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Wow, what a great thread. Even the hijacked parts!!!! It has inspired me to register so I can put my 2 cents in.
First off, I like Fabio, even if he is a moron for not wearing a seatbelt. I too am damned pissed off that quarter century old cars kick the crap out of new ones in mileage.
I am a libertarian. I think everyone should be free to build or drive whatever the hell they want, which perhaps some restraints on building vehicles that are inherently dangerous to others on the road. I think excursions should be legal, but some measures to ensure their pilots are not utterly clueless, is a good thing.
There is absolutely no reason why we shouldn't have 10-20 hp single passengers vehicles if we want them. Such vehicles could achieve well over 100 mpg and still provide better crash/weather protection than a motorcycle. And they would be dirt cheap.
As for the ultimate insight, I think honda's original 5 speed is awesome. It provides a nice balance, but, as with most things, balance means it doesn't do a particular thing extremely well. A straight EV insight would make a great short range commuter. A lupo TDI powered one, a great hiway cruiser.
I think there is another one that might be kind of cool for a mostly commuter, occasional long distance rig. It would be a series hybrid kind of along the lines of a volt, but with way less engine. The problem with the volt is it is always dragging around a heavy lump of an ICE. My idea is an extremely light insight with maybe a 30 hp electric motor, enough lithium battery to get me to work and back and a very small, very light generator. I would make the generator removable. Why drag it to work and back?
Honda makes 2KW and 3KW gennies which may or may not make sufficient power to keep the batteries up. Does anyone know how many watts it takes to push an insight down the road at 65 mph. I think 3KW might do it.
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