I’ve never understood why electric cars are supposedly more energy efficient, since you have to recharge the battery by plugging into the power grid. However, one shouldn’t underestimate the value of a placebo in soothing the green conscience.
So go ahead and get an electric car; just don’t be in a hurry to get anywhere:
London to Edinburgh by electric car: it was quicker by stagecoach
The BBC’s stunt of taking an electric Mini to Edinburgh reveals just how impractical rechargeable cars are, writes Christopher Booker
In its obsessive desire to promote the virtues of electric cars, the BBC proudly showed us last week how its reporter Brian Milligan was able to drive an electric Mini from London to Edinburgh in a mere four days – with nine stops of up to 10 hours to recharge the batteries (with electricity from fossil fuels).
What the BBC omitted to tell us was that in the 1830s, a stagecoach was able to make the same journey in half the time, with two days and nights of continuous driving. This did require 50 stops to change horses, but each of these took only two minutes, giving a total stopping time of just over an hour and a half.
In case you don’t know, the distance from London to Edinbugh is 332 miles. In US terms that means can get from Princeton today and be in Akron, Ohio (364 miles) by Friday, but only if you leave right now.
Just make sure you don’t turn on the heat, and wear longjohns.
We’re going from the space age to the spaced-out age in 4…3…2…