EV Update

Hybrid bike sounds interesting but very hard to imagine adding all the extra equipment/weight on a bike and having it work out better for very many riders. Having options can be good though.

Arknt
 
Meanwhile the EC lobbyists in Brussels preparing another hack ... :rolleyes:

Currently we've annual tech inspections, if a vehicle is determined not roadworthy you'll get a warning and a deadline to get that fixed at your own responsibility...
If that's passed without proper measure or a vehicle is found unsafe for road use in operation/on public property you'll loose license and therefore insurance cover...
Such covers all vehicles destined to be used/operated on public roadways, independent of age/year of first homolagization, tax class, fuel used, etc...
It's further up to the operator's/owner's responsibility how to discard a vehicle being totaled or beyond economic repair, you can sell it "as is" privately, trade it at a dealer, sell it to a utilizator (where they get parted out providing spares for those still on the road), sell as scrap metal to a junkyard, etc... you might also simply keep it in your garage/your property to deal with it some-when later...

So far so good, the state fulfills it's duty to ensure the safety of it's citizens there...

But now those Muppet bureaucrats plan to "expropriate" the people...
They intend to instate legal measures on not only when you have to dispose of your vehicle, but also that it must end up as scrap...
Imagine, you're at the annual MOT inspection where some overzealous paragraph jokey can then legally(!) simply decide "that's it", rips the license plates off and puts it in the press...
Forget about having a project vehicle sitting in your garage/barn you're working on since a couple of years, refurbing your young-timer, cause suddenly a registered letter hits, telling you've to scrap it within 30 days....
Far more, they also plan to force private and commercial sales of used parts into full warranty liability...
That will force almost all of those traders out business, so that's pretty much that for finding that gem of a NOS master brake cylinder for your '64 Beetle on eBay...

The constitutional and civil rights ramifications of this have yet to be fathomed ...

Fellas like me who intend to keep their old current vehicles operational and in top condition as long as possible (for obvious reasons) will have to stock up on consumables and spares... :(
 
Sounds like a bit of government overreach with out considering unintended consequences. Hopefully, after considering all the ramifications, common sense will prevail. Sometimes I wonder though why they call it "common sense" 'cause it ain't all that common.

Mike
 
mikesim said:
Sounds like a bit of government overreach with out considering unintended consequences.
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More like some serious lobby-ism going on... greed is always way off common sense...
Despite advertisement, newsreel (and political) propaganda been in high gear for quite some time*, EV sales declined massively, MFGs cutting down productions, layoffs, etc... share holders in panic mode... hence massive pressure on administrations to "get things done"...

* GF and I pretty much got off any public/FM radio or TV, the omnipresent yapping is unbearable...
 
I saw on the news Tesla is going to have to recall virtually every car they have made. Not a EV issue per se but safety issues with the self driving "Autopilot" feature they put in their vehicles. I have Ford's Blue Cruise in the Mach-E and you'd be nuts to trust it. That is one subscription that won't be renewed when the trial period expires.
 
RedLdr1 said:
That is one subscription that won't be renewed when the trial period expires.
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Also a new trend... like with smartphones you actually don't really own the vehicle, since you don't have supremacy which apps/software/versions are running...
 
RedLdr1 said:
I saw on the news Tesla is going to have to recall virtually every car they have made. Not a EV issue per se but safety issues with the self driving "Autopilot" feature they put in their vehicles. I have Ford's Blue Cruise in the Mach-E and you'd be nuts to trust it. That is one subscription that won't be renewed when the trial period expires.
Click to expand...

For those of you who aren't AMA members, the AMA has been hounding (and rightly so!) the NHTSA about the self driving cars that are being sold. Testing has indicated that in many instances motorcycles are not recognized by the AI system controlling the vehicle. The AMA is insisting that these vehicles must not be permitted to be operated in the self driving mode until they are proven to be safe to pedestrians and other non four wheel vehicular traffic.

Mike
 
mikesim said:
For those of you who aren't AMA members, the AMA has been hounding (and rightly so!) the NHTSA about the self driving cars that are being sold. Testing has indicated that in many instances motorcycles are not recognized by the AI system controlling the vehicle. The AMA is insisting that these vehicles must not be permitted to be operated in the self driving mode until they are proven to be safe to pedestrians and other non four wheel vehicular traffic.
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Add "sorry, didn't see you/he came out of nowhere" in robotic voice there... 🤖

Besides that now assistance systems (lane assist, speed limit recognition, etc...) are mandatory in all new cars over here, EuroNCAP insisted that those must also capable of recognizing motorcycles (the typical car turning left taking out oncoming rider, or smacking a parallel running motorcycle by cutting into the lane) by 2023...
Interestingly it quickly went very silent...
Authorities are more focused on the speed limit recon (onboard cams reading posted signs) and that in such the systems should slow the vehicles forcible... 🙄
Or that the collected data is to be transmitted to the insurance companies, so premiums for sinners get increased automatically...
 
Give me my old VWs back. They were cheap to operate, easy to maintain, went anywhere in any road condition, and did not go fast enough to get me into trouble.:biggrin: With all this gov't mandate stuff and expense to new vehicles today, old used cars are going to become quite valuable.

