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

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

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

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 !!!

Is Handheld the name of a Wordpress theme (this one or another one) or is it referencing some mobile-centric type of style sheet?

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.

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

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!