Lit Motors C-1

[Snick]

Lit Motors is all about using the latest technology and materials in the C-1 Concept. I hope it's not their downfall in getting this concept to production as I have money riding on Lit. Elio is a sure thing.......Lit is somewhat of a gamble at this point in time.

Testing the prototype continues.
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Hmmm, I see a program that's 3 parts engineering, 2 parts passion to one part marketing. Elio motors is the inverse: 3 parts marketing, 2 parts used car salesman (Jerome), and 1 part engineering.

I wonder who will cross the finish line first? I think Lit.

 

[Rickb]

Hmmm, I see a program that's 3 parts engineering, 2 parts passion to one part marketing. Elio motors is the inverse: 3 parts marketing, 2 parts used car salesman (Jerome), and 1 part engineering.

I wonder who will cross the finish line first? I think Lit.

I like both of these concepts and put a reservation deposit on the Elio and a much larger reservation deposit on the C-1. As far as who will cross the finish line first............. I think both will finish the race to production, but I will have many fun miles on my Elio before I take delivery on my C-1. However, I hope your prediction is right!

 

[Rickb]

Lit Motors definitely has some big technological hurdles they need to overcome which does drive them to need the latest technology and materials. As far as I can see the technological issues are not insurmountable however they will require a good deal of work. The good news for Lit is that for now they are well financed so hopefully they can overcome these hurdles within a reasonable amount of time and without blowing too much money and scaring away their investors.

I don't have any skin in the Lit Motors game however I would like to see them succeed even if I am not sure how economically viable the project itself really is in the long run. If they can get everything worked out well and keep the pricing reasonable enough I could see myself owning one of these vehicles alongside my Elio.

Early on I read a Lit Motors statement saying that with mass production the C-1 price tag will eventually be in the $12-15K price range which would make it an affordable EV commuter with potential for mass worldwide market appeal.

The Lit Team seems efficient and frugal in their development and testing program to date. I think investors are in it for the long haul.........in Lit to win Lit!.

 

[Rickb]

My dream ride an enclosed self balancing electric motorcycle and of course the Elio comes in at a close second.

 

[goofyone]

As I have said before I think the C-1 is a very interesting concept which I may be interested in at some point if they can get the technology sorted out and the price down to a reasonable level. They also now appear to be racing Elio Motors to production as they were supposed to enter production late this year however just a few days ago they announced a major delay. A friend of mind has a Lit reservation and sent me this letter sent late last week by the Lit Motors CEO to reservation holders. The letter essentially says that they are not even close to being production ready at this point and expect to be working on the system throughout 2015.

Hi, this is Daniel Kim, founder and CEO of Lit Motors. This will be the first in a series of newsletters where I will be sharing our current progress and vision with you. As the acting VP of engineering and CTO, I have been so focused on developing the vehicle with the engineering team that I feel I have unintentionally lost touch with our pre-order community and others eagerly awaiting our finished product. Which is why I want to personally share our latest engineering progress with you.

Our latest prototype, EP4, is primarily an engineering prototype. Think of it as our version of the Wright Brothers' Flyer of 1903, the first of its kind. We built this prototype as a testbed to develop and improve our core technology, the gyro stability system. This improved gyro system accomplishes three things:

First, it balances the vehicle while the vehicle is stationary. This is a capability that we developed with our previous prototypes, and have continually improved as we have progressed through the prototyping process.

Second, it resists outside forces to maintain balance. Our previous prototypes could resist impulse forces similar to those that would encounter in a collision. Now we have addressed sustained forces imposed on the EP4, where it is able to lean into the force to establish a new “zero point”. In other words, EP4 can counteract against the more subtle forces that it would experience during your daily commute, like high speed winds and shifting cargo. This new gyro system is capable of outputting 4-5,000 ft-lb of torque, which is a 5X improvement from our previous system.

And third, our gyro system will enable us to implement a steer-by-wire system, a key feature necessary for a car-like interface on a two-wheeled vehicle. This is the technology we are focusing on now. It will likely be the most time-consuming and difficult part to develop, but it is the key to creating a vehicle that anyone can drive.

