I recently heard that Honda might be bringing the Element back in a few years. I hope it's true. I really wanted an Element when they were still in production, but couldn't afford one back then

And dedicated bike lanes.

They saw the McMurtry Spéirling and got jealous, how cute 😂

(The Spéirling can hold itself upside down on a flat surface)

I live in the US and I would love to buy an electric vespa-style scooter that can do 45 mph. They are virtually non-existent here (there is something called the Aventura-X which costs $5000). Even if I could get one, there are no places around that could service it. And it's not like I live in rural South Dakota or anything - I live in a Philly suburb.

my work is an hour away, used to be two hours one way.

I live in a rural area that doesn't have public transit infrastructure. the closest bus stop is an hour away.

did you actually try to solve the problem or are you just parroting someone else's opinion?

Yeah, I do use those. And it's generally good! But I bought a car with the longest range i could abs don't regret it!

Tesla refuses to even develop a compact 20k car they could sell at a profit. Instead the new developments focus on wankpanzers and sports cars with party tricks.

Agreed. From what I've looked up, it's going outside of 20ish-80ish% charge frequently that's degrading the batteries quickly. Or fully charging and then leaving out in the hot sun.

The “biggest decrease of value” assumes that, to you, the value of the car is determined by what you could sell it for. But that’s not the case. To you, the value of the car is what you spent on it. You then amortize that value of the car over the years you operate it.

This. I just was able to buy my first ever "new" new car after years of every "new" car being at minimum 10 years old. I've got an '06 Forester with nearly 200k miles on it, and I'm hoping this new one will last as long (but I kind of doubt it).

Regardless, I'm not leasing, not planning on selling in 5 years. To me, the peace of mind of a new car warranty is worth it and it gets way better mileage than the old Forester.

I really like my '23 Bolt EUV. I bought it when it was new, and it's been perfectly reliable ever since. Like you, it was the first time I ever bought new. I've got no regrets!

What's annoying is people hyping up these "cheap" Slate trucks because they don't realize they don't even paint the fucking things so you're replacing a $3k wrap every three years and calling yourself frugal and environment friendly.

The original roadster is still so cool to me. I wish a small relatively light ev sports car was sold in the US. I don't want a barge with 800 HP I'd much rather have something nimble with a quarter of the power.

You don't have to wrap it if you don't want to

I think it's because they know they can't compete with quality or specs at the low end. They'd much rather get customers with gimmicks and "controversial" aesthetics. Chinese cars would eat anything they could build for that price for breakfast but even legacy brands like Hyundai and VW have been able to make good EVs far cheaper than Tesla.

I was fully convinced this was the case but I think they might have actually done it for some reason. There's no fucking way that you'll be able to buy a car that does what they did in the demo. I think it's safe to assume the car that flew doesn't have a full sized battery and was probably missing some of the other heavier components. It's really fucking stupid but I think that car actually did all that crap.

Yes, you do, because wraps are the default "paint"

The default body they ship if you don't pick up a wrap will degrade over time and cost you even more if you like that "ugly gray plastic" look.

Well, if Hyundai, Kia, VW, Renault and others can compete on reasonably priced compact cars, Tesla should be able to do so too. They do not only produce in the US after all. If they can't that would be just an admission that their future is that of a niche highend producer. But for that, they are a bit too cheap on the inside.

There won't be flying cars until Autonomous Vehicles have a perfect self driving score.

Joe Average Potata-brain can't drive as it is. Now they want to add the extra chaos of multiple tons of debris falling from the sky after minor crash bends one of the stabilizer ports out of alignment?

There was very little original with the roadtser. The chassis is just a Lotus Elise that they stuffed an EV drivetrain into.

And there are some small ones. The Kia EV3 is 201hp and under 30k.

The wraps are dirt cheap. They start at $500 for a basic color.

And you don’t have to do anything at all to them. You could leave them with the base coat. They’re a composite panel so it wont rust or degrade.

They’re one I’ve priced out is a gloss purple wrap and that’s $670.

The whole point of the slate is getting as bare bones as possible and being able to do it all yourself. That’s the selling point.

Why would any company sell anything at cost? The point of a company is to make money

Ah ok it looks like you're right. I thought I'd seen a video where they said they designed the panels to be able to withstand the elements. Full wraps start at $500 though.

Some points:

Falling is not the same as flying

The car, by the looks of it, is probably just a very lightweight body with some thrusters and gyroscopes. Meaning, it's not a full car like we're used to, but rather just a plastic replica made specifically for this demo. Add some thrusters, make sure it looks ok. There you go.

Do we trust the company that pretended to have fully autonomous robots that were clearly being piloted backstage? The company that has lied about 'self-driving technology' for decades, which has already killed dozens of people because it's complete dogshit at what it does.

