The Golf has given good service over the last 9 years and that
is in spite of the best efforts of other road users to scrape, dent, bend and
write it off. One particular motorist of senior years who pulled out of a kerb parking bay came the closest to this and relegated our battlewagen to Category N under insurance categories as in non structural damage but uneconomic to repair.
Of course it is one of the many millions of VW’s embroiled in the
Emissions Scandal and was recalled for the remedial work. I did have some
reservations over whether this would solve the pollution issues completely but
I have the piece of paper to say that it now meets required standards.
Only two out of the three attributes of fuel economy, performance and lower emissions were indicated as being a possible outcome of the emissions fix. I do use the car sometimes for work and have found no discernible loss of power or mileage per gallon of diesel which makes me even more worried for the environment if the recall has been nothing more than another scam of a scam.
Somehow,
and illogically for an inanimate object, there has been a loss of trust which I
never thought I would experience in such a brand as Volkswagen.
The German
manufacturer has served my family well over successive purchases of a Classic Camper
Van, Squareback, 412LE, Scirocco’s Mark 1 and 2, a pair of Polo’s , 3 Passat
Estates and the current Golf. In all there has been some 50 years of association and I would
estimate some three quarter of a million road miles, give or take a few hundred
thousand margin for error.
However, a change to Zero Emissions fits in with our
current mindset and is a pretty big thing over and above our, to date, well meant but
inconsistent efforts in recycling, minimising waste and trying to live a more sustainable
existence.
The path to electric propulsion has, as I have covered in previous
commentary, not been the smoothest.
I have found this to be largely down to the
low gearing up of Government, Agencies, Corporations and Commercial concerns to
facilitate the increase in the numbers of electric vehicles as well as quite a
bit of misleading, contradictory and vague information on how the general
public can go about getting one.
Very little is actually published by those who
should be trailblazing the initiative. Keeping on the good side of Petrol heads and those who place a lot of emphasis on lifestyle marques are still dominating the market in the UK.
Most of the major car makers have an
electric vehicle in their model range but seem reluctant to promote it beyond a
few column inches in the glossy supplements or an arty-farty TV ad campaign. Of
course there are plenty of Hybrid vehicles on the market but the unique selling
points are cloudy.
Is the point of conventional engine plus electric power to reduce
fuel costs or to benefit the environment?
My latest angsts in connection with the
change to wholly electric have been over appropriate car insurance and in the
fitting of a EV Charging Unit at my house.
After making the mistake of going
through a Comparison Site where the premiums quoted varied from £395 to £1500 a
year and for unclear policy benefits I managed to get an electric car specific
policy through one of the big market names which seems well thought through and with
the inclusion of recovery to the nearest charging point if stranded by a
depleted battery.
Today, the home EV Charger is being installed but that has
also been problematic.
The Government Subsidy for the work was withdrawn two days ago and we
have had to meet the full cost.
The Installer was quite downbeat in that he could not find a suitable reading
for insertion of an Earth Rod. This was after drilling through the concrete of the garage
floor. I attribute this to the fact that our house, occupying the site of a
former Convent School in an inner city district, is built on a raft foundation
with a very thick reinforced slab and well above the original ground level. The
inability to earth an installation would prevent any work from going ahead
which I must admit was not something I had even thought about.
After prising up
a few of the brick pavers on the driveway the insertion of a trial rod gave satisfactory
readings which saved the move towards electric.
The charging unit is now in position
on the external wall of the garage and the Installer has worked hard to get everything
in place.
The car itself makes its appearance in just over 7 days time and our
electric adventure will really begin.
*Philip Oakey and Georgio Moroder. 1984 Soundtrack
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