Electric Vehicles
 

Electric vehicles were around as far back as 1907 with the Detroit Electric Car capable of 20mph and a range of 80 miles although one did a run of over 200 miles on just the one charge.
No doubt the oil companies had something to do with stifling the idea and although there were many variations of electric vehicles throughout the years the only really memorable commercial ones were the milk floats driving up and down the streets making the daily deliveries of milk and small grocery items – what happened to them and where did they all go.
Some would say the supermarkets had something to do with it and made us drive miles to them just to get the same goods cheaper than the milk float could deliver.
Nowadays supermarkets and similar frozen food emporiums deliver to us again and having realised the efficiency of the old milk float, some of them especially Tesco are starting to introduce electric home delivery lorries – there’s progress for you or is it just history repeating itself.

That is a very good point, and one would suppose that with the tecnological advancement in batteries nowadays, the weight to output ratio would be such that longer and slightly faster journies would be achievable. That coupled with low average traffic speeds in the Urban conurbations, seems to indicate a convergence of developments which gives credence to the wider re-introduction of said vehicles.

Mind you, the angle of the dangle, is governed by the push of the bush and the thrust of the bust on the retaining cups.
There are some schools of thought which advance the theory that what goes up, must come down and furthermore, as you rightly say, Western SMT, what goes around, comes around. What am I on about?. Suggestions in private messages only, my wife is very protective of my Public Persona.

There is a 'milk-float' around here that has been 'tuned' and is fitted with larger wheels and tyres and is used as personal transport rather than for delivering milk and eggs (and fruit juice, yoghurt and potatoes etc).
You would imagine that since the 1950s that technology had improved sufficiently to make such vehicles viable for commuting (though, to be fair, if you were a milkman you probably already consider it as suitable).
It would be interesting to know how much a 'passenger' version of the standard electric milk-float would cost (and how much electricity is needed to recharge the batteries - and at what cost).
Vehicles such as the Tesla are not cheap, but they are, at the present, 'bespoke' vehicles rather than series production (I believe that there were very few manufacturers responsible for producing milk-floats so volumes would be quite large). A lot of the cost of 'newfangled' electric cars is amortised development cost of course.
http://www.teslamotors.com/
I believe that there is a Scandinavian company producing a small electric car, but this limits the size of battery that can be carried and therefore the performance and range (milk floats are heavy beasts):- http://en.think.no/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Th!nk_City
There's also an Indian model:- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/REVA

I don't think we'll be seeing long-distance trunkers just yet though.

While the case for the long distance vehicles as G-CPTN says is true there are a lot of companies engaged in the depot based low mileage, multi drop/collection business.
Try http://www.smithelectricvehicles.com/casestudies.asp

It seems we have to look at some facts that will probably change as electric vehicles grow in popularity.

Electric vehicles are exempt from road tax
Are also exempt from the London Congestion Charge – so if you go into the charging zone on a daily basis this will save you about £2000 a year.
They do not require an annual MOT - find that hard to believe, as they will still have suspension, steering, lights etc.
‘Fuel’ cost is under a penny per mile, some quote 0.04p per mile – I assume they refer to the cost of recharging.
Unlike engines the batteries require no direct maintenance.
Zero emissions

There are drawbacks to these silent vehicles –
Low top speed – limited range – recharging time - initial cost reputed to be about 2.5 times the normal diesel burner and possible increase in accidents due to ‘didn’t hear it coming’.

The 'higher performance' batteries don't last for ever and are expensive to replace.

Not as expensive as some of the higher performance wives, that are being acquired by celebrities nowadays though. Ha ha ha

The costs of ‘battery packs’ are high – there is no doubt about that.

Electric vehicles do away with an enormous collection of parts ranging from the engine and gearbox down to things like fuel lines, fuel tanks, radiator, water hoses, and exhaust system, lets not forget the clutch pedal which will make it easier on the driver.
I have driven the old milk float on a daily basis and it was a great thing to drive, also made an excellent furniture removal truck as well but don’t think elf n safety would go for that nowadays.
Some electric commercial vehicles have already been purchased by various well-known businesses as they are environmentally friendly and all of them will have calculated out the costs involved.

See - http://www.smithelectricvehicles.com...tudies_tnt.asp

Yes I agree that while these electric commercial vehicles are only suitable for certain types of businesses they are creeping in and will soon be a common sight just as some of us will be driving some sort of electric car in the not too distant future.

