Edison2 Very Light Car: Chapter 2

[freebeard]

Very cool. Last I'd heard he'd gone into real estate development.

Instead of Facebook, I went to DDG

He lost Ron Mathis, his engineer, in 2016 to a bicycle accident.

In 2017 he created Off Lease to remarket off-lease cars off-shore.

Which doesn’t sound like the best business strategy, but Kuttner admits ulterior motives. First, he believes strongly in recycling and reusing.
....
And, second, he’s the guy who won the X-Prize in 2011, with a super light car that got more than a hundred miles to the gallon. He’s now got a company that will adapt his design to run on electricity, and make these cars in quantity, so he can sell them for just $12,000.

“That puts the car way below the Tesla 3, and where this becomes interesting is because the Very Light Car uses so little energy you can actually end up driving off solar a fair amount, and that becomes a game changer.”

Of course to start manufacturing, he’s going to need money, and he believes the new business will be very profitable. It will also provide a global channel for selling his car.

I might have the choice of Edison2 or Arcimoto?

[samwichse]

Fingers crossed...

I'd love to see them, you know, produce something.

Aptera couldn't
Elio Motors couldn't
Myers EV couldn't
Arcomoto could (limited quantities so far)
Edison2 ???

[palmer_md]

Originally Posted by palmer_md

Wow. This is a very nice surprise to read. I'm going to have to start digging into this. If they are relaunching the company is love to get involved.

Looks like its time to start polishing up the resume. They updated their website. Edison2 Motors: Unlike Any Other

it used to just be edison2.com, now they added the motors.

[freebeard]

I looked around and was confused by Vanderhall:

www.designboom.com: vanderhall goes electric for its edison2 three-wheeler roadster

I'd hoped they had adopted Kuttner's inwheel suspension, but no joy. Vanderhall has a fair-weather side-by-side two seater, not a daily driver. I like the 4-passenger design.

[oil pan 4]

Originally Posted by samwichse

Fingers crossed...

I'd love to see them, you know, produce something.

Aptera couldn't
Elio Motors couldn't
Myers EV couldn't
Arcomoto could (limited quantities so far)
Edison2 ???

I say all the failures are proof no one wants to drive a car that looks like a science experiment.

[freebeard]

proof no not everyone wants to drive a car that looks like a science experiment.

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3663/...28bea185_z.jpg

[pete c]

Originally Posted by freebeard

I looked around and was confused by Vanderhall:

www.designboom.com: vanderhall goes electric for its edison2 three-wheeler roadster

I'd hoped they had adopted Kuttner's inwheel suspension, but no joy. Vanderhall has a fair-weather side-by-side two seater, not a daily driver. I like the 4-passenger design.

WTF is with that huge ugly grill?

It is an EV. It doesn't need that.

One of the brilliant things about the VLC was the pointy nose that incorporated deflection as a safety feature. They have thrown that concept away.

I do like the tadpole layout. It is simple, cheap to build and gets them out of a lot of ridiculous safety regulations.

Would love to see that vehicle with a sleek enclosed cabin and pointy nose.

[freebeard]

Agreed.

The most recent news story DDG finds is from a year ago, about Zero Motorcycles providing the drivetrain. www.foxnews.com: zero-motorcycles-harley-davidson-electric-bikes

The company has branched out in recent years to provide electric powertrains to vehicles from other companies, including the Utah-built three-wheel Vanderhall Edison, another ride you probably haven’t heard of unless you're into that sort of thing.

The grill is what you say. The overall proportions are from the 1930s; the side-by-side seating kills the opportunity for a needle nose. No weather protection.

Arcimoto, or at least one of the rental customers in California, proved the worth of an open-wheel front end in a 40% offset front end collision. They peeled the right A-arms right off.

I think the big advancement will be if/when Arcimoto adopts a cast aluminum upper frame to replace the steel tubes. They've struggled with adding doors to it. They've partnered with a 3D printing company and Munro & Assoc. so I expect some progress there.

[sheepdog 44]

I'm merging my old post into this thread about Edison2's sale or maybe rebranding as E2 mobility. The website got significantly updated showing videos of the new concept and what they intend to do with it. Interestingly they added official aero numbers for it which i dont think we previously had: 0.16 cd, 18.36 square feet frontal area, 2.937 cda. And it had a video of the 40% offset crash they always talked about but i dont think i ever saw.

https://www.e2mobility.us/

2 news articles from the past month. Not much more info? Charlottesville Virginia is near the headquarters of where Edison 2 used to be.


https://www.newswise.com/articles/au...of-e2-mobility

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-rele...301554160.html

[freebeard]

The actual vehicle is being subsumed into a 'digital ecosystem'.

The result is the first Smart Mobility Vehicle (SMV), the E2 Flex. Other transformative design features, such as business class experience, safe and secure modular driver and passenger compartments, on demand decontamination, and preventive and proactive maintenance ensure that the E2 fleet will deliver value throughout the lifecycle of its vehicles.

Interesting details, but it's less about transportation and more about integrating the panopticon.

I wonder when the patent expires on their inwheel suspension/steering.

Does anyone know why there is a half-square-foot frontal area on each of the four fenders?