What is Digg?172 Comments
- t1ckt0ck, on 07/13/2008, -9/+113I'll probably get dugg down for saying this but I love the idea behind electric cars but why do they have to make them so damn ugly? and it's not just electric cars either.
- inactive, on 07/13/2008, -2/+32http://www.teslamotors.com/
- SVOboy, on 07/13/2008, -1/+30Well, since the base car is technically a kei car it has to maximize interior space and aeronamics and such while fitting in a fairly strict set of laws about how big it can be, which tends to makes kei cars look different than what we're used to in the US. Luckily, they're very comfortable to drive and ride in, even for a 6'1" guy like me.
- Anand999, on 07/13/2008, -2/+26Personally, I like the Volt's approach a little better. The Volt has the potential to be used for long trips or emergencies while be able to consume no gas during your daily commute. This car basically requires you to have a second gasoline car available for a long drive.
Until a quicker charging mechanism is developed (so stopping for "fuel" during a long trip is practical), I think the Volt is a much package for most people. - 1ncu3us, on 07/13/2008, -8/+30It's called aerodynamics folks.. all efficient cars will need to look more like that, than a Buick .. if they don't, they're going to lose a lot of energy just moving through air... get used to it
- Hosalabad, on 07/13/2008, -2/+22Wow $38k. For the extra $25000 you spend on this car over a Corolla, you can buy about 218,000 miles worth of gas at $4/gal.
- vsujohn2, on 07/13/2008, -5/+23Very nice, how mu... oh 38k, Cool. WAIT A MINUTE, that looks like *****!
- RadioFreeOpium, on 07/13/2008, -8/+23I like that mitsubishi actually committed to the all-electric car idea with a decent price,decent range, and its 30 min quick charge .... unlike the chevy volt, which is technically a hybrid because after its 40 mile range is spent, it switches over to a gasoline motor.
- prisoner24601, on 07/13/2008, -3/+17How on earth can you see a car that runs on battery power for XX miles and then DIES as better than a car that runs for XX miles on battery power AND then turns on a (very small and very fuel efficient) gas generator to charge the battery so that it NEVER dies???
I'm honestly *entirely* baffled by the *constant* comments on this from people who think battery-only vehicles are somehow better than taking the EXACT SAME design you love so much and then adding a small gas powered generator to it.
Your preferred design doesn't get any significantly different "mileage" on battery power than the same vehicle as a plug-in hybrid, but your design has an absolute and unavoidable hard range limit. The Volt is VASTLY superior because it is exactly what you are asking for PLUS the ability to ALSO travel on gas when you CHOOSE to.
You guys honestly baffle me. I've tried to discuss this before in threads like this here when I see "battery only" enthusiasts show up, but they only *bury* my comment and never *explain* theirs, so I'm truly convinced you guys must not entirely understand the Volt design. If not, and you do, PLEASE explain your comment to me. I'm TRULY interested in trying to understand this and/or simply verifying my suspicion that you might not really be familiar with the Volt/Plug-In Hybrid design. - jggube, on 07/13/2008, -2/+15Nah, you're completely right - I say this all the time to my friends. But in the hybrid arena, they're looking more and more like "normal" cars. For example Honda Civics have hybrids (I think), they look the same except under the hood.
- PabloMac, on 07/13/2008, -4/+17Too much $.
- gtownplaya, on 07/13/2008, -3/+15I haven't even read the article. the picture stopped me.
i'm sure its possible to make an aesthetically pleasing electric car. - dudefaceguyman, on 07/13/2008, -1/+12Tesla said themselves they're working on cheaper electric cars as well. Plus they're working on a 4 door performance electric car to compete with BMW.
- Filipp0, on 07/13/2008, -3/+14Honda Fit + Smart = That fugly car
- smartmlp, on 07/13/2008, -4/+14The volt doesnt "switch over" to a gas motor. it is still propelled by electrical motors the entire way, when the batteries die the gas motor starts up only to charge the batteries again like a generator. This car has a range of 100 miles and has a LENGTH of 134 inches (shorter than a Chevy Aveo), making it a much smaller car next to the volt (the concept is 170 inches, and its expected to stay in the midsize class). These cars are totally different, the demands to move a car like the Volt are much higher than this one. The main problem with electric cars is moving large ones. We have had the engineering to move a car of this size for awhile (look at the EV1), the challenge has always been moving a car the size of a camry or malibu like the Volt attempts to do. If the Volt really does cost $40,000, for only $2,000 you will be getting a car that is much larger and much more advanced so it sounds like a bargin to me!