Hello, well, Western SMT, you have provided the answer to much speculation about local distribution vehicles and Supermarket door to door with an excellent link, that proves Sainsbury for one and many other noteworthy companies, are already using them successfully. That is indeed good news.

Morrisons
 

Before I left school I could not wait to drive (cab happy) for a long time I was Saturday boy on the local Bakers(Pococks) I just could not resist keep jumping behind the wheel and moving it up the few houses ahead the roundsman had walked to. Oop's I suppose thats illegal , oh dear. I would do most of the summer holidays and when I left school they asked me to stay on .I did for a couple of weeks till I found they were stopping me money for my stamp..
Regards Alan

I forgot to say they were Morrison Electricars and a bit later Bedford CA's..Alan

Recent electric-vehicle news (mainly cars, but some trucks lower down):- http://blogs.edmunds.com/greencaradv...ies/Batteries/

Great link G-CPTN and it looks like all the car, battery makers and even governments and oil companies are getting in on this and over the next 5 years there should be a big change.

Electric vehicle manufacturers Modec and ZEV are to receive second-generation lithium-ion battery technology. This will push up the potential operational range within the class. The technology, provided by specialist battery company Axeom, will mean that the 5.5-tonne Modec can now achieve 120 miles on one charge, up from the current 70 miles.

I worked on electric milk floats late 60s early 70s. They were so heavy the brakes were hopeless.

The one I drove in the 80's would stop fine - maybe just lucky.
I have to admit it didn't carry much it was used to tow a big box trailer.

Our brakes only had a small master cylinder and no power assist :rolleyes:

Might be of interest -

http://www.milkfloats.org.uk/faq.html

Interesting link where do you find them all, Thanks.

Same place as I found this one -

http://living.morethan.com/2007/08/0...-speed-record/

Nice looking float Western SMT, thats about the same year i was working on milk floats, never came across any modified like that. :confused:

http://bioage.typepad.com/.shared/im...fedexmodec.png
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2008...express-o.html

Good links and it looks like what it is - a modern covered milkfloat.

Website:- http://www.modeczev.com/

Brochure:- http://www.modeczev.com/files/Modec_...hure_A4_UK.pdf

Smiths (Ford):-
http://www.smithelectricvehicles.com
http://www.smithelectricvehicles.com/casestudies.asp

BBC video -

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7827486.stm

Story from 1915

http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive...6E9C946496D6CF

Not a commercial vehicle
 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/e...ts/8026380.stm

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/index.htm?md=1527

http://news.idealo.co.uk/news/5729/e...n-c1-evie.html

http://www.theelectriccarcorporation.co.uk/index.php

Worth reading IMO - Honest John seems to put his finger on it though.

The Government has no plans to reward the purchase of an electric car before 2011 when its £250 million electric car strategy comes into effect.

The strategy includes grants of up to £5,000 for buying an electric car from 2011. That could heavily affect the launch of the Citroën C1 ev’ie as customers could be deterred of the current price tag.

If and when you get a reward of £5,000 you would need to fund a gap of £3,500 compared to the non-electric C1 version. As with everything the prices will come down in time so the cost difference in the future may be similar to the petrol diesel difference of today.

Amidst one of the auto industry’s largest wholesale shifts in modern history, the Ford Motor Co is investing $550 million to turn a factory that was dedicated to making large and fuel-hungry sport utility vehicles into a modern and scalable small-car plant that will eventually produce an all-electric version of the Focus.

http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/20...electric-cars/

Welsh environment minister Jane Davidson yesterday (May 13) unveiled what is believed to be the UK's first full-scale plug-in electric refuse vehicle.

http://www.letsrecycle.com/do/ecco.p...ste_management

A bit off-topic, but no obvious alternative location.
 

I appreciate that a fuel-cell isn't strictly electric, but it does generate electricity to power the vehicle.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8103106.stm
Interesting marketing model (didn't Toyota and GM lease their vehicles - at least initially?) - though I believe that you can now buy a Prius.

Update

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology...ch-alternative

Thanks for that - I like to keep my finger on the pulse.

Daimler and BYD (buy your dream) have joined forces

http://www.eta.co.uk/2010/03/03/daim...tric-car-giant

Sounds expensive for the average Chinaman.