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Keep Your Eye on the Electric Sparrow

Posted by michael on from the betamax dept.

WC as Kato writes "Corbin Motors, the company that made the cute electric Sparrow car driven by Austin Powers in Goldmember, has gone into bankruptcy. SJ Mercury News has details of the dead bird..er Sparrow. Another electric car bites the dust!"

6 of 164 comments (clear)

  1. Here's another by EdgeShadow · · Score: 5, Informative

    Not so tiny.

  2. Re:OK, its conspiracy time! by Latent+IT · · Score: 4, Informative

    Sadly, the answer is:

    G) Massive technical difficulties, including its tendancy to drive away while plugged in if it's raining. Oh, and lawsuits.

    I mean, reading the article, it sounds like the car just *didn't* work, and tipped over more than a few times. Normally I'd be sad a company like this folded, but it doesn't sound like they were doing a very good job.

  3. Decent Sparrow pictures ... by mike_lynn · · Score: 4, Informative

    ... considering the article didn't have any.

    Try:

    www.firstmoto.ch/F6/design/Sparrow.html

  4. Re:Maybe they wouldn't fail by MikeFM · · Score: 3, Informative

    You've got a point but a lot of the changes are done for effeciency reasons. I think they need to learn moderation though. Start off with something similar to the Honda Insight and gradually whittle down until you find the point people stop buying the cars at.

    My favorite EV's are old muscle cars that have been overhauled into EV's. A 60's Mustang as an EV is really pretty hot. I really want an old GTO converterable made into an EV.. someday. *Dreams*

    --
    At what price learning? At what cost wisdom? The price is a man's peace of mind, and the cost is his life.
  5. I got to test drive a Sparrow by bzipitidoo · · Score: 5, Informative
    I'm not crazy enough to ride a motorbike, but I thought a 3 wheeler might be a good deal safer so when I had a chance I stopped in. They were nervous about letting me try one because another customer had crashed one earlier that day. Um....

    First thing I asked them was how prone was the Sparrow to tipping over. There was a lengthy silence so I moved on to other questions.

    Once at the wheel, I was super cautious. Never got over 30. Motor made a high pitched whine even at 5 MPH and just kept winding that pitch up beyond dental drill range. There was a drainage channel angling across the exit (they were at the end of a turn-around circle). I had visions of the Sparrow flipping over if I took that exit with any speed at all-- left wheel down as that side hit the dip, then left wheel up and right wheel down, perfect conditions for tipping over. So I didn't try it.

    Aside from being a 3 wheeler, the big problem was the electric part. 60 mile range (at best) before needing hours to recharge was bad enough. Then to learn that the batteries would only last 2 to 4 years before I'd have to replace the lot for several hundred dollars convinced me it wasn't even a little bit practical. You're not doing the environment any favors when you're going thru lots of batteries. Far friendlier to use a conventional car.

    Corbin was hard at work on a gas powered 3 wheeler called Merlin at the time. Wonder what became of that effort?

    --
    Intellectual Property is a monopolistic, selfish, and defective concept. It is "tyranny over the mind of man"
  6. Pictures by mrpuffypants · · Score: 3, Informative

    For those of you wondering what they look like, here's a pic:

    http://www.photowords.com/Earth7408.jpg

    Courtesy Google Image Search