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Posted on Mar 02, 2008 - 1:44am by John P. in Environment, Vehicles, Videos
The Vectrix is a brand new battery powered maxi-scooter capable of carrying two adults around town all day in silence without burning a single drop of gasoline.
Here are a few stats:
Here is a short 30 second promo clip designed to whet your appetite:
Here’s the company spin using plenty of “Green” fear, uncertainty and doubt:
Here is a longer promo clip:
Here is a really cool time-lapse video of the complete construction of a Vectrix in their plant in Poland.
If you live in California they’ll bring the vehicle to you and give you a brief introduction to how it works:
This last one is a little hard to hear, but it’s a short interview about the Vectrix at a trade show:
I think this is a really cool concept, and I applaud the effort, but I just can’t believe the weight of this machine. Seriously, it needs to lose 150-200 pounds! If it did, it would likely double the range and probably hit closer to 80-90 mph on the top end I imagine. Then it would be really ready for prime time.
The good news is that you know the next generations are going to make huge leaps and within a few years we’ll be seeing 5 times the performance. Until then, I guess I’d try one of these machines out if they wanted me to review it, but I don’t imagine I’d fork over the money to own one yet. Plus, I have no idea what they actually cost.
Yeah I definitely can see that this is a step in the right direction. I was just thinking today as I was getting gasoline that things are going to change. I wonder if I will see the end of gasoline usage in my lifetime (I’m in my 20’s).
On another note, I think that something went wrong and your Wordpress install reverted back to the default theme. When this was happening to me before, I would protect myself by making a copy of my theme and naming it “default.” That way, if something ever did happen, then I would likely be safe guarded from anyone really knowing. If you wanted to revert to the default, though, then disregard this!
Derek,
Thanks for the note. I was messing with Handheld style sheets and for a while my blog was switched back to default today. But I’m done screwing with it now and it’s back to normal. :-)
John
Good to know, John. I guess that I just got lucky enough to see what your site looked like in its infancy. I must say that this current layout suits you more.
Is Handheld the name of a Wordpress theme (this one or another one) or is it referencing some mobile-centric type of style sheet?
Here is one I have been following. The Enertia, manufactured in U.S. 12K-15K, rather pricey, but all carbon fiber and composite construction. Using brushless motor and Lithium baterry technology. I view these prototypes as potential for the future. When the price of the technology comes to reasonable affordability, then they might be practical. I have looked into similar projects here in Asia to reduce polution, problem is they are not cost efective yet for developing nations. The initial cost cannot be amortized over a reasonable lifetime of use for commercial applications.
http://www.enertiabike.com/content/view/8/8/
I was really excited back in the day about “IT” or the “Segway” as it’s known today.
In Arizona it’s sunny all the time and a bike or scooter would be an excellent way to get some sun if you’re an officedweller while getting to be outside and commuting when it’s nice out.
But they definitely need to kill some bloat to increase range and speed.
O-58mph in 6.8 seconds means that you we be over taken by an Olympic sprinter!
Joking aside, any green step is a step in the right direction. The Government here in the UK are trying all kinds of things to reduce emissions and transport is a huge issue. That is especially true is you own a 4 x 4 given that there is talk of hitting you hard in the wallet in extra taxes. A bit unfair given that a lot of the modern 4 x 4’s are more friendly than older, smaller vehicles but it is certainly a target.
We are also now up to around £6 ($12) for a gallon of petrol !!!
this is amazing how world is make progress in technology and cutting the operational cost. i would love to ride one and see how it perform the features are attractive.
I own one of these Vectrix bikes, and have logged nearly 700 miles in 6 weeks, so I’d like to respond to a few of the comments above:
Weight: – Forget the weight issues. The Nickel Metal Hydride battery is the weight factor, and it’s all right at the bottom of the frame. Unless you plan to bench press the thing, you’ll love the weight, as it handles like a bicycle but has enough weight to offest its mass so it doesn’t get blown around on the highway.
0-50 in 6.8 seconds: This sounds like the bike has no power, but in fact, it is a computer controlled accelleration. Otherwise, it’s power would rip the rubber off the tire if you slammed the throttle on takeoff. Next time you’re driving to work, count the seconds it takes the traffic around you to reach whatever the speedlimit is. The Vectrix consistantly outruns NORMAL traffic from stoplights.
Cost vs Value: This is a no brainer for the Vectrix, although is typically a HUGE issue for most EVs. In the US, a new Vectrix runs around $9000, compared to $6000 for a similar styled Suzuki Burgman. Over the life of the bike, you will buy no gas, no oil need no maintenance, and will only have to replace the $60 tires every 6000 miles or so. The $3000 difference will much more than pay for itself over the same period of time it would take to wear out the Burgman.
Range: In the real world, if you require more than 25 to 30 miles total commute on a daily basis, the Vectrix is the wrong vehicle for you. However, if you are one of the millions of people who CAN benefit from this machine, it costs pennies a day to charge and is truly a blast to ride!
If you want more info, please join me at http://www.evriders.net
Don’t get me wrong, I think this scooter is cool… as is evidenced by the fact that I wrote this article. But I don’t think we can call the cost vs. value a “no brainer”. It depends on what you define as value.
For me, a nearly 7 second acceleration to 60 – which is basically top speed – would be unbearable. My Triumph Sprint would do 0-60 in 2.2 seconds in first gear on it’s way to a 155+ MPH top speed. And still get over 40 MPG. And every car I own is faster than this scooter. And when compared to the Suzuki Bergman 650, which will travel 130 miles on a tank of gas and go well over 100 MPH, it looks seriously anemic.
Of course, if you live in a city where you can’t really go fast, and you only have a short commute and won’t likely have a passenger very often, the Vectrix probably makes sense. You never have to look for a gas station or anything… But in some places (like Dallas) where you might have to get on a highway to go to work, the Vetrix is completely impractical compared to the Bergman.
John
I really hope this bike’s a success and paves the way for other scooters.
Thank you.
KLD Energy Technologies Inc. just announced a new electric scooter available with their motor technology that I’ve heard is one of a kind.
It was designed to be affordable but also outperform other electric scooter models. Looks really neat! I kind of want to get one :)
Here’s the press release from business wire.
http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20090625005793&newsLang=en