They're Doing What??

[Tomliner]

It’s just unnecessary. And let’s face it, we aren’t going to be UK for long. The UK sticker will soon have to be replaced with UK* (*sans Ecosse)

Not with my vote it won’t! However I take your point re the old style GB plates, but everything changes eventually, from airline and bus liveries to telephone area codes etc.At least we aren’t using the Euro and driving on the right( well not usually!) EricT

[Kevin Farnell]

Ben, am I correct in saying that GB will be replaced by UK plates on vehicles? If so I don’t really mind because after all we are a United Kingdom. Aren’t we? EricT

Eric, you are correct. It's also more accurate. 'GB' refers to Great Britain, which is the largest island of the British Isles, consisting of England, Scotland and Wales but not Northern Ireland. 'UK' will remedy this.

The irony is his own bloody jet is registered G-GBNI

G-GBNI standing for Great Britain and Northern Ireland. i.e. The United Kingdom.

So all of those old classics that used to drive about will now need a UK plastic sticker.

Only if the vehicle is taken out of the UK and if it is, the 'GB' plates only need to be covered whist abroad. Any temporary 'UK' plates can be removed when the vehicle returns to the UK (and the GB plates uncovered).

Getting back to electric vehicles, my biggest bugbear, is that they drive like automatics. Without a clutch and a manual gearbox, I dont feel that I'm in control of the car. When my Mini Cooper went in for a service, I was loaned an automatic BmW. It was the most horrendous driving experience of my life. Give me an accelerator pedal, a manual gearbox and a rev counter and I'll do all the engine management.
I also still have my late Fathers VW Golf TDi estate and have to say that the VW build quality far exceeds that of the BMW.

Kevin

[TSR2]

The problem with battery cars is they have half the lifespan of a ICE car. The initial sale price is also inflated and they are replaced more often. They are the most un environmentally sound solution to the problem.
If we could find a way to make clean energy then e fuels are a good answer. They basically re-release carbon that’s already been in the environment. The trouble at the moment is that the process to make the fuel requires energy and this would need to come from renewables in order to make it carbon neutral.

[Dev One]

[quote= for a service, I was loaned an automatic BmW. It was the most horrendous driving experience of my life. Give me an accelerator pedal, a manual gearbox and a rev counter and I'll do all the engine management.
Kevin
[/quote]

Kevin, I used to think the same, but on my return to the UK in 2019 I bought an 06 Mercedes A class 140 with CVT. Marvellous....It seems to have two kick down positions, hit the 2nd & it drops the equivalent of at least two notches & RPM goes to about 5500 & it hits you in the back (well relatively ) & I am sure it surprises quite a few people. I think it has the equivalent of six or seven speeds but because it is CVT it has no steps so most unnerving at times & one cannot rely on ones hearing of engine speed as a means of speed awareness. e.g. in cruise control on the motorway when going up a hill the engine will increase rpm & approaching the summit the RPM will decrease all the while the road speed is constant. On a longish motorway trip it will return 41mpg, but in town about 33-35 mpg. In all my driving time since I passed my test back in the 50's it is the most comfortable car I have had except it is a little hard on the suspension if the road surface is bad, & it corners as steady as a rock with nice feedback on the steering.
As for owning an electric car - unlikely as cannot afford it & burning rubber might put me off, unless the software is tweaked to not give max torque!
I do however own an electric mobility scooter which has a max speed of 4 mph & a range of 16 miles it says, might be lucky to go as far as 10 at max speed!
Keith
P.S. Wife has a manual Vauxhall Agila, so I can still exercise my left foot!

[Nigel H-J]

I firmly believe that Hydrogen Fuel is one option as there is no nasty emissions just water however, fuel cell technology presently remains expensive and there are no Hydrogen filling stations currently available.

Battery powered cars may seem the logical choice however, charging times although coming down are still too long, also car batteries have an expected life span of between 2 and 10 years depending on its use.

Worryingly is the cost to actually replace an electric car battery, I have found out that Nissan for example charges £4920 so if your battery only lasts for five years you might as well buy a new car!! but there is hope, refurbished packs should cost around £2500 which Nissan have started producing however, theoretically you could have the cells replaced individually but as yet there is not a company in Britain that offers this service. Business opportunity for any-one interested. Food for thought!!

I have a Toyota CHR Hybrid and dependent on the weather temperature, traffic route, I can on a good hot day get 75mpg but not on motorway driving which ends up at around 60 -65 MPG though my speed is around 55 - 60mph. To get 75mph I am driving at 50mph and in eco mode and careful with the accelerator, in winter my lowest consumption has been 60 - 62 mpg but it all comes down to driving style, if you go for a Hybrid then quick acceleration is the last thing you want to do however, when joining a main road I do use the accelerator to attain road speed quickly and safely but can usually regain what fuel I have burnt further on down the road.

