Buy an Electra Meccanica SOLO and never argue with a passenger again.
The Vancouver-based company’s single-seat, three-wheeled electric commuter vehicle went on sale in Canada today, promising a range of about 100 miles and plenty of double takes from other motorists.
Electra Meccanica spent years working on the diminutive EV, which it says can accelerate to 62 miles per hour in about eight seconds. Charging takes three hours from a 220-volt outlet, or six hours from a 110-volt household wall socket.
The SOLO’s main purpose is to shuttle people to and from their workplace, while being easy to own and operate. With a length 19 inches shorter than a Fiat 500, parking shouldn’t be an issue. Weighing about 1,000 pounds (thanks to a composite body and aluminum drivetrain), the vehicle sports a 0.24 drag coefficient and draws power from a 16.1 kWh lithium-ion battery.
The quirky EV’s electric motor offers up 82 horsepower and 140 pounds-feet of torque to motivate the half-ton vehicle, so driving a SOLO might not be a boring experience. Hell, those figures easily top a Mitsubishi Mirage. Top speed is about 80 miles per hour.
The company describes itself as combining “founder Jerry Kroll’s extensive background in the race car industry with Intermeccanica custom coach builders’ 50 years of experience building high-quality, specialty vehicles.” SOLO deliveries begin in 2017, the company claims.
While the thought of buying from an independent car manufacturer, especially one selling three-wheelers, is enough to give any would-be customer cold feet (see Elio Motors), Electra Meccanica claims its online deposits (just $250) are fully refundable. The SOLO carries a Canadian MSRP of $19,888, lower than any EV offered in that country, but double the price of a base Nissan Micra, Chevrolet Spark or Mitsubishi Mirage.
[Image: Electra Meccanica Vehicles]
I’d be interested in a more in-depth report from Ronnie on this vehicle. He loves this stuff!
It’s based on the failed Corbin Sparrow. At least as a single seater it will avoid being rolling birth control like I suspect the Elio may be. I just don’t think many women will want to climb into the back seat of an enclosed tandem.
It looks like the car-extruder pinched one off too soon.
To me it appears to have suffered a symmetric ear-boxing.
http://www.perisoft.org/extrude.jpg
OMG! Car sphincter!
*Boring How It’s Made dude voice*
“The bubble gum is pushed through the shaping moderator device at 2.21 meters per minute, before being diverted to the cutting apparatus, which presses through the gum material with a force of 23 PSI. A technician sharpens the blade manually every 79 days.”
Hey, I like How It’s Made! It’s relaxing, just a calm voice and images of machinery humming along.
I recall seeing a newer episode (my dad watches it) and I think they got a new voice actor on there. Do you find the new voice as relaxing?
Also saw a clip from making rainbow sprinkles recently on Facebook. I had no idea the amount of manual labor required for making sprinkles.
Nah, new guy has too much attitude. I like the old guy better.
They could convert that show to have a host. Bill Nye would do a great job.
I spend way too much time watching re-runs of House, How It’s Made, and Wheeler Dealers.
Of course, the other 300 channels don’t have anything much better most of the time – and Comcast only charges 120 bux a month for all that. What a life. :-)
I love Wheeler Dealers! Edd’s no-flash no-frills mechanical genius is something to be appreciated in a world of wacky bearded caricatures.
Its the Gremlin/Pacer school of design. Just hack the end off.
You’re thinking of the Hornet-to-Gremlin conversion. The Pacer was built off the full-size AMC platform.
But honestly the Pacer does look like someone started on the design, got called away, and someone else got brought in to place axles under it.
I presume this is the same Intermeccanica that makes Porsche 356 copies? Cool that they went with a modern design.
So could this be a major threat to the vaporware “Elio”?
Kind of makes me wonder why Elio didn’t go electric initially to lower capital greatly (off the shelf motor and battery, more or less).
Then phase in the gas engine/trans package later.
If you look at Arcimoto, which is making an electric reverse trike, the price is considerably higher than Elio’s announced MSRP. One of the concepts behind the Elio is to use as much off the shelf componentry as they can, keeping tooling costs down. That’s why they explored putting the Suzuki triple back into production – the bespoke engine IAV designed for Elio is derived from the Suzuki.
It’s been suggested that adding a battery pack and electric drive to the Elio trike’s rear wheel (the Elio is front wheel drive), making it a hybrid, might make it easier to get the ATVM loan they’ve applied for from the U.S. Dept. of Energy. Since there’s no driveshaft running to the back of the vehicle, there’s probably room under the rear seat for at least some kind of battery pack.
Interesting…derived from the Suzuki G10 engine…out of production in 2001. Thanks for the info.
I think that engineering the battery pack to be safe and consistent would be almost as time-consuming as developing an ICE – there are lots of Chinese off-the-shelf LiPo cells out there that are a bit shaky in EV applications.
The word “bespoke” is now dead to me.
$20K? No.
I can get a new Leaf for $24K, and then get back $7,500 from the Feds and $2,500 from the state.
And lots of very nice looking low mileage Leafs at the 7000 price point. And I’d conjecture that most Leafs get treated pretty well and there’s not much maintenance to skip even if they’re not.
Isn’t it wonderful, using the IRS to force other people to shell out $10,000 so you can have a nicer car.
