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comment by goobster
goobster  ·  1126 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: The road to electric is filled with tiny cars

For American cities to embrace tiny cars like this, it seems like there would first need to be a revolution in parking, and then a complete reworking of all of our roads. Our infrastructure is in such a terrible state that we rely on the suspensions and footprint of our vehicles to compensate for the condition of our road joints, potholes, etc.

I think speed would be an issue, too. In China you generally move short distances at slow speeds, if you are using personal transportation. If the trip is more than 10 minutes, you take the train. (At least that's how my American friend in China tells it... I've never been there...)

American cities make a whacking great load of money on enforcing inane parking laws and regulations. For example, if I ride my motorcycle into town, I have to try and take up an ENTIRE car parking place, and pay for the entire thing. If I fit my bike into an otherwise unusable nook, or at the end of a row of cars where there is space between the last car and the corner, I get a car-sized parking ticket.

I think American roads and regulations would need to be MUCH different if we were to see an influx of tiny cars. I think it is far more probable to expect Home Depot to have a rental fleet, than it is for Americans to have tiny cars....





kleinbl00  ·  1125 days ago  ·  link  ·  

The principle issue with "tiny cars" is NTSB safety regulations. Just because a car weighs 900kg and can go 50 miles on 20lbs of lithium batteries does not mean that it doesn't have to stand up to an F150.

Back in like '06 or '07 Popular Mechanics took Honda to task over the fact that in 1989 you could buy a CRX HF that would get 80mpg whereas in '07 a Gen 1 Insight could barely hit 70 with a trunk full of batteries. They were all "what happened why do you suck now, maaaaaaan" and Honda was all

bitch we added four airbags six crumple zones two low speed bumpers an antilock braking system and a partridge in a pear tree.

2008 Honda Jazz, the most popular car in the world at the time:

Exact same car, North American market:

The difference between a Fit and a Jazz was dozens of body panels, subframe work, a relocated engine, different electricals and, in the calculation of one poor ricer who did the conversion just to be all JDM about it, an easy $15k worth of parts (aftermarket). That's entirely about American crashworthyness standards. Now, of course, Honda Jazz are Honda Fits because Honda sold enough in the US to go "okay we're all Americans now".

The Chinese aren't going to do that.

dublinben  ·  1126 days ago  ·  link  ·  

If we're going to the trouble to remake our transportation infrastructure, cars should be the last thing we're prioritizing. EVs are a stopgap in order to get ICE vehicles off the road. The only real solution for cities is radically embracing "alternative" transportation methods like walking, cycling, and public transit.