I was planning to cycle to the Sexy Green Car Show to reduce my carbon footprint – until I realised that, as it happens in Cornwall and I live in the diametrically opposed part of the country – I’d have to have set out last week to get there before it shuts.
So what will I miss? Well, according to this morning’s breaking news, a great big electri-fried Range Rover for a piffling £125K. Eh?
Apparently a company called Liberty is behind the battery-powered Rangie – and what an appropriate name that is. Because ‘liberty’ sums-up what’s being taken here, with the whole concept of an electric Rangie that lumbers a maximum of 200 miles between a trip to the 13-amp socket.
Then there’s the small matter of the claim that a battery powered Range Rover is somehow a new and fresh idea. It isn’t. As a twice-lapsed member of the Battery Vehicle Society I feel myself to be if anything over-qualified to talk about the subject – although a quick whip-round might persuade me not to.
Anyway, according to my back copies of the society’s newsletter, “Vehicles and Volts Quarterly” the Range Rover was first electrified back in the 1980s by some well-meaning battery boffin. It had lead acids under the bonnet and in the boot, and it weighed so much it would routinely sink into sun-softened tarmac. In short: amusing but completely pointless.
And exactly the same now. If you want to make a difference rather than a pointless gesture you can invest considerably under £10K into an LPG converted classic Rangie, salve your conscience and halve your fuel bills at the same time.