Sondors Electric Car

[Sethodine]

The problem with these electric vehicles is range and real world use. I have to drive home in a few from work. Once home I will have commuted for 90 miles atb75-80 mpg for the day with the AC running and listening to a nice aplified stereo system that draws a lot of electricity. I just got a text from my wife, she forgot to unthaw something for dinner. So when i get home I have to shower and change, secure my work gear and get back in the Toyota Echo and drive to the store to buy something for dinner. None of these little electric cars can do this. In fact, I would need to spend 40,000+ for a vehicle that can do this, not readable for a middle class family.

Obviously an EV won't work for you if you are commuting beyond it's range. But with that kind of commute, you are a statistical anomaly, one of about 3% of the working population. With my 50-mile commute, the 80-mile Leaf has been plenty for all work days, including any extra stops needed after work. And upon getting home, 3.5hrs on the Level 2 charger is usually enough to bring it back up to full. And in 2 years, the ONLY maintenance cost on our first Leaf has been tires. My point being that "real world use" is subjective, but for the majority 80 miles is enough for a commuter car.

With 200+ miles of range (Chevy Bolt, Tesla Model 3, 2018 Nissan Leaf), I could go anywhere short of a cross-country road trip. Those are all $35k+ vehicles, but in 2 or 3 years there will be used ones coming off of leases for half that price. And even newer models pushing those prices down further (Jaguar i-PACE electric SUV, VWs Phaeton platform, etc). As soon as 2025, EVs are expected to be cheaper to produce than ICE cars, and much cheaper than Hybrids.

It is a brave new world, and Elio is the ultimate range-extending "and" car.

 

[Rickb]

Obviously an EV won't work for you if you are commuting beyond it's range. But with that kind of commute, you are a statistical anomaly, one of about 3% of the working population. With my 50-mile commute, the 80-mile Leaf has been plenty for all work days, including any extra stops needed after work. And upon getting home, 3.5hrs on the Level 2 charger is usually enough to bring it back up to full. And in 2 years, the ONLY maintenance cost on our first Leaf has been tires. My point being that "real world use" is subjective, but for the majority 80 miles is enough for a commuter car.

With 200+ miles of range (Chevy Bolt, Tesla Model 3, 2018 Nissan Leaf), I could go anywhere short of a cross-country road trip. Those are all $35k+ vehicles, but in 2 or 3 years there will be used ones coming off of leases for half that price. And even newer models pushing those prices down further (Jaguar i-PACE electric SUV, VWs Phaeton platform, etc). As soon as 2025, EVs are expected to be cheaper to produce than ICE cars, and much cheaper than Hybrids.

It is a brave new world, and Elio is the ultimate range-extending "and" car.

The Elio commuter vehicle would be a range extending "and" vehicle for a Solo driver or family of 2......not so much ultimate if you need 3 seats.

 

[Ty]

It does seem to work better than than the Elio model.
Perhaps Paul should have adopted low volume manufacturing.

For.a.bike.

Low volume manufacturing... not exactly a lynch pin in successful auto manufacturers... Name one manufacturer who makes inexpensive vehicles at low volume.

 

[Ty]

I wonder how difficult it would be to produce an EV with quick-change battery packs. You could pull into your local charge/change station, the old pack would be taken off from under the vehicle and replaced with a fresh one and you'd be back on the road in minutes. This could be done automatically eventually but as an interim, every Quick Lube could offer battery swaps since they already have pits in place and would only have to train a couple of guys how to swap the packs out. I'm thinking a standardized 6-8 90 degree locking cams to secure the pack in place. Okay, this post wasn't about the Sondors electric car... Oh, I have it! How about a Sondors with this same type of battery swapability? It would make longer trips possible.

 

[Sethodine]

I wonder how difficult it would be to produce an EV with quick-change battery packs. You could pull into your local charge/change station, the old pack would be taken off from under the vehicle and replaced with a fresh one and you'd be back on the road in minutes. This could be done automatically eventually but as an interim, every Quick Lube could offer battery swaps since they already have pits in place and would only have to train a couple of guys how to swap the packs out. I'm thinking a standardized 6-8 90 degree locking cams to secure the pack in place. Okay, this post wasn't about the Sondors electric car... Oh, I have it! How about a Sondors with this same type of battery swapability? It would make longer trips possible.

Tesla played with this idea, but it proved too expensive and the logistics infeasable, if I remember correctly.

 

[wizard of ahs]

Solo has user accessible SLIDE OUT batteries...very doable

 

[acentre]

For.a.bike.

Low volume manufacturing... not exactly a lynch pin in successful auto manufacturers... Name one manufacturer who makes inexpensive vehicles at low volume.

Polaris Slingshot, albeit at a realistic price. The Solo seems to be priced accordingly, a $15K Elio probably would have been produced...

 

[acentre]

Tesla played with this idea, but it proved too expensive and the logistics infeasable, if I remember correctly.

It is also unnecessary given the longer ranger and rapid charging of Tesla. I would not trust the workers at Jiffy Lube to work on my vehicle.

 

[Ty]

It is also unnecessary given the longer ranger and rapid charging of Tesla. I would not trust the workers at Jiffy Lube to work on my vehicle.

I was just batting that around as an idea. It would eventually be possible to have fully automatic changing stations but in the interim, places with a pit that you drive over could do it with a couple of people down there who can simply turn the 90 degree fasteners (Like wing nuts that go from fully locked to fully unlocked in 90 degrees) and drop the old pack, reverse the process to put in the fresh one. It would be quite simple rather or not you trust them.

 

[booboo]

I was just batting that around as an idea. It would eventually be possible to have fully automatic changing stations but in the interim, places with a pit that you drive over could do it with a couple of people down there who can simply turn the 90 degree fasteners (Like wing nuts that go from fully locked to fully unlocked in 90 degrees) and drop the old pack, reverse the process to put in the fresh one. It would be quite simple rather or not you trust them.

From Jun 21, 2013