From today's FT

New UK car sales data released on Friday by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders showed, amid a slowdown in the car market as consumer confidence wanes, that the sharpest decline was in sales of diesel cars; their sales were down 11 per cent so far in 2017, and 20 per cent down in July. 3 x FL1 2 manual + 1 auto
5 x FL2 4 manual + 1 auto
Now Discovery Sport P250 MHEV SE

Did not saw the figures of car sales in Germany but no one is buying diesel cars any more and as a result the used diesel car market went down amid the upcoming diesel ban from city centers in Germany.

The Germans lost their minds and i lost allot of money

Not the first time Germans have lost their minds  MY14 Kahn Converted Dynamic - Fuji White Ebony/Pimento Interior
MY15 Xenon Headlight Conversion

MY17 RRS SVR - Estoril Blue Cirrus/Ebony 🪣💺’s

I'll be sticking with diesel until I'm pushed.

If everyone keeps up the anti diesel hype I might get a FFRR Vouge SE SDV8 at rock bottom price  21MY Defender 90 S 3.0 D200

It's time the market was rebalanced in my view. Diesel is simply a poor option for someone doing a lot of short trips in town, particularly with the oil dilution problems beginning to surface in the new engines. The diesel engine is hopelessly inefficient until it warms up. So it makes sense for small car buying city dwellers to go back to petrol, or even better, electric. But diesel is a far better choice for high mileage long journey use, and people will realise this some time. What you really need is a hybrid that can be switched to electric for use in town, although you'd also need drivers with intelligence to use them properly in that way, so maybe it won't happen. Ex AA Series III LWB Safari - Gone
300TDi Disco (bought new - terrible car) sent back after 18 months
Freelander 1 Estate - leased, given back at end of lease
200TDi Disco (bought from a mate with 100,000 on the clock) - Gone
Disco 2 TD5 - sold and exported to France
FR2 TD4 GS - Gone
FR2 SD4 HSE - Now changed for a DS
New model ex-demo Evoque S 180 in white
Unable to order a new DS, so gave up. Now have a Volvo S90 Recharge.

I've been told by LR dealer that hybrid won't come. They are supposed to go to hydrogen as range is important and electricity supply is the next problem if everybody goes electric. I suggested hybrid with 10km full electric and plugin option. As it is I plugin now to electricly preheat my D3 in winter to protect it from wear on shorter trips. In the mean time I bought a FL2 which is my long distance summer car when I park the D3 in Portugal for the family. In winter we use a MiTo petrol for any distance...

This could all be replaced by a hybrid at home and a decent rental in Portugal. THe last is the biggest problem as a half decent rental costs € 1500 per week in Portugal... [ Freelander 2 TD4e MY10 Sport manual. SVR badge engineered ] SOLD
& D3 MY06 HSE , many ,many extra's...
& 2011 MiTo 1.4T 135hp Centenario Blue Monte Carlo

dorsetfreelander wrote:

....the sharpest decline was in sales of diesel cars; their sales were down 11 per cent so far in 2017, and 20 per cent down in July.

D5 Released in Australia......diesel only range, no petrol varients! MY15
Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS)
Surround Camera System
InControl Apps soon to be replaced with CarPlay (WIP)
Meridian Premium Surround Sound
Digital Audio Broadcast
Timed Climate
Cruise ECO Data
Follow Me Home Reverse
Extra Features Menu
Picture In Motion
4x4i screen (WIP)
Digital Broadcast TV
Meridian Rear Media with WIFI
Factory Powered Tailgate
Blind Spot Monitoring (BSM)
Reverse Cross Traffic Alert (RCTA)
Electrochromatic Wing Mirrors (WIP)

Dan_NL wrote:

I've been told by LR dealer that hybrid won't come. They are supposed to go to hydrogen as range is important and electricity supply is the next problem if everybody goes electric. I suggested hybrid with 10km full electric and plugin option. As it is I plugin now to electricly preheat my D3 in winter to protect it from wear on shorter trips. In the mean time I bought a FL2 which is my long distance summer car when I park the D3 in Portugal for the family. In winter we use a MiTo petrol for any distance...