I don't feel inclined to believe them here either lol

A lot of systems get federal money, or did.

I figure most families own 2 cars anyway; so if one was super cheap but had a 100mile limit; that would still sell well. Plus stopping to charge isn’t too big a deal

I don't honestly think the US has the technical ability anymore. The US doesn't really make much and hasn't since the seventies. That's a long time. How much of a Ford is actually made in the US? Shoot, how much is designed in the US?

Best they could do would be buy the parts, maybe make the frame, paint it and assemble. Don't make batteries, don't make screens, or chips, or leds or much of nothing.

It was really fun, don't get me wrong. I miss the small amount of extra power it had. The shifter was cool.

But the tire sensors kept going off, and the AC just dying and requiring me to do a fancy start sequence to get it going again was just impractical. Also it didn't have smart cruise control, barely any storage space, max charge was like 210 miles, and the backup camera was almost useless.

That was a 2023 polestar 2, so i cant speak for other models or newer ones.

Yeah I know and that's exactly why it was good, because the elise already had an incredible sports car chassis.

The EV3 seems like a fine commuter but is certainly not a sports car in weight, shape, chassis, or suspension. It's just another compact crossover, seemingly a good one, but not really what I'm talking about. In the US the closest thing is probably the Mini Cooper SE, but it's still heavier and less powerful than the original roadster.

Imagine if Mazda made an mx-5 EV or Toyota made an 86 EV.

Hehehehe I DO get that vindication.

I'd take more Heavy rail, light rail, bike lanes, better city layouts, AND cheap electric cars.

The point of society is to live on.

And I said "basically at." As in, make SOME money, just not excess money.

I was saying that even being close to work, mass transit is a huge time investment.

I'm probably gonna get an Ioniq 6 or 5 in a year or two, those are very affordable and have actual buttons and switches.

If we’re talking about “society” then the way forward is to get rid of cars almost entirely and have extremely robust public transport. Not make new cars.

They keep teasing it over and over. AGH. It kills me! Like every year a new bunch of articles pop up to generate clicks. I can never tell when it's real! Lol

And I thought I was CRAZY for thinking "Could I EV convert it?" (Could fix stuff with YouTube. Not a mechanic.)

Well, now I see converting cars becoming a big thing. But sadly I screwed up the whole engine by snapping a 10mm gooseneck bolt deep in some crevice deep down in there, and it was leaking oil, and I had to sell it for scrap because we needed to get to work. Tragic. I got almost 200,000 miles out of it. :( :(

...at least now I know how a new very simple way to sabotage a vehicle hardcore in a way no mechanic or machinist would dare bother with it. (Ask me how I know Lol)

Maybe that Element EV will be a thing. I know EVs like to chase high efficiency / low drag but they need to not be afraid to be boxy for the right audience instead of jelly beans! XD

Haha well it didn't have much of a reputation for efficiency, did it? I heard it would come back as a hybrid though, which might be cool if they can pull it off without sacrificing too much interior space.

Hahaha yeah, it was a bit of a brick! 😂 25MPG on a good day wasn't bad though.

But I mean hey, if Rivian can make those gargantuan Amazon vans electric, I'm sure Honda could figure it out for us. 😉 With enough infrastructure, range is pretty negotiable!

Might just have to raise the interior floor a bit to fill it with battery or make the hood space a little less snubby. :p

Would be super cool though. I'd be all over that haha.

That's fair, my tire settings need reset a few times per year. I don't have the ac problem, but the sound for the speakers doesn't work maybe once a month for some reason. Like I said, definitely quirks, but much better than my experience with the kia.

The things I don't like on the kia are deliberate design decisions (or perhaps wild after thoughts in design) that I have to deal with every single time I drive it. I don't know if I've ever had the level of disdain for a vehicle ever. In fairness, there is a lot to like, but I feel like it's definitely vehicle for people who either don't like driving, are passive drivers and indifferent to the vehicle or both.

*accidentally bumps stray shopping cart in parking lot*

My EV only cost 1.5K

If you're willing to spend 20k+ on a car, then sure. Meanwhile, you can get a reliable and economic ICE car that you can drive 100,000+ miles for under 5k.

Elon is releasing the cheapest ev in the US.

What are you talking about?

We can't afford that either, look at California.

Then sell it for 20k it would still be one of the cheapest on the market. That seems like a pretty braindead leap in logic. The "at cost" comparison is just to show how cheap the baseline should be.

They also fill it all sorts of unnecessary shit while forgoing basic safety features such as, idk, being able to open the door in the event of power failure.

Swastikar Deplorean

Oh that's sharp. Thanks for this

Cheapest in USA is still expensive compared to what you get outside the USA, with similar safety standards, but different tradeoffs on luxury, features and range

Isn't there Renault 4/5 or Kia EV 2 in USA? They seem perfect

I agree with that