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Top speed of 68mph (EDIT: might actually be 63mph?). Basically a fast golf cart as far as the US is concerned. Who buys cars like this in the US? Is there a siz

Top speed of 68mph (EDIT: might actually be 63mph?). Basically a fast golf cart as far as the US is concerned. Who buys cars like this in the US? Is there a sizable market for cars that can’t even drive on the freeway?

sp332 6y ago
Yeah. In Europe they have "city cars" with different standards for impact safety, so they can be smaller and lighter. In America, we mostly have full-on regulations for even the smallest cars, and then a category of vehicles limited to 25 MPH, which are hardly regulated at all.
- jacobush 6y ago
  I never heard of this, where in Europe?
  - stragulus 6y ago
    I know in the Netherlands they have these little 'cars', that are essentially mopeds with a roof slapped onto them. They are speed-limited to 30mph and crash safety is on par with what you'd expect from a moped. You can drive these with a moped license (easy and early to get). You can only drive on roads limited to 50mph (most state roads and inner city roads). I'm not sure why this is allowed as these things are noisy, unsafe, and hold up all other traffic. And they are not limited to disabled people either, anyone can drive these. They used to look terrible and nobody wanted to drive them, but since they don't require a full driver's license and are not taxed annually, they have become more popular, and now look mostly like regular cars. Search for 'brommobiel' or 'mini car' to get some examples. What the law intended: https://alleverzekeringenopeenrij.nl/wp-content/uploads/brommobiel-verzekeren.jpg https://alleverzekeringenopeenrij.nl/wp-content/uploads/brom... What you can actually buy: https://media2.autokopen.nl/auto/brommobiel-aixam-crossline-7305185-1-640.jpg https://media2.autokopen.nl/auto/brommobiel-aixam-crossline-... That last 'car' has a whopping 8 hp.
  - sp332 6y ago
    I saw a lot of these in Paris. https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a15345640/an-aixam-to-grind-a-sub-class-of-tiny-french-cars-that-caters-to-drunks-the-elderly-and-kids/ https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a15345640/an-aixam-to-grin... This is not the same as the "A-segment" cars that are usually called "city cars", so I probably got some terms confused.
jhbadger 6y ago
In California, where this targeted, the maximum legal speed even on a freeway is 70mph.
- strawberrypuree 6y ago
  Going that slow on, say, 101 south of San Jose w/no traffic would get you honked at, flipped the bird, or worse.
  - Dylan16807 6y ago
    If the road is wide open, and I'm in the right lane minding the speed limit, anyone that gets mad at my speed clearly deserves it.
    - abawany 6y ago
      Sometimes they end up passing the pain on to the law abiding driver: https://twitter.com/greentheonly/status/1326755485610020864 https://twitter.com/greentheonly/status/1326755485610020864 .
      - Dylan16807 6y ago
        I feel like that example could have hit someone going 90 just as easily.
- harikb 6y ago
  That may be true, but the minimum speed before you are honked at from the car behind is about 60. That also matters.
  - yellowapple 6y ago
    Only if you're in the left lane, which you shouldn't be unless you're, you know, actually passing someone. Basically, just pretend you're driving a really tiny semi and you're good to go.
AnIdiotOnTheNet 6y ago
That would cover about 99% of what I use a car for. Worst case I just rent for the other 1%.
- Polylactic_acid 6y ago
  It would also cover 100% of legal speeds in my state. More than good enough for me and pretty much everyone assuming it works well at its top speed.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
adrianpike 6y ago
Yeah, I live in a small town in the far northwest of the country. Nearest true freeway is either 100 miles or a ferry ride away. A surprising number people in town drive things like this.
WalterBright 6y ago
My dad had a VW camper bus with a top speed of 65. It took a while to get there. I learned to drive with it. It was quite a challenge to pass other cars on a 2 lane blacktop. The trick was to back off about a quarter mile, then floor it. By the time you reached the passee, you hit 65 and could swerve into the left lane then back again. If you were unfortunate enough to get an oncoming car in the meantime, you stomped on the brake, slid back the quarter mile, and tried again. The bus was also highly susceptible to crosswinds. Going in and out of cuts in a crosswind could blow you into the other lane. Had to anticipate that with the steering wheel. Eventually my dad decided to sell it, and I took care of that for him. He asked me if I missed the bus, and I said no, I thought it was a minor miracle we never died in a crash in it. I understand the nostalgia for those cars, but they belong in a museum, not on the road.
cafard 6y ago
A neighbor drives a "smart car" for errands around Washington, DC. I'm sure that isn't what she takes to New York City or Virginia Beach. I don't know how fast it is, but I would be uncomfortable in a car that size on the interstate.
JKCalhoun 6y ago
People pay $3K for electric bikes that clearly never enter a freeway. So I would say yes.
rebuilder 6y ago
It also has a 17 kWh battery, so the range is limited to something like 80 miles. This is a city car.
reaperducer 6y ago
Who buys cars like this in the US? Retirees. People who don't ever drive on a highway. It's perfect for a second car, or a commuter car. Is there a sizable market for cars that can’t even drive on the freeway? Yes. In fact, there's even a huge market for luxury golf carts that people drive around retirement villages. Most people don't realize that some retirement villages are larger and have more people than many cities. There was a pretty good article about it in the New York Times not too long ago. Some place in Florida that was profiled had some crazy number of residents like 50,000 or some similarly surprising number. They'd also be good for fleet operations. How fast does an urban delivery vehicle need to go? Or a water company fleet? Or any number of maids, plumbers, HVAC guys, or other service industries?

