Electric Minor and other classic cars.

[philthehill]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-58578061

[Monty-4]

Excellent, as soon as the prices have come down a bit more I would love to try this.

I wrote to my MP a while back pointing out that the tax incentives for a new EV vs. a conversion was odd when weighing up the net carbon impact. They explained that it was targeted at getting corporate fleets to move over more than the average consumer or classic enthusiast at first, which makes some sense I suppose, although why not both!

[ManyMinors]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-58578061

That car certainly isn't the only one! I posted this photo in the "spotted today" thread back in April. This car has a range of around 120 miles I gather.

[philthehill]

I was aware of previous posts regarding electric Minors but the link is more of a generalisation as regards classic cars and conversion to electric drive trains.
It shows that there is some progress regarding converting classic cars and an appetite for the conversion even though there are those that would like to keep their classic car with the original petrol engine.

[geoberni]

Excellent, as soon as the prices have come down a bit more I would love to try this.

I wrote to my MP a while back pointing out that the tax incentives for a new EV vs. a conversion was odd when weighing up the net carbon impact. They explained that it was targeted at getting corporate fleets to move over more than the average consumer or classic enthusiast at first, which makes some sense I suppose, although why not both!

Targeting the car is all a myth anyhow.
Look at how the past 50 years has seen a surge in 'Just in time' supply routes around the globe.
Nobody questions how much Fuel Oil is burnt by the cargo ships bringing their Food, Clothing etc from the other side of the planet. Most Cargo Ships burn Bunker Oil still, that thick black gloop that you see on the surface in all the 'sinking ship' movies, they are the dirtiest vehicles on the planet.
Some reports suggest that carbon emissions from shipping could shoot up as much as 250 percent by 2050 as the world’s population grows and economies expand.
Globalism needs overhaul and quickly.

[Monty-4]

[...]

Holding stock and building resilience into your business rather than relying on JIT supply chains costs more - until those are disrupted. That and the "external costs", as economists would put it, of pollution are perhaps historically stupid short-term decisions. That's a whole other ranty topic though.

Having taken rides in and driven a few EVs now, I tend to think the torquey silence of an EV would suit the Minor nicely. The later ADO16 and ADO17 as well or perhaps even more so.

[kevin s]

I had a mach-e for a weekend recently, the performance was amazing, I could quite happily use a modern EV every day.

For classics I think it really depends on the car, take the engine out of a tvr, lotus, mg or TR and all you will have is a poor handling (because it now weighs 1.5 tons), rattly leaky not very comfortable or reliable car, on the other hand I could quite see me pottering around town in a electric minor.

[MorrisJohn]

Yes, I think it depends on the car. Personally I’d never electrify a Minor. The sounds, gear changes, vibrations and smells are all part of the yesteryear charm.

[Chief]

I was aware of previous posts regarding electric Minors but the link is more of a generalisation as regards classic cars and conversion to electric drive trains.
It shows that there is some progress regarding converting classic cars and an appetite for the conversion even though there are those that would like to keep their classic car with the original petrol engine.

Vintage Voltage on Quest follows the work done by https://www.electricclassiccars.co.uk/ and their conversions. The recent Guy Martin attempt to break the record for an electric car used them too.

Also yes, have to admit I'd prefer the carbon neutral synthetic fuels to come about for the classics. Look at the living museums such as Brooklands where they have working exhibits out on track, doubt they'd want to convert all their historic vehicles to EV, same too for the London to Brighton rally.

[jagnut66]

Excellent, as soon as the prices have come down a bit more I would love to try this.

I think cost is the big issue for allot of people, plus when they fail they stop dead and can't be moved, as a friend of mine found out in an company electric van just recently, he was just glad he wasn't on one of these 'smart motorways' but that's (covered by) another post.
So cost and safety, they need to be made so they coast to a stop, not just stop dead.

Personally I’d never electrify a Minor.

Never say 'never'. If legislation changes because someone decides we need to get ICE cars and trucks off the road quicker because of global warming / polution etc. I would rather electrify my classics than have to give them up entirely.
Of course this brings us neatly back round to the issue of cost and being able to afford to........
Best wishes,
Mike.

[liammonty]

Targeting the car is all a myth anyhow.
Look at how the past 50 years has seen a surge in 'Just in time' supply routes around the globe.
Nobody questions how much Fuel Oil is burnt by the cargo ships bringing their Food, Clothing etc from the other side of the planet. Most Cargo Ships burn Bunker Oil still, that thick black gloop that you see on the surface in all the 'sinking ship' movies, they are the dirtiest vehicles on the planet.
Some reports suggest that carbon emissions from shipping could shoot up as much as 250 percent by 2050 as the world’s population grows and economies expand.
Globalism needs overhaul and quickly.

[/quote]

I couldn't agree more. One of the head engineers at JLR cited the example of a bearing assembly currently manufactured for the Discovery. The equivalent component used to be manufactured with British steel, in the UK, and then fitted to the vehicle in Longbridge. The assembly, one component of thousands on the vehicle, is made of steel manufactured from iron ore in Jamshedpur in India. This is then shipped to Brazil for something or other in the process, ahead of being shipped to the UK for a bearing to be fitted, from where it is shipped to France for finishing. It is then returned to Longbridge for fitment to the vehicle. This is justified by JLR, because the reulting assembly is 5 pence cheaper than it would be were it manufactured entirely in the UK. But hey, it's OK, right, as JLR are focussing on electric vehicles only moving forward, so they will save the planet.

The very people who are happy to purchase an EV and feel that they are doing their bit to save the planet would likely be horrified at the thought of only buying local produce in the supermarket, or supporting local industry (granted more expensive than some of the imported alternatives, but not a problem if you can afford an EV!) and are also blissfully unaware of the damage created by mining precious metals for batteries etc. etc.

EVs will make people feel good about being 'green', but there are bigger issues to tackle, urgently!

[Chief]

Most Cargo Ships burn Bunker Oil still

I thought aeroplanes were slightly ahead of cargo ships pollution wise.

I couldn't agree more. One of the head engineers at JLR....

There's a place in Scotland where if memory serves me right they...
Bring the timber in from Norway etc. by lorry (don't know which port it arrives at in the UK).
Then there's a road which heads round the top of a loch, but it's cheaper to go across the loch using tankers.
Once across they continue the rest of the way by lorry.
The road they cut out is only 4 miles long, and takes 10 minutes or so

and are also blissfully unaware of the damage created by mining precious metals for batteries etc. etc.

The idea is that the upfront environmental impact is ofset by the ten years lifespan of the battery, though I do wonder how many people ask when buying a new vehicle where the lithium came from to determine whether it was more or less environmentally damaging based on extraction methods. Have to admit I knew nothing of it till I saw a YouTube video and thought the photos of the damage couldn't be true

[geoberni]

I thought aeroplanes were slightly ahead of cargo ships pollution wise.

Some stats here about aircraft. https://www.atag.org/facts-figures.html

Aviation is quite high, but it's also doing a lot about it. Shipping not so much, with estimates their emissions are set to rise significantly.

https://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/tra ... hipping_en

It seems to me that shipping has been ignored for decades and not done much to clean up their act, whereas land transport and aviation have been a target for everyone.