Tag: tesla

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Car Technology

EV: Going Electric…

So I thought I’d share with you. I’ve gone Electric. That’s right. If you read my blog posts – you’ll know I have a Tesla Model 3. (Oh… if you are thinking about getting a Tesla, reach out to me first! – I can share my referral link – and using that, you can get 1,000 supercharge miles free!)

So, back to the car. Why did I go for a Tesla?

Well, firstly – the key thing was charging. Tesla are miles ahead with their Supercharger network. Having used them a few times, they are so easy to enable (just input your credit card on your Tesla acct), easy to use… when you pull up to one, you just plug it in! And easy to navigate to! (You’ll find out more what I mean about this down below)

At a supercharger in West London – from 17% to 70% took 17mins! (That’s like adding about 220 miles approx!)

The biggest fear – when moving to an electric car, is something called ‘range anxiety’. Yes, this is a real thing. People fear – that they’ll run out of battery or won’t have enough – what are they going to do!!!??!!

Well, another great thing about the Tesla is – you put in where you are going into the Sat Nav – and it’ll determine;

a) Your route, the battery percentage that will be used and other handy information

b) If you don’t have enough battery, it’ll suggest you’ll need to charge!

c) It will tell you where to charge!

An example of this – I was travelling from London, up north – and it told us, I’ll need to stop at the Supercharger at Northampton (just a minute of the M1) and charge up for 15mins! That would be sufficient enough for me to get to my destination!

Then there’s home charging – when you get an Electric Vehicle – I’d recommend you get a home charger. It usually works out cheaper and better if you can charge at home. Appreciate if you don’t have a driveway and it’s on-street parking only, you’ll have to look at options!

If you’re moving from an ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) vehicle, suggest you look at hybrids first. My previous car was a hybrid. And that helped me understand more about driving on electric/battery only. Obviously, it was nice to have the engine to kick in and support when required.

If you’re going to jump straight to an electric car – always do the maths. By that, size of battery (miles it can do), miles you do… and the rest of the analysis you would normally do when looking for a new car.

Interior is very important. Let’s be honest, it’s what you’ll be seeing most of the time! And Tesla, as you may know… just have one giant iPad type of screen!

Inside of my Tesla Model 3 – with the big iPad type of screen to control everything.

Now, the photo above – is mine (minus all the information!). I thought it would be difficult to get used to this. Let’s be honest – always had something in front of me telling me speed, revs, time, fluid levels, etc… and now… I have an iPad!

In all fairness, it’s not that hard to use. And for the past six months of driving. I’ve got used to it! And it isn’t that bad. Everything is conveniently located to make it easy as possible. For example, the speedometer is top right of the screen – so closest to you.

A lot of new cars – like the Polestar and others, have big screens. Everything is moving that way. Though I did hear this morning that Audi will be sticking with sticks and knobs.

So, in summary… If you are thinking about going Electric, here’s some steps you should think about…

  1. Have a think about going hybrid first before fully electric (may help reducing that range anxiety!!) and you’ll increase your knowledge about vehicles that are powered by a battery.
  2. What type of electric car will suit your needs. There’s more and more coming to the market – with a variety of battery ranges, etc… so check what works best for your lifestyle.
  3. How technologically savvy you are. Tesla 3 have one big iPad (the model S and X come with a display in front of you), Audi are sticking to knobs and cars such as Polestar have a mix.
  4. All manufacturers now have an electric car in their model line up. VW have the ID models, Ford have the Mustang E, BMW have some great hybrids (such as the 330e) and electric such as i3, i4, etc… and Mercedes have the EQ models. So go to their show rooms and have a look at the cars.

I hope the above helps. In my next blog posts, titled EV:…. I’ll share more about servicing, driving, everyday use and more!

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Car Technology Uncategorized

ECR – Electric Car Readiness

Ok, you may have missed this but new laws are coming in soon (2030) which will ban the sales of petrol and diesel vehicles only. Hybrid vehicles will be available to purchase till 2035.

It’s already started – many people are buying electric cars – but most are opting for an hybrid option first. And I agree.

Now you can get self-charging hybrid or a plug-in hybrid.

