Electra Meccanica SOLO

[gethin]

What do you guys think? Perfect commuter? Couple of guys at my work want to put down a deposit.

$250 deposit, $75 bi-weekly

http://electrameccanica.com/

Gethin.

 

[jjeff]

Interesting, probably about the size of a Smart car? I see lots of those up in Canada, percentage wise much more than I ever see in my state. Personally I'd be a bit worried about only 3 wheels(I owned a Freeway many years ago, also 1 wheel in rear) and that vehicle was somewhat prone to flipping if you took a corner too fast, hopefully they got that straight. Like the somewhat larger battery(16kwh+) which on a vehicle that small should give you some decent range and in the US anyway give you the maximum $7500 govt. rebate(if you qualify).

 

[NeilBlanchard]

What are the interior dimensions - legroom, headroom, shoulder room, etc?

 

[GetOffYourGas]

Regarding flipping, if the battery is located low enough, this car should be far more stable than your old Freeway.

 

[palmermd]

looks like a repackaged Corbin Sparrow. http://corbin.com/motors/
or
the successor Meyers Motors http://www.myersmotors.com/

 

[jjeff]

Regarding flipping, if the battery is located low enough, this car should be far more stable than your old Freeway.

That makes sense, my Freeway was the ICE version, it came in a battery version as well but used lead acid batteries, circa early 80s. I never had it flip on me but I remember reading stories, it was made in my neighborhood although I didn't get mine until years after they went bankrupt, I did tour the factory though and remember at the time they had a waiting list of almost a year, which quickly disappeared as gas prices dropped and people were once again only interested in large vehicles.
If I had had the battery version the Leaf would have been my 3rd EV, I also owned a Henney Kilowatt which was a converted Renault Dauphine, conversion done by Emerson radio and Eureka Williams. It also used lead acid batteries(6v golf cart batteries, 6 in the front and 6 in the back(going off memory)) and used a bank of relays mounted to the back of the missing rear seat to control the speed. No heater and minimal conveniences, but it didn't use gas! In comparison the Leaf is a total Luxmobile :lol: The Freeway was also a bare bones car(if you could call it a car as it was licenced as a motorcycle). I don't believe it had a heater and was noisy(the gas version) as heck, both road noise and engine noise as the small engine was right behind the rear of the single seat.
Enjoy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henney_Kilowatt
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HM_Vehicles_Free-way

 

[SoloOwners]

Interesting, probably about the size of a Smart car? I see lots of those up in Canada, percentage wise much more than I ever see in my state. Personally I'd be a bit worried about only 3 wheels(I owned a Freeway many years ago, also 1 wheel in rear) and that vehicle was somewhat prone to flipping if you took a corner too fast, hopefully they got that straight. Like the somewhat larger battery(16kwh+) which on a vehicle that small should give you some decent range and in the US anyway give you the maximum $7500 govt. rebate(if you qualify).

Nope. Just want to correct some of the facts here. You will not get the $7500 tax credit from the US government as an incentive.
The Solo is currently still Federally designated as a motorcycle in the US. That means you get up to 10% of the purchase price or up to $2500 whichever comes first. Seeing as how the purchase price is projected to be $15,500 USD, the math says you'd only be eligible for a $1550 Federal Tax credit incentive. And even that expires at the end of 2016 unless it's legislated to be extended into 2017. State incentives vary from state to state. Here are two links to help with that. Incentives - U.S. Electric Motorcycles - page
Incentives - U.S. Electric Cars - page The weight is 992lb. and the range is 100 miles. The batteries are low on either side of the vehicle and are placed so the center of gravity is as low as possible. It's a belt drive rear-wheel-drive vehicle that has tested very well on the track. You can learn more by going to their website smallev.com and by checking out the Solo Owners Forum

 

[DuncanCunningham]

Interesting, probably about the size of a Smart car? I see lots of those up in Canada, percentage wise much more than I ever see in my state. Personally I'd be a bit worried about only 3 wheels(I owned a Freeway many years ago, also 1 wheel in rear) and that vehicle was somewhat prone to flipping if you took a corner too fast, hopefully they got that straight. Like the somewhat larger battery(16kwh+) which on a vehicle that small should give you some decent range and in the US anyway give you the maximum $7500 govt. rebate(if you qualify).

