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Have you got a NEW Cause Celebre, Mark? You can get artificial Spray on Mud for those Toorak Tractors. Enhance your MANLY Image (and that of your Wife ) when she takes little Johnie to Private school. each day. The whole 1-2 Kms that doesn't even get the engine Warm. Nev

What I can't understand is why people drive those kinds of vehicle around the suburban area. They take up 1.5 car parking spaces, and anyone in a medium sized sedan parked beside them can't see past them when exiting their parking space.

Maybe we should put some of the global warming budget into it. Trains are efficient when you work out the tonnes of freight/ litre of fuel.

My son has a BYD Shark PHEV. I've been looking at some Australian-made videos on Youtube made by 4WD influencers, and most of what they present is positive. However there are a few things that have got me thinking that the design concept of the vehicle is wrong. First, the vehicle is a 3-tonne dual cab. It is a tall vehicle, meaning that one has to climb up into it. Why so big? It has a Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM) of 3,500 kg and a payload of approximately 790 kg. That 750 kg paylod has to include the weight of five persons plus luggage and other junk. Don't forget that if the vehicle is used to tow a caravan or other type of trailer, the towball weight has to be taken from the 750 kg. I wonder how useful it would be as a tradie's ute. How much do a tradie's tools weigh? And how often do five tradies travel in the one vehicle? Next I don't see it as an off-road vehicle. A lot of the videos show it being used off-raod, but I think this is a mistake. I think people might not understand that although each wheel of the vehicle is driven by its own motor, it does not, to my mind, equate to the traditional 4WD. While each motor delivers maximum torque immediately, off-road driving requires that the torque from an ICE or EV power plant should be controlled. I think that the correct application of an EV motor is through a gearbox if one wants to drive through mud, sand and climb mountains. BYD has been honest in stating that the battery-only range is 100 km. That is sufficient for daily running around the local area. They have been honest to say that for longer distances, the 1.5 litre ICE engine must be used. This engine is basically an onborad electrical generator which uses about 7.5 litres/100 km at highway speed without towing. Towing a medium sized caravan or horse float can blow that out to about 20 litres/100km. One advantage of teh BYD battery system is that it has outlest which can provide 240 volts. That would be useful for a tradie to run chargers for cordless tools. Why do I think the design concept is wrong? Around my way, the most popular style of work vehicle is the Toyota Hillux in single or dual cab. The vehicle weighs about 2 tonnes with a load capacity of about 900 kg. This design suits the needs of farmers and tradies. It is available in 2 or 4WD configuration. Why couldn't a model with an EV power system be made to this design? Toyota has a Hilux EV, but it is a big monster like the Shark.

No need to squabble guys. Every tech answer has an application. Diversity of energy sources is like an insurance policy against one source stopping. Specifically relating to Energy, reducing the pollution caused by any industry, is a benefit to all humanity. We should wean ourselves off the fossil fuel industry because burning it causes many kinds of pollution. Sooner the better, as long as we do it progressively. And EV's are a great step in the right direction.

Random government thought......... At some point in the future there will be a need to reward a person who tells the truth. A No Bull Prize.

My View hew is trying to deny CHINA Oil.. Maybe disadvantage Europe as well and at the same time HELP his good Mate, Putin. Nev

Aren't they called ESV's - Emotional Support Vehicles?

Knowing Trumps total lack of strategic planning abilities, with his off-the-cuff, instantly-reversible decisions usually catching all his staff and operatives off-guard - I'd have to say definitely not.

That may be correct, but building the infrastructure to run them on is where the cost is. Also, railways need a higher level of maintenance than roads. Trains don't like potholes and other sorts of irregularities that trucks can accept from the roads they travel over.

You are pretty spot on about business owners. My son's business is fitting all those extra bits and pieces to 4WDs. Regarding the legality of driving an over-GVM vehicle, I can recall a case a few year ago in which a driver of a towing and over-GVM vehicle/caravan combination was convicted of causing the death of a passenger when the unit crashed.

What we forget is that although China is building heaps of intermittent generation, it is also building a lot of synchronous generation as well.(includes traditional hydro) It will include enough capacity to keep the grid stable. China aren't silly. Really like this comment. By all means decarbonise but don't make Australia a basket case to do it. Do it in a planned, sustainable way. It will make no difference to global warming. The other countries with low emissions should do the same thing.

