Electric Car Sighted on Highway - Who Makes It? 124
moophus managed
to spot an interesting vehicle on the roads: "Spotted: one electric vehicle
on the highways of Atlanta, Georgia. Sighted around 6:30pm EDT, going south on
I-85, traveling ~60mph (had a cool hum). It was a single seater, three
wheeled wonder. Can anyone identify make, model? Any details on this
bugger, like: range, efficiency, top speed, acceleration, cost, and cell type?
I could only get several pictures which didn't turn out too well, since I had to gamma correct two of them.
Another interesting thing that I've heard about electric cars: they have purposely
put in noise makers in the wheels (like those plastic tri-cycles back in the
day) because they just ran too quiet to be safe. Is this true?" The
pictures didn't turn out too badly, as you can definitely make out
much of the shape of this thing. It's more like a motorcycle than a car, but
it still looks interesting enough. Hopefully more vehicles like this will be
making their way on to the markets (and the roads) sometime soon.
Try... (Score:1, Informative)
Sparrow (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Sparrow (Score:2, Informative)
range : 30 to 60 miles
top speed : 60mph officially. This user got 80mph [evworld.com]
acceleration : "a bit poor" [evworld.com] or surprisingly brisk [westerndriver.com]
cost : $15000
cell type : 13 Optima sealed, lead acid cell batteries
The Sparrow by Corbin Motors of San Francisco (Score:5, Informative)
I've had my eye on those vehicles for 2 years
The car you are looking at is called the 'Sparrow'. [corbinmotors.com]. It is manufactured by Corbin Motors [corbinmotors.com] of San Francisco (actually, their main factory/headquarters is in Hollister, CA, 30 miles south of San Jose; but few people know where Hollister is). It's a one person vehicle. It has a 60 mile range and can go up to 60 mph. Cost is $14-16,000 It's available in North America, Europe & Asia.
I've sat in a Sparrow, but I've never driven one. It's a comfortable, but spartan interior.
Corbin Motors deal mostly with motorcycles, but has this small electric vehicle business on the side (and good luck to them!).
Their main showroom is located 1.5 blocks from the 'South Park' area in South of Market in San Francisco. They are surrounded by a bunch of former dotcom buildings (and a few surviving dotcoms, like mine
A picture of the purchase (Score:2, Informative)
Safety (Score:3, Informative)
This article has a lot to offer about performance and potential problems of the car: http://www.electrifyingtimes.com/corbinsparrow200
Re:I could only get several pictures (Score:2, Informative)
I've had a number of people take pictures of me while driving my sparrow down the road, it's very much an attention getter. I've had it over 70, though with the short wheelbase, the steering gets a bit twitchy at that speed. I saw one, albeit slightly modified, do the 1/4 mile at 86mph in just over 15 seconds at the EV Drag Races in Woodburn, Oregon. Mine wouldn't do burnouts like that one would, but it's nearly as fast, definitely fun to drive.
The biggest problem is the belt drive --- a $100 belt that likes to break every few thousand miles, which leaves you stranded (it's not field replaceable), and it's something of a "tinkering machine". But when it works, it's a blast.
Re:Noise in the wheels. (Score:3, Informative)
Speaking of modifications, these cars are fun and incredibly easy to hack. No nitrous oxide or bolt-ons needed, just a jumper wire! Weakening the magnetic field increases armature current and motor speed exponentially. You can easily spin a DC motor to the point of destruction just by weakening the current through the field coils.
Want to purchae one (Score:2, Informative)
It's a Corbin Sparrow (Score:3, Informative)
they're made in Hollister, CA.
an outgrowth of a company known for motorcycle
after market products. It's a 3-wheeler with belt-drive
to the rear wheel. In California it is classified as a motorcycle
and is allowed in the carpool lanes.