Two Doors and an Electric Motor — Tata Technologies Presents the Emo

Well maybe there is something wrong with my browser but there is no picture of the vehicle or story beyond the headline? Anyway I clicked on the provided link and found some interesting data on the vehicle. I also posted the following on a different website about this vehicle and the general direction of the American auto industry. Ford and Chevrolet as well as many other manufacturers realize that smaller is the coming thing. According to some projections, gasoline could/may hit $5.00/gallon in the summer driving season of 2012.

Tom G. says [posting edited for this site]
January 11, 2012 at 10:23 pm
Well o.k. first things first. Today at the CES show in Vegas the CEO of Ford talked about ‘auto drive’ and ‘automotive technology in general’. Generally the conversation went something like the following.

1st will come more safety stuff [electronic controls] like lane change/drifting avoidance by near vehicle communication, then it will be enhance to include accident prevention. After that more vehicle to vehicle communication and then auto drive [will come to market]. A time line wasn’t given but my guess is around 5-7 years. Ford might be the first mass market vehicle in the $20-25,000 price point range with this type of technology since their CEO is a tech lover but that is strictly a guess on my part.

Now about the vehicle in this posting – I like it but not enough to buy it. Instead I want it to be a little more like the “MIT City Car” concept. However neither the MIT City Car or the vehicle described here is going to meet 100% of my driving needs but it will meet 90-95%. Here are a couple of things I would do to make this vehicle more serviceable and marketable in the U.S.

Move the battery pack from under the front seat to the rear seat area, make it a HATCH BACK with a fold down rear seat to facilitate more cargo. Standard roof should be steel/composite. Much of the U.S. is so hot in the summer a moon roof is negative selling point and adds unnecessary complexity to the vehicle. If you insist on it being make of glass, incorporate solar PV. You can also dump the 2 suicide doors and make the front doors slightly larger.

As far as range is concerned, it is twice as much as I need. Where I live our whole town is only about 12 miles from end to end so give me an option of a LESS EXPENSIVE vehicle with a smaller battery pack. Maybe a 8-10 kWh pack with 40-60 miles of range. Price it a few thousand less and I believe it might just sell like hot cakes. HOWEVER, it must have internet connectivity, USB port, Sat. Radio and of course play everything I stick in the slot in the dash.

Remember this is not going to be my primary 300 mile car to take a trip in. For that I still intend to use my Hyundai Elantra. This vehicle will be used for:

1. Grocery shopping
2. Going to movies
3. Trips to Home Depot/Lowe’s/ACE for some paint or hardware
4. Out to dinner with my sweetheart
5. To the Grand-kids school plays
6. Trips to daughters house here in town [5 miles each way]
7. As my RV tow vehicle [since it is light]
8. Going to Garage Sales, and;
9. Cruising down to the lake to watch a sunset and that’s about it.

Also, If I was still working instead of being retired; it might might still work as a daily driver if the trip was mostly on city streets. As a freeway vehicle; probably not but their are millions of us retired folks who could be saving vast amounts of fuel.

I couldn’t think of anything my Elantra could do better than this vehicle EXCEPT go on a long trip. If I had one of these vehicles, my truck and my Elantra would probably set in the garage about 90-95% of the time. My annual gasoline bill should drop by about $2300-$2800 so I could add that to my savings.

Anyway those are my thoughts and I welcome yours.