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The Return of the Sparrow Electric Vehicle?
H0NGK0NGPH00EY writes "I have been keeping my eye on the Sparrow electric vehicle, following last year's bankruptcy of its creator, and recently noticed that the brightly-colored three-wheeled electric commuter car has been reborn. Myers Motors will begin selling an upgraded version this summer, after having acquired the rights and tooling from Phoenix Environmental Motors, who mention this on their official homepage."
Fire the market researchers! Why didn't they learn, right back from this - The Sinclair C5. It failed then, so why don't they learn that people don't want to ride around in something that makes them look like a fool?
Now, if they follow the examples set by manufacturers such as Toyota, where they make hybrid, dual fuel cars (gas/electric) that switch fuel type depending on the usage, we'll get to the point where we can effectively use less damaging energy sources. We're getting there, slowly, but this just isn't it.
If I could afford one at the moment, I would put myself on the list right now. Next time I'm in the market for a car, I'll probably buy one, or something very similar.
My site: Free Nature Pictures
Given the number of times that brakes are mentioned in the list of improvements, one wonders if the lack of braking lead to the financial demise of the original company...
:
(the following upgrades and fixes have been added)
Improved Braking
Dielectric grease in connector [very nice]
Hard washers for Wheel bearings
New outer suspension, complete with brakes [!?]
Cover for front brake lines to eliminate shorting
Hard tubing for brake lines
Moved brake pressure line switch.
And price. I think it's a failure to the masses, but at least they're not so pretentious about their product, unlike Dean Kamen and his certain scooter. Remember, it will promise to "change the way cities are made"!
Check out the Toyota Personal Mobility Vehicle.
It really kicks ass.
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/toyota-pm.htm
Toyota's approach is the way you're supposed to do small vehicles.. That is, not by making an ugly ass unsafe car!
Good aerodinamics (small contact area), small wheight, better security and weather protection than a motorcycle. Everything I would like in a ... gas vehicle.
Id buy one of these if it has a gas motor, I dont want to pay the wheight and cost of batteries, and want the flexibility (refueling everywhere) and manutenability of a gas engine. (no need to change that whole battery set once and while)
I seriously want a gas engine vehicle that consume much less, but no way Id like a battery powered vehicle.
I actually like the idea of electric cars. For one, my work is only about 3 miles away from my house. I could use a bicycle, but if it rains or snows, or cold out, thats out. I bought a cheap car to get me too and from work and it is reliable. But with the gas prices going up, it would be nice not to spend a penny on gas. Now, I don't pay for electricty either, so plugging in a car to my outlet is no big deal to me (AF base, free utiliteis).
Has anyone figured out how much your electric bill would go up by charging your batteries at home?
Mark
At around $14,000 and only a 20-40 mile range I really can't see this as a real option for anyone. You can buy a hybrid car at that price. And get a range closer to 400 miles...
Really? You can't see it as an option for anyone? As I stated in an above post, many families have two cars. There really isn't a need for both of those cars to seat 4 and have a 400 mile range. The vast majority of the time, one of the two cars doesn't go more than 50 miles in a day, with one person in it. Why wouldn't a Sparrow be an option for those people?
It would be worth paying a bit more than a hybrid, to not be a slave to the filling station. Not only that, but electric cars are simpler, quieter, and cleaner! What's not to love?
If the price were around $3,000 I'd consider it.
Okay, now you're just being totally unrealistic. Gas powered cars have been around for over a century, and you can't buy one of those brand new for even twice that price.
Do not read this sig.
This is a much better example of the potential of electric car technology than that fugly little nose-on-wheels.
Doesn't the phrase "begin selling" require someone to actually buy one of these things?
It could be a decent idea if they sold it for a few hundred bucks, but 14 grand? I could buy a real car for that amount. And don't give me any crap about how these things are better than cars, the fact remains there are numerous uses for cars which these are not suitable for such as transporting passangers, carrying other items (such as groceries, etc), driving on highways, etc.
Mathematics is made of 50 percent formulas, 50 percent proofs, and 50 percent imagination.