sp332 6y ago

Yeah. In Europe they have "city cars" with different standards for impact safety, so they can be smaller and lighter. In America, we mostly have full-on regulations for even the smallest cars, and then a category of vehicles limited to 25 MPH, which are hardly regulated at all.

jacobush 6y ago
I never heard of this, where in Europe?
- stragulus 6y ago
  I know in the Netherlands they have these little 'cars', that are essentially mopeds with a roof slapped onto them. They are speed-limited to 30mph and crash safety is on par with what you'd expect from a moped. You can drive these with a moped license (easy and early to get). You can only drive on roads limited to 50mph (most state roads and inner city roads). I'm not sure why this is allowed as these things are noisy, unsafe, and hold up all other traffic. And they are not limited to disabled people either, anyone can drive these. They used to look terrible and nobody wanted to drive them, but since they don't require a full driver's license and are not taxed annually, they have become more popular, and now look mostly like regular cars. Search for 'brommobiel' or 'mini car' to get some examples. What the law intended: https://alleverzekeringenopeenrij.nl/wp-content/uploads/brommobiel-verzekeren.jpg https://alleverzekeringenopeenrij.nl/wp-content/uploads/brom... What you can actually buy: https://media2.autokopen.nl/auto/brommobiel-aixam-crossline-7305185-1-640.jpg https://media2.autokopen.nl/auto/brommobiel-aixam-crossline-... That last 'car' has a whopping 8 hp.
- sp332 6y ago
  I saw a lot of these in Paris. https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a15345640/an-aixam-to-grind-a-sub-class-of-tiny-french-cars-that-caters-to-drunks-the-elderly-and-kids/ https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a15345640/an-aixam-to-grin... This is not the same as the "A-segment" cars that are usually called "city cars", so I probably got some terms confused.

jhbadger 6y ago

In California, where this targeted, the maximum legal speed even on a freeway is 70mph.

strawberrypuree 6y ago
Going that slow on, say, 101 south of San Jose w/no traffic would get you honked at, flipped the bird, or worse.
- Dylan16807 6y ago
  If the road is wide open, and I'm in the right lane minding the speed limit, anyone that gets mad at my speed clearly deserves it.
  - abawany 6y ago
    Sometimes they end up passing the pain on to the law abiding driver: https://twitter.com/greentheonly/status/1326755485610020864 https://twitter.com/greentheonly/status/1326755485610020864 .
    - Dylan16807 6y ago
      I feel like that example could have hit someone going 90 just as easily.
harikb 6y ago
That may be true, but the minimum speed before you are honked at from the car behind is about 60. That also matters.
- yellowapple 6y ago
  Only if you're in the left lane, which you shouldn't be unless you're, you know, actually passing someone. Basically, just pretend you're driving a really tiny semi and you're good to go.

AnIdiotOnTheNet 6y ago

That would cover about 99% of what I use a car for. Worst case I just rent for the other 1%.

Polylactic_acid 6y ago
It would also cover 100% of legal speeds in my state. More than good enough for me and pretty much everyone assuming it works well at its top speed.

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

adrianpike 6y ago

Yeah, I live in a small town in the far northwest of the country. Nearest true freeway is either 100 miles or a ferry ride away. A surprising number people in town drive things like this.

WalterBright 6y ago

My dad had a VW camper bus with a top speed of 65. It took a while to get there. I learned to drive with it. It was quite a challenge to pass other cars on a 2 lane blacktop. The trick was to back off about a quarter mile, then floor it. By the time you reached the passee, you hit 65 and could swerve into the left lane then back again. If you were unfortunate enough to get an oncoming car in the meantime, you stomped on the brake, slid back the quarter mile, and tried again. The bus was also highly susceptible to crosswinds. Going in and out of cuts in a crosswind could blow you into the other lane. Had to anticipate that with the steering wheel. Eventually my dad decided to sell it, and I took care of that for him. He asked me if I missed the bus, and I said no, I thought it was a minor miracle we never died in a crash in it. I understand the nostalgia for those cars, but they belong in a museum, not on the road.

cafard 6y ago

A neighbor drives a "smart car" for errands around Washington, DC. I'm sure that isn't what she takes to New York City or Virginia Beach. I don't know how fast it is, but I would be uncomfortable in a car that size on the interstate.

JKCalhoun 6y ago

People pay $3K for electric bikes that clearly never enter a freeway. So I would say yes.

rebuilder 6y ago

It also has a 17 kWh battery, so the range is limited to something like 80 miles. This is a city car.

reaperducer 6y ago

Who buys cars like this in the US? Retirees. People who don't ever drive on a highway. It's perfect for a second car, or a commuter car. Is there a sizable market for cars that can’t even drive on the freeway? Yes. In fact, there's even a huge market for luxury golf carts that people drive around retirement villages. Most people don't realize that some retirement villages are larger and have more people than many cities. There was a pretty good article about it in the New York Times not too long ago. Some place in Florida that was profiled had some crazy number of residents like 50,000 or some similarly surprising number. They'd also be good for fleet operations. How fast does an urban delivery vehicle need to go? Or a water company fleet? Or any number of maids, plumbers, HVAC guys, or other service industries?