Australian (ASX) Stock Market Forum

Electric cars?

Would you buy an electric car?

  • Already own one

    Votes: 10 5.1%

  • Yes - would definitely buy

    Votes: 43 22.1%

  • Yes - preferred over petrol car if price/power/convenience similar

    Votes: 78 40.0%

  • Maybe - preference for neither, only concerned with costs etc

    Votes: 36 18.5%

  • No - prefer petrol car even if electric car has same price, power and convenience

    Votes: 24 12.3%

  • No - would never buy one

    Votes: 14 7.2%
  • Total voters
    195
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qldfrog said:
And a not so shiny story...
To balance on this thread😊
Oh..this is evil Murdoch is it ,?so can not be true
Click to expand...

“I think autopilot has saved our lives. It’s probably the one singular reason we went for another Tesla. I genuinely do think it’s saved our lives, we’re so sleep-deprived. It does need supervising like a toddler with scissors — on occasion it tries to drive you off the road for no good reason. But the cognitive load it takes off your shoulders, it makes long drives in particular much more enjoyable and relaxing.”​
 
JohnDe said:
“I think autopilot has saved our lives. It’s probably the one singular reason we went for another Tesla. I genuinely do think it’s saved our lives, we’re so sleep-deprived. It does need supervising like a toddler with scissors — on occasion it tries to drive you off the road for no good reason. But the cognitive load it takes off your shoulders, it makes long drives in particular much more enjoyable and relaxing.”​
Click to expand...
I did not want to look like a smug and decided against adding this to the initial post
but let's go:
my 1/5th of the cost MG zst has an autopilot, keep me on the lane, actively, slow down and accelerate to maintain distance with preceding car while on cruise control, read speed sign and does emergency braking..faster than i do..
Only did it hard once, justified.i have not tested it yet on cyclist pedestrian and would like to..but you understand my reluctance.;-)
So far, it has never tried to veer me off the road 😂
Basically, just buy a modern car.
And i am sure this is not unique if on a cheapest chinese car
Save $75k and get $3.5k of return a year for petrol and annual service.
 
qldfrog said:
I did not want to look like a smug and decided against adding this to the initial post
but let's go:
my 1/5th of the cost MG zst has an autopilot, keep me on the lane, actively, slow down and accelerate to maintain distance with preceding car while on cruise control, read speed sign and does emergency braking..faster than i do..
Only did it hard once, justified.i have not tested it yet on cyclist pedestrian and would like to..but you understand my reluctance.;-)
So far, it has never tried to veer me off the road 😂
Basically, just buy a modern car.
And i am sure this is not unique if on a cheapest chinese car
Save $75k and get $3.5k of return a year for petrol and annual service.
Click to expand...

If you haven’t experienced it, you don’t know.

The Tesla uses an AI and 7 cameras to monitor driving conditions. It assess situations like a car coming through a side road at speed, or a pedestrian about to step onto the road in a dangerous manner. Long distance drives in a Tesla is different to other vehicles, because the assistance takes a large load off of the driver.

I drove an MG top of the range for a week in Tasmania. Build quality was good, technology was good, the turbocharged engine and transmission configuration was a nightmare for Tasmanian hills. Did my head in, one minute it’s lacking power as the turbo lags and transmission is in wrong gear, the next it’s screaming its guts out as the turbo cuts in and the transmission has dropped a gear.

A Tesla has no gears, just smooth strong torque.

The AI system and the data collected by Tesla is one of the reasons it’s not just a car company.
 
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JohnDe said:
If you haven’t experienced it, you don’t know.

The Tesla uses an AI and 7 cameras to monitor driving conditions. It assess situations like a car coming through a side road at speed, or a pedestrian about to step onto the road in a dangerous manner. Long distance drives in a Tesla is different to other vehicles, because the assistance takes a large load off of the driver.

I drove an MG top of the range for a week in Tasmania. Build quality was good, technology was good, the turbocharged engine and transmission configuration was a nightmare for Tasmanian hills. Did my head in, one minute it’s lacking power as the turbo lags and transmission is in wrong gear, the next it’s screaming its guts out as the turbo cuts in and the transmission has dropped a gear.

