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Post by wheelbender6 on Sept 20, 2016 21:03:38 GMT -5
The Electra Meccanica Solo all weather trike went on sale Sep 9, well ahead of the Elio. The EM Solo is is a plug-in electric trike and only seats one, but msrp is twice that of the petro powered Elio. I think I will hold out for the Elio. electrameccanica.com/ |
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Post by rockynv on Oct 24, 2016 23:52:10 GMT -5
The reason I have been absent for a while is I picked up a 2014 Nissan Leaf S plug in electric with 16,000 miles on it looking like it just came off the showroom floor for about the same price as the Elio and have been just caught up with the transition. I had harassed my employer that while he claimed the company was "GREEN" it really wasn't since there were no parking spaces with electric car chargers and green lines painted on them. Well two weeks later the electricians were there busting concrete and installing charging stations after which he asked me when was I going to plug in. Next time put it in the suggestion box signed Mr Anon Amous. It has worked out quite well since they are not charging for use of the chargers and I can commute to work for just about the whole week on one charge Monday and another on Friday. For those on don't know the Leaf is a 5 passenger plug in electric car with an eighty five to 105 mile range depending on how you drive it. The S has just about all the bells and whistles aside from navigation system and cruise control. When you take it out of ECHO mode it goes into INSANITY mode and is quite a screamer requiring traction control or you'll likely be spinning the tires too regularly. It can even be equipped with a trailer hitch not just a bike rack receiver and pull up to a 2,500 lb trailer. The weather this past summer was just getting to me as roadways were too often well over 100 degrees here and I am getting spoiled with a completely silent ice cold air conditioned ride that blows away many sports cars and smaller sports bikes at the lights.  |
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Post by wheelbender6 on Oct 25, 2016 17:59:49 GMT -5
The Leaf is certainly a lot more practical than the single seat Electra trike.
Toyota has been doing press releases on their enclosed, leaning e-trike prototype for a few years now.
The Toyota trike seats two, so it may sell pretty well if priced competitively.
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Post by tvnacman on Oct 25, 2016 19:14:47 GMT -5
I'm all in on the Elio and have seen the delivery date been pushed several times. The electric looks nice too!
John
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Post by rockynv on Oct 26, 2016 0:32:39 GMT -5
The Leaf is certainly a lot more practical than the single seat Electra trike. Toyota has been doing press releases on their enclosed, leaning e-trike prototype for a few years now. The Toyota trike seats two, so it may sell pretty well if priced competitively. A lot more fun than I ever though it would be considering what I paid for it. Most common comment is "But this is a real car!" The Electra looks like it is suffering from too long getting it to market as it appears to be behind the curve of where it should be. The Leaf has a similar sized electric motor and just about the same performance specs although it weighs almost 4,000 lbs and air conditioning and such are standard while on the Electra they are range reducing extra cost options. The Leaf also has heated seats and steering wheel. With the same size motor and weighing a fraction of what the Leaf does along with the stripped down feature set one would expect a better top end and range considering it has a 16 kWh battery. One thing to be concerned about with electrics developed too far up North is that developers don't usually give enough consideration to heat degradation when driven in hotter climates. Nissan paid dearly for that and had to build their own battery factory in Tennessee to come up with a reliable Lizard LiPo battery that did not require liquid cooling. They still had to liquid cool the high voltage electronics that regulate the 400 Volt DC systems that power the motor and charge the battery. |
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Post by wheelbender6 on Oct 27, 2016 19:16:51 GMT -5
On another note, Audi has pulled out of the prestigious endurance (Le Mans) racing series and will enter the Formula E series; full schedule. That is a pretty significant decision in the auto racing world. Le Mans is a storied place where racing legends abound, but I think Audi realizes that Formula E offers an opportunity to attract a new generation of racing fans. Win on Sunday. Sell on Monday. newatlas.com/audi-wec-formula-e-2017-decision/46136/ |
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Post by rockynv on Oct 27, 2016 22:34:32 GMT -5
Here is a clip of the first electric lap ever run at Le Mans:
First electric to go over 300 kph (186 mph) at Le Mans:
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Post by rockynv on Oct 27, 2016 22:57:58 GMT -5
On another note, Audi has pulled out of the prestigious endurance (Le Mans) racing series and will enter the Formula E series; full schedule. That is a pretty significant decision in the auto racing world. Le Mans is a storied place where racing legends abound, but I think Audi realizes that Formula E offers an opportunity to attract a new generation of racing fans. Win on Sunday. Sell on Monday. newatlas.com/audi-wec-formula-e-2017-decision/46136/It is getting interesting. The instant quiet power can be quite addictive. Makes me want to check out a Bramo or Zero bike now. No oil changes, valve adjustments, exhaust systems, spark plugs, mulitspeed transmission (not even a reverse gear just reverse the motor itself) or torque converter/clutch so maintenance is basically check the brakes and coolant annually flushing as needed along with rotate the tires aside from an occasional wash and tire pressure check. It was eerie the first time I drove without the AC or radio on and came up to the first red light. It was dead silent generating the knee jerk reaction of "Oh No - Its stalled!" but all was well and the car jumped away from the intersection the moment the accelerator was tapped. One problem though is people wanting to take me to lunch to get a ride in it. I am going to have to watch my weight. ;> |
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Post by wheelbender6 on Oct 28, 2016 12:15:16 GMT -5
Those Nissan Delta cars look wierd, with the narrow fronts, but they put up big numbers.
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Post by rockynv on Oct 28, 2016 22:36:45 GMT -5
Those Nissan Delta cars look wierd, with the narrow fronts, but they put up big numbers. They look like they have some stability issues at times too but they do showcase what is possible with an electric motor and a battery. Still a bit sobering to think what a 400 volt 24/30/42/54/60/etc kWh battery can do to the human body. |
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Post by wheelbender6 on Nov 2, 2016 19:15:58 GMT -5
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Post by rockynv on Nov 2, 2016 23:58:20 GMT -5
The NISMO Leaf has been a test bed and a bit of an eye opener for many. Some look at just the HP numbers however driving one is much nicer than the numbers suggest it will be.
Even the stock Leaf will come pretty close to matching a Porsche 911 on the skid pad if you upgrade the tires from the Green LLR Ecopia's to a more aggressive racing tire.
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Post by rockynv on Nov 3, 2016 11:38:56 GMT -5
More Smoking Em Up NISMO Leaf fun!
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