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The Citroen Ami – tiny electric car with no boot, 28mph top speed, 46 mile range

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261–270 of 363 posts

Re: The Citroen Ami – tiny electric car with no boot, 28mph top speed, 46 mile range

#261
post #248

Earlier quoted context omitted.

By slipping on wet leaves ? I guess it could happen but how likely is it ? Mind sharing the link ?

"in slippery conditions": https://eng.lsm.lv/article/economy/transport/snow-and-ice-ma... (It's only a one-sentence mention in the article. There were only a few more details in the local news: two semis, one passenger car. All three drivers dead, two people in hospital. No details on what exactly happened, who caused it.)

And you think riding an ebike in those conditions on the road would not be suicide ?

2 wheels make you extremely sensitive to small traction loss - hitting a patch of wet leaves/gravel/mud/ice with a car tire is a nuisance at best - and a potential fatality on a ebike/motorcycle.

Re: The Citroen Ami – tiny electric car with no boot, 28mph top speed, 46 mile range

#262

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it "increase the standard of living " when it decreases your life expectancy, physical shape, made the city unliveable for pedestrians, potentially fuck up the climate for the next few hundred years, &c ? At some point we have to look in the mirror and make choices for ourselves, and yes, lots of people became absolutely pathetic excuse of human beings, if you can't stand the rain I'm sorry but you definitely are…

> Is it "increase the standard of living " when it decreases your life expectancy, physical shape Yes, it increases the standard of living by pulling poor people out of poverty. So the rich consumer nation has their life decreased due to over consumption while increasing the standard of living of those from poorer nations. The rich consumer nation cannot consume AND increase life expectancy at an infinite rate.

Cars do not, on their own, pull poor people out of poverty. In the US it’s quite the opposite. The need to own a car is a significant drag on many peoples finances

Re: The Citroen Ami – tiny electric car with no boot, 28mph top speed, 46 mile range

#263
post #3

If this was half the price, say £3,500, I'd probably get one. The price seems wildly out of line with what you get. Also I wonder about modding - larger battery, a roof rack and a bright orange paint job to compensate for lack of safety features.

It would probably cost close to that range just for the battery, but it begs the question who this is for. If your budget is £7k there are plenty of used options around that would involve sacrificing much less than this for about double the range (thinking early Leaf/Zoe/Ion). It’s neat, but it reminds me of the Twizy. Just too many compromises to still make sense.

Family member own one, he permanently lost his driver license because of multiple dui but he can still move around the village with this

Re: The Citroen Ami – tiny electric car with no boot, 28mph top speed, 46 mile range

#264

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you tried, or are you just speculating about me being delusional? As I said in my comment, I actually do this, and surprised myself with how practical it is in all but the absolute worse weather (there are about 7 days per year where my bike won’t work, but generally that means that it is dangerous driving conditions as well). I live in rural Canada. I’m no stranger to riding in snow, rain and darkness. I could…

I used to own a motorcycle and I commute with a bycicle in ~mediteranian climate. The only two accidents I've ever had on a motorcycle were low speed manuvers in heavy rain when I got caught by a shower. On a bike just riding on a slippery road is terrible and wading through umbrellas, getting splashed by cars in traffic, rain in the eyes. Riding on two wheels makes you extremely exposed - ebikes are just shit motorc…

I'll be another voice to say you're speaking from a myopic perspective. The Dutch bike through rain, sleet or snow without any difficulty. Modern electric cargo bikes like their favorite, Urban Arrow, are fantastically balanced and need only a trained rider to handle through a wide variety of inclement weather.

Re: The Citroen Ami – tiny electric car with no boot, 28mph top speed, 46 mile range

#265

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can own multiple pair of shoes, and even have one stay at the office, same for pants. I do it and I don't feel like I'm having a miserable existence But fuck it, let's buy a car and fuck the planet, that's much more convenient, god forbid we sweat or touch the rain, oh the horror !

> You can own multiple pair of shoes, and even have one stay at the office, same for pants. This hints at another counterpoint: it's not just yourself you have to protect from elements, but also whatever it is you want to transport with you. Like those extra shoes. Or electronics. Or groceries. Etc. Waterproof bags probably exist, but I can't say I've seen them available, or used, by anyone at all.

Waterproof bags or backpacks are absolutely common for electronics. Alternatively, you can buy simple rain covers for backpacks. Bike panniers are at least somewhat water resistant unless you opt for the cheapest. That’s really one of the easiest things to solve.

Re: The Citroen Ami – tiny electric car with no boot, 28mph top speed, 46 mile range

#266
post #248

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"in slippery conditions": https://eng.lsm.lv/article/economy/transport/snow-and-ice-ma... (It's only a one-sentence mention in the article. There were only a few more details in the local news: two semis, one passenger car. All three drivers dead, two people in hospital. No details on what exactly happened, who caused it.)

And you think riding an ebike in those conditions on the road would not be suicide ? 2 wheels make you extremely sensitive to small traction loss - hitting a patch of wet leaves/gravel/mud/ice with a car tire is a nuisance at best - and a potential fatality on a ebike/motorcycle.

It would be a bad idea. And that specific road, even in good summer weather, I've had a truck pass me on my bike so close I could have touched it with a hand if not elbow.