A Tesla has no gears, just smooth strong torque.

The AI system and the data collected by Tesla is one of the reasons it’s not just a car company.
Click to expand...
Sure, but what i mean is that tesla is not the only one where driving is just holding hands on wheels..as it screams otherwise, and let go...
And do not forget we are comparing a 20k vs an 100k car.
Just got driven last week in a top of range merx, and was not impressed by the screens, assistance etc for a car which is even more expensive than the tesla.
All that to say that tesla is not that ahead vs competition in term of semiautonomous driving..
And this is all we can do here, they are probably years ahead for fully self driven but my understanding is that it is not allowed here....so who cares for the time being
I will not shed a tear for that lady, who bought a luxury status, second hand, which ended a lemon, no better than the hummer @Knobby22 and I were joking about.
And i am also nearly sure a 2024 tesla would be a different story
 
JohnDe said:
If you haven’t experienced it, you don’t know.

The Tesla uses an AI and 7 cameras to monitor driving conditions. It assess situations like a car coming through a side road at speed, or a pedestrian about to step onto the road in a dangerous manner. Long distance drives in a Tesla is different to other vehicles, because the assistance takes a large load off of the driver.

I drove an MG top of the range for a week in Tasmania. Build quality was good, technology was good, the turbocharged engine and transmission configuration was a nightmare for Tasmanian hills. Did my head in, one minute it’s lacking power as the turbo lags and transmission is in wrong gear, the next it’s screaming its guts out as the turbo cuts in and the transmission has dropped a gear.

A Tesla has no gears, just smooth strong torque.

The AI system and the data collected by Tesla is one of the reasons it’s not just a car company
Click to expand...

I've got a Suburu Crosstreck Hybrid December 2023 (pretty lousy hybrid ability to be honest) but the semi autonomous technology is great
(and I believe developed by Tesla and given to the other manufacturers).

It has all round cameras, lane hold, can select how far you want to travel behind another car when cruising (it detects cars at a large distance), autonomous braking, holds you in the centre of the lane between lines, warning sensors for other cars and people that it detects around you etc if you try to do something, face detection when entering, lots of other warnings (some are annoying such as not holding the wheel enough or when you look sideways to adjust the radio or something ) and it's only a 50K car that is the base of the Subaru range.
I am wondering how it would go if a kangaroo jumped out in front.

I would assume the new Tesla would have some advances but wouldn't be surprised if Musk is keeping stuff in reserve for the autonomous future.
 
Smurf1976 said:
Agreed - although the stop-start applications such as urban public transport and garbage collection vehicles are even more extreme than that, they're even better candidates due to the amount of braking they do, plus they have the advantage of never having to go to the middle of nowhere, always being parked at a known location for charging, etc.

They're low hanging fruit basically, they should in theory offer an excellent return on investment when compared to a less frequently used car that needs a longer range due to the nature of that use.

One public transport service I looked at in detail, there's a stop on average every 1.05km along the route from the CBD to outer suburbs and back. Done that way to maximise utility, because people don't like walking too far to get on or off, but it does mean an awful lot of braking and fuel inefficiency with internal combustion as the power source. So electric power and regenerative braking has a lot of benefits there.

And since the vehicle spends a few minutes parked at both ends of that trip, there's a layover period at the stop furthest out where it waits until a set time to depart in order to keep services on time, and the same also occurs in the CBD, that's a perfect opportunity for a top-up charge if needed. :2twocents
Click to expand...
Agreed, that’s why EV’s are growing pretty fast in that space.
 
qldfrog said:
I did not want to look like a smug and decided against adding this to the initial post
but let's go:
my 1/5th of the cost MG zst has an autopilot, keep me on the lane, actively, slow down and accelerate to maintain distance with preceding car while on cruise control, read speed sign and does emergency braking..faster than i do..
Only did it hard once, justified.i have not tested it yet on cyclist pedestrian and would like to..but you understand my reluctance.;-)
So far, it has never tried to veer me off the road 😂
Basically, just buy a modern car.
And i am sure this is not unique if on a cheapest chinese car
Save $75k and get $3.5k of return a year for petrol and annual service.
Click to expand...

