The other main problem with rechargeable cars is the electricity replacing the petrol is generated with fossil fuels, and certainly, in Aus the total emissions due to electric cars far exceed the emissions and given the coal and gas generation in the EU there is little in the way of saving (except in France with nuclear power).

"Recharging cars is not a real problem as it is best done at
off peaks times anyway. The reason it is off peak because there is
plenty of spare generation".

Sounds good Bazz, but have you arranged for the sun to shine, & the wind to blow at those off peak times, or are you going to burn even more coal. You know fuelling electric cars with coal fired mains power generates more plant fertiliser than fuelling them with petrol. Kind of self defeating by the greenies, but I guess the wheat farmers will be happy.

It would be damn useless wanting any power from the wind up here. As is usual in winter, I have been having a ball flying my remote control planes, in the beautifully still air.

My neighbour is bitching. His windmill is not supplying enough water for a dozen cows to drink. He had to buy a water tank to fit his box trailer, & buy town water for them. It's a tough life for some.

Hasbeen,
I think your info may be way off.
The calculation I have seen show that well head to wheels generates
more CO2 and energy loss for a IC car than Minehead to wheels of an
electric car.
In the well head to wheels case most of the loss of energy occurs
in the engine itself because of heat loss and Who cares about the CO2
anyway we can not mine enough fossil fuels economically for it to be a problem.

The main problem with electric cars is the recharging rate.
When charging at home overnight you can charge at low rates and take
eight hours. From what I can gather the service area chargers operate
at a higher charge rate and can take an hour. Some are fast chargers
that can give an 80% charge in 15 minutes.
That worries me, who has had no experience with them, as I wonder what
that does to the life of the battery, if anything.

If you calculate the current drain at mains voltages a servo with
four or six cars fast charging you need power cables as thick as your arm.
I am sure that no one has seriously thought that through yet.
That will be why service stations will not be used like they are now
where everyone has to go to one every say 500 miles or so.
Home and work charging will become a necessity.

Bazz,

Land's End to John o'Groats is 1,407 km with lots of towns etc.
Adelaide to Perth is 2,693 km and Adelaide to Darwin is 3,028 kms and, a deviation from the Highways could be fatal.

I can see steam cars coming back, burning wood fuel.

We did this many years ago in SPUDS (Steam Power Unit Development Society) using a ready supply of old fence palings.

Hmmm, just checked, a fast charger being used on a Nissan Leaf would
require a three phase 415Volt 350 amp supply and a servo with six
fast chargers would require a 2100 amp 415 volt supply for a 15 minute charge !
Actually would probably necessitate an 1.1 Kvolt or 3.3Kv supply.
Don't see it happening.

Is Mise, quite a few options, such as compressed air.
No idea what sort of range could be achieved.
At very high pressures might be an explosion hazard.
They have a problem in cities like London with first getting parked
adjacent to your house and then running an extension cord across the
footpath.
Curbside chargers help but if large numbers of electric cars are in
use as per Norway there could not be chargers outside every house.
Here, that is not such a problem, as off street parking is common and
unit blocks can have GPOs at every parking spot.
A few years back when I was looking at downsizing I asked an agent
about having a power point for charging and it threw him into a tizz
and that had never entered his conscious being previously.
However didn't matter as shortly after I was told how much the Leaf
was going to cost.

Regular service is a non problem. The only possible service is fill
the windscreen washer, check the tyres and mechanical brakes.
They make a song and dance about connecting to their computer and
checking, errr what ?
My friend does not get the service done on his car as when asked what
they do the girl said, OH change the oil and oil filter brake fluid
etc. Hmmm said my friend I won't bother.