We have made big steps in developing our revolutionary technology. As you can tell, our vehicle still needs quite a bit more work before it will be ready for production. We will be optimizing a production line and finalizing our gyro system throughout 2015. We are not happy to have to push back production and we are sorry for the delay. But we are committed to creating a quality and safe vehicle that we can be proud of and that you will love.

I am also pleased to announce we are working on enhancing our old design. The design team has worked with the engineers around the clock over the last 8 months, and we wanted you to be the first to get a glimpse of our new design. We envisioned a new design that would evoke emotions of both a luxury sports car and a high performance motorcycle, while also building new characteristics and a language that is unique to Lit. During the design process we realized that we are making a whole new category of vehicle, which we now refer to as an Auto-balancing Electric Vehicle, or AEV for short.

I will continue to update you with more footage of the capabilities of EP4 as we refine the controls system and driving experience. By continuing to document our progress and identifying what challenges lie ahead, we hope that you will have a good idea of where we are in our journey and what is to come. As a show of good faith, we are making all pre-orders refundable, regardless of when you put in your reservation.

We believe that we can positively shape the future of transportation. We appreciate your early support in making Lit Motors a reality, and we hope you will be patient with us as we bring the AEV to production.

Sincerely,

Daniel Kim - Founder & CEO of Lit Motors

 

[Rickb]

As I have said before I think the C-1 is a very interesting concept which I may be interested in at some point if they can get the technology sorted out and the price down to a reasonable level. They also now appear to be racing Elio Motors to production as they were supposed to enter production late this year however just a few days ago they announced a major delay. A friend of mind has a Lit reservation and sent me this letter sent late last week by the Lit Motors CEO to reservation holders. The letter essentially says that they are not even close to being production ready at this point and expect to be working on the system throughout 2015.

Yep, so far out and so little progress that I cancelled my reservation a week ago. I will jump back in.......in a heartbeat the minute I see both a high speed slolam and slow speed controlled drive. They could make it happen in time. My favorite concept of all time and wish them success. Lit is not as open to share progress updates as Elio which is not good marketing strategy.

 

[AriLea]

I think there is still a bit of a technical difficulty with vertical 'twitchiness'. All gyro-stabilized cars with less that aero-space-standard engineering seem to have that problem. Hopefully they have fixed that, but none of their videos confirm it that I've seen. You need a good 30seconds of dynamic maneuvering on camera for that to be more clear.

 

[Rickb]

I think there is still a bit of a technical difficulty with vertical 'twitchiness'. All gyro-stabilized cars with less that aero-space-standard engineering seem to have that problem. Hopefully they have fixed that, but none of their videos confirm it that I've seen. You need a good 30seconds of dynamic maneuvering on camera for that to be more clear.

Lit Motors has advisory team members with aerospace engineering background so hopefully they are adapting aero-space-standard engineering to their gyro stabilized motorcycle. Looking forward to future high and more importantly low/slow speed controlled drive video. I would also like to see some quick stops and starts to see how those gyros adapt to sudden changes in speed and driving conditions.......but that seems to be a ways out.

 

[Elio Amazed]

This new gyro system is capable of outputting 4-5,000 ft-lb of torque, which is a 5X improvement from our previous system.

I'm not nearly as apprehensive of the Lit falling over as I am of the gyro itself.
I'm not fond of the idea of having something that new and that heavy spinning that fast just under my feet while I'm going 75mph down the road.
I suppose there's always the almost unheard of possibility of a street bike engine blowing up and taking off a leg.
But with that kind of torque, that gyro is capable of totally demolishing that bike and it's rider if it ever got loose.

 

[Anion]

Space the final frontier! New concepts and new products will always carry an inherited sense of fear and wonder but those of us that are true pioneers will take that extra leap of faith and offer ourselves as test vehicles for new ideas! The dark side of most travels will contain a certain amount of payment to be made for success! Our hopes and dreams keep the future exciting and fun. Let's live with GREAT expectations and huge rewards! Yes C-1 and Elio are our final frontiers!