The Li-Ion In Winter: What Cold Weather Does To EV Batteries
A number of you will have bought your very first EV in the past 9 or so months (i.e., when the warmer weather began in spring through to autumn). Now that we’re heading into winter, there are some things that you will need to be aware of as the colder days roll around. This is because EVs don’t behave like ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles.
You may well be glad that you don’t have to sit there and warm up the engine before you get going (although I have to say that most modern ICE vehicles don’t need you to do this – thankfully!). However, you may find the following scenario has happened to you:
Choosing The Right Driving Posture
When I learned to drive, I wasn’t told much about correct driving posture apart from ensuring that my feet could reach the pedals (obviously) and that my hands were in the “ten past two” position*. However, as time went on and I drove more, I soon came to learn that there’s more to sitting comfortably, and there’s a reason why car manufacturers take so much trouble with designing seats and making them adjustable in many different ways.
If you’ve felt stiff and sore after driving for a long time, then your driving posture might have something do to with it. Sitting down in a car seat is no different from sitting down in an office chair from some perspectives, and it’s important to allow for regular breaks during a long drive so that you can stretch your legs, etc. – just like you would if you were at work. Your office chair is probably not as comfy and cushy as the driver’s seat, unless you’ve done what I’ve done and converted the seat from an old Ford Falcon into an office chair (it’s a pig to move in and out, though, as I haven’t put castors on it).
Digital Car Buying
As society has grown to depend on the vital role that online marketplaces play in our lives, they’ve also shifted the landscape in which such transactions take place.
In the car industry, motorists have increasingly voted with their feet – or perhaps more appropriately, voted with the click of a mouse. The high pressure tactics of new car salespeople have turned many buyers away from the car yards. Instead, many motorists now conduct at least their first line of research and enquiries online.
So You Want To Be An Uber Driver?
Quite a few of you may have considered getting a few extra bucks out of your car by signing up as a driver for the rideshare scheme Uber or one of the similar schemes, such as Ola. But is your car suitable for this? What’s more, if you are seriously considering the possibility, then what do you need to know when you go to buy a new car?
First of all, let’s get the disclaimers out of the way. I’m not affiliated with Uber, have never been an Uber driver, haven’t even been an Uber passenger, and get the urge to spell it the proper German way as Über. My family members aren’t Uber drivers, although my son once thought about it and my brother used to operate a bicycle rickshaw taxi (and he’s not even Chinese). I’m not saying that you should be an Uber driver or that you shouldn’t be an Uber driver, or that you should consider some other rideshare service such as Ola or DiDi, etc. It’s completely up to you whether you should or shouldn’t, and I’m not going to give you any advice in that direction.
Level 2, 9 Help Street