Hacker News Reader

Comment by lloeki | Hacker News Reader

Amusingly the problems you mention are inherent to a two-wheeler, and given the necessary dimensions of the egg-shaped outside you might as well add some more wheels at the corners to solve the stability problem. Then you end up with something like Renault Twizy [0] (look at the top view on page 2 to get an idea of its dimensions), currently sold today starting at 7000€, plus 50€/month of battery rent.

I would not have bet on that vehicle but it seems to be selling, since I already encountered a bunch of them.

A bunch of stats (for the topmost model, as the lower one is limited in power and does not require a driving license):

    13kW/17ch
    80km/h top speed
    0-45km/h in 6.1s
    100km range
    6.1kWh battery 
    473kg with battery (~100kg)

[0] http://www.renault.fr/media/e-brochures/att00409285/ebrochur...

View on HN

I always wonder how things with no doors do when it rains. It seems if I commuted in that thing and it rained, I'd show to work soaked.

There are models with no doors or half doors - apparently some legislation somewhere would require a heated front screen if it had full doors:

http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/car-tech/1284439/renault-twiz...

ah... I thought the "half door" was that bar across the opening. It seems that is a third model which would still get me wet. It seem the half door is the lower half (of course.. it wouldn't make sense to be the top half). SO driving that would be like driving with the windows down the whole time. It still makes we wonder how people make use of these when it rains. Maybe the shape of things deflects the water out enough to miss the passengers. Maybe I'm just too spoiled with my fully enclosed vehicle... I'd rather stay dry. :) Interesting bit about the heated windshield (assuming that is what "front screen" means).

Actually, the idea of having a vehicle with a windscreen/windshield in a damp climate without some means of keeping it free of condensation is pretty scary - so that legislation kind of make sense (at least for Northern Europe).

oh... don't get me wrong. I understand the usefulness of having a good heater when it is raining. Likewise I understand the horror of having an inefficient heater when it is raining. It was just interesting that there is legislation mandating it. I'll assume that the US has this as well then.

Initially I thought it sounded like a particularly daft bit of legislation - then I thought about it for a bit..... :-)

Nice. That looks like something out of a science fiction movie. More of a golf cart than a car but still, interesting to see that they are in production.

It's beautiful! I just think it needs a bit more of a trunk.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com