Electric TVR, anyone?

It doesn't look as much like a kit-car, either!

 

That sounds like quite the car. Nobody's gonna call that one a golf cart.

 

Thanks for posting.

The only thing I don't like about it is that they are taking orders now and production won't begin until '08.

This is where the big shops like Toyota have an advantage. They don't need pre-orders to make the car.... they make the car and then get the interest. What is this car flops and you invested in these people?

Anyway, it is good to see another electric car in the picture.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dipper @ Aug 16 2007, 01:47 PM) [snapback]497029[/snapback]</div>

Why do all of these cars seem to be sportscars?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(bestmapman @ Aug 17 2007, 11:56 AM) [snapback]497849[/snapback]</div>

Maybe they feel that is the only way to get interest in them. ::shrug::

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(bestmapman @ Aug 17 2007, 10:56 AM) [snapback]497849[/snapback]</div>

I think it has to do with the fact that most people who buy exotic sports cars are more willing to put up with eccentricities than the 'average' consumer. That's half the fun; driving a car that lots of other people can't/won't drive.

Plus, it probably won't be the primary vehicle. If it's not a primary vehicle, the owner will probably have more discretion as to where/when he drives it, too...which means freedom to design trips that suit the performance and range of the car. Family/primary cars aren't really used recreationally, in comparison...so we often don't have that freedom (to decide to not go somewhere, or grab the other car instead).

What else? Packaging the powertrain (at the expense of passenger and cargo room) isn't as big a deal with sports cars as 'regular' cars; they aren't marketed by how many cubic feet of cargo capacity they have. So, since performance is the goal, it's okay if the guts intrude a bit more.

Hmmmm, I could go on...two seat cars (sports or otherwise) are traditionally low volume, which means more of a chance to hand build 'em than on a speeding production line. Good for electrics in their current stage of development.

More importantly, companies like Tesla know that they can't take on Toyota, and never intend to. So, instead, they seek low-volume niches which Toyota won't touch.

Low volume usually equals high price.

High price usually equals sports car.

Lots of reasons, really (and not all of them good).

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Pinto Girl @ Aug 20 2007, 08:20 PM) [snapback]499449[/snapback]</div>

Is what your saying:

For a specialty car to sell you need a specialty buyer. This usually means sports car.

Makes sense when you look at it that way.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(bestmapman @ Aug 20 2007, 10:37 PM) [snapback]499550[/snapback]</div>

Makes even MORE sense when you distill it down to its essence like that!!

Man, do I ever babble.

 

I'm always glad to hear that another company is promising to sell an electric car some time in the future. Maybe some day one of them will actually produce one.

Meanwhile, I'm driving mine today. Too bad nobody but the Chinese is actually selling an electric car that's not limited to 25 mph. Everybody's promising, but the only one delivering is the last country I'd buy from if I had my 'druthers.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(bestmapman @ Aug 17 2007, 08:56 AM) [snapback]497849[/snapback]</div>

Sports cars sell for six-figure prices, and are built in relatively small quantities. That's the easiest market for a start-up company to break into. You can begin production with a fraction of the capital that it would take to compete in the family-car market, where production runs are enormous and economies of scale are huge.