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Originally Posted by NeilBlanchard
I think most of the cost is from "unobtanium" materials - if they built it with steel, it would cost far less.
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Even at relatively low price, I don't think it would sell. Witness the first Honda Insight which, according to the New York Times, sold just over 18,000 units globally in 7 model years.
According to them:
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All right, it’s a tiny two-seater without a trunk, with sometimes curious handling and indifferent comfort. It requires more trade-offs than most Americans are willing to make. Its sticker prices of $19,330 to $21,530 are high for a subcompact. And larger, more versatile hybrid cars, like the Honda Civic Hybrid and the Toyota Prius, cost little more.
...Ennui killed this electric car.
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$21,530 is $28,204 today. Even made out of steel, with a conventional gas engine and/or plug-in drivetrain, and at that price point or lower, I don't think the XL1 would find many buyers. It would have the same issues as the original Insight, and the sea of potential competitors (in both car and SUV form) is even larger now.
I would say it's a shame we don't act more rationally as new car buyers, but the very idea of having a 1000+ kg car to cart around 50-150 kg of person is itself irrational most of the time.