Quote:
Originally Posted by Sasquachulator
hah im probably only thinking of a family of four. if the family is bigger, an X1 isnt gonna cut it. Helps that im not a tall american, just an average asian who is shorter so small cars work better for me.
but even still theres families of four out there that need something like...a minivan....really? do you REALLY need a minivan? do you really need an escalade? Excess is the defining factor. Some would need it, some do not.
If we scale it way back down to the Nissan Sakura.....if an X1 isnt going to fit the bill no way in hell a Sakura will.
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I know you have HOV lanes in Calgary and Canada. If they are anything like the carpool/HOV lanes here then they are comparably empty during rush hour traffic. This indicates to me that most people are traveling in single occupancy vehicles.
The average occupancy per vehicle dropped from 1.87 in 1977 to 1.5 in 2019. Household size dropped from 3.4 to 2.6. Average American is 25lbs heavier than their 1960's counterparts. Average vehicle weight has gone up 800lbs since the 80's when cars got smaller and lighter than the steel behemoths in the 50's, 60's and 70's due to the gas crisis; before the 80's, vehicles weighed closer to what cars weigh today without the benefits of more powerful engines and lighter alloys/materials. Dimensionally, cars are far bigger today. If most Americans are driving by themselves or with one other person and carrying an extra 25 lbs on their frame, do we need 800 lbs of extra weight and larger dimensions to our vehicles? Probably not. Seems like many people could commute in a mini EV, as a primary commuter, and then they could have a single family vehicle for group traveling. Even if a quarter of cars on the road were mini, especially single seaters, the decrease in energy demand and road congestion would be significant.
https://css.umich.edu/publications/f...tion-factsheet
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/0...ds%20in%202002.
Maybe a special HOV lane for single seater EVs and motorcycles would boost sales. The Toyota Coms EV is a single seater, but if it had a radial flux motor and solid state or lithium ion (silicone) battery, the power and range would be more than adequate.