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Cheap Chinese electric cars are coming to the US and Europe

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Re: Cheap Chinese electric cars are coming to the US and Europe

#211

Post by codazoda »

MrRadar wrote: post #101
ngngngng wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just don't get it. a John Deere Gator with two seats and 4 wheels, and not much else costs over $7000 new. No windows, No airbags, pathetic top speed, not road legal. A Lada 4x4 costs less than that brand new in Russia. Road legal, standard car top speed. Known as a very reliable car. Why can't I buy a really cheap car in the United States? edit: also the lada 4x4 is possibly the coolest car i've ever seen, in it's…

"Road legal" has a different standard in the US. To sell a car in the US it must have airbags, ABS, electronic stability control, a backup camera (also implying a decently-large full-color display on the dashboard), and it must meet USDOT, NHTSA, and EPA standards (each of which are slightly incompatible with standards from other regions, and intentionally so as a soft trade barrier). I'm guessing that the Lada 4x4 w…

The Polaris Slingshot is the closest "car" I can think of. They have 3 wheels and are licensed as a motorcycle, so they skirt many of these safety issues. They also cost $28k; more than a lot of cars. Compare that to the Kia Soul that starts at $16,500. I guess you're paying for cool factor on the Polaris.

Re: Cheap Chinese electric cars are coming to the US and Europe

#212

Post by [deleted] »

nostromo wrote: post #210
gamegoblin wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

FWIW if the car is >= 25 years old, most of these regulations go away. I have a 1990 Subaru Sambar pickup truck [1] imported from Japan that is street legal and registered in Washington state. It’s probably only a tiny bit safer than a motorcycle because it has seatbelts. Maybe cancelled out by the fact that I don’t wear a helmet while driving it. You can get them for $3K - 5K depending on condition and they are exce…

There's an import dealer in Seattle that sales similar models. Eg: http://sodo-moto.com/listings/1987-mitsubishi-truck-2wd/

[deleted]

Re: Cheap Chinese electric cars are coming to the US and Europe

#213

Post by kevinmchugh »

cr0sh wrote: post #201
kbenson wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Careful about relying on that, as while state law may not require you add safety equipment such as seat belts, county or city law might. I live in a location in California (which doesn't require seat belts in cars prior to 1965 that didn't originally sell with them), but the local laws require them to be present and utilized while any vehicle is in operation.

> Careful about relying on that, as while state law may not require you add safety equipment such as seat belts, county or city law might. We're talking Arizona. Here, you can get away with just about anything, and unless it's blatant, nobody really cares. Sometimes not even then.

I recently was talking about protected left-hand turn patterns and remembered a trip to Arizona in the early 2000s. I remember my parents being initially cautious but quickly thrilled about protected left-hand turns coming after yellow lights and before red lights. It seems like it ought to reduce congestion and accidents.

So I started looking into it, and I found that that isn't even an all-Arizona thing. Municipalities decide their own light patterns. Some places even change the pattern from morning to night coincide with commutes.

I never did figure out if there were any safety or congestion benefits. I'm still shocked that that level of localism doesn't cause chaos.

Re: Cheap Chinese electric cars are coming to the US and Europe

#214

Post by rmcpherson »

gamblor956 wrote: post #152
rmcpherson wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because it is not a motor vehicle by insurance and Legal standards in the USA it does not require a license or insurance to operate. If you are hit by one of these, you’ll find there’s no insurance to cover you other than your health insurance. Underinsured coverage on your auto policy will not apply either, as it would if you were hit by a motor vehicle. Source: this just happened to me.

Generally, while your insurer (health, auto, homeowner, or otherwise) would cover your initial costs, you would get reimbursed by suing the driver of the golf cart that hit you and they would either personally be liable or pay through their insurance company.

The difference is that it’s illegal to drive a motor vehicle without liability insurance. With other vehicles, that can be just as lethal to pedestrians or cyclists, there is no such requirement. In my case, the driver who hit me was homeless with no insurance of any kind.

