‘Upskilling’ is generally greeted with waves of irritation There would certainly be a lot of fear to overcome
http://www.getreading.co.uk/lifestyle/home-garden/driven-old-womans-guide-electric-5679442 Driven: An old woman's guide to electric cars By Linda Fort 8 Aug 2013 [image http://i1.getreading.co.uk/incoming/article5679446.ece/ALTERNATES/s615/Linda-5679446.jpg Reporter Linda Fort attempts to find the ignition in the Nissan LEAF ] I’m a recycler, an energy conserver, an eco-sympathiser – so could I contemplate an electric car after 40 years of fossil fuel guzzlers? With new vehicle charging points coming to Reading, reporter Linda Fort, who has been driving petrol driven cars for more than 40 years, tried the electric Nissan LEAF When I set off for work on Tuesday morning with not much petrol in my regular car, I noted there are three places where I can fill it up on the way to work without any diversion in my journey. With my Nissan LEAF, I would have to charge the car overnight at home or in future at the Rivermead Leisure Complex where one of the new electric charging points is proposed. Since that is opposite the Reading Post building, that would be very convenient for me, but not for everyone. Government cash gives a jump-start for electric cars in Reading The Nissan duly arrived and I got into it. I am an old woman and ‘upskilling’ is generally greeted with waves of irritation. The handy guide did not explain where the ignition was – there is no ignition key – so that took quite a search with a photographer looking too and still unable to find it. (News ed – granted, if we bought it from a dealer they would show us where everything was.) Eventually I got the car switched on, Radio 4 tuned in, took off the brake and whoof – off it went. Electric cars are like automatics – once you get them switched on – only the brake stops them from gliding off down the road. As a woman used to a clutch pedal and gears, this was vaguely alarming. I managed a quick trip up and down the road outside the office, but I am not ready for the open road yet without more practice. The exercise has made me think hard about whether I would consider an electric car. I’m a recycler, an energy conserver, an eco-sympathiser – so could I contemplate an electric car after 40 years of fossil fuel guzzlers? There would certainly be a lot of fear to overcome. They travel about 70 miles on one charge and have a charging cable about six metres long. I could get to and from work easily enough, but I would be very nervous about making the trip to Manchester to see my daughter where I could not guarantee parking close enough to her house to recharge. And as I use my car for work, I wonder if the bosses would take kindly to my plugging in to charge up using the company electricity – even if there were a handy power point which I am not sure there is. Meanwhile there isn’t a public charging point at Rivermead yet and I am not sure where the nearest one is. But after this experience with the Nissan LEAF I will certainly be looking out for one and trying to find out more. FACT FILE - The 6.6kW charger option lets you charge the Nissan LEAF at home in four hours using a 32A Home Charging Unit and in 10 hours with a standard charging outlet. - The battery allows the LEAF to go up to 124 miles on a single charge and has speeds of up to 90mph. - Prices start from £15,990. - With zero CO2 emissions, drivers are also exempt from London’s congestion charge and road tax. [© getreading.co.uk] For all EVLN posts use: http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/template/NamlServlet.jtp?macro=search_page&node=413529&query=evln&sort=date Here are today's archive-only EV posts: EVLN: Actress Claire Sweeney totes around an electric skateboard ... EVLN: Pay-as-you-go electric vehicle charge points unveiled EVLN: There are several different motivations to buy a plugin ... EVLN: $17.8k Spark Gets Taken For A Zippy Test Drive (video) EVLN: The Tesla-S makes you feel that ice are so yesterday + EVLN: 'We are not going to do any electrified better a Fiat 500e' {brucedp.150m.com} -- View this message in context: http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/EVLN-An-old-woman-s-guide-to-electric-cars-tp4664752.html Sent from the Electric Vehicle Discussion List mailing list archive at Nabble.com. _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