That’s not auto pilot that’s cruise control.

I can summon my Tesla from the other side of a carpark and it drives itself to me, and it doesn’t just lane keep, it over takes other slower cars, changes lanes to navigate, stops at red lights, merges off the freeway etc
 
I like motorbikes, and for the past 20 years my favourite style has been the cafe racer. I have looked, I have thought about it but never purchased, and eventually my dream faded.

This new electric bike has me mightily interested again. Hopefully they come down under.


It's not hard to see why the Maeving RM1S is one of the UK's best-selling electric motorcycles, especially at this price.

1720745874103.png

It's not hard to see why the Maeving RM1S is one of the UK's best-selling electric motorcycles, especially at this price.
If you haven't heard about Maeving, that's understandable, as it's an English motorcycle manufacturer, and the company is just seven years old.

But that's likely to change very soon, as the brand just launched its latest model, the RM1S, on US soil, starting in California.

This isn't any ol' bike, though, as it's quickly becoming the best-selling electric motorcycle in the UK. And it's not hard to see why.

For starters, the Maeving RM1S is a thing of beauty, at least in my opinion. It takes classic styling cues from the 1920s and cafe racer era and contrasts them against modern touches, like the LED lights and carbon fiber mudguards. Leaving us with one of the best-looking retro modern electric motorcycles you'll find anywhere. But there's more to this bike than it's head-turning capability.

Before getting down to the nitty-gritty of specs, know that the 2024 Maeving RM1S is going to cost $8,995 when it hits US shores. And if you know anything about the price of electric bikes, you know that's hard to beat, with models like the LiveWire S2 Mulholland starting at $15,999.

The RM1S has a maximum range of 80 miles and a top speed of 70 mph, so it's somewhat down on speed and range compared to other electric motorcycles, but so is its price. These figures, however, make it a perfect machine for those who plan on riding in the city, especially with a monstrous 184 lb-ft of torque on tap.

Its rear hub-mounted motor provides 7.0 kW of continuous power and 10.5 kW of peak power. And this is plenty for the city streets when you consider that the bike only weighs 293 lbs. But it isn't just its power and range that make it clear the RM1S is meant for urban dwellers, and that's made obvious by the way it charges.

Now, you can change this model by plugging it into an electrical outlet, as you would most electric motorcycles, but you can also remove the twin 2.73 kWh batteries and charge them anywhere you please. So if living in an apartment building was stopping you from getting an electric motorcycle before, this might be the answer. It takes just three hours to charge the batteries from 20-100%, but it's worth noting that each unit weighs 33 lbs.

Maeving co-founder, Seb Inglis-Jones said, "We’re so excited to offer North American riders the chance to experience and own a zero-emissions motorcycle that blends timeless British design with the benefits of modern electric performance and usability... We’ve worked extremely hard to ensure that everything that has made our first model, the RM1, so popular with our customers is carried over to the new RM1S. This new Maeving provides greater performance so it can be used in a much wider variety of use cases and offers the convenience of charging the batteries both on and off the bike.”

1720745982139.png

The RM1, which is the first model from the English brand, has been well-reviewed and seems to be well made. But that's what you'd expect when you consider that these bikes are designed by a team of former Triumph engineers.

Although it's initially only for sale in California, Maeving says more states are soon to follow. What do you think? Would you consider replacing your urban commuter with this? I'd certainly think about it if the ride was good enough.
Click to expand...
 
Those were the days -

  • Holden launched the EH in 1963 and shifted 250,000 units in just 18 months, making it the fastest-selling car of all time in Australia (in comparison, in 2012 Holden sold 30,000 Commodores).
  • There was a kind of Mad Max-ness about the road toll in 1964. With a national population of just over 11 million, 2966 people died on our roads. That’s a death rate of 26.6 per 100,000 head of population; by 2023 that rate had fallen to 4.8 (or 1266, out of a population of 26.6 million).
Soon we won't have to drive, we'll let the cars AI take us -
  • If you dare to visit the US and hire a full self-driving-equipped Tesla, you won’t even need to drive, as these cars have an Autopilot mode that can negotiate freeways, intersections and busy streets, all with no input from you.


