Author: primetimeEV

Gordon Murray talks T25

Back in November I grabbed some footage of cars arriving in London at the end of the RAC Future Car Challenge on Regent Street. I got a few words with the great Gordon Murray (as in the McLaren F1 designer) – and he is a man of few words. He’s gone green and designed and built an urban city car. The T25. Now, I know its an ICE vehicle but it does form the basis of the far more exciting T27 EV. So click on the image and watch me struggle through an interview with one of the greats where I’m doing it on the fly.

Exagon Furtive eGT Electric Supercar.

Now here’s a nice one. Built by guys who use Formula 1 drivers to race electric vehicles on ice! Here’s a conversation with the people from Exagon. Click on the image to view video.

Forgive me but I’m trialling ads. Seeing as I work in the industry, I thought it was time. I’ve been getting over 40,000 video views per month for a while so lets see if it makes anything once all the commissions gone… It can go in the Leaf fund!

Transport Evolved

I guested on an episode of transport evolved recently. Good fun, but I realise that I’m not that techy when it comes to electric car talk. Guess I’m a bit more consumer oriented. “Looks really nice, goes a long way, is cheap / expensive” – that kind of thing. But these guys know what they are on about and Nikki does a great job of bringing together people involved in the forefront of Ev development. Check out their video feed here and audio feed here.

Driving the Nissan Leaf EV.

I got to drive the new Nissan Leaf last week. Here’s film of the car, the journey and talking to Nissans EV staff.

On another note, great news that the new Government has stuck with the £5000 subsidy (or at least for some of the intended investment). Fantastic as these family cars are, they need subsidies to help reach prices that are realistic for most people to even consider switching to electric drive.

Click on the image to view video.

Lewis Fulton Director STEPS (Sustainable Transportation Energy Pathways)

I was down at the LCVP conference last week. They had a fantastic range of speakers discussing low carbon transport for the future. One of their speakers was Lew Fulton who works with the International Energy Agency in Paris and his specialism is transport energy. We chatted about the future for energy consumption and its implications in the developing world.

On another note, I’ve been playing around with the idea of a new broadcast site called Primetime EV. I’ve stuck an ident we’ve been working on at the beginning to start trying some stuff out.

Ecorally. Talking to Peter Curran. 4500 miles in a Think EV

I was down at the ecorally yesterday talking to Peter Curran about his 4500 mile odessy in a Think EV as part of a programme for the BBC called Electric Ride. He ended the trip driving from Brighton to London with a host of low carbon vehicles.

He’s an interesting and entertaining guy and he offered a unique perspective into the world of electric cars.

I managed to grab a few good pieces of content at the eco rally and I’ll be posting it over the next few days.

Click on the image to view video.

Renault Fluence ZE Electric DRIVING FOOTAGE

Trusty Tom from the office went to Paris and got some great footage of the Fluence ZE being driven yesterday, along with help from Lem over at Green Motor (thanks Lem). This is the better place car in action and it looks mightily impressive. A real four seater family car with (some) boot space being driven on public roads, that isn’t drop dead ugly! Thought I’d never see the day.. Keep an eye out for the ZE blog and also the sustainable mobility site where news and interviews are regularly posted by Renault. Click on the image to view video.

EV’s set to depreciate 90% in five years

There’s been an investigation into EV Values based on 5 years of ownership here in the UK by Glass’s guide who track used care prices. Based on an average £8000 outlay to replace batteries which will need replacing after eight years, the car will be worth just 10% of its original value, and far below its diesel or petrol equivalents.  They’ve based their research on cars such as the forthcoming Nissan Leaf with a starting price of £23,000 after utilising the £5000 Government subsidy. You can read the article here. Heck, maybe I’ll be able to afford that Tesla in 2014 after all….

I’ve never driven the IMIEV

Never quite had the chance yet, even if it looks a great family car. But today Mitsubishi announced pricing for this vehicle – over £33 grand! Yes thats £33,699. Incredible, for a small 4 seater. The ICE version is a shade under £9 grand! (and that’s not cheap in this sector). I understand that these cars will come down in price, but how can they ever expect to be taken seriously with luxury car launch prices and limited range.

I really hope this isn’t the start of ridiculously expensive electric cars in the UK, or anywhere else. Another reason to keep us in the gwiz for now!

Heres some footage I got of the Sport and the regular Imiev in Geneva

Ticket that Tesla

Having chased these halfway across the UK and the US, I was pleasantly surprised to see a Tesla parked in the road next to my office right here in London’s West End. Us EV drivers enjoy free parking in Westminster. I see the Tesla’s already catching out the good old parking wardens who had slapped it with a ticket. Just shows you should make your cars much uglier Tesla!Ticket that Tesla