Regards
Nigel.

[Kevin Farnell]

Kevin, I used to think the same, but on my return to the UK in 2019 I bought an 06 Mercedes A class 140 with CVT. Marvellous....It seems to have two kick down positions, hit the 2nd & it drops the equivalent of at least two notches & RPM goes to about 5500 & it hits you in the back (well relatively ) & I am sure it surprises quite a few people. I think it has the equivalent of six or seven speeds but because it is CVT it has no steps so most unnerving at times & one cannot rely on ones hearing of engine speed as a means of speed awareness. e.g. in cruise control on the motorway when going up a hill the engine will increase rpm & approaching the summit the RPM will decrease all the while the road speed is constant. On a longish motorway trip it will return 41mpg, but in town about 33-35 mpg. In all my driving time since I passed my test back in the 50's it is the most comfortable car I have had except it is a little hard on the suspension if the road surface is bad, & it corners as steady as a rock with nice feedback on the steering.
Keith
P.S. Wife has a manual Vauxhall Agila, so I can still exercise my left foot!
[/quote]

Sorry Keith, your not selling it to me. I have no doubt that your Merc is a well made, reliable and comfortable car, but to not have a manual gearbox would be unbearable. When approaching junctions or roundabouts, I drop down through the gears (6,5,4,3) to slow down prior to using the brakes. If I want to drop down a gear to accelerate, then I can double de-clutch (clutch in, into neutral, clutch out, rev engine, clutch in, into lower gear, clutch out). This ensures you don't get a slowing effect of going straight into a lower gear and I can do this in under a second (not that I do it all the time).
The Mini Cooper is great fun, especially around the country roads. When the roads are clear, I can throttle steer around roundabouts (especially if I've selected 'Sport Mode'). Enter the roundabout with a reasonable amount of turn on the steering wheel and applying throttle will make the car tuck in even tighter, backing of and it will drift out, with no risk of the gear changing in the process.
I want to point out that I'm not a maniac driver. I always stick to the Highway Code and the speed limits. I only have fun when the road and traffic conditions allow.
To really get the Mini to fly, it needs to be in the 5000 - 6500 RPM range, although that will hit the economy. On a long run, at motorway speed (70mph), 55mpg is usually attained. Although, it is very tiring on long journeys as the suspension is absolutely solid - you fell even the tiniest bumps.
Having a close ratio 6-speed gearbox, the onboard computer will suggest 6th gear at 39mph if not accelerating.

Kevin

[Kevin Farnell]

I firmly believe that Hydrogen Fuel is one option as there is no nasty emissions just water however, fuel cell technology presently remains expensive and there are no Hydrogen filling stations currently available.
Regards
Nigel.

The big problem with Hydrogen (H2), is it forms extremely explosive mixtures with air (well, that is the ~21% of air that is Oxygen ((O2))). One solution to this, is 'interstitial metal hydrides. Here, the H2 molecules, being so small are able to diffuse into a metal, in the same way that water gets into a sponge. This may make a reasonable way of storing H2 in a car, but there is still the problem of transferring Hydrogen to the car at the refuelling point. Add to that, that water vapour is also a greenhouse gas and Hydrogen starts to look less favourable.

Kevin

[TSR2]

I’ve a cooper S with the 7 speed double clutch gearbox, and with both in sport mode it’s absolutely superb. Would love the JCW but that’s a bridge too far.

[Nigel H-J]

The big problem with Hydrogen (H2), is it forms extremely explosive mixtures with air (well, that is the ~21% of air that is Oxygen ((O2))). One solution to this, is 'interstitial metal hydrides. Here, the H2 molecules, being so small are able to diffuse into a metal, in the same way that water gets into a sponge. This may make a reasonable way of storing H2 in a car, but there is still the problem of transferring Hydrogen to the car at the refuelling point. Add to that, that water vapour is also a greenhouse gas and Hydrogen starts to look less favourable.

Kevin

Many thanks for your reply and clearing that up for me Kev. Think I will just stay with Hybrids for the time being though really miss having a car with gears, I was taught on how to drive using the brakes and gears together so as to maintain good progress by using the toe and heel method when approaching a turn off, roundabout or hazard and being able, once the manoeuvre was completed, to accelerate back to road speed quickly and safely by dropping straight down to the required gear i.e. 6th to 2nd. For some reason the IAM do not allow that when taking the advanced driving test and there were a couple of situations where using the toe and heel technique would have been far more useful but could not use it otherwise it would have resulted in a failure!!

Cannot say that I get any satisfaction from driving a Hybrid as I would with gears but I guess a small price to pay for that bit of extra economy.

Regards
Nigel