The Tesla and other Electric vehicle thread.....

[D M C]

Actually, if you are going bracket racing, it's the most consistent car that usually wins. I knew of a guy who would rent a very specific, very unexciting sedan every time he wanted to go racing. And, because he knew exactly how fast that specific model of car was, he could dial it in quickly and knew that there would be no surprises all night. He usually did very well even though it was slow. I bracket raced my '73 Chevy van at one point, and probably could have gotten pretty good at it. The van was good for a 20.5 second quarter mile at 64 mph nearly every time. Get the reaction time sorted, and it would have been hard to beat.

I'm liking this despite not understanding any of it.
Edit:BTW, I don't think you'd be able to find a more consistent car than a Model 3.

 

[Bob_Ross]

I just learned of the existance of the ElectraMeccanica Solo a few days ago when I stopped by a promotional kiosk at a local mall while the missus was shopping.

Got to kick the tires, climb inside for a bit, talk to the salesperson...

First Impression: Man is this thing cute! And way sexier than something like a Smart Car.

Second Impression: Man is this thing impractical! Imagine a motorcycle that you can drive in the rain, but that you can't carry a passenger on, or even any luggage. (That picture of the woman putting a yoga mat in the trunk, under "Storage" ...yeah, that's about all that would fit in that trunk.)

If there was a way to get a bass guitar and a small combo amp in there I'd seriously consider one...or two.

I suppose the target audience for this product is folks who are currently considering a motor scooter? I guess it's safer and more stable than a Vespa...

Anyone aware of this EV, seen 'em on the street before?

 

[friskinator]

I dig it. I don't have kids, and my wife has a 2 seater sports couple, so this would be right up my alley.

Did you see the tab on the website for the Roadster? I've always wondered why car companies don't make vintage "reissues" like guitar companies, but that is the closest thing I've seen. At $150K, it better be an amazingly fun car, though.

 

[Jeff Scott]

Interesting, but I'll stick with something more practical...

Morgan 3 Wheeler

 

[Alkali Ike]

Arcimoto - Ultra Efficient Electric Vehicles

 

[Bob_Ross]

Arcimoto - Ultra Efficient Electric Vehicles

View attachment 4531806

I just saw one of those in the supermarket parking lot the other day! I thought it was a golf cart!

 

[Alkali Ike]

I just saw one of those in the supermarket parking lot the other day! I thought it was a golf cart!

The photo doesn’t do it justice. They’re very cool in person. But practicality is a question. You can supposedly get optional side panels for weather protection too.

 

[JKos]

They look about as safe as a motorcycle or golf cart. No thanks.

A few years ago there was an explosion of street legal, glorified golf carts in my local area. They’re almost all gone now. A) The novelty and “me too” wore off. B) The realization that they just weren’t as practical as they first seemed. C) Realization they provided zero protection in an accident.

 

[Alkali Ike]

They look about as safe as a motorcycle or golf cart. No thanks.

A few years ago there was an explosion of street legal, glorified golf carts in my local area. They’re almost all gone now. A) The novelty and “me too” wore off. B) The realization that they just weren’t as practical as they first seemed. C) Realization they provided zero protection in an accident.

A motorcycle enthusiast acquaintance of mine test drove an Arcimoto. He didn’t much like the handling at all. But it’s not an open road motorcycle. It’s for urban use. I love the design aesthetics but it’s completely impractical for me. A very expensive toy perhaps.

 

[nutdog]

This is pretty funny https://www.motorious.com/articles/news/blows-up-tesla/

 

[woodyng2]

Decided to sell my i3. (More immediate Retirement fueled that decision.)
With what Carvana paid me for it, and the refund on the unused 4 year warranty, I basically walked away with zero financial loss after owning and driving the car for a year.
I think that’s a unique experience never to be repeated in my car dealings, lol.
I’m back to driving an ICE vehicle for the time being, a Scion iA/Toyota Yaris/Mazda2 that gets 40mpg,
and handles and rides amazingly well above its price point. (It handles way better than the bimmer did).
I’m very happy with it, plus the extra $8k I pocketed.
Meanwhile, on the electric front, Hubby’s got a Rivian SUV on order. Probably another 13-18 monthes away from delivery. We went to a Rivian event recently, and did not get to drive one, but had a thorough and spine tingling demo ride.

 

[Stewie26]

I can't help but think of Starman on his way to the sun when I see one of the roadsters.

Yep, the only car to ever travel over 17,000 MPH.. Funny thing. The roaster's off the line speed is much faster than the Falcon 9 rocket that but it in space. 0-60 MPH for the Tesla roadster is 3.7 seconds which is very respectable for back in 2008.