- FeartheKnighted, on 07/13/2008, -9/+18FUGLY
- 1ncu3us, on 07/13/2008, -1/+10They use it differently.. they use it to create things like down force, and to increase performance.. EFFICIENT cars need to interfere less with the air, less interference = less drag = less energy loss
- johnpaul191, on 07/13/2008, -1/+9in this case, because it's one of these:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keicar - rocketman42, on 07/13/2008, -2/+9I'm with you 100%. My take on the battery-only-or-it-sucks guys is they have a similar mindset to the environmental extremists. These are the ones who protest nuclear power because the plant will blowup and destroy the world. They protest wind power because three birds were killed in the blades. They protest solar because it affects the habitat of the scorpion. And all the while they complain about all the pollution the existing power plants put out. While they mean well, their idealistic views are incompatible with reality for 99% of the population. I see designs like the Volt or next-gen Prius as steps in the right direction. The battery guys see them as not the final answer and so therefore wrong.
- Rickler, on 07/13/2008, -0/+7The challenge is weight, not so much size. Aluminum has a higher strength to weight ration than steel but costs more. Also an aluminum frame will lasts virtually forever, for companies that rely on 20 year disposable cars that's not good for their business.
- inactive, on 07/13/2008, -2/+938 Grand?
I'll buy an Audi for that money. - deMonkey, on 07/14/2008, -0/+6And if you crash in a Ninja you die.
And if it's hot out, you burn.
And if it's wet out, you drown.
And they seat one, maybe two.
Apples to oranges. - superbobd, on 07/13/2008, -2/+8...was that honestly supposed to be funny
- FrankTheTank17, on 07/14/2008, -0/+6This article itself tells you that the top speed of the Chevy Volt is 100+mph. Also you make it sound like the range is 40 miles and then your screwed. That's incredibly biased towards GM. It was stated to be able to cruise at 70mph after the electric charge is up, and after 30 minutes, the electric charge is fully recharged. The reason why the Volt seems like such a better choice is because you can drive wherever you want with them, all day long. Where as opposed to cars like this one, you drive 100 miles and then you have to wait another 14 hours to be able to charge it full again.
Anyways, this car doesn't seem too bad. I'm not sure about it being much a value though because a range of 100 miles with a 14 hour charge is a bit limited. The top speed isn't too bad compared to all of the other electric cars in its price range. However, the range and recharge time seems like it's not going to be a major success for that price, and especially with that body. I don't know too many people that want to drive something that looks like that. - sh4rkb1t3, on 07/13/2008, -4/+10Have you seen what a Ferrari looks like? They are also very aerodynamic.
- scabbers, on 07/14/2008, -0/+5I remember when people used to joke about $5 gas
- skyshock1, on 07/13/2008, -0/+5It is possible. Tesla already did it.
- NavS, on 07/13/2008, -2/+7Yes, lets not use the Mitsu Lancer body, that would be too smart of us.
- RadioFreeOpium, on 07/13/2008, -5/+10Ok, its so annoying how half of the comments here are bitching about how hybrid/electric cars are ugly. Well, last time I checked a car was for getting from point a to point b, not to serve as a high art sculpture. People have been driving minivans, station wagons, and all sorts of "ugly" cars for years, in fact I am willing to bet that the mitsubishi in question is better looking than 90% of the cars on the road right now. And there's a very good reason for the odd shape. Its called physics.
- inactive, on 07/13/2008, -3/+8Author spending as much time bashing the volt as he does praising a car that hasnt even hit the pavement + 'dinosaur burning' comment = *****.
- Brian48216, on 07/14/2008, -0/+5The 220V line supports higher amts of current too.
P=IV
Since power is measured in Watthrs, more power delivered in less time. - skyshock1, on 07/13/2008, -1/+6That's fine and all, make racecar looking aerodynamics and not easter-egg-on-wheels.
