Automobiles

[caleb]

Since it's Italian, I suspect the electrical engineering will be as good as the design.

[zachateseverything]

Yes, and Audis are already heavy by default.

Some level of sound--not a specific sound, but an amount of it--should be a required feature for electric cars. People with different sensory abilities should have the tools they need to avoid unwanted contact with a car. Manufacturers can compete on sfx.

the early Fisker Karma prototypes had mappable external speakers. you could make the car sound like anything you wanted. fighter jet was my favorite.

[zachateseverything]

I've generally heard good things about the E-Tron and someone in my neighborhood had one. The sound it makes is cool/interesting. Sounds a bit like a sci-fi vehicle from Star Wars or Star Trek. This sound is created to give pedestrians and other road users (cyclists) an aural cue that another vehicle is nearby. It wasn't an offensive noise at all.

One thing about electric cars that doesn't matter to most people but it is interesting: they're really heavy. I did a double take when I read the weight of the E-Tron.

I work for a tire company. EV's are a real challenge for us. They're getting spec'd with low profile tires just like everything else and weigh a lot so to get the load carrying capacity up they have to run high inflation pressures. That makes the ride characteristics difficult to tune.

Another issue is that without a gas engine generating a ton of white noise, small noises become significantly more noticeable and objectionable.

and then there's all the torque that's available at 0 RPM. it's tough to make tires survive for very long with that kind of duty cycle.

[j44ke]

Sound on, watch the story (click their round icon): https://www.instagram.com/totem.automobili/ - oh; and just slightly gorgeous, no?

So does anyone know what the logistics would be on getting this into the US? Have they kept enough of the original car for it to qualify as antique or modified original - or whatever the designation is - or would it be a brand new car and have hefty regulatory demands on importation?

[GeneK]

Thanks for all of that... those are issues that never occurred to me.

[j44ke]

Wow.

[RichTheRoadie]

So does anyone know what the logistics would be on getting this into the US? Have they kept enough of the original car for it to qualify as antique or modified original - or whatever the designation is - or would it be a brand new car and have hefty regulatory demands on importation?

It's not a case of re-working an existing original to produce the electric version. My understanding is that this is a ground-up authentic reproduction with permission; and is therefore a brand new car.

[j44ke]

It's not a case of re-working an existing original to produce the electric version. My understanding is that this is a ground-up authentic reproduction with permission; and is therefore a brand new car.

They call it a "restomod" and say they maintain 10% of the original chassis and only use cars from between 1970-75, so I think actually it isn't a complete reproduction. I was wondering if the 10% was a key detail, i.e. a way to circumvent any requirement to crash test one in order to get it into the US & licensed for street use. If it was a completely new car, the regulatory aspects might be more onerous, though I guess emissions testing wouldn't be an issue.

I've just be down the rabbit hole on Japanese mini-trucks, so my head is swimming with importation details. Just wondering what applies here.

[Lionel]

They use a donor car like Singer for 911 964

[vertical_doug]

I've just be down the rabbit hole on Japanese mini-trucks, so my head is swimming with importation details. Just wondering what applies here.

A Daihatsu Hi-Jet is fun in Japan , but you don't want one in the US. Don't waste your time.

[j44ke]

A Daihatsu Hi-Jet is fun in Japan , but you don't want one in the US. Don't waste your time.

I think it would actually be perfect as a "farm" vehicle. Not talking highway driving here. Substitute for a John Deere Gator or similar. There is one here that the guy uses to help manage his property. He also has a snow plow attachment he says works great. He gets all his repair parts from Boeki in Paterson NJ.

The Gator might be easier to deal with in the long run I suppose, but once we get the trails on the front part of the property built, the mini-truck would be great.

[72gmc]

A Daihatsu Hi-Jet is fun in Japan , but you don't want one in the US. Don't waste your time.

A local used car dealer seems to be doing a fair business in little Japanese trucks. I see them being used as urban work trucks for landscape companies and such--using 25-35mph streets, parking in tight spaces, they seem a really good fit for that. I'm only seeing them in white, though, and I'd be tempted to get a repaint in a jellybean color if I had one.

[j44ke]

A local used car dealer seems to be doing a fair business in little Japanese trucks. I see them being used as urban work trucks for landscape companies and such--using 25-35mph streets, parking in tight spaces, they seem a really good fit for that. I'm only seeing them in white, though, and I'd be tempted to get a repaint in a jellybean color if I had one.

spray.bike

[RichTheRoadie]

They call it a "restomod" and say they maintain 10% of the original chassis and only use cars from between 1970-75, so I think actually it isn't a complete reproduction. I was wondering if the 10% was a key detail, i.e. a way to circumvent any requirement to crash test one in order to get it into the US & licensed for street use. If it was a completely new car, the regulatory aspects might be more onerous, though I guess emissions testing wouldn't be an issue.

I've just be down the rabbit hole on Japanese mini-trucks, so my head is swimming with importation details. Just wondering what applies here.

My bad - I’d missed the donor chassis part.

[CJones]

Our local bike shop has one of these...

Screen Shot 2020-11-12 at 8.38.21 AM.jpg

[Jason Musgrave]

I work for a tire company. EV's are a real challenge for us. They're getting spec'd with low profile tires just like everything else and weigh a lot so to get the load carrying capacity up they have to run high inflation pressures. That makes the ride characteristics difficult to tune.

Another issue is that without a gas engine generating a ton of white noise, small noises become significantly more noticeable and objectionable.

and then there's all the torque that's available at 0 RPM. it's tough to make tires survive for very long with that kind of duty cycle.

I've got a teammate at work with a Tesla Roadster and he gets about ~3000 miles out of a set of rear tires!

[9tubes]

Since it's Italian, I suspect the electrical engineering will be as good as the design.

Are you familiar with Magneti Marelli?

[htwoopup]

Hard enough/ scary enough dodging traffic in Manhattan on a bike. Can't imagine what this would be like...

[ides1056]

The Gator might be easier to deal with in the long run I suppose, but once we get the trails on the front part of the property built, the mini-truck would be great.

Get a Kawasaki Mule. Way better.

[j44ke]

Get a Kawasaki Mule. Way better.

Hmm. And it has a plow.