| Author | Message | ||
     David Gore Moderator Username: david_gore Post Number: 991 Registered: 4-2003 |
You may have recently read about the R-R Experimental Electric Phantom 102EX to be displayed at the forthcoming Geneva Motor Show. "The 102EX, a one-off, fully electric Phantom, will debut at the Geneva Show and then take off on a lengthy ‘tour’, allowing Rolls-Royce to gather a vast bank of research data. The research data is not intended to be of a purely technical nature. Rolls-Royce’s primary aim, during the 102EX’s global tour of Europe, the Middle East, Asia and North America, is to garner the opinions of Rolls-Royce owners and enthusiasts as to the desirability of an electric Rolls, by offering them test drives in the 102EX. These opinions will be “crucial in informing future decisions on alternative drive-trains for Rolls-Royce motor cars”." The following R-R website has more information: http://www.electricluxury.com/ (Message edited by david_gore on 25 February 2011) | ||
| Robert Wort Grand Master Username: robert_wort Post Number: 409 Registered: 12-2004 |
Hello David, Yes I did read via the company’s press release about 102EX. I’m certain it will fuel (no pun intended) a great deal of debate about whether a Rolls-Royce should be powered by such an alternative source, but in many ways (and the irony of it has possibly escaped Goodwood), it can be said that, if Rolls-Royce eventually puts an electric car into production, it will have put the memory of Sir Henry Royce into full circle. As we know, Royce and Clements started a small business manufacturing electric doorbells and then gravitated to building huge electric gantry cranes, so in many ways, it seems fitting that a Rolls-Royce motorcar should explore electrical locomotion. There is nothing new about electric cars. Many ‘greenies’ will no doubt be swooning over this ‘modern’ mode of power, but the Baker Motor Vehicle Company started manufacturing electric cars way back as early as 1899 and they were quite successful in their day as well. Walter C. Baker even built three Torpedo racers back in 1903 and achieved speeds of over 100mph (160 kph) in them. Unfortunately, his speeds weren’t officially recognised because he continually crashed them and he survived these calamities because of another invention of his. The Torpedo Electric Racers were the first cars in the world to have safety belts (in the form of shoulder harnesses). Anyway, to get back to the main topic; Electric cars and hybrids are a bit of a scam really because they don’t really ‘save the world’ as the greenies might like to think. More greenhouse gases are emitted in the production of these cars and more heavy metals are incorporated to manufacture the batteries than any conventional petrol driven vehicle. They are not that economical either when you consider that any fuel expense saved will be negated by the huge cost of replacing the batteries when they expire after about 8 years (about $3,000 on a Prius so R-R will probably cost about $10,000 at least). Recharging a car from a power point uses more fossil fuels from power stations than the car would have using petrol alone (so much for the greenies), but the biggest pitfall of all is that, if the vehicle is wholly electric and not a hybrid, under current technology, don’t even think of trying to drive it from Melbourne to Sydney unless you plan to make it a two (or even three) day trip. The range is usually only about 400 kms and then it takes anywhere between four to 8 hours to recharge the batteries (totally unacceptable for an Australian motorist). In spite of these pitfalls, electric power is probably the way forward if recharging times can match the time it takes to fill a petrol tank. It’s being worked on and I’m sure it won’t be too long before this will be achieved. As much as I am a petrol head, I’m also wholly in favour of finding a cheap alternative fuel source other than crude oil based products; not to please the greenies, but to put OPEC out of business. Every time we fill our tanks, we inadvertently fund terrorist organisations which OPEC openly supports and nothing would please me more than to see these countries become third world nations and if electric power helps it along the way, then I’m all for it. Mind you, I’m not ready to see the demise of our beloved internal combustion engines just yet; I want Rolls-Royce to be silent, but I still love the roar of a V8.  | ||
| David Gore Moderator Username: david_gore Post Number: 992 Registered: 4-2003 |
