Driving an electric car from Sydney to Melbourne / the Downsides of EVs

[Biggles]

Can't help myself- this guy is nuts:
"The next morning I crept the six miles into Eastbourne on the electrical equivalent of fumes, following the Electroverse app’s directions to a high-speed charger in a Volvo dealership. How I laughed when they told me it was out of order, and how I chuckled again when I discovered that the trickle charger at the VW dealership — a tense half-mile away — would take six hours to bring me up to 80 per cent.
I gave it an hour to get enough power to drive to Waitrose, where a 120kW charger told me it would take just three hours to fill my battery.
Unless you’re a student of urban decline or a fan of post-apocalyptic horror, you’ll find three hours is too long to be in Eastbourne. I sat in a café one street back from the ruins of the seafront, watching as zombies lurched past. It gave me time to think."

[Brock]

Some guys from 4WD24-7 took some E4x4 hybrids for a drive, Its an interesting video. They ran into trouble with dead chargers as well..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBMJKMgZ13s

[ruSTynutz]

Thanks Brock, I'll check it out! 

[Joso]

How many times is this crap going to be put up again

[ruSTynutz]

How many times are you going to put your same crap response here? 

[ruSTynutz]

Tesla couple's epic 3,400km road trip across the Nullarbor

The spontaneous trip wasn't without its challenges, but it's an adventure they'll never forget.

Crossing the Nullarbor is not for the faint-hearted. But imagine travelling the isolated 1,200km stretch in a Tesla that only has 4 per cent battery left.
That was the nail-biting reality for Perth couple Abby and Patrick, who had to travel 20km/h under the speed limit at one point to make sure they'd be able to reach their next charging station.

Incredibly, their journey across Australia was their first time ever driving a Tesla. After purchasing a Model S from Canberra, the pair decided to fly over at the end of May to pick it up and drive it back home.
Abby told Yahoo News the road trip was "quite the inauguration" to the world of EVs, but they loved every moment of the "wild" adventure.
Their 3,700km trip was split up over four days and three nights, with the most challenging part “definitely” the Nullarbor. One 460km stretch had no charging stations at all, with the couple putting their faith in their new car's long-range battery.

Click link to continue reading: https://tinyurl.com/uj3ujxb6

[LindsayGT]

https://rac.com.au/horizons/drive/proving-the-naysayers-wrong

[ruSTynutz]

Thanks for posting, Lindsay! 

I get that you're trying to prove/show that you can do that sort of a trip with an EV but, whichever way you look at it, with the limited range of most EVs and questionable (at times) charging infrastructure, it does require a lot more time, effort and planning than it does with an ICE vehicle which, to me is a major downside of owning an EV. 

[Brock]

I didnt watch the whole video, but it looks like they did a huge prep for the trip. Their van seemed to have been optimised for solar panels on all flat  surfaces.

Yes you can do the drive, but their are hurdles to clear. For me, the time to recharge the car before being able to continue is a problem. I like to be able to have a 5 minute fuel stop, grab a bite to eat and continue the trip. Several hours sitting around in the middle of nowhere waiting to charge is distance not being covered. That takes away from time available at the places you want to spend time. 

Then there is the problem with chargers being available/ serviceable.   It would be no fun to have 20 Ks range left, and there being a queue to use the only working charger.. 

It will be a long time before I go that way.

[ruSTynutz]

EVs banned after ship fires

A major player in American shipping has issued a ban on electric vehicles following devastating fires at sea.
The latest fire saw the Morning Midas car carrier burn at sea for three weeks with more than 3000 cars on board before capsizing and sinking to a depth of more than 16,000 feet near Alaska.

It follows similar incidents for car carriers such as the Fremantle Highway in 2023 and Felicity Ace in 2022.
All three ships were carrying a mix of electric, hybrid, and conventionally powered vehicles.

Matson, a company that specialises in shipping goods including vehicles between the US mainland, Hawaii, Guam and Alaska, surprised customers in July by declaring an EV ban.

A statement issued by the company said that “due to increasing concern for the safety of transporting vehicles powered by large lithium-ion batteries, Matson is suspending acceptance of used
or new electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid vehicles for transport aboard its vessels,” it said.
“Effective immediately, we have ceased accepting new bookings for these shipments to/from all trades.”

To continue reading, click this link: https://tinyurl.com/5n77rc2d

[Joso]

Time to give this crap a rest how many times does it have to be put on the site give it a spell

[ruSTynutz]

I'm starting to think you don't like my posts...   

[Biggles]

For anyone with problems with posts- choose those you read!  We've had this discussion when people got their knickers in a twist about  Kevvie's "funnies". The headings are clear- no deception there.  I don't read posts about RTEs in other States etc, but choose to read what's happening in the EV world having bought a hybrid myself a week ago and loving it.  It costs more to keep the fuel up to my ST1300! By a factor of 25%!!  That last observation of mine alone justifies references to EVs in this Forum.   

[ruSTynutz]

Congrats on the purchase of your new Hybrid, Bill! 