06fe87cd0457acc9073e90501a51a965.jpg
The bestselling EH Holden.

MOTORING​

THEN: Road trips in 1964 Australia were hedonistic and thrilling adventures, with effectively no speed limits, no seatbelts and certainly no policemen holding radar guns (Victoria introduced the first speed camera in 1985). Drivers were most likely behind the wheel of Australia’s bestselling car at the time, the EH Holden, which had brakes, but not good ones, and cross-ply tyres with all the grip of a cat on linoleum. Nor did it have crumple zones or power steering. Holden launched the model in 1963 and shifted 250,000 units in just 18 months, making it the fastest-selling car of all time in Australia (in comparison, in 2012 Holden sold 30,000 Commodores). Windows were furiously wound down in summer because airconditioning was not an option, and you’d be simmering in a puddle of sweat on the slick vinyl bench seats. NSW had a “prima facie limit” of 80km/h in rural areas (the state set a limit of 56km/h for city streets in 1964), but police would enforce it only if they decided your speed was “excessive or dangerous”. There was a kind of Mad Max-ness about the road toll in 1964. With a national population of just over 11 million, 2966 people died on our roads. That’s a death rate of 26.6 per 100,000 head of population; by 2023 that rate had fallen to 4.8 (or 1266, out of a population of 26.6 million). Seatbelts, first made compulsory in 1970 in (you guessed it) Victoria (it was the first government in the world to do so), were a hell of an invention. In short, driving was hugely dangerous compared with today, but it was how we holidayed anyway, lolling across the back seat while our parents – who’d possibly had a few drinks (random breath testing wasn’t introduced until 1976, in Victoria of course) – argued over a paper map. And it was cheap; petrol was about 8c a litre.

fd0934d66d3dec45795528409dbdbd0b.jpg
Electric vehicles are a growing segment of the car market. Picture: Getty Images

NOW: Australians might have had a love affair with the EH Holden back in 1964, but today we tend to buy multiple cars, and the bigger the better. In the 60s, Australians were buying about 400,000 cars a year, and choosing between fewer than a dozen mainstream brands. Today we have more than 60 marques competing for sales of 1.2 million a year. While all of our relatively noisy passenger cars in 1960 were running on leaded fuel (phased out in Australia on January 1, 2002), today it’s possible to drive in eerie silence while producing zero emissions thanks to the advent, and increasing popularity, of electric cars (just over 7 per cent of new-car sales were electric in 2023, up from 3 per cent the year before). Not only do we take passive safety features such as crumple zones and airbags (first arriving here in the early 90s) for granted, but modern cars have a feast of “active” safety features, such as automatic emergency braking, traction and stability control, and even lane-keeping assist. If you dare to visit the US and hire a full self-driving-equipped Tesla, you won’t even need to drive, as these cars have an Autopilot mode that can negotiate freeways, intersections and busy streets, all with no input from you. In San Francisco, you can jump in a fully autonomous taxi. Enthusiasts might well prefer the roads of 1964 to the non-driving ones of tomorrow.

 
IFocus said:
Brother had an EH bought second hand was still driving it around his farm 30 years later
Click to expand...
I drive a Tesla Model 3 now, but prior to that I owned a 1997 model commodore that I bought in 2004 second hand and drove until 2019 when I picked up the Tesla, So I know how much it costs to keep a petrol car on the road in Fuel and maintenance.

So far the Tesla has consumed a tiny fraction of the fuel costs over the last 60,000 kms, and it has only consumed $160 of maintenance (1x lead acid battery).