Either way – I think hybrid is a natural way forward from a petrol or diesel only car. It’ll help you a) understand more about the electric motor, b) how, where and when to use your battery power and finally c) will help bridge that gap from petrol to electric.

I used to have a hybrid car. It did about 30miles on electric. Which was ok for town driving. And then on the motorway – the petrol engine would kick in. This was good for me – regular trips of 140miles + single way, were not a problem. Petrol Stations readily available, easy and all I had to do was pop in, fill up – 5 to 10minutes later – I was back on my way.

I’ve moved from Hybrid to fully Electric.

Now whilst there are more and more fully electric car options – I personally opted for a Tesla.

And if you’re thinking of ordering a Tesla, before you do – use my referral code/link – and you’ll get 1,000 free supercharger miles! – it’s bal71307 (and the link – http://ts.la/bal71307

Whilst the choice is getting bigger and bigger by the day – there’s some great small electric cars that are now available… such as the VW ID range…

ID.4 | Electric SUV | Volkswagen UK

BMW are releasing a number of fully electric cars – and you may have noticed, a number of Nissan (the original Leaf has been upgraded many times – and is a very good car), Toyota, Mini and many others – have great electric cars on offer.

But before you buy an electric car, you may be concerned and questions I got whilst I was talking on BBC Radio on Sunday night was… what happens if my battery runs out?

Well, ‘range anxiety’ was one of my fears also.

Honestly. It all comes down to one thing. You just have to plan your journey a little better. Because – there are not as many electric car chargers currently as you’d like compared to petrol stations.

Saying this, I’ve done a few long trips. and was concerned about not having enough battery. However – the sat nav in the car helps. I put in my destination and the car asked if it was a round trip or anywhere I was going – and then magically (well, it seemed to be magical) worked out, how much battery would be used, and that I would not have enough for a return journey! – now, the reason I got a Tesla was because of their Supercharger network…. and what happened was, the Sat Nav told me – where and when and for how long I’d need to charge in order to complete my trip!

Again – a number of factors were taking into account, like how fast I’d be driving, conditions, etc…

Over the past year – there’s more and more chargers being installed in a variety of locations. There’s various apps you can download and see where your nearest charging station is, the cost to charge (you’re paying per kwh) and on some apps, even tells you if the charging point is busy or available!

Back to why I went for a Tesla – 1) their supercharger network is fantastic. I’ve used it a few times, just pull up – plug in and wait a short while. No need to tap anything, anywhere – the charger recognizes the car, payment details are already registered – the process is so easy and simple. Love it.

2) Tesla seem to be more advanced than some of the other manufacturers – they’ve been doing it for a while and are learning and pushing out updates regularly. And finally, 3) they can’t be doing that bad of a job- they had record sales in the last quarter and in the UK – was one of the best sold Electric Vehicles! I’ve driven others – and yes, others may have a better ride quality, or something else that is better – but overall, the Tesla experience has been great.

So there you go- start thinking about your next car being a fully electric – and start to think about home charging units (the grant for these will expire soon – so suggest you look at getting one installed sooner rather than later) and don’t worry about running out of battery – your car will warn you well in advance and there’s more and more charging stations popping up. Everywhere. Even Tesco. Because every little helps.

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Week in Review

Week 12… 2021!

Nearly Easter… Nearly April! – Where is the time going?! Well… still a lot happening, everything from ‘apparently’ the shortage of toilet roll because of Evergreen’s vessel that is stuck in the Suez Canal! With something like 327 vessels held up (on both sides) we sure can expect some delays on some supplies.

Saying the above – please, do not… go out and stock up on toilet roll. I’m sure we have enough supply.

Ok, my top 2 stories of the week (and there were plenty to chose from!)

  1. As many of you know, I’m on Twitter (@balbansal). Whilst I tweet about all sorts – it’s mainly about Nottingham Forest, Technology, Lean Thinking and Innovation, etc… Oh, and you can expect to see photo’s of lunch at my mums. But did you know, Jack (the founder of Twitter) sold his first every tweet for a cool $2.9m!

