Spies
Well-known member
Wow that was painful to watch and I am not talking about the content. They have certainly discouraged my interest in the ESFLOW, not!
TRONZ said:All the juicy drool worthy photos are now up at NetCarShows. Come and get your wallpapers here!
http://www.netcarshow.com/nissan/2011-esflow_concept/
Nissan announced sometime back that they will be making 3 (5 ?) # of EVs in 3 years, IIRC.palmermd said:its a bit of a stretch to say that would mean they are ready for production. but I like your enthusiasm.
evnow said:Nissan announced sometime back that they will be making 3 (5 ?) # of EVs in 3 years, IIRC.palmermd said:its a bit of a stretch to say that would mean they are ready for production. but I like your enthusiasm.
I don't think it could be produced and sold for $34-$40K at a profit if all the exotic materials and components of the concept car were kept intact, but if the design were "dumbed-down" for production and compromises in weight and appointments made, then perhaps it could. Advances have been made in carbon fiber and aluminum production methods over the last decade--just witness the new McLaren MP4-12 @ $220K vs. the previous McLaren F1 road car @ $1M, with comparable performance metrics, but it is still not cheap to produce a car with exotic materials.LindsayNB said:I've seen several people comment on the high cost of aluminum and carbon fiber construction. Can anyone with more knowledge of auto manufacturing costs comment on whether the ESFLOW could realistically be produced and sold for $40k or less?
Low weight would make a big difference in the acceleration forces necessary, but I think low aero resistance would have a greater influence on range at highway speeds, once you have the mass up to speed.Does a 50% increase in range based on lighter weight sound reasonable in general or only for specific types of driving? It seems that for steady speed driving weight wouldn't be that big of a factor.
The market is driving this at the moment, not design/production considerations. The first examples of mass-market EVs must appeal to the widest audience, so that's where they're starting with the Leaf, a compact family car, but there is room for expanding the line to appeal to the up-market luxury and sport segments, which the Infiniti EV and ESFLOW efforts represent, as well as the light commercial/utility and sub-compact segments. As someone mentioned, just look at the success of the Mazda MX-5, which has sold over 850,000 units since its introduction 21 years ago. We bought a Miata for my wife in 1991, and it has been a great car, satisfying 95% of our transportation needs in a stimulating, sporty manner. She would have chosen the ESFOW over the Leaf in a heartbeat, if it was available now.I only rarely have more than two people in my car, so I would happily trade size and space for range, but none of the manufacturers have gone in that direction. Is it because the market for two seaters isn't large enough or because there are problems with designing and producing such a car?
The engineering breakthrough for the McLaren chassis construction (not body panels but the actual passenger chassis cell) was a new process called Resin Transfer Moulding (RTM). It cut the time to produce a monocoque from hundreds of hours to two. Here is an excerpt from a British driving website: (full article here)ENIAC said:I haven't been able to locate the article. But a few months ago I read about a process being developed where they dope carbon fiber and create a sheet of material which can be stamped into parts just like is done today with sheet metal. The result was inexpensive and light weight body panels. We'll see...
Yep - this is the reason we stepped up to buy the Leaf. While not real excited about styling/size/performance, the Leaf's success is critical to the overall development of the EV market. Hopefully, in four to five years we will be able to choose between a Model S and the BMW/Mercedes/Audi/Jaguar/Cadillac/Lincoln/Lexus/Infiniti/Acura equivalent with a range in excess of 300 miles per charge.ttweed said:This product line expansion depends on the success of their initial offering, the Leaf, the pace of EV technological advances, and the development of the infrastructure to support the widespread deployment of EVs worldwide
I take that to mean the ESFLOW is at least 5-6 years away from production, if the Infiniti EV is 3 away. :evil:Boomer23 said:I mentioned the ESFLOW to him and asked if Nissan has an actual plan for an electric sports car and he said that they don't have actual plans to build one, but he did say that when a company builds a concept car, it's clear that they have that idea in mind. So take that for what it's worth, if anything.
Or, maybe they're one and the same.ttweed said:I take that to mean the ESFLOW is at least 5-6 years away from production, if the Infiniti EV is 3 away. :evil:
TT
GroundLoop said:Or, maybe they're one and the same.ttweed said:I take that to mean the ESFLOW is at least 5-6 years away from production, if the Infiniti EV is 3 away. :evil:
TT
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