Yes, we’ve just had another World Electric Vehicle Day!
September 9 is the one day of the year when we celebrate everything good about what is really (according to the Oxford lists of words of the motoring column in the business section, the Urban Dictionary) “yet another marketing scam to disguise something as environmentally friendly when it really isn’t”.
“All electric vehicles actually do rely on fossil fuels. The only difference being that to put fuel into an electric car you plug it into the wall instead of driving it to the petrol station!”
But your team here is the fair and balanced alternative: we report you decide.
We know you fellow Australians and others are confused by EV jargon like AC, amps, regenerative braking, range anxiety, lithium fires that consume your $60k Tesla in five minutes in a conflagration that can’t be put out even by our brave boys, girls and others in the fireys; much like the five cars engulfed in flames and totally destroyed at Sydney airport this week “after the lithium-ion battery of a luxury electric car ignited”, or the fire in the Tesla Model 3 car the same day a few kilometres away that needed “at least 6000 litres of water, including water from a bulk tanker, to extinguish – far more than that needed to extinguish a regular car fire” our own Clarissa Bye tells us.
So, let’s say the 2022 Consumer Report study that reported EVs are the most unreliable cars on the market, and that Teslas, “the market leader in EV sales and the manufacturer on which CR received the most data from owners, continues to have issues with body hardware, steering/suspension, paint and trim, and climate system on its models”, is fake news.
Are EV batteries dangerous? More fake news from the National Transportation Safety Board of septic land: “Fires in electric vehicles powered by high-voltage lithium-ion batteries pose the risk of electric shock to emergency responders from exposure to the high-voltage components of a damaged lithium-ion battery.
“A further risk is that damaged cells in the battery can experience uncontrolled increases in temperature and pressure (thermal runaway), which can lead to hazards such as battery reignition/fire.
“The risks of electric shock and battery reignition/fire arise from the ‘stranded’ energy that remains in a damaged battery.”
Let’s hit the other EV myths right on the head of the thermal runway of lithium batteries. For example, EVs are a new idea and that’s why they are having teething problems.
No. Excuse the pun but the father of the EV was Hungarian priest and physicist Ányos István Jedlik, 223 of Gyor. (If you are wondering, Gyor is the capital of Gyor-Moson-Sopron County and Western Transdanubia region. Of course, we always say try the local food, so head off to the John Bull Pub or the La Dolce Vita Ristorante in Gyor.)
Anyway, Father Anyos invented the electric motor in 1828 and made the first electric (model) car in 1828. FA’s best-known invention is the principle of dynamo self-excitation (get your head out of the gutter).
Next myth is that EV drivers suffer from range anxiety. That is, that you’re driving along the freeway waiting for the lithium-ion battery to catch fire and consume the car in a conflagration and the electric fuel light starts flashing. You are 50km from the nearest Ampol charging station where you can take a break, grab a snack, a refreshment and recharge yourself while you take two hours to recharge your EV. Unfortunately, you only have 10km range, so that means ringing road service and getting the flatbed truck to pick you up. Of course, if you are in rural Australia, you’re stuffed.
So, what EV do we recommend?
Feast your eyes on this, environmental warriors. It’s the ultimate hyper EV car. A factory- fresh 2022 Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR Pro, only used for a factory shakedown and it’s available right now from the RM Sotheby’s showroom in Dubai. Based on the roadworthy Aston Martin Valkyrie, whose 6.5 litre V12 engine puts out 746kW, with a KERS F1-style boost system developed by two main technical partners, Integral Powertrain, which supplied the bespoke electric motor, and Rimac for the lightweight hybrid battery system.
Let me apologise. I forgot that in the car offered here, the Valkyrie AMR Pro, they took the electric motor out to save weight. Sorry. But anyway, the Pro without the KERS system has electric performance. The engine will also be modified, which means the AMR Pro will have up 960KW more power than the road-legal economy version. Top Gear’s Chris Harris describes driving the Pro: “The crazy braking potential, the silly medium to high speed cornering forces, and that never-ending V12 music which left my face contorted with delight.
“It is one of the most special motor cars I’ve had the pleasure to drive, and I suspect a few will find their way on to the public highway”. New these were about $6m. My guess is you can steal this for $4m.
But if you are going to buy an ordinary electric car when you walk into the electric car dealership, make sure you ask them how much they charge.
In Singers I would look at a Mad Max, Checo, Ferdy, one, two and three. Talking of Ferdy, he and Hamo were on the same team at McLaren but there’s no love lost between them now.
In an interview with the UK Telegraph last week Ferdy said: “When Lewis went to Mercedes (in 2013), he didn’t ‘build’ anything. It was just a change in the regulations (in 2014) that built everything for him. And when Max joined Toro Rosso and Red Bull it was still Hamilton winning everything.
“He didn’t ‘build’ a winning Red Bull team”. But think about this. Ferdy came out of retirement in his 40s. He is getting podiums. He wants another world title. Winning a third title at 45 would confirm his legendary status not only in motor racing but more importantly from his peer F1 drivers.
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