TESLA MOTORS Showroom [Martin Place, Sydney]. Who Killed the Electric i-MiEV? [SteemitWorldMap]

in #ocd-resteem6 years ago (edited)

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Are you an aspirational eco driver on a budget? In about eighteen months, Australia will be graced with Tesla's Model 3, according to a sales representative in Tesla's Martin Place showroom.

This new entry will provide an "affordable" entry level electric vehicle for the Australian public to snap up.

Let's face reality, here. A fifty thousand dollar car isn't "Aussie battler" affordable.

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If you're looking for a new Tesla, the cheapest on offer is the single motor, 75 kWh battery Model S coming in at AUD $105,150 MSRP.

Here's hoping manufacturers such as Nissan and their LEAF and Mitsubishi with their proven i-MiEV (i class, Mitsubishi innovative Electric Vehicle) don't fail to reclaim a stronger position in the market after such innovative entries into the EV space starting back in 2010.

After ogling the sexy interior and falcon-wing doors of the Tesla Model X, I had a brief chat about the direction of the market with a sales rep. The young rep looked bored. Enter the kind of guy who writes into the newspaper "educating" us all on why vegans should respect meat eaters in the same way they are respectful to vegans.

Sigh.

While I only got a snapshot of what must be a daily nuisance, I know how annoying the public can be. I've worked in retail.

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"Ha! Where's the rest of the car?"

A shaggy-haired man waved his hand at the Tesla demo chassis.

"Used Tesla parts sell pretty well on eBay."

The young Tesla representative replied awkwardly, half wishing the man would disappear.

I could see the sales rep's eyes roll about his face as I realised this must have been the fourteenth stupid remark he was compelled to address in the last hour. The middle-aged man seemed to sharpen up as he asked about whether he could install Tesla batteries into his Nissan LEAF.

After my conversation with the Tesla rep about EV documentaries ended, I approached the man and asked how long he has owned his LEAF. Of course, he didn't have one. He admitted he liked coming in and "stirring up" the staff. He wasn't particularly bright. Just an internet troll who had the balls to do it in the real world. He did, however, seem somewhat interested in converting his 2002 Audi TT to electric and knew a thing or two about Mitsubishi's i-MiEV, but he certainly wasn't in the market for a Tesla.

Do the public understand what it means to be "fit for purpose"?

What I see as one of the most absurd misuses of energy as well as a consumer's own money, is waiting for an electric vehicle to arrive that will drive a thousand kilometers on a charge.

Although it might sound like a stretch, that's like the natural world halting evolution until the perfect eye popped into existence. Or waiting for someone to have invented a spoon when eating with your hands will do.

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The New South Wales Southern Highlands town of Mittagong is a great place to explore. Easily enough to do for a day's adventure providing ample time to recharge and return home.

I first laid eyes on the Mitsubishi i-MiEV way back in 2010 at Honeysuckle precinct in Newcastle, NSW. The vehicle we looked at was one of twenty EVs being trialled in the Smart Grid Smart City project which ran from August 2011 to May 2013. The data sets from the project can be found here.

The i-MiEV stealthily rolls onto Australian docks in 2010.

At the time, the i-MiEV was revolutionary. It was the first mass produced EV to hit the Australian shores and it served it's purpose beautifully. It provided users with an effective range of over 100km allowing users to run short errands for a week without need to charge in between or to drive longer distances (to say, work), charge while working for the day and have a full charge when ready to leave.

This car was never designed to cross Australia. And this is the point. Early petrol cars were far less reliable than the i-MiEV due to the immense number of moving parts and the nature of the propulsion system (blowing up hydrocarbons inside a metal box). It's inherently dangerous. People still got on board. Initially, those early adopters bought them at their outrageous prices because they were novel and set them apart from the crowd.

I'm one of only a few hundred owners of an i-MiEV in Australia. And I'm not a wealthy entrepreneur.

The second hand market for electric vehicles is tiny and the demand is low. The result is that we bought our i-MiEV, a fifty thousand dollar car, second hand for just seventeen grand. How much was it driven? In five years, it had recorded just 26 000 km on the odometer. The average Aussie does those distances in just over one year. We got a steal.

How did I see value where others could not? It's simple. I'm making use of the dicky eye that's good for detecting shadows. I can avoid predators and it's better than no eye at all. I appreciate my evolutionary comparisons may be a bit drawn out, but I'm hoping you're seeing the point. When I sat down with Hayley after hours of data collection of maintenance costs, predicted expected repairs as well as fuel costs incurred by our Mitsubishi Lancer, the results were compelling. Even factoring in that the Lancer would survive another ten years, the i-MiEV came out on top from a financially economical stand point, let alone an environmental one.

I made some conservative assumptions.

  • The price of fuel would be capped at AUD $1.40 per litre. (We have already seen prices higher than that.)

  • A replacement battery price was expected, factored in at ten years and was at the current market price.

  • Only routine maintenance and an occasional larger repair for the Lancer would be required.

  • Most of our charging would be done at the local (free) DC fast charge station.

We have spent some money on at-home charging.

