great deal.
Click to expand...


I agree, and I wasn't trying to pass the buck for my decisions. We're on Bulb too, and my wife's car is a Toyota IQ, a tiny thing with a hairdryer for an engine. She gets laughed at a lot, but a full tank is £20 and it does a fantastic mpg - and she doesn't need anything more than that. When we're able to buy a house the first thing on the shopping list is a home charger, solar panels, and when the IQ expires, then she'll get an EV. When the Cali expires or becomes regulated off the road, I'd be pretty chuffed if it was replaced with an EV too, or an uber-style service.

For the first 10 years we were together, we didn't own a car and that's the real answer - feet if you can, bike/bus next, maybe a taxi or rental otherwise. own a car if you really need it. When I moved to my rural home (still without a car), a round trip to the nearest shop on foot is an hour and a half but there was a once-a-day bus service to darwen and I used it every other day and everything was fine. It was binned 3 years ago :headbang
 
Sp0_0k said:
Just amazing how shortsighted humans are. Reduce this, reduce that, ignore the main issue.
Even when all 20 billions will be riding horses and eat grass with them, it won't be a balanced ecosystem.
We are at the point when cow farts alone are a huge ecological disruption.
Click to expand...

Fully agree ....there is only one soltution imo.
Downsize the population on earth by half and there will be no or very little ecologigical problems like lack of drinkingwater and food , there would be enough electric power ,ect ....
 
WelshGas said:
No one has considered the " Elephant in the Room ".

1. Doesn't matter what the West does the 3rd World countries want what we have and are not going to do anything that stifles that goal.

2. Over Population.
Click to expand...
I agree with you on both those elephants (not a phrase I ever though I'd write). But, and it's a BIG but, those of us who have the privilege to make a decision that will have a California sized impact should lead the way. Mentioning either of those elephants is impossible at a political level (population has been tried - it was shouted down). At least try an electric -for your next car as well - you may be surprised.
 
hotel california said:
Fully agree ....there is only one soltution imo.
Downsize the population on earth by half and there will be no or very little ecologigical problems like lack of drinkingwater and food , there would be enough electric power ,ect ....
Click to expand...

......, you were talking about eliminating some cows I may hope? :Nailbiting
Since I can't imagine you having sick thoughts, I'm afraid for another kind of 'downsizing' you'll be some centuries too late.
I'm looking at the latest news show here on TV, where a team of our Leuven University presents an integrated solar panel / hydrogen gas catalyst installation. With 20 of these special solar panels you can live one year without gas or electricity, with some 20 panels extra you can drive a full year. And you can store it. Seems a real solution.
 
Auberg-ine said:
......, you were talking about eliminating some cows I may hope? :Nailbiting
Since I can't imagine you having sick thoughts, I'm afraid for another kind of 'downsizing' you'll be some centuries too late.
I'm looking at the latest news show here on TV, where a team of our Leuven University presents an integrated solar panel / hydrogen gas catalyst installation. With 20 of these special solar panels you can live one year without gas or electricity, with some 20 panels extra you can drive a full year. And you can store it. Seems a real solution.
Click to expand...

There are simply to many people on the planet...don't need to be a professor to know that .
With the population of 1970 there would not be all this need for rules and taxes socalled for the invirement.
Seen the Belgian news also , all those alternative energy sources all will be blocked by petrol giants and politcians taking them sides .
It's not about the invirement , it's all about the money...
 
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hotel california said:
There are simply to many people on the planet...don't need to be a professor to know that .
With the population of 1970 there would not be all this need for rules and taxes socalled for the invirement.
Click to expand...
I think most of us agree on that fact. But counting on a downsizing by half is not really a realistic solution I guess.
The key is third world education. This needs local stable politics, less stress, meaning implication of first world ethical trade, since corrupt third world politics are fed by international 'grey' markets.
 