It's a nice car, but isn't practical for most people. (Any room for groceries?) Personally, I like the Honda Civic Hybrid. Approx. 50 miles to the gallon, that's about 650 miles in one 13 gallon tank. And it holds several people. Still not the most fuel efficient vehicle, but it's so much better than the gas guzzling SUVs consumer America is obsessed with.
It isn't a bad thing. Frankly it's about time the UK started addressing this issue!
Wait? You say surely I'm confused?
Lets see:
Wind generation capacity:
US: 4,400,000 KW [est 2002, DOE]
UK: 0,331,000 KW[foe.co.uk]
Oh my! Even with 4.67 times the population, the UK has only 35% the per capita wind generation capacity...
Frankly, I don't disagree with that statement. Selfish newbie 4-wheelers can destroy good trails in no time flat, cause severe erosion, and worse! But seriously... Shouldn't we really be more concerned with how much more or less they are doing so? The smartest people on earth, with the largest arrays of data can only guess at the relative environmental impacts of things like this. There are not only too many factors, but we just don't know how the 'environment' works. I'll give you that they would seem to be somewhat worse in many forseeable situations... [Like sitting stuck in trafficWhy do you need a computer to read? You don't. I really can't explain 302's in trucks, except to guess that they're pretty old? Mine has a 415...
Inner-cities are a completely different discussion. With small exceptions, this is not the clientel for $14k 1 seaters with no A/C...
Oh dear, another reactionary has gone and confused progress with change again... I'm not sure exactly who you're labelling what here...
Oh gosh, now I understand. It's evil Americans.
I personally get annoyed at conservative 'everything is fine now' types AND reactionary freaks who run around labeling people evildoers...
Do you know that most idiots think they're smart? I certainly do.
;)
No no, you misunderstand, I was simply reacting against the original poster. He was referencing those who use electric cars as "traitors", and also referenced himslef as a SUV driver (as far as I am aware, not many of these have 1.3 litre engines!). The craters reference was with regard to his original comment, referring to the damage left behind by nuclear reactors.
You will also note I mentioned progress AND change, why do these have to be mutually exclusive. Does one not forgo the other? I personally welcome it.
As far as the UK and windfarms is concerned, I agree, there's been little done to bring it in, in the past, and I welcome the changes they are making. However, politically, it is causing havoc in the areas where they are installed. I don;t see the problem with it myself.
As for SUVs destroying the trails etc, they probably are, but I've been hiking all around this place and have yet to see one beeping me out of the way. However, through the main streets of Sydney you can hear and smell them a mile off. They are unnecessary (and notice I am not just referencing the USA here, I'm not a xenophobe) - just like the four-wheel drives that idle around suburbia in the UK. The analogy with reading on a computer doesn't make sense - I read on a computer because the material is easily searchable etc etc. How does taking the kids to school in a V8 compare to taking the kids to school in a 1.3 Micra? You'll get there in the same amount of time.
And I never switch my engine off in traffic jams unless I've been sat in the same spot for yonks, and am running low on fuel - do you know how much that stuff costs us??!
Finally, I disagree with you on the target demographic for the small 1 seater electric car. I think it is purposefully aimed for inner cities, where short ranges are the norm, but heavy traffic is hard to navigate. Just look at the Mercedes owned Smart car, and how popular it is in bigger cities in Europe (I know it's not electric, but it still meets the same market).
Damn if I can see one of these things tipping over. it has a 4' x 8' foot print and a 57" height on 3 wheels... one good corner and whammo your toast. Get nailed by an SUV... Organ doner... Sure it looked really cool with a whale tail in the Austin Powers Gold Member, but you wanna pick up your date in one of these things? Damn, forgot, single seater just like their other unit the Merlin. At least the Merlin looked like it would stand up to a stiff side wind.
You want balls out excitement, check out T-Rex
Granted it isn't electric but it is a two seater, motorcycle engine and heart pounding fun. I got the chance to see on up close at Sturgis last year.
I hope the sparrow does do well though as it will innevitably translate into all around better transportation options in other areas.
flinging poop since 1969
No, lead acid battery powered cars have horrible range because of the technology. Many current natural gas and hydrogen designs are for electric cars. And as car as I know, there isn't a fuel cell design for a car that isn't for an electric car.