That figure was obtained after I gathered my data. Twelve months of pencil to paper after each time I plugged the EV in at home was everything I needed. I spent less than $150 for that twelve month period. That was a tenth of what we used to spend on petroleum-based fuel.

Could retrofitting lithium ion batteries and an electric motor to a current used-car chassis be a viable option?

I did entertain this thought. At the time, we had both the Lancer and my 1998 Toyota Corolla. The Corolla had huge kilometres and I have no idea how it hadn't died. It was also in need of a clutch replacement, a new ignition barrel (the key was jammed in there) and needed oil as thick as sub-zero molasses so as not to pass through the engine like water through a sieve.

I made some enquiries. There were some engineering workshops focussed on EV conversions. It was possible to convert the car. However, it would have had a range less than that of the i-MiEV and cost me twenty grand. I do appreciate the labour involved. They have to make money, too. Alas, I couldn't justify it at that point.

Where are the i-MiEVs?

The public were unable to see value in a small, cheap electric vehicle that would effectively serve ninety percent of their yearly driving needs. As of 2017, the i-MiEV was discontinued in the US. However, it still remains popular in Japan having roughly 40 000 units sold compared to the 2 000 in the US and appreciably less in Australia (think hundreds).

Will I still have our i-MiEV in years to come?

I hope so. The value this car offers is incredible. I suppose the fact it is now rare makes it even more appealing. I scratch my head when I think how it's range is the deal breaker. Imagine if people folded their arms and furrowed their brows disapprovingly when told that the car they were looking at produces toxic emissions that contribute to human disease and climate change. That's a convenient oversight. It is a sad but true reality that objects already in motion tend to stay in motion. It's true of people, too.

Give me near-silent driving, virtually maintenance free upkeep (no oil, timing belts, filters, spark plugs, gasoline etc.), free charging at DC fast chargers, instant access to all 47kW of power to zip through traffic with ease and provided you source electricity from renewables, you're actually part of the climate change solution.

Did I mention parking is a dream?

Revolutionary.

Considering an i-MiEV? Here's the Carsales link.

There are two. I told you they're rare.

All the best,

Nick.

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Those teslas are so sexy. I've seen them in the US. Don't exist in Panama though. Plus they'd probably run out of charge stuck in traffic.

Traffic is where EVs shine. Sitting still they consume no energy unless you've got the air conditioning on, even still, that's minimal. Especially in something like a Tesla with those enormous traction batteries.

Nick.

My problem with EVs is that they are just too expensive (that, and I need something bigger than a go-cart that seats 5 comfortably). With the supposed simplicity of EVs, shouldn't they be much cheaper that gas vehicles? Gas vehicles may cost more in maintenance in the long run but you also aren't financing that higher initial price. A relative few can afford the outlay of an EV (or any new car) in cash. The current vehicle I'm looking at in my budget and that fits my needs is a couple year old Dodge Caravan.

Used EVs are a steal. The batteries are the expensive part of the car. That is the single largest cost of a manufacturer in making one.

We didn't pay for ours in cash. We financed. That's saying something considering we didn't owe a cent on the Lancer. It might be worth doing the sums for yourself - ESPECIALLY depending on your location. We have everything stacked against us in Australia (poor network, no incentive, small market etc), and it was still cheaper over ten years.

I'd never go back to an internal combustion vehicle. That's what driving an EV daily will do to you. Our next car will likely be a Hyundai Ioniq or Nissan Leaf equivalent in the future. This would be to cater for possibly having a child in the family, not that the i-MiEV can't fit a child seat because it can do that, too.

By then we may just have solid state batteries that will give cheap, base model cars an effective range of 300-500 km. Crazy days ahead.

Take care.

Nick.

The issue is for me that I have a family of 5. Something like a Leaf just isn't going to be big enough all the time. I'm looking for something mini van sized and there just isn't anything electric in that class available in the U.S. that I could find.

While used electrics are affordable (if you are looking for a smallish vehicle anyway), they are hard to find in my area. I could order one and have it shipped of course but i prefer to see what I'm buying first, especially when it is used.

An electric car would be absolutely ideal for my daily short commute to work and back and would probably be sufficient to drop the kids off at school too but I think I would still need a larger vehicle for the times we actually needed to carry stuff in addition to all the passengers. Plus I make semi-regular trips (~12 to 24 times a year) of about 90 miles (one way) so I need something with an easy range of 180 miles too. Stopping to charge for 30 minutes or more isn't reasonable. It may be possible to charge at my destination in the future though.

Electric cars are almost there but I just don't think there's one (affordable anyway) that quite meets my needs yet. I see that Nissan does have an electric van available in Europe anyway. Not too fond of the design and the range still isn't quite there but I'm sure in a few more years it will happen. If I could get an affordable ev minivan with a 350km range now I would be sold.

wow!!! Good information. I found this post interesting and I just resteemed it now.

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I'm glad you enjoyed it. Take care.

Nick.

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Damn Nick - you really know your electric cars!

And you wish you were a beer expert! Hehe. Looks like you're having a lot of fun in the Snowies. I'm loving the photographs.

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