[ruSTynutz]

EV Burns After Sitting 2 Years – TWICE!

https://youtu.be/EQWGWtluejs

[Wild Rose]

Well done Bill on the purchase of a Hybrid
What did you get ?
My Daughter has a Tesla3 and a friend has a MG4
They are all happy with them

I watched the story EV that caught fire but it didn't say what brand it was so hard to make a decision on it
But it is a problem

[ruSTynutz]

I watched the story EV that caught fire but it didn't say what brand it was so hard to make a decision on it
But it is a problem

Hi Leo, he said it was a Tesla @ the 27 second mark... 

Cheers 

[ruSTynutz]

An interesting interview with one of the original founders of Tesla...

https://youtu.be/88KHfX_kPIY

[ruSTynutz]

I can hear the outrage from the EV zealots already! 

Plans being fast-tracked for new road user charge for EV drivers

For years, drivers of EV vehicles have escaped petrol taxes that help fund road upgrades. But that’s all about to change.

The free ride enjoyed by drivers of electric vehicles is coming to a close with Treasurer Jim Chalmers and state governments fast-tracking plans for a new road-user charge.
The Treasurer has long flagged the development of a new road-user charge across Australia for drivers of electric vehicles to ensure EV drivers are contributing a fair share to road upgrades.

Now the government, state treasurers and industry experts are gathering to hold high-level talks on how a new road user charge will work ahead of next week’s economic roundtable in Canberra.

All Australian motorists who buy petrol and diesel at the bowser pay 51.6 cents a litre in fuel excise.
Based on a planned NSW road user scheme, a national rollout will depend on your mileage but might cost between $300 and $400 a year.

Click to continue reading: https://tinyurl.com/bdebrztt

[Biggles]

Should be $500 because they're so much heavier!!   

[Williamson]

I can hear the outrage from the EV zealots already! 

Plans being fast-tracked for new road user charge for EV drivers

For years, drivers of EV vehicles have escaped petrol taxes that help fund road upgrades. But that’s all about to change.

The free ride enjoyed by drivers of electric vehicles is coming to a close with Treasurer Jim Chalmers and state governments fast-tracking plans for a new road-user charge.
The Treasurer has long flagged the development of a new road-user charge across Australia for drivers of electric vehicles to ensure EV drivers are contributing a fair share to road upgrades.

Now the government, state treasurers and industry experts are gathering to hold high-level talks on how a new road user charge will work ahead of next week’s economic roundtable in Canberra.

All Australian motorists who buy petrol and diesel at the bowser pay 51.6 cents a litre in fuel excise.
Based on a planned NSW road user scheme, a national rollout will depend on your mileage but might cost between $300 and $400 a year.

Click to continue reading: https://tinyurl.com/bdebrztt

In Victoria, this was introduced in 2021 before being abolished in 2023.

From a Google AI overview:

Victoria's electric vehicle (EV) road-user charge was ruled unconstitutional by the High Court in November 2023, and the state government was required to refund the money collected. This decision stemmed from a legal challenge arguing that states cannot impose excise taxes on vehicles. While the charge was scrapped, Victoria also ended its EV subsidy program on June 30, 2023.

I surprised that it's taken this long for the Feds to propose it.

Striking an equitable rate will be difficult due to so many variable, relevant criteria, but I don't think that having a set fee would be fair, afterall we don't have a fixed annual fee with the fuel excise.  The fuel excise is probably a good fit as it is a function of useage, this takes into account distance travelled, economy of a vehicle and vehicle mass.

The way I see it working and acceptable (if EV and Hybrid owners will accept it) would be on distance travelled.  EV and Hybrid owners will probably need to report vehicle km and start / end of the financial year, or at the purchase / sale of their vehilce (let's include in their tax returns).

After the fee is collected, another issue will be how it's spent.  Any need to worry here?  We all know how responsible all levels of previous and current governments (both flavours) have been with spending excises, tariff and taxes.  Yeah, no need to worry at all.

[Langers]

I can hear the outrage from the EV zealots already! 

Plans being fast-tracked for new road user charge for EV drivers



Click to continue reading: https://tinyurl.com/bdebrztt

The way I see it working and acceptable (if EV and Hybrid owners will accept it) would be on distance travelled.  EV and Hybrid owners will probably need to report vehicle km and start / end of the financial year, or at the purchase / sale of their vehilce (let's include in their tax returns).

Sounds like the creation of yet another army of bureaucrats - checking and verifying the accuracy of the reports, under a cost recovery system no doubt. Mind you, including the data collection in tax returns may be another positive wrt aging (& there's not to bloody many of them), that being many superannuated seniors don't do tax returns and so no EV charge!!! Hmmm, perhaps I might just reconsider my opposition to these environmental disasters waiting to happen.

[Williamson]

... many superannuated seniors don't do tax returns ...

Well, not currently, but they may have to report on their EV useage some way.  Just what many of us want,

[ruSTynutz]

I surprised that it's taken this long for the Feds to propose it.

I think they have been a reluctant to bring it in due to slower than hoped for take up of EVs.
Take up will be even slower, (I'd imagine) when they introduce an EV user charge...

[ruSTynutz]

Should be $500 because they're so much heavier!!   

I reckon $500 would be cheap, I suggest it would need to be closer to $1000 to bring it more inline with what ice vehicle owners probably shell out in a year in excise.