Arcimoto

[Rickb]

Maybe Tesla should've copied the SRK's nice door design for their Model X. Would've been simpler, I think.
View attachment 8356

I think Arcimoto should copy the Model X doors, although the doors probably cost $11,900.

 

[RUCRAYZE]

Solar panels on a vehicle are useless. There's simply not enough surface area available on a vehicle to fill more than a tiny fraction of the battery. And definitely nowhere near enough to drive.

https://solarpowerrocks.com/solar-basics/how-much-electricity-does-a-solar-panel-produce/
"A typical solar panel produces around 200 watts of power. "

The "typical" panel they are talking about is too big to fit on the SRK. A pretty efficient Sanyo panel that produces 205W is 35"x52". Or 3'x4.5', if that's easier to visualize. At 200W, that would take 5 hours to produce 1 kWh of power. The Nissan Leaf typically has a 24kWh battery. (Some have a 30 kWh?) At 12 hours of strong sunlight per day, that would take 10 days for one solar panel to charge the battery, even assuming that you could get a panel that size to fit the car. (You can't.) That's also a serious overestimation of the actual amount of daylight you would see, and the amount of energy you can get from that daylight. At my location, that panel will only provide 1.1 kWh per day. (According to the calculator at http://www.wunderground.com/calculators/solar.html)

The Nissan Leaf gets ~90 miles per 24kWh. Or about 3.75 miles per kWh. At 5 hours per kWh, you're talking 1.3 hours to generate enough electricity to drive 1 mile. Assuming full efficiency of the solar panel, and bright sunlight for that whole hour.

Now, if you live in Death Valley, you might get better charging efficiency. So, I'll give you 1 hour per mile. (But if you're in Death Valley, you'd probably want the AC, which would greatly reduce your range, so you wouldn't get 1 hour per mile anyway.)

Oh, and that Sanyo solar cell would set you back almost $1,400. Getting it custom-fitted to conform to the roof of your car? I'm not even gonna go there.

Solar panels on a vehicle are useless.
A Dutch University Has Just Won Australia’s Solar Car Race

• Mark Rivett-Carnac @mrivettcarnac
  

Oct. 22, 2015

Morne de Klerk—Getty ImagesThe Nuon Solar Team of the Netherlands celebrates after winning the 2015 Bridgestone World Solar Challenge at Victoria Square on Oct. 22, 2015 in Adelaide, Australia
The biennial race is a friendly testing ground for cars that run on nothing but the sun
THESE AMAZING SOLAR-POWERED CARS JUST RACED ACROSS AN ENTIRE COUNTRY

Geert Vanden Wijngaert—AFP/Getty Images
The Belgian Punch Powertrain Solar Team near Glendambo as the team races on Day 4 of the 2015 World Solar Challenge on Oct. 21, 2015. 45 Solar cars from 25 different countries participated in the 3,000...
competitors in the nation’s solar car race, of which the team from Delft University in the Netherlands won its second victory in a row on Thursday.

Held once every two years, the World Solar Challenge is a friendly testing ground for cars that run on nothing but the sun. The hope is that one day the technology will find its way into consumer products, the BBC reports.

This year more than 40 teams from universities and schools around the world set off from State Square in Darwin on Oct. 18. Five days later, after 37 hours, 56 minutes and 12 seconds of driving, Delft’s Nuon Solar Team’s car Nuna8 was the first to cross the finish line at Victoria Square in Adelaide.

It was a tight race. Nuon’s countrymen from Solar Team Twente and its car Red One joined the revelry just eight minutes later. Japan’s Tokai University took third.

How do you celebrate after five days in the scorching Australian Outback? The orange-clad students jumped in the square’s fountain, naturally.

[BBC]

 

[floydv]

I think Arcimoto should copy the Model X doors, although the doors probably cost $11,900.

Not to mention those Model X doors on an Arcimoto would probably make it tip over, either by the shift in COG or by catching the slightest breeze.

 

[Rob Croson]

Solar panels on a vehicle are useless.

Those look like such practical commuter vehicles. I'm surprised they're not selling by the thousand.

 

[floydv]

Solar panels on a vehicle are useless.
A Dutch University Has Just Won Australia’s Solar Car Race

• 
  
  
  • Mark Rivett-Carnac @mrivettcarnac

Oct. 22, 2015

Morne de Klerk—Getty ImagesThe Nuon Solar Team of the Netherlands celebrates after winning the 2015 Bridgestone World Solar Challenge at Victoria Square on Oct. 22, 2015 in Adelaide, Australia
The biennial race is a friendly testing ground for cars that run on nothing but the sun
THESE AMAZING SOLAR-POWERED CARS JUST RACED ACROSS AN ENTIRE COUNTRY

Geert Vanden Wijngaert—AFP/Getty Images
The Belgian Punch Powertrain Solar Team near Glendambo as the team races on Day 4 of the 2015 World Solar Challenge on Oct. 21, 2015. 45 Solar cars from 25 different countries participated in the 3,000...
competitors in the nation’s solar car race, of which the team from Delft University in the Netherlands won its second victory in a row on Thursday.

Held once every two years, the World Solar Challenge is a friendly testing ground for cars that run on nothing but the sun. The hope is that one day the technology will find its way into consumer products, the BBC reports.

This year more than 40 teams from universities and schools around the world set off from State Square in Darwin on Oct. 18. Five days later, after 37 hours, 56 minutes and 12 seconds of driving, Delft’s Nuon Solar Team’s car Nuna8 was the first to cross the finish line at Victoria Square in Adelaide.

It was a tight race. Nuon’s countrymen from Solar Team Twente and its car Red One joined the revelry just eight minutes later. Japan’s Tokai University took third.

How do you celebrate after five days in the scorching Australian Outback? The orange-clad students jumped in the square’s fountain, naturally.

[BBC]

The official vehicle of Pop-Tarts.

 

[KenK]

Well, seeing as the SRK isn't fully enclosed, I'd probably go with the jacket too unless it's pretty warm where you live/work. But yeah, I agree helmet is excessive when it already has a windshield, roof, roll cage and seat belts.

Yeah I guess I should have stated that I live in Southern Arizona.

 

[Rickb]

The kid is having a good time imagining he is piloting the SRK:

 

[Rickb]

 

[Rickb]

http://www.digitaltrends.com/cars/a...erview/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

 

[Rickb]

If anybody is close to and attending the NY Auto Show give the SRK a look.