IMHO electric cars using batteries will always be an interim solution for the reasons you have detailed. The real future of electric cars is dependent on the cost of manufacturing fuel cells using Hydrogen being reduced and a way of safely carrying Hydrogen in a vehicle becoming available. This Hydrogen can and will be produced commercially using renewable energy possibly in my lifetime. Future custodians of classic V8 R-R/B vehicles hopefully will be able to modify these vehicles to use Hydrogen instead of hydrocarbon fuel allowing us to continue to feel the throb and hear the sound of a V8 internal combustion engine in full song. However, battery-electric vehicles serve a useful purpose in the meantime by encouraging research and development of electric traction technology for road vehicles. | ||
| Patrick Lockyer. Grand Master Username: pat_lockyer Post Number: 835 Registered: 9-2004 |
I will update with my Leaf experiences when delivered, have one on order. Charging at home from a solar panel bank with multi string inverter for max solar collection. Free fast 80% charge from the Nissan Dealer in under 30 mins while the wife does her shopping. Free road fund, parking and other various grants. This will be used on all the short trips. Top speed 95mph but the range is much reduced with high mph The two RRs will be used on the long trips that they do with LPG with the greatest of ease. LPG is also kind to the engine and environment. | ||
| Bill Coburn Moderator Username: bill_coburn Post Number: 1301 Registered: 4-2003 |
Last year my phone rang at about 2300 hrs. It was my son, who is currently based in Switzerland. His company supplied a Citroen (I think) which runs on natural gas. With his family they set out for Paris. He was calling to ask would I please Google and locate natural gas outlets on the way! There were none before two I managed to find in Paris itself. The car has a 100K petrol backup. So the trip there and back consisted of centurian dashes from one station to the next! He now has a neighbour with a petrol car that he swaps with when they go on their cross-border treks!!! I notice that there is some mob converting Prius' so that you can plug them in when you get home. Great idea but as Rob mentions where does the power come from? Not only is the generation of electric energy a polluting process it seems in the Eastern States at least there is a question of generating capacity with predictions of rolling blackouts to just keep up with immediate future consumption. I now enjoy getting old as I won't have to put up with these disturbing conundrums for much longer and if the silver tongued spin merchants' pulpit promises are born out, salvation may be at hand. Hell, I believe will run out of fuel so we can all flutter around in the stratosphere. But then there will undoubtedly be resident greenies leading a push against flying because of the loose feathers fluttering down. There is also the question of waste disposal. Noting the accuracy and quantity the local avian community community produces, the after-life situation with billions of feathered occupants is surely going to be a messy scene? Perhaps that was what Icarus was really trying to do - to get away from it all??? | ||
| Robert Wort Grand Master Username: robert_wort Post Number: 410 Registered: 12-2004 |
And of course, if you believe everything you read, you can easily make your own hydrogen converters and run your cars on water. WOW! Snake oil aint dead yet Check these out. I’ll be fair though; has any forum reader actually tried any of these? If any of them worked, I’m sure they would be in the mainstream by now. http://www.gas4free.com/?hop=kevinkanny http://www.hho-generators.net/hho-conversion-plans.htm http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-q6HGmN07o | ||
| David Gore Moderator Username: david_gore Post Number: 993 Registered: 4-2003 |
These use more energy to generate the Hydrogen than that contained in the Hydrogen for use as fuel - definitely worthy candidates for a "snake oil" award. "You do not get something for nothing." The Hydrogen fuel cell is a completely different technology and generates electricity by combining oxygen from the air with hydrogen fuel and water is the only by-product. The main hindrance to this technology apart from the current cost of the fuel cell itself is storing the volume of Hydrogen required to give an acceptable range before refuelling is necessary. Hydrogen does not liquify at ambient temperatures and the high pressures required to store the required volume of gas in a suitably sized fuel tank for a vehicle means heavy pressure vessels are mandatory. This is the same as the battery mass problem with current electric cars and hybrids. Best fuel utilisation requires the vehicle mass to be as low as practicable. The most promising solution may be to store the gas as a hydride with other elements and this is a work in progress at the present time. |