As for diesel, did you know that diesel locomotives are actually run by electric motors? We will have electric cars as soon as they get it to scale efficiently and cost effectively.
I'm really glad you put your money where your mouth is! I have a friend who has a Sparrow and he also loves it. You make two incredibly insightful points.
1. Li-Ion/Li-Poly batteries! Exactly! Convert any existing vehicle and get roughly 3 times the range for even less weight. The laptop/cell phone/model airplane industry has been driving the market for years. They are just now starting to entire usage in people carrying vehicles. I firmly believe they will be in wide spread vehicular use in the next 10-20 years. The technology is here now, it will just take that "economy of scale" thing to make it a reality for the common person.
2. Infrastructure! I build record setting human and electric powered vehicles (check my website), and while I can build a vehicle that will go 100mph on 1 horsepower, there is simply no place to drive such a thing. The wind from an SUV/truck would hurl it off the road. I would love to see a alterative transportation network setup like rails-to-trails that allow for small and quiet vehicles. Maybe a 45 mph speed limit?
Regardless of what anyone says about the Corbin Sparrow, by purchasing one you are helping to pave the way for a cleaner more efficient transportaion system.
Thanks.
Yes, it is beautiful, but it is NOT "staggeringly well designed." Trust me on this; I was a former owner of a Sparrow, and found out -- the hard way -- that a three-wheeled, rear-driven layout is fundamentally unstable in the event of fishtail: flip, roll, totaled.
m essage/3680)
In addition, the quality of both design and construction was truly dismal. I wondered sometimes if the Corbins didn't bother to design anything ahead of time, but just sort of threw things together, bodged it around until it worked, kinda.
They had a cool concept, but absolutely no idea how to actually execute that in a reliable and profitable way, and so the Sparrows were MASSIVELY unreliable; mine was out of service for, literally, 2/3 or 3/4 of the time I owned it, and stalled -- twice! -- crossing the Bay Bridge. (Ever been stalled on the Bay Bridge? Now imagine doing so in a very small fiberglass container.)
No... there's no way this vehicle can be worthwhile without a ground-up redesign by folks who actually know what they are doing. I know nothing of Myers Motors, so maybe they are smart folks, but if they're starting with the existing design, they've already made a big mistake.
If, say, Honda, or Toyota, or even Piaggio, designed a vehicle like this, I might be interested....
(For more info on a Sparrow's crashworthiness, see: http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/sparrow_ev/
Have you noticed the one made for Austin Powers "Goldmember"..that looks a lot better than the original..maybe that's the way to go
The best planning can be done after the project completes.
The smart car is a low selling, rather dinky car which is VERY popular with businesses around here. Any company that needs to get its people around quite quickly- but doesnt need them to haul a tonne of stuff - seems to be buying one of these and covering it in logos.
They have low running costs, have an environmental cool image, show forward / independent thinking, and are noticable on the road. They do a pretty good job.
They are SCARY to drive at anything over 60mph though - you feel like your only touching the road about 20% of the time! But theyre not really built for that!
This is a niche this little monkey should be aimed at - corp city runarounds.
Where's the Trunk?
Will this thing fit anything other than the driver? With a 20mile range (requring most people to recharge it at work, good luck finding a plug), and no cargo room (can you figure out where to put your laptop/groceries?), you might as well ride a bike.
(the commute will take 1-1.5hrs on a bike, you can carry a signifigant cargo capacity, and all you need to recharge is a snickers bar)
On a side note, would this little thing FIT an average American? I'm not exadgerating. I woudn't want to figure out how to cram a 250lb male into one of these things. (especialy since that would constitute 1/6 the combined mass of the car)
Actually this would be a nice vehicle if it sat 2.
(say one behind the other?)
I would rather be ashes than dust!
A lady at our work bought a used Bluebird Sparrow for 5K before batteries. Also no sales tax on the Batteries.
Work put in a special parking spot with power outlet, so she can charge it. They get a tax write off for supporting alternative vehicals.
She drives it from Seattle to Bothell every day. Few problems, but it fits her needs. She did have to buy a new drive belt, but no other problems yet.
We already have a bunch of people looking and useing smaller bio-diesel trucks.
Small niche companies can make a profit...