with that much power, that little mass, and probably no launch control, i think we can safely assume massive wheelspin on launches...

synthetic carbon fiber? ummm, i didn't think that was possible. isn't carbon, by definition, organic? and hence not a synthetic material?

well that sucks...

maybe you didn't understand what i was saying. clearly the lotus elise is a great car to convert to an EV. Why? Cause it has been designed, from the ground up, to be a super-lightweight minimalist vehicle. The whole purpose of that car is to be bare bones. kinda like the EV1. notice the Lotus uses an all-aluminum frame, making it suitable for conversion.

now, name one car in GM's 1990's inventory that was purpose built, from the ground up, to have a super lightweight all aluminum frame suitable for converting into an economically viable EV. cause i can't think of anything...

I am not saying that borrowing frames is a bad idea. I am aware of the fact that the vast majority of cars these days do. And i AGREE that it is normally a great idea. it works perfectly when you don't have to worry about every single ounce.

But we are comparing apples to oranges here. How the hell can you take a heavy steel frame and make it super-lightweight? you can't. there isn't a single frame in the 1990's lineup suitable for conversion to an electric car.

if you were to use the same type of frame in the EV1 that was used in other GM cars, you would end up with at 4000 lb monster with horrible range. while the idea itself may have been sound, the fact remains there wasn't any other frame suitable. and your ignorance can't change that.

clearly you need to go back for some more education.

meme,

you really, reaaaalllllly don't understand anything about engineering, do you. before you hate on, let me first clarify that i am liberal and all for saving the environment, but as an engineer, i can actually think with some sort of reason.

and to be blunt, you are a complete and total dumb ass.

so lets address your argument. you wanted to pull parts from other current production cars in order to make a cheaper one, right? well how will that work?

an electric car shares virtually NOTHING in common with a internal combustion (IC) car. lets start with the basics:

Engine: nope, absolutely nothing similar there.

Transmission: A normal car transmission loses 15-30% of power through the drivetrain alone. When you are looking at such low range numbers, you can't afford any unnecessary loss. Furthermore, you can't even simply transfer an IC transmission. Between completely different gearings and set ups, it would more likely be far more effective to design a purpose built trans rather than take an old one and slap on a bunch of extraneous shit to make it work. Bottom line: if you were to take an existing one, the reduced efficiency and added weight to even make it work (if that was even possible, i don't know enough about the EV's setup) would cut the range enough that it wouldn't be even worth selling.

Frame: You have got to be kidding me, right? Your call for adding a more aerodynamic shell on top of an existing frame is a horrible idea. A standard steel frame unbelievably heavy. Adding to that the battery, and well, how the hell are you going to get any sort of decent mileage? Going the route of the Lotus Elise and all high end sports cars, crafting a frame out of lightweight materials was the only option to get decent range.

Body: well, that's a given. It has to be aerodynamic (btw .19 Cd is amazing), so you really can't look for much improvement on that end. transferring from any other car would destroy that, and aero drag is one of the biggest factors limiting range.

Bottom line: you can't transfer parts because they simply weigh too much, are too inefficient, or simply wont work. With any EV, you are savaging every little bit of efficiency out, as batteries are currently a poor way to store energy.

There is a reason you don't make/design cars for a living. You are not an automotive engineer, you don't know anything about it, so please don't pretend like you have half the brain needed to comment on it.

-john

Gary,

as an engineer student, i cannot understand how upset you must be with all this bullshit being thrown around how the EV1 was designed to fail, not to mention the idiotic physics "facts" that untrained people claim to know. Engineering an economically and technically feasible EV is damn hard, and doing it 15 years ago must have been much harder. I just want to say i have a lot of respect for what you guys have done, and thank you for writing up theses posts.

- John

ewww

if they put a good enough motor, awd, and a 6speed, in this and brought it to the states, i might consider trading in my MKIV R32 for this...

thats not a goodyear eagle f1. i've got the f1, and it doesn't have the smaller veins inbetween the larger ones. must be a knockoff or a different brand

Indy is amazing. Give me your hearrrttt Dr. Jones. i Just love him cause he doesn't have any super powers, he just does everything the old fashioned way...