Editor’s Report - April 2024
The past month has shown the enthusiasm of many of the members who have enjoyed a joint run with the Cadillac LaSalle Club a visit to the Healey Factory plus an engaging technical session. Upcoming is the Federal Rally in Noosa, a long drive, or a short flight I recommend considering attending.
One area that I have noted we are all aging, this seems to be a challenge across other classic car clubs as well, the real issue is how we invigorate a younger generation to move into the Rolls-Royce and Bentley fraternity. A recent conversation I had with a member is that there is an interest amongst younger Tradies in the marque, but how do we attract them to the club? I am sure that if they interested, they have a technical bent which we do cater for. Unfortunately, generational attractions of Australian Muscle Cars and now Japanese exotics seem to be the driving force in certain age groups, while the European fans for Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, BMW, and Mercedes are attractive to others, speaking with Keith at Maryknoll he has the same opinion as I do, we all want the car we thought was “cool” when we were young.
Another interesting area that I have noted is EV sales and manufacturers comments. Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda sated, Toyota intends to adopt a multi-pronged strategy to reduce emissions, utilizing battery-electric vehicles (BEV) in addition to automobiles with internal combustion engine, hybrid, or hydrogen drivetrains. According to Toyoda, these other models would eventually make up 70% of the market.
The current economic climate and weather in USA has seen Ford and GM review their stance on EV production, closing assembly lines for production of EV’s, perhaps branding of Tesla has reduced their brand preference. In the UK EV sales have reached one million but the speed of uptake doesn’t match government expectations. Australia is still progressing well, but the lack of chargers is still hampering uptake.
I am perplexed by a recent recommendation don’t charge above 80% and don’t go below 20%. This is to give battery longevity but also gives fast charging the best opportunity to get moving again, typically Hyundai Ioniq 5 charges from 10-80% in 18 mins but 80-100% another 32 minutes. Maybe best option is to get the long-distance battery and charge to 80% to get time efficiency.
Finally, battery technology is changing rapidly, and I suspect many buyers are waiting for the newer fast charge and longer life batteries to come on the market.
This Editorial is my opinion only! Happy Motoring!
Wayne Spittle