You hit the nail with your head Stephen. As I recall, Tesla Motors destroyed 7 test cars to meet US crash worthiness regulations. Speaking of Tesla, looks like they have gotten Smart in the design of their REV (range extended vehicle):
http://www.autoblog.com/2008/06/12/is-tesla-motors-working-with-daimler/ That could benefit both companies. Terry On Tue, Jul 29, 2008 at 9:04 AM, Stephen A. Lawrence <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > 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]> >> > >
