Life After The 2017 Introductory Model... How About The Elio Ii?

[Frim]

I remember the Smart car being touted for this same ability, back when those where first showing up. Never once saw them park like that in the real world though.

Only in Germany did I see any parking benefit. They parked perpendicular to the curb between the curb and the sidewalk. Some people actually leased these parking spaces at apartment houses. In Korea, they use this space to plant and grow vegetables while waiting for the bus.

 

[Rickb]

Rick, I'm usually right there with you, but I'm going to have to disagree with this.

The arcimoto is a fair-weather vehicle.
The few folk who commute on the arcimoto in good weather...

Will be driving full-size vehicles in less than good weather.
Thus, there can be no reduction of parking lot square footage...
Because you'll need all of that existing parking in the long "off season".

I'm sure you noticed that I said, "The few folk...".
Our local Wal-mart employs almost 400 people and is a typical example of this.
You can count the people who ride motorcycles to work In good weather...
Including all three shifts... on one hand.

On the overnight shift there's only one bike in the parking lot.
And here, it seems like 1 out of 3 households owns one or more MCs.

Thanks Elio Amazed, that is an excellent counterpoint and mostly I agree. However, if Arcimoto beats the Elio to production, my SRK will have enclosure and climate control same as my Elio. In my small town I notice a small % of parking spaces marked as 'Compact Cars Only'. I hope some day those will be filled with 2 or 3 SRK's and or other narrow/shorter vehicles that fit those ever growing number of even smaller spaces. Our Walmart lot is never full and and haven't seen a Walmart in a City environment where parking space is at a premium.

I'll never see it, but I hope millions of smaller (shorter/narrow) commuter vehicles in large cities or urban areas will reduce the square footage of land dedicated to parking lots..........at least in climates where owners can drive them year around.

 

[Rob Croson]

I remember the Smart car being touted for this same ability, back when those where first showing up. Never once saw them park like that in the real world though.

That's because the first time someone tried it, all three of them got parking tickets.

 

[Rob Croson]

Our Walmart lot is never full and and haven't seen a Walmart in a City environment where parking space is at a premium.

I'll never see it, but I hope millions of smaller (shorter/narrow) commuter vehicles in large cities or urban areas will reduce the square footage of land dedicated to parking lots..........

My understanding is that the amount of parking spaces is regulated by state/local ordinance and building codes. It would take regulatory changes to enact a change. I remember reading an article last year about cities starting to change their building codes to allow smaller parking lots, though, so maybe it will eventually start to change.

 

[Sethodine]

I know for the Elio, I'll be tempted to back into those wedge-shaped "motorcycle only" parking spaces (the ones they stick on the ends of parking rows in order to best fill a square lot with angled parking spaces).

 

[BSmith]

Where does author suggest "side by side" driving?
The picture suggests what's also know as a brick-layer formation.

The point is that cars tend to grow wider. That trend can be reversed sensibly.
Not to everyone's taste, no doubt. But 1 out 800 seems like a safe bet.
Secondly, the suggested vehicle accommodates three instead of two.
In the Elio the passenger is tucked away claustrophobically behind the driver.

Thirdly, NHTSA's latest guidelines suggest that any time in the future it might object to car-like vehicles that have exposed wheels and suspensions that might harm pedestrians...

Should have no problem doing this with the Elio. Actually it should be easier since the back of the Elio is narrower then the iSetta.

 

[slinches]

That seems like a really bad idea to me. Not only are all of those vehicles following too close for anything more than ~5mph, the iSetta following distance is really shorter since the back one would hit the side of the middle car rather than the back of the front one.

 

[Coss]

That seems like a really bad idea to me. Not only are all of those vehicles following too close for anything more than ~5mph, the iSetta following distance is really shorter since the back one would hit the side of the middle car rather than the back of the front one.

Plus it seems like most drivers today have a really hard time judging the size of their vehicles; just watch someone back out of a parking space; they don't have a clue as to space around them.
You tell people to drive like that on the freeway, and it wouldn't look anything like the formation in the picture.

 

[Maurtis]

I remember the Smart car being touted for this same ability, back when those where first showing up. Never once saw them park like that in the real world though.

Right, you could fit two Smart ForTwos in a single spot that way. But pretty sure it is illegal in most US cities to park perpendicular to the curb, especially if there is a meter involved and you want to double up. We would occasionally get static for parking multiple motorcycles in a single spot back when I lived in LA, too. Never got hassled for it in TX, though.

 

[Marshall]

Right, you could fit two Smart ForTwos in a single spot that way. But pretty sure it is illegal in most US cities to park perpendicular to the curb, especially if there is a meter involved and you want to double up. We would occasionally get static for parking multiple motorcycles in a single spot back when I lived in LA, too. Never got hassled for it in TX, though.

That makes sense to me. If you're culturally car centric, you see the meter as a toll per vehicle. Hence the California hastle. But most Texans are land centric and see the toll as being for the space and you can pack that space any way you like.