I love Tesla. Sleek, fast, green. Of course Tesla knows that the market for e-cars is small right now so they started with high end cars, targeting celebrities and high-income earners, usually already owning a nice high powered gasoline car. As such, at an $80,000+ price tag most folks take a pass, but notice. That might change with the new 3 series debuting late March 2016 and available late next year as it is priced at $30-40,000 only, ideal for a second car. Due to range constraint and long charging times many folks will not yet buy an e-car yet as a primary vehicle, but as a second vehicle many will, especially if gasoline again approaches $1.70/liter or $5+ a gallon.
But what about this one, manufactured by Electrameccanica out of New Westminster and on display now at their showroom that I visited last week near the Olympic Village at 102 E 1st Ave ?
This new car here, the SOLO seats one person, is fully electric and has a range of approx. 160 km with a top speed of 120 km/h. Ideal for your daily commute, the odd trip to Whistler or to visit grandma in the Fraser Valley.
What’s your take on this ? Will it survive among the wide wide choice of smaller cars or soon to be released smaller, hybrid and/or e-cars from Mercedes (SmartCar), VW’s One, BMW, Tesla, Toyota Scion , Nissan Leaf or Chevy Volt ?
Would you pay $20,000 (minus the $5000 e-car rebate) for this ?
Will it make a dent in Vancouver’s clogged streets ?
Or is it mainly a novelty for curious folks like me that usually bike or use a motorcycle or scooter as a second or third vehicle for our rainy winters ?
Would you buy one if it had two seats or cost half the somewhat hefty price tag ?
The vehicle shown in the photo is the old Corbin Sparrow manufactured in the late 1900s to early 2000s. Corbin manufactured motorcycle accessories before deciding to take a gamble on one-passenger electric cars. The Sparrow was later taken over by Myers Motors. Domino’s Pizza used a few as delivery vehicles more as a novelty than anything else. As I recall, they sold a few hundred of them but the cars’ electrical components at the time were notably unreliable. The photo is at odds with Electrameccanica’s Solo. The Solo according to the drawings has two rear wheels and one in the front while the Sparrow has two in the front and one in the rear.
I just noticed that the Solo is indeed also two front wheels with one rear wheel like the Sparrow.
Author
I sat in the red car displayed with two front wheel. I am booked for a test drive within the next two weeks. I’ll report back on that experience then. Zoom zoom .. or was that from another firm offering small vehicles ?
Neither Tesla, nor this example, does anything to address noise (tires & air resistance, no matter what the power source), neighbourhood risk (your right to move a few tons of metal at 120 km/h ends at my right not to risk death when I step out my front door), or the amount of the commons used per person. Might be a fine solution for a highway, assuming the highway is fully tolled and it’s users are paying fully for all it’s costs, but it makes no sense for mass adoption inside a city.
I’m in a car share with one other person, so right off the bat the car pictured will be useless. Last year we paid the pre-rebate price of the micro-car for a new Japanese econobox that has a great Consumer Reports rating and excellent fuel economy, and we can move two people and cargo comfortably, up to four people in a pinch. We have only unrestricted on-street parking (our neighbourhood is over a century old) and running a power cable to charge an EV would be problematic.
I’d wonder about cargo capacity. Also, even at this tiny size this car occupies subsidized road space and is part of the increasingly-discredited car culture. And drivers will have to avoid sneezing, taking sharp turns or parking near high schools to avoid having it tipped over.
When you take your test drive Thomas can you please ask about where this vehicle fits into the regulatory framework? I’ve was told by a representative of another company selling a similar pedal-assisted e-vehicle (both companies were at the GLOBE 2016 trade show) that it falls into a ‘kit-car’ category.
Author
Perhaps that is the hold up. We shall see. I am sure it fits into the existing regs somewhere between motorcycle, motorized tri-cycle and car.
This strike me as a bicycle or motorcycle replacement, not a car replacement. I’m looking to buy an electric vehicle, but I need the ability to carry passengers and cargo. For the kind of trips I’d likely make with the SOLO I can just use my bicycle.