What has that got to do with the price of bread? Had a house hold pump break down on the week end, That has no highly loaded bearings OR rapidly reversing loads etc in an electric Motor. Reciprocating motors are just trying to fling themselves apart and have Large Pressures and thermal stresses. and critical Lubrication issues" either but it still broke down. Welcome to the world of mechanical apparatus!

The U.S. has more than adequate oil reserves themselves to provide all their domestic needs. They actually export fuel. They have no need to import Middle Eastern oil, they only do so to acquire the more desirable "light crude", which is easier and less costly to refine. All American refineries are built to refine both light and heavy crude. They have access to all the Venezuelan oil they want, after ensuring the Venezuelan Govt became more compliant to U.S. demands.

When they ONLY talk only amongst themselves they don't come up with any NEW ideas. One of the Major Causes of the Libs being where they are Now would be Tony Abbott. This would have to Be the Ultimate attempt to flog a Dead Horse. He's been constantly trying a find a Raison d etre since he Lost his own seat.( Bad sign). Peta Credlin was HIS "Brain" then. His true Loyalty LIES back in England but he didn't have any success there. IF you caused a Mess surely you would HAVE to rule yourself out as being the One to FIX it. PLUS He's none the wiser He has not improved with AGE.. As long as he is Australina he will get the Pension .Nev

Don't be JUST another PANIC Merchant. We are doing a lot better than a Lot of others and after events Like this we will reduce our dependency on such sources of a diminishing, Conflict causing and highly Polluting resource.Nec

Just goes to show, what a bunch of out-of-touch has-beens, the Liberal Party has become.

Siso there's no highly loaded bearings OR rapidly reversing loads etc in an electric Motor. Reciprocating motors are just trying to fling themselves apart and have Large Pressures and thermal stresses. and critical Lubrication issues.. The electric Motor is Near 100% efficient and can also GENERATE electricity to recover power. Nev

This presupposes that we are the only country attempting to cut CO2. Yes, our share is small, but all of the countries that contribute under 2% make cuts adds up to 30% (I am happy to back that figure up) How are these actions abhorrent? When you say you don't accept the science, are you saying that CSIRO is incompetent or part of the malicious conspiracy that you alluded to? I approach climate science like any other area. I have had people tell me that vaccination doesn't work or causes autism, etc. I reject this because I can see what CSIRO says. Being extra cautious, I can cross-check this with other respected sources. This seems to me to be a solid method of determining what the likely "truth" is. If you believe this is a flawed method, then suggest a better method. If the outliers in climate science are right, then why not the outliers in medical science or any other field? Vaccine sceptics also tend to cite "grand conspiracies."

I like this girl. This youtube discusses the issue of EV battery degredation, which is surrounded by urban myth and misinformation. I especially note in the comments - there are a lot of anti-EV trolls simply bagging out EV's.

When you run a diesel out it of fuel it will get air in the system will have to be Bled properly. Sometimes even changing a fuel filter has to be done by a competent person with the right equipment. Contaminated Fuel with water can cost thousands of dollars. None of this with EV's No turbos , No EGR Valves. No air cleaners No Mufflers to rot out. No need to warm the engine or watch it on a hot day. No starter Motor, gearbox or clutch to wear. Reduced Brake wear. Servicing reduced to tyres and windscreen wiper Blades. No fumes No tuning. . Dramatic revolutionary change. Nev

Well this will help them turn the ship around... 😂 ABC Live blog says Tony Abbott is positioning himself to be the next president of the Liberal party. Kind of like hiring Putin to be a conflict mediator, or Trump to bring honesty back to politics. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-05-07/federal-politics-live-blog-early-childcare-commission/106651090

If you accept "climate science" 100%, do you also accept that nothing Australia does in drawing its power from coal, oil, nuclear, solar or wind in the next century will make any measurable (ie greater than 1%) difference to global temperatures for the next few hundred years? Because that is what climate science tells us. So, we need to balance that reality with the impact our decisions right now have on our economy and our natural environment. And if, like me, you do not accept the "climate science", then our current destructive actions are simply abhorrent.