This could all be replaced by a hybrid at home and a decent rental in Portugal. THe last is the biggest problem as a half decent rental costs € 1500 per week in Portugal...

And how do you make hydrogen ? By electrolysis and that means electricity, it might mean that you don't have to charge each individual car but at the end of the day you still have to produce it. Remember thermodynamics and that you can't get something for nothing. 3 x FL1 2 manual + 1 auto
5 x FL2 4 manual + 1 auto
Now Discovery Sport P250 MHEV SE

I suppose an advantage is that you can make the hydrogen when you have spare grid capacity. indeed sunny places like Saudi could use solar power to make it and then ship it, replacing their oil revenues. If you think about it, hydrogen is just another (rather explosive) way of storing electricity.
You don't get something for nothing, but the actual energy can be free - it's all the infrastructure that would cost. Ex AA Series III LWB Safari - Gone
300TDi Disco (bought new - terrible car) sent back after 18 months
Freelander 1 Estate - leased, given back at end of lease
200TDi Disco (bought from a mate with 100,000 on the clock) - Gone
Disco 2 TD5 - sold and exported to France
FR2 TD4 GS - Gone
FR2 SD4 HSE - Now changed for a DS
New model ex-demo Evoque S 180 in white
Unable to order a new DS, so gave up. Now have a Volvo S90 Recharge.

Until battery packs are standardised and on a quick release tray there is no future in pure electric for long distance travel in the foreseeable future by charging, the practical way would be pull in swap packs and away, the packs are recharged, that would mean many packs circulating and the manufacturing costs may reduce but not pollution to make them and charge them unless solar energy could be used, ( judging by recent summers perhaps economic solar charging is down to about 60 to a hundred days/year).
Hybrid with small efficient fossil fuelled engines could be a possibility for long distance as generally most cars won't use their full power when cruising therefore a 75-100hp engine could be used to keep the battery topped up plus a bit more, this system must be charge on the move helped by power harvesting from braking and coasting. Trucks are a problem and use considerable power to accelerate and climbing hills.
Hydrogen production uses considerable electric power, though it has an advantage of producing oxygen at the same time but you would still lose out by generating electricity with a liquid oxy/hydrogen fuelled power station that had a water vapour exhaust. my PC is slightly to the right of Genghis
2012 HSE SD4 In Orkney Grey now gone, best car ever.

Stuartc wrote:

D5 Released in Australia......diesel only range, no petrol varients!

@ Past master.

I come to Portugal several times eacht year since 2000. I've found a rental company with very decent rates. Problem is ; they only have cars with bad seats for the likes of me : 1.95m and 105Kg... An UP! would do nicely, but you cannot book that, its always 'or simular' . Then I end up with displaced vertebras after 5 minutes..

An option is a Transit, and they cost from € 150 per day if you look well. Its logical to some extend. Rental companies here survive from renting out 90% of their business in 3 months per year...

Other option would import a car here. But my D3 [value € 8500 in NL] would cost € 38.000 in import taxes in PT !!!
Ofcourse I can buy an UP! here, but that would cost more then keeping my D3 and driving it over here and let it stay for
5 months and 21 days [ otherwise I'd have to import it..].

And ofcourse, I can move here, or sell the house...  [ Freelander 2 TD4e MY10 Sport manual. SVR badge engineered ] SOLD
& D3 MY06 HSE , many ,many extra's...
& 2011 MiTo 1.4T 135hp Centenario Blue Monte Carlo

!
How are they allowed to charge import taxes within the European Union? I thought the point of the EU was top abolish that sort of thing! Ex AA Series III LWB Safari - Gone
300TDi Disco (bought new - terrible car) sent back after 18 months
Freelander 1 Estate - leased, given back at end of lease
200TDi Disco (bought from a mate with 100,000 on the clock) - Gone
Disco 2 TD5 - sold and exported to France
FR2 TD4 GS - Gone
FR2 SD4 HSE - Now changed for a DS
New model ex-demo Evoque S 180 in white
Unable to order a new DS, so gave up. Now have a Volvo S90 Recharge.