Looking for a quirky work vehicle
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HCHTech
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If you are actually going to use it for business every day, then you have to have something that is practical = current or recent production, parts available, mechanics will work on it, etc. The only thing in this thread so far that meets that is the SmartCar, IMO. They're ugly, surprisingly bad on gas, but apparently strongly constructed. They've had an electric version for a while, so there should be some on the used market.
Actually not. I have several other late model vehicles (VW GTI, Econoline touring conversion van) so I have reliable transport. I also enjoy the mechanical work and have a fully equipped garage. Part of the reason for this is I'm looking for a project car. One of my prime criteria is electric powered as that ties in with work in most peoples minds.
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Or, more seriously, how about a Renault Twizy? Used ones are available in the UK for less than £5K:
https://www.renault.co.uk/vehicles/new-vehicles/twizy.html
Not a lot of luggage space though so might need to pull a trailer around with you for carrying computers.
https://www.renault.co.uk/vehicles/new-vehicles/twizy.html
Not a lot of luggage space though so might need to pull a trailer around with you for carrying computers.
Yes! Very cool! None in the states though but Nissan is offering them in rental fleets as part of ride sharing Scoot.
Sky-Knight
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Quadracycle?!? That's a GOLF CART!
ComputerRepairTech
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55 mph, thousand pound vehicle vs "The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency states that the average weight of a car in 2018 was 4,094 pounds" so for your own safety I would recommend against this.
Sky-Knight
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You know they said the same things about the smart car... and they're actually safer. Because they're so light if a truck smacks you, you just go along for the ride until the truck stops.
The mass of the vehicle doesn't matter as much as how rigid the passenger cage is. The problem with these little cars with rigid cages however, is very much the same as the old 60s vehicles. They don't absorb anything... so all that energy goes straight into the occupants.
Sky-Knight
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...and around here I'm more worried about hitting a deer or turkeys.....
I saw a smart car get sandwiched between two semi-trucks at freeway speeds. The two occupants of said smart car walked away... but one of them I saw blood coming from his mouth, so I'm fairly certain there were internal injuries involved.
Structurally deer and turkeys don't stand a chance... but well... deceleration trauma remains!
True until you have a head-on with something heavier ...
The heavier vehicle will continue in the direction it was going, albeit a little slower due to the transfer of energy into the lighter vehicle, while the lighter vehicle will be propelled backwards, instantly. What's worse, in smaller vehicles, crumple zones are usually smaller too, so any deceleration (before reverse acceleration) is minimal. The g-forces in such accidents are tremendous, usually resulting in fatal damage to the occupant's internal organs. Which is precisely why we have crumple zones, to absorb much of the impact energy and provide a little deceleration. If you hit something heavier head-on at speed while driving a Smart Car, the seatbelts and rigid cage will do nothing except make you look more presentable when you're laid out in your coffin.
Another thing to consider is that head-on collisions are often unavoidable. You can be the best driver in the world, but if some idiot swerves into you, or is on your side of the road as you emerge from a blind bend or hill, there's often little you can do but brace yourself for an impact. That's why, personally, I've always driven bigger, heavier cars. Too many idiots on the roads, and in head-on collisions, it's survival of the biggest.
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Sky-Knight
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True but a flying Turkey is like a 25 lb. bowling ball coming through the windshield at 70+ mph and deer almost always come over the hood and into the windshield. I'm not saying they are worse than an auto-to-auto encounter. It's just around here they are more frequent.
That's not strictly true. All other things being equal (velocity, passenger cell rigidity, crumple-zone protection, seatbelts, etc), if you're in the car that is propelled backwards, your chances of surviving are massively diminished. It's simple physics; the vehicle with the greatest energy will always continue in the direction it was travelling after impact. Speed plays a part (greater velocity = more energy) but weight/mass is by far the greatest factor, if you do the math(s).
Laws of Physics Persist: In Crashes, Big Cars Win:
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/413018/laws-of-physics-persist-in-crashes-big-cars-win/
Large and Small Cars in Real-World Crashes -Patterns of Use, Collision Types and Injury Outcomes:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3400214/
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backwoodsman
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...or a squirrel......and around here I'm more worried about hitting a deer or turkeys.....
Sky-Knight
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You know... that meme while intended to be funny only illustrates my point. That particular image comes from a Fifth Gear episode, but there are news reports of those things being hit by trains and people walking away.
It depends on the circumstance, but being small has its advantages.
But yeah, no bones about deceleration trauma... that crap hurts!
It depends on the circumstance, but being small has its advantages.
But yeah, no bones about deceleration trauma... that crap hurts!
Blue House Computer Help
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Hi Diggs,
So I know this is an old thread, but I wondered how you got on? What did you go with in the end?
Here's my take on the slightly quirky electric car thing (but current enough to have parts available). It's a Peugeot iOn, (clone of the Mitsubishi iMiEV and Citroen C-Zero):
So I know this is an old thread, but I wondered how you got on? What did you go with in the end?
Here's my take on the slightly quirky electric car thing (but current enough to have parts available). It's a Peugeot iOn, (clone of the Mitsubishi iMiEV and Citroen C-Zero):
It never materialized. LiIo 18650 cells are becoming harder and harder to source as so many things are moving to pouch and prismatic cells. While I was canvassing the cell supply my nephew hadn't heard from me and tore into the Zapcar to convert it to an ICE (a mistake in my opinion). My passion these days is ebikes. I have several and build my own battery packs mostly from outdated medical (think portable oxygen enrichment) grade 18650 cells as laptop batteries really don't hold up to the high discharge rates of ebikes. Business had slowed so much that in late November I put my touring ebike in my van and traveled the Gulf coast from Texas to Florida for a month. (No-hands pedaling down Boubon Street in New Orleans on Thanksgiving Day. - heh! Even did remote work from state parks and Walmart parking lots in the van through cellular hot-spot.)
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