Cars

[SteveH]

I believe there were approx. 120 vehicles there, from all over the UK,

[SteveH]

Backlash over Tesco plan to charge drivers a £99 deposit for fuel at UK petrol stations
And some people really aren't happy about the proposed change

The retail giant currently charges a £1 pre-authorisation deposit when using their facilities, then the full payment typically leaves the account one to three working days after.

However, under their new plans, the supermarket will charge a deposit of up to £99 instead.

The changes are currently being piloted at stores across the UK and if successful could be rolled out nationwide later this year.

Tesco says the changes have been made due to changes by card companies including Mastercard, Visa and American Express,

cont   https://www.dailypost.co.uk/whats-on/shopping/backlash-over-tesco-plan-charge-20935202

[SteveH]

Sainsbury's will be following in the footsteps of Tesco and charging a compulsory fee for one of its fuel filling services.
The change has been sparked by new rules for Visa and Mastercard.

Previously shoppers topping up fuel with the pay at pump service had £1 ring fenced in their accounts, however this has now increased to £100

cont https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/sainsburys-following-tesco-introduces-compulsory-20961200


Motorists are being warned to be on their guard against chancer websites charging for services the DVLA does for free.
The licensing agency said websites often spring up offering to help with changing the address on a licence, V5C vehicle registration certificates or renewing a licence from the age of 70.

However all these can be done for free on by the DVLA in its website, the Mirror has reported, which won't leave a motorist out of pocket for no reason.

These secondary websites do genuinely offer the services they advertise - it is just they charge too.
Even if the DVLA does charge for a service, copycat websites will ask for even more.
For example, it costs £14 to renew a driving licence on the DVLA website, but up to £60 elsewhere

cont   https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/dvla-issue-warning-everyone-uk-20960379?IYA-reg=49560bcd-5a9c-47f0-8fc5-ba2e71710589

[Hugo]

I was looking out of my window a few minutes ago and couldn't believe my eyes when some super cars drove past.     At first I thought that it was some type of posh rally car event but there were only four cars involved going in a procession formation.
Two of the cars were Audi R8'S but I don't know what the other two were but they all had a low clearance above the road.
I had a chuckle to myself because they were heading for what must be the worst unadopted road in North Wales.       A few minutes later I saw them all return and can only guess that they had taken the wrong route down to the Bay

[SteveH]

The six new driving laws motorists need to know or face being landed with a £1,000 fine
People are being urged to familiarise themselves with the new rules

“Whilst people have been out and about less over the last year, a few road rules have been added or updated.

“It is important to become familiar with them before setting off on any big trips to a different city or down the motorway.”

cont  https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/6-new-driving-laws-motorists-20946651

[SteveH]

UK drivers face paying as much as £72 as petrol prices skyrocket to their highest point in nearly eight years, after another month of increases.

Unleaded is now at a cost of 132p a litre, which is 18p more expensive than at the start of November 2020, and takes it to a price last seen in October 2013.

According to data from RAC Fuel Watch, the price rise in June alone added £1.50 to a tank of unleaded, with the cost jumping to £72.70.
The price rise has added £10 to the cost of filling up a 55-litre family car.

The average cost of a complete fill-up with diesel is also now £73.88, which is an increase of £1.40 in the month.

The average price of unleaded at the country’s four big supermarkets now stands at 128.17p, after rising by 3.3p in a month. Diesel is 130.25p after a rise of 2.91p.

‘Ever escalating fuel prices may help to speed up the switch to electric cars’

RAC fuel spokesman, Simon Williams, said: “June proved to be a shocking month for drivers with not just the eighth straight monthly rise at the pumps, but a return to 132p a litre petrol –something we haven’t seen since October 2013.

cont https://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/19422290.thousands-uk-drivers-warned-72-bill-shocking-month/

[Ian]

We need a smug smiley for those of us with EVs...

[SteveH]

Ian.......https://saraornaments.com/products/decorative-stone-funny-smug-smile-face-sculpture-garden-ornament     

[DVT]

Can we also have one for when the EV owner finds all the charging points in the car park are taken.

[Hugo]

There would be no point in driving an EV to Scotland for a holiday as the holiday would be nearly over before you even arrive there.   

[Ian]

How so? Assuming you didn't do the drive in one go (inadvisable, as tiredness can prove fatal) then it's one stop to recharge and using ultrafast chargers that would take only 20 minutes. Easily doable.

And the current crop of EVs are generally faster than Porsches.

[Hugo]

An extreme example but it actually happened.       A friend of mine who lives in Bangor Gwynedd had to travel to Edinburgh to sort out a problem for her son who was there in Uni.
She drove there and back the same day.

It's 297 miles one way and takes approx 5 hrs 21 minutes to do the one way journey     ( then she returned the same day.)

It was a cold Winter's day so she had the car heating on plus the radio for companionship.      Could the EV ever have done this journey too?

[SteveH]

Cambrian Rally to go electric - if it can find enough charging points
The Visit Conwy Cambrian Rally aims to have net zero carbon emissions by 2025, and will be introducing innovations at this autumn's event

cont  https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/cambrian-rally-go-electric-can-20993182

[Ian]

An extreme example but it actually happened.       A friend of mine who lives in Bangor Gwynedd had to travel to Edinburgh to sort out a problem for her son who was there in Uni.
She drove there and back the same day.

It's 297 miles one way and takes approx 5 hrs 21 minutes to do the one way journey     ( then she returned the same day.)

It was a cold Winter's day so she had the car heating on plus the radio for companionship.      Could the EV ever have done this journey too?

Yes, assuming:
1. Breaks were taken on the way there and the way back
2. The services had charge points (All the main ones now do.

Driving almost 300 miles without taking a break is very, very foolish. Having said that, the range on our EV is almost 300 miles when fully charged. Plus we're not fouling the air others are breathing with exhaust emissions.

A wide variety of respiratory diseases showed marked decreases during the first lockdown, when most traffic was taken off the roads.  We can't go on poisoning the air we breathe.  It's bad for asthmatics, it's bad for children and it's bad for society in general.

The evidence is clear to see; if we don't act quickly our grandchildren won't have a habitable planet.

[Hugo]

I just wanted to add that she did take comfort breaks and stops at petrol stations on the way there and on the way back

The journey back was at night so she had her headlights full on, plus the car heater, radio and the windscreen wipers as it was raining for most of the time.   Would the EV still average nearly 300 miles in those conditions?

Your point about air pollution is very valid and we found that out during lockdown when there were so few cars on the road and planes in the air.    The air was so much cleaner and people certainly felt the benefit of that fact

However like most things there are drawbacks with things and creating enough electricity is one of them.   generating enough electricity comes at a price to the environment