Robin van Spaandonk wrote:
In reply to Stephen A. Lawrence's message of Mon, 28 Jul 2008 23:03:34 -0400:
Hi,
[snip]
For reasons which are completely obscure to me the only fully roadworthy
vehicle they seem to be offering is the Triac. Check the specs, it's
got half again the batteries and a much heftier engine than either the
Moose or the Microwatt.
[snip]
Yes, they seem to have managed to neatly avoid anything that people would
actually want. If the Triac had had 4 wheels, then I suspect they would have
sold like hot-cakes.
Someone mentioned you need a motorcycle license to drive the Triac.
That probably means it's manufactured under motorcycle regulations, not
automobile regulations. That (presumably) means they don't have to do a
bunch of stuff, like put airbags in it or crash it into a wall to see
how it performs. (If they'd put a fourth wheel on it, it would have
turned into a car.)
Similarly, the Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEVs) don't have to carry
airbags or pass crash tests.
It's a whole lot less expensive and time consuming to bring an NEV or
motorcycle to market than it is to bring a full speed automobile to
market. I think this accounts for the apparently odd decisions of Zenn
and Pheonix and maybe a few other companies to "only market cars nobody
wants".
Regards,
Robin van Spaandonk <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