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No , indeed ...the way the governement rewards people with 4 childeren all kinds of benefits on the salary ....they make there bruto as netto when my netto is half of the bruto becose we have no kids .
This is way off topic so we will put a end on it here ;)
 
climate_cartoon-better-res.jpg
 
Auberg-ine said:
The key is third world education. This needs local stable politics, less stress, meaning implication of first world ethical trade, since corrupt third world politics are fed by international 'grey' markets.
Click to expand...
That's one of the greatest fairy tales.
Average 3rd world human consumes like x20-30 less than a western one.
So there is a utopian solution proposed to help with the economic growth of 3rd world countries which in theory slows down the reproduction as in the western world.
Though nobody is talking that whole 3rd world is dreaming about the western lifestyle, which means increasing 3rd world consumption by x20-x30 at the cost of reproduction rate reduction of about 50%

Real solutions are ugly and contradict with the current economy's fundamentals.
 
Sp0_0k said:
That's one of the greatest fairy tales.
Average 3rd world human consumes like x20-30 less than a western one.
So there is a utopian solution proposed to help with the economic growth of 3rd world countries which in theory slows down the reproduction as in the western world.
Though nobody is talking that whole 3rd world is dreaming about the western lifestyle, which means increasing 3rd world consumption by x20-x30 at the cost of reproduction rate reduction of about 50%

Real solutions are ugly and contradict with the current economy's fundamentals.
Click to expand...

(Some 20% of my business is situated in Central Africa, I have a satellite office in Kinshasa etc,.. From what I hear (and see) from local intelligentia (non-politics) is that better education does reduce the size of families, except for the business-political top-class who exceed in excess and decadence in àll fields. Clearly they all want the western bling bling, tv's, phone's, pods and pads,... But not in a scale of complexity we're talking about here. Most people look for things like decent farming, decent irrigation, simple uncomplicated living. There's an incredible agricultural potential which is not used, because of political chaos and bribery, tribal-stupidity conflicts, lost ignorant youth soldiers,...
Just check who's steering after the last Congolese Presidential 'elections'. Check where all the unique rare metals are going to, ....
Education and out of this open communication channels are the basic conditions of all healthy societies. Including ours, clearly.)

Jeez, we indeed drifted Oceans away now....
 
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Spotted this. Wonder how far it goes loaded up?

IMG_20190228_033030.jpg
 
I was seriously dreaming about switching to the electric van for long travels in 2-4 years, but what really surprised me how bad is charging infrastructure in Europe. With all the initiatives like free parking, low tax etc I don't see the most important steps of building a dense infrastructure of charging points, which are technically insanely cheap and easy to build and maintain compared to the classic fuel pump.
I am not talking about superchargers with 90-200 amps capability but at least simple sockets for 20 amps in a place where I can leave a car and enjoy surroundings for 2-3 hours or even better spend a night.

Last camping we stayed at a week ago at Italian Dolomites just proved the point. They had fancy "Green" stickers all over the place.
They wanted 10euros a day for the 10 amps connection which made heating with Diesel cheaper!
And I am noticing more and more campings getting aware of e-vehicles and banning them from charging overnight.
So just another hypocrisy from the western world.
 
^^^^^
Can’t say I blame the campsite owners.
Electricity isn’t free. Why should they burden the cost of your journey...?

I would much prefer campsites to meter electrical usage.
Plus add a fair fee for maintenance and profit to decrease the dependency on electric at a campsite.
 
Good point, it is more "ecological" to heat with diesel which is cheaper than electricity.
 
374ps / 0-100km/h in 5 seconds / 4WD,
600 km range with wireless charging in 30 minutes.

I've watched all the YouTube videos,
I WANT ONE, I REALLY ONE!

I've got my copy of Sgt Pepper,
I know where Anjuna beach is,
Fancy picking an Afgan coat on the way through to India,
Think I'm up for a bit of free love and a trance party on the beach,
No more Natural Grey or Indium Grey for me, it's yellow or Orange and covered in flowers,

I've got the desire and longing, it's down to the pharmacy for some Viagra to help me produce the goods,
Equity release for the cash,
But I think it will need a little more than Viagra to get VW to come up with the goods in time,
I'm 74 this year! Dream on!
 
For a sedan 20kw per 100km. ~5 eur here if charging at home. No idea how much kw cost on charging stations but I bet way more due to high amps for fast charge.
A minibus will easily eat 30-40kw
~10 euro per 100 km for Diesel 150kw
Almost same, so not impressed. Thank you. :D
 
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