The only one I'd consider buying is from http://www.lightningcarcompany.co.uk/ these people, and then mainly just to take it out and polish and admire it from time to time.

Absolutely, I'd be interested but the time to charge + inconvenience makes it offputting to say the least

My old (would be 12 years old if it was still running) Megane would do Reading to a bit past Newcastle and back on a tank comfortably (350ish miles each way) being rather heavy footed, the whole London to Edinburgh + back isn't incredibly impressive when you see the size of the tank on a vehicle and that the diesel tech hasn't come on a huge way in 10 years or so

Surprises me there aren't diesel/electric hybrids though for a real hypermiler

I see where you're coming from, and I suspect the EU will try something of the sort (to keep the German factories busy), but I think the improvement in average MPG would be more than wiped out by the impact of having to dispose of the millions of vehicles that have low MPG, then manufacturing and shipping millions of new vehicles.

EDIT: that only makes sense if you assume that they enforce immediate replacement. Ensuring new vehicles meet the standard is probably a good thing. I must stop posting after having a beer.

Any such changes will be done in a way that maximises its success. It will be five or more years before introduction and that will give all companies the chance to comply.

"Dirty DERV" is a common preconception amongst both the general public AND car enthusiasts. Therefore, any "environmentally friendly" vehicle with a diesel lump is likely to be a tough sell.

The biggest problem with diesels is the PM10 particulate problem. That is what triggers much asthma and lung problems. Though it will help reduce its use. Taxis would definitely benefit form such an engine hybrid.

A London cab is probably about the only place a hybrid makes any sense.

Reps cars will also benefit. 50 000 miles plus do make a huge impact. Slash that consumption and it can save huge running costs annually. Delivery vans would also benefit.

Aren't we forgetting how hideously bad for the environment battery construction and disposal is?

Yes but when there is big enough market to do it then it can be done. The best solution is to ban the export of waste to some third world country for them to sort on some beach.

Eh? How does increasing market demand stop nickel mining [LIFTED] up the environment? The problem isn't just with the exportation, it's in the mining of the metals required to meet the demand - which given a projected life span of 5 years per battery, is possibly less sustainable, environmentally, than petrol.

That's why I said "about the only place it would make sense".

The nature of their journeys involves an awful lot of stop-start which is where regenerative braking really helps. The number of black cabs is also large enough to make economic sense, while not so large as to deplete available resources. The number of batteries involved would be enough that they could be recycled efficiently, reducing the long-term cost of production as well as the environmental impact. There is no reason why the metals can't be recycled with near zero wastage.

This is true, it's just that some of the by products of doing so are less than cheerful news.

That was why I suggested banning export of the waste. It will create a market to recycle the batteries.

I understand the problems with primary production, but I don't know any technical reason why recycling the type of batteries used in cars could not be done in safe way with little environmental impact. Any links to further information?