The car reminds me a lot of the Twike 5 [0] which - besides being all electric - can be pedaled, too.
Not quite a car, not quite a motorcycle: a vehicle built for one
91–100 of 198 posts
Re: Not quite a car, not quite a motorcycle: a vehicle built for one
#92There's also the Renault Twizy that is readily available and significantly cheaper (starting at 7000 Euro). Actually even the regular electric car by Seat (Mii) is much cheaper than the Electrameccanica.
Came here to mention the Twizy because I see a it in the steets occasionally, so it seems to be somewhat successfully. The only other "single person, but not quite motorcyle" I see even more often is the BMW C1, which is kind of a scooter with a cabin and can be driven without wearing a helmet here. I'm biased though because I live in a BMW city.
There is a Swiss curiosity made by Peraves. It is a motorcycle that's not quite a car; a monocoque shell around a two-wheeler. When at low speeds, two stabilisers descend. Here's an article from 2006:
https://www.autoweek.com/news/a2065371/cabin-cruiser-flying-...
Re: Not quite a car, not quite a motorcycle: a vehicle built for one
#93I’d rather have a motorcycle. Motorcycles are faster, cheaper, can carry about the same amount of cargo, and 100 miles on a charge is enough to give me range anxiety. I’d rather have a car. I often need to carry passengers, carry large or heavy things, and a new economy car is in the same ballpark price. Who is this really for? I don’t see many people buying this as their only personal transportation if it only trave…
I'd rather not have a motorcycle. I'd rather not have to suit up in special clothing to try and reduce the chances of injury from accidents which, from talking to motorcycle riding friends, seem to be strangely more common than accidents in cars. I'd rather not have a car for my daily commute. Driving my large family vehicle for my job is wasteful and inefficient. I almost never need to carry anything large or heavy…
> I'd rather not have a motorcycle. I'd rather not have to suit up in special clothing to try and reduce the chances of injury from accidents which, from talking to motorcycle riding friends, seem to be strangely more common than accidents in cars.
It shouldn't be a mystery why motorcycle accidents are more common. A superbike like a Yamaha R1 is capable of 0-100mph in less than 6 seconds, all in first gear. Ownership of an R1 is within the reach of many under 25s and most enthusiastic under 30s. Contrast that with a supercar which, for most people, will be out of reach until much later in life, if ever, and even then is such a big investment that most just sit around in air-conditioned garages rather than hitting the B-roads of England every Sunday morning.
None of that means that commuting on a more sensible motorcycle is particularly dangerous in the grand scheme of things.
Re: Not quite a car, not quite a motorcycle: a vehicle built for one
#94In India there was one built by a company Reva[0]. Looks like it was not able to gain mindshare.
[0] The founder explaining the car: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sDwGazHefM
Re: Not quite a car, not quite a motorcycle: a vehicle built for one
#95Earlier quoted context omitted.
>poison the atmosphere every day with a car So you won't mind electric cars then, which fix that problem ?
They don't fix the problem. Nowhere on earth is there a sustainable electrical grid that doesn't pollute the atmosphere, let alone one that supports electric cars for every household. Not only that but electric cars create local pollution in the form of particular matter from brakes and tyres and they are worse than internal combustion engine cars in that regard.
> and they are worse than internal combustion engine cars in that regard.
Regenerative braking means less wear on the brakes, and there's no particulate matter from the exhaust pipe. In what way are electric cars worse?
Re: Not quite a car, not quite a motorcycle: a vehicle built for one
#96Earlier quoted context omitted.
I wonder why no one mentioned the Smart. Here in Europe they're quite popular in dense cities. One advantage is they can be parked sideways on most streets, which not only helps with finding a spot but is also easier. According to Wikipedia[0], a Smart is actually shorter and it can also be electric. This actually has quite a few shortcomings compared to a Smart: * Cannot carry a passenger * Requires a motorcycle lic…
> One advantage is they can be parked sideways on most streets They advertised this but in reality it's rarely possible. They are 2.5m long and most cars in Europe are E.g. in the UK standard parking is 2.4m wide so a smart sticks out
Can't speak for the UK, but I often see Smarts parked sideways around Paris. The car is indeed longer than the spaces are large, but a factor that helps a lot is that regular cars are rarely parked nicely inside the lines. Which means that, in practice, the sideways Smart doesn't stick out from the other cars.
Re: Not quite a car, not quite a motorcycle: a vehicle built for one
#97Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'd rather not have a motorcycle. I'd rather not have to suit up in special clothing to try and reduce the chances of injury from accidents which, from talking to motorcycle riding friends, seem to be strangely more common than accidents in cars. I'd rather not have a car for my daily commute. Driving my large family vehicle for my job is wasteful and inefficient. I almost never need to carry anything large or heavy…
> I'd rather not have a motorcycle. I'd rather not have to suit up in special clothing to try and reduce the chances of injury from accidents which, from talking to motorcycle riding friends, seem to be strangely more common than accidents in cars. It shouldn't be a mystery why motorcycle accidents are more common. A superbike like a Yamaha R1 is capable of 0-100mph in less than 6 seconds, all in first gear. Ownershi…
I ride, and know a lot of people who do, and the amount of injuries from road debris or cars turning left without looking dwarf the crashes from just going too fast. This might be regional though, most places don’t have Bay Area traffic.
Re: Not quite a car, not quite a motorcycle: a vehicle built for one
#98I wish you could plug several of these together to make a bigger vehicule.
Re: Not quite a car, not quite a motorcycle: a vehicle built for one
#99Wondering how the performance, fuel costs and maintenance would compare to an equivalent vehicle with a small diesel, motorcycle engine or even a modern two-stroke. My guess is that the vehicle would be much lighter and have a longer range with a petroleum based fuel.
Most of the 3 wheeled vehicles offered in the US are more performance minded.
Leno shows a Vanderhall 'Venice' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2X71spAvmw4
Doug DeMuro critiques a Polaris Slingshot https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vf_O9mZcSs4
Re: Not quite a car, not quite a motorcycle: a vehicle built for one
#100Earlier quoted context omitted.
They don't fix the problem. Nowhere on earth is there a sustainable electrical grid that doesn't pollute the atmosphere, let alone one that supports electric cars for every household. Not only that but electric cars create local pollution in the form of particular matter from brakes and tyres and they are worse than internal combustion engine cars in that regard.
> and they are worse than internal combustion engine cars in that regard. Regenerative braking means less wear on the brakes, and there's no particulate matter from the exhaust pipe. In what way are electric cars worse?
Regenerative braking does not replace traditional brakes. In particular it is only really efficient at high speeds and doesn't do much in cities. EVs have no tailpipe emissions, but particulate emissions from the tailpipe of modern ICEs is very low anyway. But EVs do produce significantly more emissions from the tyres and brakes compared with ICE vehicles because they are heavier.
https://www.emissionsanalytics.com/news/2020/1/28/tyres-not-...