So it's Chinese, that explains why it looks like the mashup between a 500 and a last-gen Sonata. I was wondering why these guys would combine so many generic cars in the first place.
@EMPM, Esq.: Really? Because I see Ford Five-Hundred/Taurus in the front and Chevy Impala in the rear. Those foglights are very GM, too. However, you're right about Kia design elements in those goofy 4-lug wheels.
An advertised 100-mile range usually means a real-world 40-mile range in stop-and-go traffic. EV1 fans rejoice...your car is back and it's got two more seats. Just ignore the Made in China label.
"The real question is whether Americans, and Californians specifically, would consider buying a Chinese-made, electric vehicle built by a company captained by a fashionista environmentalist."
I am not a Californian but I do live on the west coast. People might consider buying it but I don't think many will buy it. 100 miles is not much of a range when you consider that you have to find 220V at the end of it. Most people only have that inside the laundry room of their house for the clothes dryer. Sure, you could add it to the garage but isn't the gasoline engine just so much easier to deal with? Especially at that price. It is still too high incentive or not.
And that is why the electric car will never catch on, until gasoline is $10 per deciliter or Al Gore makes it illegal to drill anywhere a spotted owl ever thought of living.
Seriously, we just have a huge case of inertia going on. Everyone is used to pulling up to a station, sticking ametal nozzle into the side of their car, waiting 6 or 7 minutes, and driving off. Frankly, I think plugging the car it at the destination and not having to deal with messy, smelly, dangerous liquids would be a plus, but hey, maybe I'm just not a creature of habit...
@Plecostomus - Now with 20% more Algae!: Ralph Lauren's most expensive clothes are winter clothes, so NATURALLY HE HAS A STAKE IN REDUCING GLOBAL WARMING IT'S A SCAM!!!
@The Name's Ash78, Housewares: "Car still needs a grille, or at least more front-end ornamentation" - why? - to be more fuel-inefficient due to the additional drag? Get front of the car as smooth as possible hence saving the energy waste... What is up with American obsession with grilles? They are archaic remnant of early automotive days .
@dusanmal: Just for design's sake...the completely clean front end looks odd, lacks rub strips or panel seams, and will be an absolute mess of blemishes after a year of driving.
So functionally, I agree--no grille needed. But if we're going to carry to design to that logical end, why not a Tucker-style third headlight or something else to make use of the empty space?
12/03/08
12/03/08
[www.eliica.com]
12/03/08
12/03/08
-Pleco
12/03/08
12/03/08
12/03/08
12/03/08
I am not a Californian but I do live on the west coast. People might consider buying it but I don't think many will buy it. 100 miles is not much of a range when you consider that you have to find 220V at the end of it. Most people only have that inside the laundry room of their house for the clothes dryer. Sure, you could add it to the garage but isn't the gasoline engine just so much easier to deal with? Especially at that price. It is still too high incentive or not.
12/03/08
And that is why the electric car will never catch on, until gasoline is $10 per deciliter or Al Gore makes it illegal to drill anywhere a spotted owl ever thought of living.
Seriously, we just have a huge case of inertia going on. Everyone is used to pulling up to a station, sticking ametal nozzle into the side of their car, waiting 6 or 7 minutes, and driving off. Frankly, I think plugging the car it at the destination and not having to deal with messy, smelly, dangerous liquids would be a plus, but hey, maybe I'm just not a creature of habit...
12/03/08
12/03/08
12/03/08
12/03/08
I think the Delahaye grill would work
as would this Jaguar
and there's always the Riley Elf

12/03/08
What's the world coming to?
These people need to go back to having charity benefit fashion shows instead of trying to make their own cars.
12/03/08
12/03/08
12/03/08
The founder of Polo by Ralph Lauren isn't...Ralph Lauren?
12/03/08
12/03/08
12/03/08
12/03/08
Car still needs a grille, or at least more front-end ornamentation. That bug/rock catcher won't be pretty for long.
12/03/08
12/03/08
Considering VW was (is?) the biggest automaker in China, that doesn't really surprise.
12/03/08
12/03/08
So functionally, I agree--no grille needed. But if we're going to carry to design to that logical end, why not a Tucker-style third headlight or something else to make use of the empty space?
12/03/08