Q: I'm thinking of replacing my electric car with a fossil fuel car and have some questions?
1. I have heard that petrol cars cannot refuel at home while you sleep? How often do you have to refill elsewhere? Will there be a solution for refueling at home?
2. Which parts will I need to service and how often? The car salesman mentioned oil in the engine and timing belts that need replacing and a box with gears in it. What is this? How much will this service oil change cost and how often – and what happens to the old oil. Also apparently these petrol type cars generally stop on the brakes alone – so the brakes wear out much faster – how long will they last compared to my current car which lasts over 100k miles
3. In a petrol or diesel car, do I get fuel back when I slow down or drive downhill?
4. The car I test drove seemed to have a delay from the time I pressed the accelerator pedal until it began to accelerate. Is that normal in petrol cars?
5. We currently pay about 1.2p per mile to drive our electric car. I have heard that petrol can cost up to 8 times as much. Is this true?
6. Is it true that petrol is flammable?
7. I understand that the main ingredient in petrol is oil. Is it true that the extraction and refining of oil causes environmental problems as well as conflicts and major wars that over the last 100 years have cost millions of lives? Is there a solution?
8. I have also been told that you have to transport oil all over the world to turn into petrol or diesel, and these ships have in the past damaged the environment by leaking the oil, is that true?
9. I have heard that cars with internal combustion engines are being banned to enter more and more cities around the world, as it is claimed that they tend to harm the environment and health of their citizens? Is that true?
10. I have been told that these internal combustion engines make a noise when you start them – so early starts can wake people up, and driving a lot of internal combustion engine cars in towns makes towns noisy.
11. is it true people can steal the fuel from your tank
12. what is the drop in range in cold weather, I've been told a car that does 45mpg can drop to 37 mpg in winter – just curious on that one.
13. a friend told me that the exhausts wear out – is that true, and people steal them for the rare material used in them?
14. I was also told – that the exhaust gas isn’t good for you – and if you leave the car running in a confined space – like a garage – you will die – surly that isn’t true is it?
15. next door told me – these petrol cars – carry around 40 to 60 litres of highly flammable liquid which is pumped into a steel cylinder, and its then exploded to generate expanding gas to move a piston, and turn linear motion into rotary motion.
Why would anyone want thousands of explosions happening within a few feet of where you're sitting.
16. a guy at work told me – he has a petrol car, and it leaks oil. When he parks it – surely that’s not right is it – leaving dirty marks on the floor and contaminating the environment so directly. How long before this happens if I change.
17. my dad told me – if you buy a diesel car – the hand pump smells very bad, and you have to wear special gloves to stop your hand smelling, and if you spill it on your clothes it terrible.
18. is it true – the petrol and diesel is so dangerous, that you can only buy the fuel at a special filling station, and not anywhere else (hotels/Car parks/Home/Work)?
19. while technology is advancing, will I ever be able to refuel my internal combustion car for free using only the sun?
20. would I be better off going straight to horse and cart, and not buying a horseless carriage – they sound pretty awful, burning dinosaur juice and polluting the environment whilst funding conflict and war and consuming raw material at an unbelievably high rate.