Re: Cheap Chinese electric cars are coming to the US and Europe

#215

Post by colanderman »

moftz wrote: post #129
MrRadar wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Road legal" has a different standard in the US. To sell a car in the US it must have airbags, ABS, electronic stability control, a backup camera (also implying a decently-large full-color display on the dashboard), and it must meet USDOT, NHTSA, and EPA standards (each of which are slightly incompatible with standards from other regions, and intentionally so as a soft trade barrier). I'm guessing that the Lada 4x4 w…

Manufacturers can put the backup camera display in the rearview mirror so they can get by with using the same cheap dashboard for fleet and commercial vehicles. I've seen this in newer Uhaul vans but not anywhere else.

My Honda CR-Z had this. Loved it, because it meant I got a dash with real buttons instead of the laggy infotainment crap that's in my current car (Subaru Impreza).

Re: Cheap Chinese electric cars are coming to the US and Europe

#216

Post by camtarn »

cr0sh wrote: post #198
ngngngng wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just don't get it. a John Deere Gator with two seats and 4 wheels, and not much else costs over $7000 new. No windows, No airbags, pathetic top speed, not road legal. A Lada 4x4 costs less than that brand new in Russia. Road legal, standard car top speed. Known as a very reliable car. Why can't I buy a really cheap car in the United States? edit: also the lada 4x4 is possibly the coolest car i've ever seen, in it's…

This is the vehicle that I wish could get funded, and then be purchasable in the United States - but I doubt that will ever happen: http://oxgvt.com/ The only vehicle I'd like to own more than that one is a re-release of the M274 Mule: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M274_%C2%BD-ton_4%C3%974_utili...

For the Mule: "The driver's seat could be removed and the steering column moved forward and the vehicle driven in reverse to accommodate more cargo. If under fire the steering column could be moved farther forward and down, so the operator could operate the vehicle while crawling behind it."

That's a really cool bit of design! The minimalist make-do-with-what-you've-got philosophy is so different from today's ways of designing military gear.

Re: Cheap Chinese electric cars are coming to the US and Europe

#217

Post by darkmighty »

tln wrote: post #203
justaguyhere wrote: post #184

When a foreigner lands in the US, the first thing she'd notice are how big things are - cars, super markets, the amount of food they give in restaurants, the size of soda cups, popcorn "buckets" etc. Americans like their big cars. I've heard them make fun of small cars as "toys" many times. It would be interesting to see how these tiny cars are received in a market that is used to having pretty much everything big.

Driving a small car around the behemoths on American roads can be terrifying. Driving a tiny car is so much worse I wouldn't even consider it... It's about what (and how) other people drive as much as my own tastes

Plant a flag on the roof? :P

Re: Cheap Chinese electric cars are coming to the US and Europe

#219

Post by EricE »

I was hoping Trump would kill the chicken tax in his gusto to eliminate tariffs. There aren't any small trucks in the US because manufacturers found out they (a) don't have to offer them and (b) make more money from larger cars.

Mahindra was going to bring some interesting cheap mini-trucks but the chicken tax among other things scuttled it.

https://www.cheatsheet.com/automobiles/7-trucks-that-might-b...

Re: Cheap Chinese electric cars are coming to the US and Europe

#220

Post by [deleted] »

gamegoblin wrote: post #112
MrRadar wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Road legal" has a different standard in the US. To sell a car in the US it must have airbags, ABS, electronic stability control, a backup camera (also implying a decently-large full-color display on the dashboard), and it must meet USDOT, NHTSA, and EPA standards (each of which are slightly incompatible with standards from other regions, and intentionally so as a soft trade barrier). I'm guessing that the Lada 4x4 w…

FWIW if the car is >= 25 years old, most of these regulations go away. I have a 1990 Subaru Sambar pickup truck [1] imported from Japan that is street legal and registered in Washington state. It’s probably only a tiny bit safer than a motorcycle because it has seatbelts. Maybe cancelled out by the fact that I don’t wear a helmet while driving it. You can get them for $3K - 5K depending on condition and they are exce…

[deleted]
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