But my point is, while you're better protected in the car, with speed and kinetic energy the stakes go up. If they were three cyclists instead of three drivers in heavy vehicles on that road yesterday, they would likely all still be alive.

Re: The Citroen Ami – tiny electric car with no boot, 28mph top speed, 46 mile range

#267

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry but that's delusional - riding in the rain, and especially when it's snowy/icy - is order of magnitude more dangerous - traction/breaking/reduced visibility.

> riding in the rain, and especially when it's snowy/icy - is order of magnitude more dangerous - traction/breaking/reduced visibility. Yes, it's more dangerous. No one said it's not. No one even mentioned safety until you brought it up yourself. If you want to bring up safety: great! Go for it! But no need to start calling people "delusional" right from the bat.

But that's the worst part about bad weather - you have to ride much slower and be on high alert - so you're in shitty conditions for even longer - and ebike only makes that worse. For some reason people on ebikes don't realize that they are riding on a shitty motorcycle and how risky it is to remove speed restrictions/zip around traffic on those things - at least that's my impression of the few friends that really got into it. And the accident rate statistics seem to back my impressions.

Re: The Citroen Ami – tiny electric car with no boot, 28mph top speed, 46 mile range

#268

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That 'raining, snowing, too hot, too cold' argument keeps coming up. You know, we humans are perfectly capable of dressing up appropriately and just enjoying the fresh air, whether it's warm or cold. In fact, it makes you feel alive! Get the nice warm gloves and raincoat out for winter, or the super light and loose shirt with sunglasses for summer.

My problem is the lack of infrastructure. We have a few streets in the entire city with decent bike lanes. Mostly you're on the road with cars going 90km/hr right beside you with no barrier or even road markings. I'm not going to do that in anything but perfect weather and even then not very often.

That's a perfect example of how we have allowed cars to endanger the public space. We all live in a constant fear to be hurt or killed by a motorist: watch both sides, do it again, are you _very_, _very_ certain? Then attempt to cross a street. And STILL 35.000 people die every DAY worldwide in traffic accidents. It's dystopian.

Re: The Citroen Ami – tiny electric car with no boot, 28mph top speed, 46 mile range

#269
post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Charging a Model S over an american household plug takes 3 days. … from zero to full. If you just want to top up the 30-40 miles that are driven in a day, then 10-12 hours overnight is fine with a regular plug. People ask me all the time about how long it takes me to charge my tesla. I tell them that it’s a different mentality than ICE cars: 1. Instead of a cycle of low/empty —> full —> low/empty, it’s a cycle of u…

> If you just want to top up the 30-40 miles that are driven in a day, then 10-12 hours overnight is fine with a regular plug. Okay, but you probably live in a city in the US, where you don't really drive. I live in Scotland, and I use my vehicle for work. I don't think I've done less than 100 miles any time I've put the keys in the ignition in years, and quite often I fill the tank a couple of times a day (dual-fuel…

Maybe all of these things are true in Scotland, especially your part of Scotland.

In your particular use case, it would be prudent to have a faster charger installed at your home. It’s an additional expense, but your use case is not typical, so I don’t think that’s unreasonable. With a slightly faster charger, you can go from low to full overnight. I have a $20 adapter that can plug into my dryer outlet (which is next to my garage) for days I take long day trips.

The only folks I know who drive over 100 miles minimum every time they drive is folks with long commutes, salespeople, and folks who live in extremely rural areas.

For some of those folks, EVs may not be the right car for them. That’s ok — different people have different needs in vehicles.

The reasons I like my Tesla:

- I live in a relatively small beach town/city, so almost everyone drives. Some things are close. Others are not. 10 miles to the center of town.

- very low maintenance. Just tires, windshield wiper fluid, and air filter. Maybe brakes after 5-7 years (probably will not own it then).

- no gas stations while starting each day at full. It’s easy to charge in my garage. Not everyone has a garage, but superchargers are very common where I am, and it’s easy to charge while shopping if necessary.

- it’s relatively quiet in the car

- the ride is smooth

- the acceleration is good on a few short on ramps that are unfortunately too common in my part of California. Otherwise, I drive fairly conservatively.

- I love the clean dash design. I also love the voice controls and screen controls (when needed, which is rare).

- the autopilot is very useful for my use case.

- overall a very positive driving experience. It’s just fun to drive.

- Total cost of ownership is relatively low, although the purchase price is high. When I bought my model y, the purchase price was comparable to a highlander hybrid, but the cost of ownership after purchase is much lower for the Tesla (mainly due to less maintenance).

Overall, my comment to people is that you will be miserable if you bring an ICE mentality to an EV. But the opposite is also true — bringing an EV mentality to an ICE vehicle will be a miserable experience. ICE and EVs just have different patterns of use, especially regarding refueling/recharging and maintenance.

Re: The Citroen Ami – tiny electric car with no boot, 28mph top speed, 46 mile range

#270
post #89
post #5

Its ugly! A key to Tesla's success is that its cars look like cars, not abominations. Many electric car makers seem to hate cars.

Teslas look bland, if not horrid, for how much they cost, at least compared to the sedans we're used to in Europe.

Bland is ok. Other EVs: https://www.hotcars.com/ugliest-evs-produced-so-far/ reply
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