Nope. Just want to correct some of the facts here. You will not get the $7500 tax credit from the US government as an incentive.
The Solo is currently still Federally designated as a motorcycle in the US. That means you get up to 10% of the purchase price or up to $2500 whichever comes first. Seeing as how the purchase price is projected to be $15,500 USD, the math says you'd only be eligible for a $1550 Federal Tax credit incentive. And even that expires at the end of 2016 unless it's legislated to be extended into 2017. State incentives vary from state to state. Here are two links to help with that. Incentives - U.S. Electric Motorcycles - page
Incentives - U.S. Electric Cars - page The weight is 992lb. and the range is 100 miles. The batteries are low on either side of the vehicle and are placed so the center of gravity is as low as possible. It's a belt drive rear-wheel-drive vehicle that has tested very well on the track. You can learn more by going to their website smallev.com and by checking out the Solo Owners Forum

Yep, they have a selection of videos which help you understand all about the idea of the vehicle. The guy doing the videos loves to slap and bang on the chassis to emphasize his sentences but the sound quality isn't very good so it can be quite jarring to hear at first.

I'd buy one if they live up to the promise.

 

[SoloOwners]

What do you guys think? Perfect commuter? Couple of guys at my work want to put down a deposit.

$250 deposit, $75 bi-weekly

http://electrameccanica.com/

Gethin.

 

[LeftieBiker]

I really like the Solo because most of the time I am driving by myself.

That's from the link. You'd have to LOVE driving alone, because unless your spouse, SO or child is small and likes to fold up into small, dangerous storage spaces, you will always be driving alone.

 

[RegGuheert]

It looks like the first deliveries of the SOLO have started in the U.S.:

Just over a year and a half after Canada’s Electra Meccanica first unveiled their single seat EV, deliveries of the SOLO have now begun in the US after recently receiving certification for sale in the country.

The SOLO features an 82 hp (61 kW) AC motor rated for 128 ft-lbs (174 Nm) of torque and top speed of 82 mph (132 km/h).

The 17.3 kWh battery has been slightly increased from the previous 16 kWh battery that the Solo sported when it began production last year, and should be enough for 100 miles (160 km) of range.

That larger battery pack can be recharged in either 3 or 6 hours from a 220V or 110V outlet, and can take advantage of level 2 chargers.

 

[jlv]

I'm confused; I don't see how they charge a 17.3 kWh battery in 6 hours from a 110V outlet (which would be 12A max assuming a common NEMA 5-15 outlet). Someone else asked a similar question in the Electrek comments:
https://electrek.co/2018/05/09/electra-meccanica-begins-deliveries-in-us/#comment-3892788872

 

[finman100]

17.3 kWh equals 100 miles? that pretty good efficiency, no? It is light-weight. But over 5 miles per kWh? I'm wondering if the real world will lower that some. Depending on usage, maybe this will be just a lower-speed commuter for people.
interesting, nonetheless. It seems this is doing better than Elio, right?

 

[GetOffYourGas]

5 miles/kWh seems doable in that little thing. It's lightweight and aerodynamic (tapering at the rear is one of the best things you can do for aero). I wouldn't be surprised if it really got 5 miles/kWh on the highway. My Bolt gets over 4 in the right conditions (a still day at 70F, cruising at the posted 65MPH).

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

17.3 kWh equals 100 miles? that pretty good efficiency, no? It is light-weight. But over 5 miles per kWh? I'm wondering if the real world will lower that some. Depending on usage, maybe this will be just a lower-speed commuter for people.
interesting, nonetheless. It seems this is doing better than Elio, right?

I think that is a low ball figure and real World will be higher.

 

[cwerdna]

(thread resurrection)
They’re toast. I only learned of it the other day via stories like https://jalopnik.com/hundreds-of-this-terrible-ev-are-piled-up-waiting-for-t-1851612252. Xos | EMV seems to confirm along with https://web.archive.org/web/20230602104912/https://ir.emvauto.com/news/news-details/[…]-Voluntary-Recall-of-Solo-G3-and-G2-Announces-Buyback-Remedy/.

Apparently, the buyback was announced in April 2023. I pretty much had forgotten about these guys and didn't even remember they were around.

One can see 19 associated docs (PDFs) under this recall at https://www.nhtsa.gov/vehicle/2021/ELECTRAMECCANICA/SOLO%2520G3#recalls.

 

[rmay635703]

Too bad they are in a stack crushed in the Arizona desert, the motor, controller and battery would be useful