* Posts by Elam

1 publicly visible post • joined 2 Jan 2008

The Electric Car Conspiracy ... that never was

Elam

The electric dream and £200 to fill up your tank?

I own a Honda Civic IMA Hybrid that recharges it's battery during braking. (During braking It feels very similar to a tube train slowing down) The power stored in the battery pack is then used to assist the 1300cc Gasoline Direct Injection engine during acceleration. It works very well giving your the torque of a diesel between 200 and 2000 RPM. When the battery charge is depleted you really notice the loss of power. However, the bottom line is this only gains you around 10mpg or so.

The big issue here is weight. It is ridiculous to lug around two or more tons of SUV when a 500 kilo two or four seater - think original Fiat 500 or mini - could do the same job and achieve 100 mpg or more with a modern high efficiency engine.

I've been mulling over the issue of the cost of fuel as I sit, with the engine in auto stop mode, in yet another traffic jam on the M25. At the moment it costs around £60 to fill up my Civic. Would I stop using the car freely hen it cost £100 a tank? Or even £200? My conclusion is that I would really stop driving without considering other options when it reached £100. I hear people complaining about road tax at £115 but it really won't be long before a single tank of fuel costs that much.