Hi from UK (existing electric car owner)

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MikeBoxwell

Well-known member
Joined
May 24, 2010
Messages
118
Location
Coventry, United Kingdom
My name is Mike Boxwell. I'm based in the UK and I've been using electric cars on a daily basis for the past four years. Prior to that I worked in the electric vehicle industry for three years.

My current electric cars are a REVA G-Wiz (I also run the REVA Electric Car Club) and a Mitsubishi iMiEV. The G-Wiz is 'my' car which I use for commuting too and from work. The Mitsubishi iMiEV is the main family car which is used for pretty much all our driving.

I am an author and a broadcaster, specializing in 'eco-tech' - electric cars, renewable energy, gadgets and so on. If anyone has any questions about owning an electric car, then please feel free to ask away.
 
Mike, glad to see you here. I have several questions for you as an EV owner for several years.

Have you ever run out of power and needed someone to come to help?

What do you do if you want to go further than the range of your vehicles?

Have you ever had to have any of the battery cells replaced?
 
Thank you for the welcome. It's great to be here.

evnow said:
Welcome! Are you planning to buy a Leaf ?
Not sure yet - here in the UK we have a much larger selection of electric cars available. Our Mitsubishi iMiEV goes back at the end of the year so we'll have to replace it with something. I'm thinking of either a Nissan LEAF or a Renault Fluence ZE as a main family car, or possibly a Mitsubishi iMiEV if I can get a good deal. I'm also planning to replace the G-Wiz with the forthcoming REVA NXR Intercity which really is a cracking car - I'm lucky enough to be the only person outside of REVA and their dealer network to have driven one and I was really impressed.

mwalsh said:
Welcome! How are you doing on range with the iMiev? Does yours have the bigger or smaller of the two battery packs?
There is only one battery pack option for the Mitsubishi iMiEV in Europe. The range is officially 100 miles.

The range on the iMiEV, as with all electric cars, depends very much on how you use it. Officially, the iMiEV has a similar range to the Nissan LEAF and quite frankly, most people will be struggling to get anywhere near 100 miles with the iMiEV. A more realistic range is 70-80 miles, but this can fall during the winter. Temperatures dropped to around -4°F (-20°c) this winter in the UK and in those sorts of temperatures, the range dropped to around 50-55 miles.

For those sorts of ranges, you're looking at a top speed of around 60mph and gentle acceleration. If you race it, your range will drop to around 50 miles.

Incidentally, whilst the Mitsubishi iMiEV range really drops quite significantly in the winter, the range on my little G-Wiz doesn't drop anywhere near as much - I get a drop of around 5-8 miles in the middle of winter. That is probably because the G-Wiz has a very efficient battery heating system which does work reasonably well.

Azrich said:
Have you ever run out of power and needed someone to come to help?
I've never run out of power, even though I have tried a couple of times in the Mitsubishi iMiEV: I kept driving it after the computer told me I had zero range. After about five miles it switched into limp home mode, so I limped home (another two miles away). It wasn't a problem.

Everyone worries about running out of juice, but it is very unlikely to happen in real life. REVA did some research a couple of years back and they discovered that electric car owners were no more likely to run out of range than a driver of a gasoline car was likely to run out of fuel.

Azrich said:
What do you do if you want to go further than the range of your vehicles?
Quite often I'll take the train. For longer journeys it is often quicker, more convenient and cheaper than driving.

I have also charged up at my destination. Recently I had to drive from Coventry to Oxford to do a talk about electric vehicles and use my car for test runs, and then drive back. The total distance was 120 miles. No problem: I drove down there and plugged the car in whilst I was preparing for my talk. I then gave the test drives and plugged the car back in whilst I did my presentation. Then I drove home with plenty of charge to spare. Total time plugged in at Oxford: about three hours.

However, I also have to be honest and say I cheat: I still have a gasoline car on my driveway. Forgive me Father for I have sinned. In my defense, it doesn't get used much and is quietly rusting away. The reason we've kept it is that the Mitsubishi iMiEV is only ours for a trial period after which we have to give the car back. The long term plan is to ditch the gasoline car completely and if we need one, we'll hire one.

The local car hire place is two miles from where I live, they're open 24/7 and they'll deliver the car to me within 15-20 minutes.

Azrich said:
Have you ever had to have any of the battery cells replaced?
Not in the Mitsubishi, which is only about six months old, but we have in the G-Wiz. The G-Wiz uses lead acid batteries and they need replacing every 3 years or so. Last time I needed a set of batteries, I bought some second hand for £55 (about $80). After eighteen months they're getting to the end of their useful life so I'm on the scrounge for another set :)
 
I've had your book on my list for a few weeks now after reading a favorable review but the local public (lending) library doesn't have a copy. In fact the entire county library system, covering a population of about 3 million people, doesn't have a single copy. I'm sure you'd prefer I buy one from Amazon or someplace, but can you tell me if there has been any attempt to distribute the book in the U.S. through the libraries and any prospect for success? I have had some success in the past getting the library system to purchase a copy of a book that wasn't stocked; I may put in a request.
P.S. The library does have your Solar Electricity Handbook.
 
I'd love all the libraries to have my books and I'm delighted your local library has the Solar Electricity Handbook. Several libraries in the UK now stock the book as well.

Unfortunately, just after the publication of Owning an Electric Car, we ran into some difficulties with the publisher. As a result, the book went out of print and then restarted under a different ISBN with a different publishing company. As a consequence of that, getting books into the distribution network has been difficult and getting the books into the library system has taken a bit longer than it otherwise would have.

All that is in the past now, so the book should be freely available. Speak to your local library and see if they'll order in a copy for you.
 
Michael,
Maybe you should let Amazon know where to get the new book?
They do not have the "2010 Version" in stock.

And, please tell us the new (and old) title, book number, and publisher so we can better ask for the new version at book stores (and libraries).

Is there any difference that can be seen on the front cover?
Any difference in the contents?

Thanks.
 
garygid said:
Michael,
Maybe you should let Amazon know where to get the new book?
They do not have the "2010 Version" in stock.

And, please tell us the new (and old) title, book number, and publisher so we can better ask for the new version at book stores (and libraries).

Is there any difference that can be seen on the front cover?
Any difference in the contents?

Thanks.

I found it in two clicks.
1 - link in signature line
2 - Amazon in US

edit : sorry...did not see that you meant it was not in stock. I thought you meant they did not have it listed.
 
Yup - I spoke to Amazon earlier today. Their stock levels been a bit rocky after the switch from the old publisher to the new one but they are now endeavoring to keep it in stock all the time. The reason it wasn't in stock earlier is they managed to sell out yesterday.
 
MikeBoxwell said:
Unfortunately, just after the publication of Owning an Electric Car, we ran into some difficulties with the publisher. As a result, the book went out of print and then restarted under a different ISBN with a different publishing company. As a consequence of that, getting books into the distribution network has been difficult and getting the books into the library system has taken a bit longer than it otherwise would have.

Is this right ? This is what I got from Amazon & gave to my library (we can request online).

ISSN/ISBN: 978-1907670015
Title: Owning an Electric Car 2010 Edition: Discover the Practicalities of Owning and Using Electric Cars - for Business or Leisure
Author: Michael Boxwell
Publisher: GreenStream Publishing
Date published: March 25, 2010
 
My library now has the book in, and I've reserved it. I will be picking it up today or tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it.
 
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