It’s going to be interesting to see how this plays out, I have my money on the Tesla. 😅
 
The Pickup truck phenomenon in America really has to be seen to be appreciated.
After 10 weeks in the USA, it never ceases to amaze me how many of the things we saw, particularly outside of the urban areas.
Sales of the Cybertruck are going well, indeed according to This video,
Tesla sold more Cybertrucks in May 2024 than the Ford F-150 Lightning and Rivian R1T combined, despite being a $100k+ truck.
• Tesla Cybertruck: 3,907 •
Ford F-150 Lightning & Rivian R1T (combined): 3,590
Cybertruck is the bestselling EV pickup truck & most American made full-size pickup truck.
Click to expand...
According to the Ford Official Sales Figures , ford is on track to increase lightning sales to 30k by the end of this year.
1721278914459.png
The Rivian sales are a little hard to work out, as they limp the pickup R1T with the R1S which is a sedan.
Either way, the sales are falling .
1721279332549.png

Unfortunately for both Tesla, Rivian and Ford, the sales of F-150 lightnings were but 3% of the total F-150 sales.
Despite the increases, they are such a tiny part of the pickup truck fleet, they are in some ways just a blip.
If Trump gets in, a lot of the EV subsides will be gone.
It will make it less desirable for the average gas powered truck enthusiast to switch to an EV.
Mick
 
mullokintyre said:
The Pickup truck phenomenon in America really has to be seen to be appreciated.
After 10 weeks in the USA, it never ceases to amaze me how many of the things we saw, particularly outside of the urban areas.
Click to expand...
Its about the same ratio of Utes to SUV's and cars as we have here isn't it? 17% of vehicles in the USA are pickups. I spend a lot of time in the USA and while there is lots of Utes, its not really that much more than we have here, obviously the rural areas like the Dakotas and Wyoming etc have a higher ratio, but that would be the same in our rural areas to.

As I have pointed out before, pickups often hit the top of the best seller lists, but thats really just because the sales are concentrated into a couple of models, where as the other classes of vehicle have more variety of models, and the classes are broken down into subgroups.

eg- pickups all lumped into one group, but SUV's and cars separated out into different groups eg SUV and cross overs are listed separately, cars are broken up into Large, Midsized and compacts etc

The numbers are in: Americans bought a total of 15,549,907 new cars, trucks, and SUVs in 2023, what did Americans buy? Overwhelmingly, SUVs. Cars accounted for about 3.2 million sales, while pickups totaled almost 2.75 million. That means more than 12.3 million new SUVs hit America's roads last year, ranging from the $21,135 Hyundai Venue (29,327 sold) to the $348,000Rolls-Royce Cullinan (949 sold).

https://www.motortrend.com/news/best-selling-cars-trucks-suvs-in-america-2023/
 
Interesting article on Tesla owner demographics, I thought they would be younger upwardly mobile owners.
It seems they are generally upper middle class older dudes, who by statistics have a lot more accidents generally, well they are fast cars and who knows what the driver is up to. 🤣

hedgescompany.com

Tesla Demographics 2024 by Age, Income, Gender, Home Value

Tesla owners have a median age of 48 and an annual income of over $150,000. Learn more demographics about Tesla owners in this free report.
hedgescompany.com hedgescompany.com
From the article:
According to a recent study published by LendingTree, Tesla owners have the highest accident rate of 30 vehicle brands, with 23.54 accidents per 1,000 drivers. They got at this information by analyzing millions of insurance quotes. Only Tesla, Ram and Subaru owners had more than 20 accidents per 1,000 drivers.
 
sptrawler said:
Interesting article on Tesla owner demographics, I thought they would be younger upwardly mobile owners.
It seems they are generally upper middle class older dudes, who by statistics have a lot more accidents generally, well they are fast cars and who knows what the driver is up to. 🤣

hedgescompany.com

Tesla Demographics 2024 by Age, Income, Gender, Home Value

Tesla owners have a median age of 48 and an annual income of over $150,000. Learn more demographics about Tesla owners in this free report.
hedgescompany.com hedgescompany.com
From the article:
According to a recent study published by LendingTree, Tesla owners have the highest accident rate of 30 vehicle brands, with 23.54 accidents per 1,000 drivers. They got at this information by analyzing millions of insurance quotes. Only Tesla, Ram and Subaru owners had more than 20 accidents per 1,000 drivers.
Click to expand...
Well Her car is a Subaru but touch wood no prangs in the last 15 years with the cars she has driven.
 
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