- pixeldust, on 07/13/2008, -0/+4The difference is it's a car that runs on battery power for XXX miles and dies compared to a car that runs for XX miles on battery power and then turns on a gas generator. Both have their plusses and minuses, for someone like me that would never drive a car more than ~100 miles a day the battery one is better, if you do plan on driving more than the battery provides the electric/gas is better. The flaw in your argument is both designs don't have the same range on battery.
- supersoyboy, on 07/13/2008, -0/+4why does everything have an 'i' these days?!?!
- EtherGnat, on 07/14/2008, -1/+5Go ahead and digg me down. The fact remains you can condemn a car just because you don't think it looks aerodynamic. Aerodynamics can be very unintuitive, so if you don't have test data to back your claim up you should probably just STFU.
- EtherGnat, on 07/14/2008, -0/+4There's a tremendous amount of excess power capability on the US grid at night, when most cars would be charged. Studies have shown that our current power grid could handle about 75% of vehicles being switched to electric (I've got a link somewhere in my comment history if you want to look for it--I'm on my way out the door).
- dogoon, on 07/13/2008, -2/+6Who killed the Electric Car?
- Depthfunction, on 07/13/2008, -7/+11An ugly car and a 14-hour charge time. ***** that.
NEXT! - theBike45, on 07/14/2008, -3/+7The Volt would be on the street right now if GMwanted to build another flop like the EV-1, which is what Mitsubishi is building.
ANYBODY (even the rank amateurs at Tesla Motors) can build a battery-only electric car. They could build vehicles that would compete with this one before the turn of the century, over 100 years ago. The problem with this car is htta 1) it will actually cost over $40,000, 2) it has a driving radius of less than 50 miles, even with new batteries; figure 35 miles after 4 years 4) replacing the battery pack (in about 5 years) will cost over $20,000; 5) you have to own two cars if one of them is this thing - it isn't even remotely viable as an alternative to the gas powered car. The folks that filmed "Who Killed the Electric Car?" lied to you, folks. And this car is better in every way than the EV-1, and a whole lot cheaper. But it's still pretty useless. The Chevy Volt will cost no more and can accomplish everything that this car can (and can employ electricity to go many palces where this car cannot, requiring gas power transportation). We don't need useless crap like this to eliminate gasoline usage - the Chevy Volt can do it all, and its battery pack will last over 10 years. And it will get 50 MPG even when not using liquid fuel, such as ethanol. The only people who'll love this car are those desperate to greenwash their image. Unfortunately this is basically a coal-powered vehicle. - Hellothere123, on 07/13/2008, -0/+3Does the Volt have any quick charge feature?
- westory, on 07/13/2008, -1/+4No, all credible studies show it is far more efficient and less polluting than using gas, even if it's a nasty coal plant instead of clean hydro or (clean if you ignore the waste) nuclear plant that is doing the generating.
- rocketman42, on 07/13/2008, -2/+5Yeah, way to show everyone how it's done. Wait, they're only building 2,000 in 2009, and scaling up to a whopping 10,000 by 2011? http://www.greencarcongress.com/2008/07/report-mit ... What was that about not taking years to develop?
- em00guy, on 07/13/2008, -4/+7No all i need is 100k
- skyshock1, on 07/13/2008, -0/+3+1
The new eclipses and older 3000GTs don't look all that bad so I know they're capable of it, why this fugly POS? - Konrad9, on 07/13/2008, -3/+6Haha, no.
Mitsubishi is owned by the "Why are we still in business after our sales dropped 50% last month" corporation. - mushoo, on 07/13/2008, -1/+4No!
That's for a Chevy Volt.
Read the article again. I give you bonus points for not coming in and making the umpteenth jab at the car being "fugly" though. - prisoner24601, on 07/13/2008, -2/+5Sports cars don't need to haul groceries home.
- Twee, on 07/14/2008, -0/+3I still think they should improve the all electric range of the volt from 40 miles to at least 60-80 miles so I will almost never have to buy any gas at all.
- Brian48216, on 07/13/2008, -6/+9After reading the comments it seems digg users have never encountered the phenomenon known as aerodynamic drag.
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