You must be thrilled!
Still better than using the IRS for force people to shell out $$$ to pay some 18 year old to kill people halfway around world who pose no threat to me.
It’s like Confucius said “Don’t hate the player. Hate the game”
or was that Lincoln?
I think there’s some confusion here. The IRS doesn’t shell out anything. If you qualify for the tax credit for buying an electric car, than you pay less taxes. No different than the $1000 child tax credit. I never see anyone complaining about the IRS subsidizing their children.
I didn’t say the IRS shelled out anything.
I said the IRS forces taxpayers to shell out.
The fact remains that EV tax credits make EV’s less expensive for a very few at the expense of the general taxpayer.
I just think its sad that people evaluate their car purchases not on the best value for their money, but on the best way to wrangle money from their neighbors.
Passing that money through the IRS does not make it more moral. jmo
A tax credit for children is certainly open to debate, but it isn’t a blatant attempt to interfere in the free market and prop up a product that apparently can’t sell on its own merits.
wtaf, One can oppose both.
True, My point was more of the one Tandoor made. Although more likely it should be government borrows/prints money to subsidize car purchase.
I am still amazed in this day and age that there exist people who don’t comprehend that the US government uses tax policy to advance the aims of its stakeholders. People who apparently never wrote off a charitable contribution or mortgage interest.
Why aren’t you in the streets protesting all the small business owners who wrote off the costs of their spouse’ Escalade? Where were you when the US government bailed out GM and Chrysler?
Why is it you only whine about electric cars?
It’s interesting how often I sit out making a comment because VoGo has either written something at least as well as I might have (on a good day) or is about to.
I’ll chip in with this: our taxation system is a carrot or stick system that encourages the adoption of technologies with an otherwise lengthy or impossible ROI. It has certainly speeded along the adoption of EV’s here, and for that I am grateful.
Mortgage. Interest. Deduction.
No different than using the feds for anything else, aside from possibly target practice.
I dunno, in Ontario an EV with a battery of that size nets an $11k rebate. About the same rebate as a Leaf gets.
I really like the idea of these little EV runabouts but only for big cities. I commute so this would be utterly useless to me.
IF this thing is short enough you can back it into parking spaces three or, at least two, abreast in a standard lot; or, even better, on the line between two spots like you can a moderate sized motorcycle, it’s a good option in dense, parking challenged cities with motorcycle unfriendly weather (read Canada). If you’re stuck treating it like any other compact car, I simply don’t see the point. Ditto for the Elio, unless they manage to really, meaningfully, undercut the heaviest discounted of more traditional cars.
A 4th wheel would greatly improve the looks and viability of this car, without adding much weight or cost.
3-wheelers are doomed to being low-volume novelties.
You can make three wheelers more aerodynamic.
And much lighter, if you start with the premise of building a Segway, with the tail wheel serving almost exclusively to avoid having to deal with front to back dynamic balancing. No need to engineer (heavy) for “frame twist” stemming from diagonal loads, if you’re mono in the back. Up front, you’re already laterally stiff, due to steering requirements and, at least in Elio’s case, the engine and driveline being there.
In addition, without side by side seating, you can park two triangles in the space otherwise taken up by one equally max-width square.
Does it require a helmet?
It does, if it’s classified as a motorcycle. I would expect a little more crash protection than it probably has – any word on safety?
Interesting, although the performance numbers don’t add up. My ’69 MG Midget was 10mph faster, 600lbs heavier, 20 less hp, and probably a lot more drag.
Yeah, based on the numbers it ought to be a lot faster than it is. Maybe performance is electronically-limited due to stability or traction issues?
There are even tv ads for it in Vancouver. I hope it is very popular as a solution for many to reduce their carbon footprint.
British Columbia’s electricity is about 97% hydro.
It looks like three-quarters of a car that has been smashed together.
The last sentence, about pricing, is the deal killer. For the same money, you can get a real car rather than a short range commuter. The Smart has the same problem. It offers less than similarly priced competitors.
When you look at late model used cars it’s an even worse deal. You can get a 2 year old Fusion 2.5 with under 25k for less than that.
In the Lower Mainland electric cars can use the HOV lanes with a single occupant, that’s a big plus over a gasoline car.
Hold it together Herbie!
http://www.1974beetle.com/photos/herbie/movie/The_Love_Bug_31.jpg
Wait…I have an idea…
FWIW:
Pricing – $20k Canadian / $15.5K in the U.S.A. (exchange rate)
Top speed – according to their website the top speed is limited to 80mph, vs 130mph capability. No comments as to what it would take to bypass the speed limiter, or what effect it would have on range.
As best as I can tell, they are starting out with limited production. My take is that this will appeal to motorcyclists, performance enthusiasts, techies, and greenies at first, even though that seems like an odd combination. Once they start hitting the street, it will become more clear as to whether they will appeal to the broader market.
Personally, I’m quite intrigued.
“Where were you when the US government bailed out GM and Chrysler?”
I strongly opposed those from day one. On here on other places.
Just as I oppose all corporate welfare.
I fight corrupt government actions coming from both parties.
That’s where we differ.
You only oppose corruption from the right.
That picture holds my eye in the macabre way that Jake Gyllenhaal did at the end of Source Code – wait, where’s the rest of him?