The Solo new electric vehicle - Is it something for you?

[Aidan]

Another wierd one. Would you like this type of thing?

The Solo runs at about 15,000.00 Its chassis is made from carbon fibre so its very light. It does 0 - 60 in 8 seconds and can reach speeds of 80 miles per hour

http://nordic.businessinsider.com/elect ... es-2016-9/

 

[sam]

There are some very non mainstream electric vehicles out there. A lot of them do come from the Nordic areas. I Utube it all the time :lol:

 

[SparkE]

The SOLO just went on sale this Sep. It is the love-child of Jerry Kroll - he bought the rights to the Corbin Sparrow (from Myers Motors, the company that went broke after buying the rights to the Sparrow from Corbin, when it went broke :?) and then completely redesigned the vehicle (it is no longer a Sparrow, engineering-wise, although it sure has a striking family resemblance). I remember seeing a few Sparrows tooling around the BA back in the 90s. The new company is Electra Meccanica, and is based in Vancouver, BC. It is for sale in Canada and there's at least one dealer in WA state.

I could be interested in such a vehicle as a commuter car, or the 'putter around town' vehicle. Most of my driving is 'just me', and it would be a great vehicle for that (theoretically). I've also been considering getting a used SMART ForTwo electric, as they cost about $7K in the SF Bay Area. I wouldn't buy a SOLO at this point, however. I'll wait for 6-18 months and see what drawbacks the vehicle has (aside from the one person limitation, of course) and customer feedback. Then I'd look for one used if I were still interested.

 

[SparkE]

The SOLO just went on sale this Sep. It is the love-child of Jerry Kroll - he bought the rights to the Corbin Sparrow (from Myers Motors, the company that went broke after buying the rights to the Sparrow from Corbin, when it went broke :?) and then completely redesigned the vehicle (it is no longer a Sparrow, engineering-wise, although it sure has a striking family resemblance). I remember seeing a few Sparrows tooling around the BA back in the 90s. The new company is Electra Meccanica, and is based in Vancouver, BC. The SOLO is for sale in Canada and there's at least one dealer in WA state.

I could be interested in such a vehicle as a commuter car, or the 'putter around town' vehicle. Most of my driving is 'just me', and it would be a great vehicle for that (theoretically). I've also been considering getting a used SMART ForTwo electric, as they cost about $7K in the SF Bay Area. I wouldn't buy a SOLO at this point, however. I'll wait for 6-18 months and see what drawbacks the vehicle has (aside from the one person limitation, of course) and customer feedback. Then I'd look for one used if I were still interested.

 

[SparkE]

Ha!! It appears that Corbin is going to be producing a Sparrow2 EV in 2017 (or at least attempting to).

From http://corbin.com/motors/


After crashing in 2003 the ashes of this little bird lay dormant but fortunately a hot ember remained. That ember kept the dream alive. Quietly the R&D continued even through the toughest of financial times and finally in 2010 Sparrow was reborn and the return flight was underway.

This will be a technologically advanced version of the original Sparrow. It will feature its original configuration, 3 wheeled, single passenger ZEV but will utilize a lithium ion power source with an electronic battery management system to produce prolonged battery life and greater range. It will incorporate the futuristic body styling it became know for in a new stylistic model that will turn heads and bring smiles. All this and more will be part of Sparrow's return.

2017 will be the start of 100 Beta Sparrows. Corbin will create 100 hand built Sparrows right here in Hollister , California. The 100 Beta Sparrows will display an exclusive number which will also be the individual VIN # 1/100 through 100/100. For more details about the beta program, contact [email protected].

 

[new2evs]

SparkE you are a wealth of great info

 

[voltage]

Looks a lot like the autocycle

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1106126_you-know-cars-trucks-and-motorcycles-but-whats-an-autocycle-its-an-elio

 

[westernkicks]

Does it have any cargo room?

 

[SparkE]

Does it have any cargo room?

Yes - both front and read small 'trunks'. Their website : https://electrameccanica.com/ .

They have shipped ONE car, and are currently building the next 10 'production' models. Their announce plan is to build about 10 cars a month during ramp up, then move to 100 cars/month next year (April?), then go to volume production after that (time frame not specified ). The vehicle is being run through U.S. compliance testing at the moment (it is a Canadian company).

With their current order/wait list, if only half of the people who have reserved actually buy then they have their production through the end of 2017 already sold (at 100/mo). I have to say I'm tempted (as well as by the Arcimoto SRK), but I am waiting to see what has actually shipped by July 2017 before getting too excited about either.

 

[SparkE]

And to be complete - the SRK :

http://arstechnica.com/cars/2016/01/the-arcimoto-srk-electric-vehicle-is-the-most-fun-thing-we-did-at-ces/

https://www.arcimoto.com/

 

[westernkicks]

Does it have any cargo room?

Yes - both front and read small 'trunks'. Their website : https://electrameccanica.com/ .

They have shipped ONE car, and are currently building the next 10 'production' models. Their announce plan is to build about 10 cars a month during ramp up, then move to 100 cars/month next year (April?), then go to volume production after that (time frame not specified ). The vehicle is being run through U.S. compliance testing at the moment (it is a Canadian company).

With their current order/wait list, if only half of the people who have reserved actually buy then they have their production through the end of 2017 already sold (at 100/mo). I have to say I'm tempted (as well as by the Arcimoto SRK), but I am waiting to see what has actually shipped by July 2017 before getting too excited about either.

This is a fantastic right in the city car then. Easy to park and with a little space for your brief case, laptop etc good for getting to a few clients offices or job sites

 

[SparkE]

It was designed to be the perfect 'commuter car' for a family which has another (larger) vehicle for family travel. Where I live (SF Bay area) there are LOTS of single people commuting 30+ miles and longer (one way) to work in their vehicles, alone. This vehicle targets them. When they get home, the family goes out in the other vehicle. This one (the SOLO) :

(a) would be cheaper than a 'regular size' vehicle
(b) probably costs about $1 for each 25-30 miles driven (and pollutes less - zero if you have enough PV panels to power your home & the SOLO)
(c) takes up less room in the lane, less room in the garage (or driveway), and less room in the public parking lot.
(d) is supposed to be a blast to pilot (the engineers are ?former? race cars designers)

 

[jimmyjon]

wouldn't want to be hit on the freeway in it

 

[SparkE]

Safer than most motorcycles.

 

[NeilBlanchard]

Safer than most motorcycles.

Safer than ALL motorcycles.

 

[SparkE]

It can't be safer than itself, by definition. And it's a motorcycle.