 

[basscooker]

Has anyone posted about this yet?

https://ree.auto/

I did no research. I didn't even look very closely at that link. What I glean from an ad thrown at me on YouTube and subsequent Google...

So they basically make high-tech rolling chassis. They have a concept cabin in the works.

Now thinking abstractly on this idea. I see a really cool future in vehicle interior design. Universal chassis integration; so you have X cubic inches with X maximum dimensions. Aaand go.

User interface has some requirements; visibility, safety etc sure. Have you seen the fictional examples on the show Upload?

 

[gkbass13]

Any PHEV drivers care to share experiences? Currently I drive a VW GTI, which has been great for the last 5 years, but I’m currently looking at Toyota RAV4 Primes. The 42 miles of electric range, 35-40mpg hybrid mode, all wheel drive, and still available credits (federally and here in Vermont) have me thinking it’s a good time to make a change. I’d love to go full EV eventually, but driving 100+ miles a day for work in cold climate and the not great charging infrastructure here has me thinking a “bridge” vehicle makes sense currently.

 

[S-Bigbottom]

I just learned of the existance of the ElectraMeccanica Solo a few days ago when I stopped by a promotional kiosk at a local mall while the missus was shopping.

Got to kick the tires, climb inside for a bit, talk to the salesperson...

First Impression: Man is this thing cute! And way sexier than something like a Smart Car.

Second Impression: Man is this thing impractical! Imagine a motorcycle that you can drive in the rain, but that you can't carry a passenger on, or even any luggage. (That picture of the woman putting a yoga mat in the trunk, under "Storage" ...yeah, that's about all that would fit in that trunk.)

If there was a way to get a bass guitar and a small combo amp in there I'd seriously consider one...or two.

I suppose the target audience for this product is folks who are currently considering a motor scooter? I guess it's safer and more stable than a Vespa...

Anyone aware of this EV, seen 'em on the street before?

Seen two of them things in the Portland Oregon area in the last two weeks.

 

[Alkali Ike]

If you follow EV news closely, you might know that car carrier ship “Felicity Ace” recently caught fire in the middle of the Atlantic. Its cargo consisted of about 4000 new Porsches, Audis, Bentleys, and VWs. All VW Group vehicles. Some of the vehicles were EVs and there are many battery fires. The cargo is said to be a total loss. No cause has been determined yet.

Then this interesting article based on the claims of an internal Porsche whistleblower came out. It’s specific to the Taycan EV. It doesn’t paint Porsche in a very favorable light.

Porsche Whistleblower: “60% of all delivered Taycan have battery issues that caused replacements, damages and fires”

 

[Jeff Scott]

Hmm.....

 

[bholder]

If you follow EV news closely, you might know that car carrier ship “Felicity Ace” recently caught fire in the middle of the Atlantic. Its cargo consisted of about 4000 new Porsches, Audis, Bentleys, and VWs. All VW Group vehicles. Some of the vehicles were EVs and there are many battery fires. The cargo is said to be a total loss. No cause has been determined yet.

Then this interesting article based on the claims of an internal Porsche whistleblower came out. It’s specific to the Taycan EV. It doesn’t paint Porsche in a very favorable light.

Porsche Whistleblower: “60% of all delivered Taycan have battery issues that caused replacements, damages and fires”

There are lots of ways to do EVs wrong. Unfortunately, the old ICE manufacturers seem to be trying to find all of those ways.

 

[Alkali Ike]

There are lots of ways to do EVs wrong. Unfortunately, the old ICE manufacturers seem to be trying to find all of those ways.

If the whistleblower story is accurate, he’s describing a process managed by bean counters, as opposed to engineers. Bigger bonuses for everyone if we save $100 per EV!

Hubris?

 

[Nedmundo]

There are lots of ways to do EVs wrong. Unfortunately, the old ICE manufacturers seem to be trying to find all of those ways.

That's depressing, but not at all surprising. I've been pleasantly surprised by Ford's "Mustang" Mach-E, which has gotten great reviews and, from the little I've read, seems to be fairly reliable. I sat in one last year, and loved the interior. I wish it had longer range and better charging infrastructure, but I still think it could work for me.

Notably, engineering monsters Honda and Toyota have been slow getting into the BEV game, but they're typically conservative about adopting new technology. Hopefully that means that when they do it, they'll do it right. Honda is teaming up with GM for its first round of BEVs, and while GM certainly has top-tier engineering, we all know they can blow it sometimes too. I certainly hope it works out, and GM's Ultium tech seems promising:

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