Categories
Lightning GT

Lightning GT in action

Amidst the misery of Think and Nice disappearing, let’s celebrate a fully blown EV sports car in action. The Lightning GT. The people that sent me this video say that because the wind noise on the day was so much greater than the car they’ve made most of the film mute, so dont worry if you dont hear anything…! Merry Christmas everyone. Reckon there’s still plenty to look forward to in 2009.

Click on the image to view video.

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Categories
Power

Good news, but is my power renewable?

Good news from Camden Council. I was wrong about them not doing anything – they just hadn’t told anyone about it. They’ve introduced free parking for electric vehicles along with more charging points. If you charge your car from a renewable source you don’t even have to pay for the permit, otherwise they are £50 per annum! It got me thinking about my power from juice. I was on the phone talking bills with them on Saturday (as everyone is these days) and they told me that they “guarantee” to replace any electricity drawn from the national grid with energy drawn from renewable sources. Great! Thing is, there seem to be some questions out there over whether the green power we are being sold actually is green power. Take a look at this recent article.

I’m going to talk to some of the people involved in power generation to find out more. Whilst we are all gearing up to rush into the showrooms to buy all these electric cars, we may as well know they are being powered in the most efficient way.

Click on the image to view video.

Categories
Tango Tesla

Tango vs Tesla Drag Race

httpv://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=QwiS4t8TMlI&feature=email

Jorg, my Tango owning friend has posted this great video of a drag race between a Tango and a Tesla EV. Not any old cars, but the fastest production electric vehicles in the world. Check out these times;

“In this race, the Tango got 92.15mph in 14.480 seconds, beating its 14.7 “dial” handicap and thus losing the competition; the Tesla got 101.23mph in 14.666 seconds, slower than its 14.5 “dial” handicap and allowing it to proceed to the next round. (Two rounds later, the Tango’s driver got behind the wheel of the Tesla and also beat its “dial” handicap… and thus lost!)”

Categories
NICE

Nice Car Company goes into administration

I’ve heard that Nice Car Company are going out of business. I sincerely hope this isn’t the case. I’ve been following their fortunes along with those of goingreen who sell the GWiz since I started this vlog in spring 2005. If it’s true then it’s a huge blow to the electric car industry here in the UK. Whilst the major manufactures are asking for bailouts in the UK and US, smaller innovative businesses are left to go broke. We’ve had empty promises for years from the larger car makers and the Government.  All in the same week that the climate change report states that electric cars are the only way for a sustainable transport solution…

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Categories
Electric Cars G Wiz

The reality of charging EV’s in London

“Motorists will have to drive electric cars for UK to meet climate change targets.” So runs the Telegraph headline today.

The reality of driving an electric vehicle here is getting harder as time goes on. There are more than 1000 vehicles on London’s roads now. Charging facilities are extremely limited, and most people do not have the luxury of a garage or off street parking. Since my local car park closed,  I can never guarantee a charging space in the west end as the bays are permanently full.  This makes life difficult in a limited range car such as the GWiz. The City of London has started to charge for EV’s to park in their garages and they haven’t added any further charging points. Camden Council who promised to bring in free parking for electric vehicles more than 2 years ago have still done nothing… and so the list goes on.

I’ve had to resort to charging at home. Not ideal as I have to run a cable across my pavement. If the Government is serious about getting Electric Vehicles on the roads here then lets start with a proper infrastructure now.

Click on the image to view my charging routine.

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