002chucks first car two (2).jpgVW B-Gaden.jpg11-22-2013 03;52;33PM.jpg
 
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Chucksklrst said:
Give me my old VWs back. They was cheap to operate, easy to maintain, went anywhere in any road condition, and did not go fast enough to get me into trouble.:biggrin: With all this gov't mandate stuff and expense to new vehicles today, old used cars are going to become quite valuable.
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Ditto, but in the 80ies the witch-hunt began...
They actually damaged things (like floor panels or front axle bodies) during the annual safety inspection with a massive hammer & chisel/eale...
Of course was the brake fluid boiling point always found "way too low" (despite being replaced just yesterday...)
Or purposely offset the timing to claim "not running properly"... pulley on mark, distributor finger back on punched line and the thing ran perfect again...
Or wrenching on the carb till black fumes emitted the exhaust... me mains back to 1&1/8 turns, mixture set (reving up and let back to idle, if it stalls 1/8th turn out...)
One headlight reflector slightly dull... there we go...
Ah, the door hinges are done, see door edge can be moved up/down at least 1mm....

Worst were the snow-plow crews ripping off fenders... must have been on purpose/directive as no other car down the street was damaged... 🤬

Loved it in the winter (yep, my heater pockets and air-conduits were in top condition, no fogged windscreen at all... blew like a heat-gun, never needed to scrape ice... :cool:
And with snow-chains on the thing would just go everywhere...


IMG_20230521_103041.jpg


But unlike on this pic mine did have a stereo, I quite good one actually (added two BR home speaker casings behind the rear seat 😁 )
The times of "mixed tapes"... :cool:
 
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ST1100Y said:
Ditto, but in the 80ies the witch-hunt began...
They actually damaged things (like floor panels or front axle bodies) during the annual safety inspection with a massive hammer & chisel/eale...
Of course was the brake fluid boiling point always found "way too low" (despite being replaced just yesterday...)
Or purposely offset the timing to claim "not running properly"... pulley on mark, distributor finger back on punched line and the thing ran perfect again...
Or wrenching on the carb till black fumes emitted the exhaust... me mains back to 1&1/8 turns, mixture set (reving up and let back to idle, if it stalls 1/8th turn out...)
One headlight reflector slightly dull... there we go...
Ah, the door hinges are done, see door edge can be moved up/down at least 1mm....

Worst were the snow-plow crews ripping off fenders... must have been on purpose/directive as no other car down the street was damaged... 🤬

Loved it in the winter (yep, my heater pockets and air-conduits were in top condition, no fogged windscreen at all... blew like a heat-gun, never needed to scrape ice... :cool:
And with snow-chains on the thing would just go everywhere...


View attachment 21424


But unlike on this pic mine did have a stereo, I quite good one actually (added two BR home speaker casings behind the rear seat 😁 )
The times of "mixed tapes"... :cool:
Click to expand...
No Thanks... LOL

I like modern vehicles...
 
Chucksklrst said:
Give me my old VWs back. They was cheap to operate, easy to maintain, went anywhere in any road condition, and did not go fast enough to get me into trouble.:biggrin: With all this gov't mandate stuff and expense to new vehicles today, old used cars are going to become quite valuable.

View attachment 21421View attachment 21422View attachment 21423
Click to expand...

Yup, the good ol' days where you had to scrape the ice off of the outside AND the inside of the windshield.....
:rofl1:
Mike
 
mikesim said:
Yup, the good ol' days where you had to scrape the ice off of the outside AND the inside of the windshield.....
Click to expand...
Because you never took care of that system...
Those manifold exchangers provided instant heat as soon as the engine fired (contrary to a liquid cooled; especially the modern ones who'll take forever cause the ECU is programmed to purely warm the engine first over emissions...)
But folks (not even workshops) never checked on those paper/aluminum spiral-hoses running up inside the A-pillars...
The paper inside de-laminated, the crumbles fell down, clogging the front end/attachment of the heater-channels...
Remove the front foot-well outlets, snap a welding-wire and bend a little hook at the end, grab the shop-vac and clean the front end of those ducts...
A set of new spiral-hoses and that Bug heats the windscreen like crazy...

Loved my '71 Type 11, easy to work on, with just a little maintenance the most reliable car ever...
 
ST1100Y said:
Because you never took care of that system...

A set of new spiral-hoses and that Bug heats the windscreen like crazy...

Loved my '71 Type 11, easy to work on, with just a little maintenance the most reliable car ever...
Click to expand...

Yup! ... but my buddies with Bug's were too lazy :biggrin:, they found the ice scraper more expedient, plus it was the passengers job to keep the windscreen clear..

Mike
 
mikesim said:
Yup, the good ol' days where you had to scrape the ice off of the outside AND the inside of the windshield.....
:rofl1:
Mike
Click to expand...
BUT, you could do the whole window, inside and out, standing in one place.
 
Mellow said:
No Thanks... LOL

I like modern vehicles...
Click to expand...

I think the sweet spot for vehicle ownership is anything ODB II with no CANbus. So like late 1990's to early 2010's. Just enough computer brains to run the engine, but I can still go down to Auto Zone and grab parts for it. I don't need a full electronics diagnostic suite to complete an oil change.
 
And here is something really F-ed up...

The Bureau for Procurement has actually granted BYD as the "best bidder" on their tender for renewing 640 vehicles for the authorities motor-pool...

Wrong on so many levels I don't know where to begin with... :confused:
Besides the use of tax money to backstab local economy, the total ignorance of ecological and social standards in production (nor the environmental impacts), shows this blunt incompetence in matters of IT-security for "civil servants" and other officers... those things will phone home all and everything... just as the Chinese made DSL & WiFi routers or the GSM/cellphone equipment does... un_F_believable...

Political and media outcries about this utter nonsense are high...
 
I read an interesting article in Automotive News today. It seems that over half of franchised Buick dealers have surrendered their franchise in favor of a buyout by GM because they refused to sell EVs. They were joined by about one-third of Cadillac dealers. GM was requiring a $300K additional investment in their dealerships to pay for tools and equipment to handle EV sales.

Mike
 
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