Crazy right! 2.9 million dollars! It went to a Malaysia-based businessman. If you’re wondering what it was, it was ‘just setting up my twttr’. If you’re interested in buying any of my tweets – please do reach out to me.

2. Now last week, I shared a story about the new Apple Car. Well, this week, our friend Elon Musk said… that you can buy a Tesla using Bitcoin!

In the US, orders for new Tesla cars can now be secured with the equivalent of a $100 deposit in Bitcoin.

The facility would be rolled out to other countries in the coming months, Mr Musk said.

But Bitcoin’s value rapidly moves up and down – meaning the cryptocurrency price of the car could change day to day.

Tesla has invested heavily in the digital currency, buying $1.5bn (£1.1bn) worth of Bitcoin.

So there you go… my top two stories of the week, and for those wondering… Bal – can I buy your tweets using Bitcoin?…. my answer is, not just yet… I’m definitely forward thinking, just not as much as Elon Musk… or shall I say, I’ve personally not invested so much in Bitcoin. Yet.

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Week in Review

Week 5… 2021!

Another busy week! – So much going on… everything from the Farmers Protest in India to how food prices are being increased in the UK! – it could be because of Brexit! (I think it is… especially hearing about how products and stock are being held at ports!!

So my 2 stories from the week…

  1. Nike Trainers – This is a new design of trainers that have been shared by Nike. You may be thinking, really… new trainers?… yes! – they are very easy to put on and take off. They have a hinge, so the shoe/trainer – effectively… splits in the middle, allowing easy access for your foot to come out… and go in! They are called the Nike GO FlyEase Trainer….

2. Tesla… no, I won’t be talking about Elon Musk taking a break from Twitter.. or the crypto currency he’s been endorsing… but more so, that the new steering wheel they’ll be having is legal in the UK!… AND…. be honest, how many of us, will think we are knight rider?! – Honestly, little things like these make me want to buy a Tesla… however, I did notice BMW have a ‘funky’ steering wheel in their new iX… all about the user experience!

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Uncategorized

Heated Seats… what a luxury!

This morning, I had the opportunity to review some of the latest news stories from over the past few days on BBC Radio Nottingham.

One of the news stories were about ‘autonomous vehicles’, and how they’ll be introduced in a few years benefiting disabled and the elderly.

Firstly, this time-line is tooooo soon. Yes – we have much of the technology available in the Tesla cars, and some other manufacturers are testing, but I feel, it won’t be that easy with the small, winding, countryside roads we have here in the UK. On long motorways, yes – great idea.

Then there was a story about the iPhone X… and how I referred to my recent blog post, if you should buy one of not… (I’m still leaning to the BMW 328 with beige interior). And reading a recent article, there was a great argument over why you should stick with your iPhone 6S… i’ll have to find it and share it with you. Yes the latest phones are quicker, and have better cameras, and a lot more tech packed into them, but are you really going to use Augmented Reality on a daily basis? – no, didn’t think so.

But then… if you’re taking alot of photo’s for your Instagram account, then good idea to upgrade, but saying that, photo’s on the iPhone 6S aren’t too bad… (@mrbalbansal on Instagram).

There were a few other stories, but we touched on the one (not so tech related), about some of the recent inappropriate behavior that’s been taking place in Westminster… people touching people which is unacceptable. I’m in total agreement, that there’s boundaries and lines you do not cross. I also believe you should state it very clearly if you a) do not agree with certain behaviors and actions and b) if someone has acted in-appropriately, you let them know immediately and if it carries on, inform someone who can ensure the corrective action is taken.

But with all these stories coming out, we spoke about… when do you know it’s okay to hug… or do you just give a handshake? –

Do men think twice now, before hugging or putting their arm around someone? – what if a lady acts inappropriately to a young male… and why haven’t we heard of those stories?

Well… I could’ve shared more detail and the other stories, but I think it’s only fair that you go visit BBC Radio Nottingham, and find Mark’s morning show for the 6th October and have a listen… hope you enjoy it!

Oh… but what about the heated seats Bal? – ah yes.. the heated seats…. well, you’ll just have to listen.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05k34w7