Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

The road to electric is filled with tiny cars

restofworld.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

41–50 of 271 posts

Re: The road to electric is filled with tiny cars

#41

Post by dwaltrip »

zdragnar wrote: post #16
endisneigh wrote: post #10

Given that many of these only have three wheels and to my knowledge regulation on “cars” only applies if the vehicle has four wheels- I wonder why these aren’t available in the USA at the same time.

I assume that 3 wheel cars have a bad stigma attached to them dating back to the Reliant Robin- at least the single-wheel-in-front variety. Since most of these cars have low top speeds, they also face a usefulness problem. Parking is too expensive in dense cities for super cheap cars to have a large market, and they are too slow to be useful in suburbs or the countryside.

I'm not following the cost of parking comment. What does that have to do with the cost of cars?

Re: The road to electric is filled with tiny cars

#42

Post by redisman »

brainless wrote: post #11

This is something I realized recently. I am in India and the number of small manufacturers who are making electric people movers is very high. These are not high speed vehicles, they are below 40 KM/h speed as I see them, but the big shift is that hundreds of small companies around India are producing and maintaining small electric vehicles, mostly locally. The drivers charge them at home at night or during longer lu…

The basic EV design seems to be orders of magnitude simpler than implementing exploding dinosaur fumes to drive a vehicle.

Re: The road to electric is filled with tiny cars

#43

Post by AtlasBarfed »

zip1234 wrote: post #13
rhodozelia wrote: post #6

These vehicles are more like golf carts than cars. Top speed of 56km/hr. No safety features. What is interesting is that the batteries, converters, and motors are so cheap that they offer a golf cart with a vehicle body for $2500.

Cities probably should be filled with max 56kph tiny vehicles rather than max 249kph vehicles. Space is limited and standard cars take up a lot of it.

And shouldn't let in the massive SUVs/Light trucks that Americans love.

When I was in Nice for a couple weeks, it became very apparent that small cars fit far more vehicles on the road, and it was definitely in greater proportion that the relative size to SUVs in america.

Smaller cars can drive much closer together. Something about the size, but also if there's a lot of cars around, you can see through the windshields of the car ahead of you to gauge traffic.

Raised trucks seem to have poor sight lines, which is weird because people buy them to "lift up" above traffic.

Also traffic circles are about 2x more efficient with European cars than SUVs. I think that has to do with the fluidity of letting in cars vs trucks with their strangely larger "personal space" on roads.

Re: The road to electric is filled with tiny cars

#44

Post by redisman »

babesh wrote: post #23
zip1234 wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They don't go that fast. If auto manufacturers designed cars that would go max ~25 mph, the safety concerns are completely different and much less. A Tesla is WAY overbuilt for going 25 mph.

Elon Musk said that Tesla would never build these because they aren’t safe but I do think it would be an interesting exercise to design one that is even cheaper yet also safer.

Anyone who’s been in any poorer-than-median Asian countries knows the status quo of traffic is mostly very unsafe.

Re: The road to electric is filled with tiny cars

#45

Post by justapassenger »

redisman wrote: post #42
brainless wrote: post #11

This is something I realized recently. I am in India and the number of small manufacturers who are making electric people movers is very high. These are not high speed vehicles, they are below 40 KM/h speed as I see them, but the big shift is that hundreds of small companies around India are producing and maintaining small electric vehicles, mostly locally. The drivers charge them at home at night or during longer lu…

The basic EV design seems to be orders of magnitude simpler than implementing exploding dinosaur fumes to drive a vehicle.

None of those companies builds their own motors and batteries. They get them as kits, same as you can get ICE engines.

It’s simpler to integrate, that’s for sure, but not orders of magnitude.

Re: The road to electric is filled with tiny cars

#46

Post by tdeck »

robjan wrote: post #32
zozin wrote: post #14

These might work in a regulatory black hole in China, but they won't anywhere in the West. Smart has had a small electric car for sale for nearly a decade and you never see them around. Maybe when the alternative is a scooter an electric golf cart is a step-up, but the electric scooter market isn't exactly throthy in the West. Electric cars aren't that popular because the range is still mediocre for entry level ($25-…

That's a very US centric view. These are also popular in other countries, such as the Netherlands: https://expatinfoholland.nl/help-guides/transport-mobility/d...

Another example from France: https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35210572

Re: The road to electric is filled with tiny cars

#48

Post by brij0102 »

xrd wrote: post #47

What's the hack to get something like this in the US? I don't want to drive my kids around in it, but I have a short drive on 35 mph roads to my co-working space and I would love to go electric.

Electric assist bikes could serve you well if the distance works out

Re: The road to electric is filled with tiny cars

#49

Post by xrd »

brij0102 wrote: post #48
xrd wrote: post #47

What's the hack to get something like this in the US? I don't want to drive my kids around in it, but I have a short drive on 35 mph roads to my co-working space and I would love to go electric.

Electric assist bikes could serve you well if the distance works out

I've got a cargo electric bike. My route has a few 35 mph roads that wind through rolling hills and no bike lanes. I've tried biking it, but the cars are aggressive. I really want a car for this commute.

Re: The road to electric is filled with tiny cars

#50

Post by OldHand2018 »

xrd wrote: post #47

What's the hack to get something like this in the US? I don't want to drive my kids around in it, but I have a short drive on 35 mph roads to my co-working space and I would love to go electric.

There is no hack. Low-speed vehicles are legal in the US

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low-speed_vehicle

I’ve seen maybe 2 or 3 in my life outside of Florida.

Post reply on HN