The point would be to fill a niche for people who like driving manual, but want to transition to electric.
Probably won't be very popular, but in this big world, there is a niche for everything.
this post was submitted on 28 Oct 2023
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It would be great if they could make a cheap electric car for the masses before filling niches.
People in niches generally pay more. EVs are more expensive and made in smaller quantities (until production ramps up, maybe). So making EVs to appeal to a niche consumer with disposable income can be a smart move to jumpstart the EV business.
That's (one reason) why Tesla started with luxury sports cars. Car enthusiasts and other lovers of manual gear shift are another interesting segment to try and tap. I wonder what other segments they might go for? Racing? Off-road? Delivery? Taxi? Commercial transport?
It's tricky though. You don't see a lot of EV motorcycles, but I think that's because ebikes are a better power/weight ratio for the form-factor and use case. No one's getting a Harley to save the environment.
The biggest reasons ev bikes suck are: shitty range, weight, cost.
Bikes are small, batteries are heavy. The Harley live wire, for example, can do less than 100 miles on a charge. Second, but part of that first point, they're HEAVY. My bike weighs ~360lbs. An energica sport bike is in the high 500lbs range. Thirdly, they're obscenely expensive for worse performance, handling, weight, range. If someone could produce a 400lb bike with a ~200 mile range I might be interested.
I'm biased, but 99.99% of my riding is in the middle of nowhere in the mountains, there's no chargers out there and there won't be for decades.
I've not seen an attempt to make a practical electric motorcycle. I've only ever seen attempts at superbikes. Give me an electric Ninja 250, something that can comfortably handle a couple hours of highway driving so you could handle a commute from one small town to another small town and I think it would be an actual product.
There are plenty of practical e-motobikes, they're just made for people in normal countries where you don't need to ride for more than 10-20km.
Kawasaki recently launched some entry level electric Ninjas, but they're complete garbage for the price. $8000 for a bike with 10hp, 55mph top speed, and 55 miles of range. That should've been $4000 or less.
Just get a $3500 Grom with the same power and speed but also the fun of a mini-bike or a $6000 Ninja 400 with 5x the power and still 55mpg.
Kawasaki also just announced a hybrid Ninja motorcycle that actually looks really intriguing, but we don't know the price yet.
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I sort of get the point of the second one they mention - sounds like it can "emulate" hundreds of different cars, which could be fun.
If I had the time, money, and knowhow my dream car is an electric swapped Datsun 240z. You can keep the manual transmission when you're swapping an ICE car, I think it'd be pretty neat
I love a manual transmission on a car but this is really stupid.
Why? This makes no sense. Electric cars don't need a transmission, they are direct drive.
My car has a CVT and it has shift paddles that are totally unnecessary.
They also add a delay between “gears” because there was too many complaints that the vehicles wasn’t changing gears.
Yeah people are stupid.
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If you're in mountains, and especially if you're towing a trailer, you need those.
I don't know about trailers, but my EV makes light work of mountains.
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As a gearhead I get the sporting and nostalgia aspects. But as a member of the 21 century, I think we can all agree new automatic transmissions are way quicker than any human can be and it’s time to move on. Plus, and EV doesn’t need a transmission, fewer parts to fail is one of the best parts.
I'll never understand the "quickness" argument. Nobody buys a manual to shift faster than an automatic, they buy it for the experience.
I want one so I can wiggle it in neutral at a stoplight
Sure sure sure but I LOVE A MANUAL. Idk about how efficient an automatic is
If you don't enjoy the sport of driving, you probably don't want a manual.
I'm interested in this. I feel like driving is a more connected experience with a manual and always prefer it. But that's what it is: a preference.
It's not very often people express that what they think isn't absolutely the only opinion people should have and just wanted to say I appreciate that you're willing to admit that.
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Except it isn't connected at all. It's a shifting mini game programmed into the car's computer.
Agreed. Not only does it lead to a more connected experience it forces the driver to may more attention to their vehicle and surroundings. I feel I am more prone to say dreaming of becoming distracted behind the wheel of an automatic vehicle.
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A lot of the features listed in the article (written by an AI?) sound corny. This is probably a thing for managers and executive level luxurybros, like the upper level EV market.
The idea of giving the driver more control like this in an EV so it's more fun is good though. They just feel so fkn heavy and like you're driving a computer.
Will also give the car enthusiasts who like drifting an option to lock in "gear" so that's a plus
Yeah exactly and just "spirited driving" in general, a Miata or Civic equivalent of EVs is what's needed.
My ideal EV would look and drive like a 1989 VW GTI.
But apparently the best car companies can do is a chubby SUV looking thing.
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I agree 100% that my EV felt like driving a computer, which itself was driving the car.
Weird thing is I liked it. It was like driving a really good computer, that drove my car really well.
I can understand why people hate it. It's deeply strange how certain kinds of normal car feedback is missing.
Speculating a bit, I doubt that retrofitting a manual transmission will help with that strangeness.
But I bet it'll be a hit with folks like me who don't mind it, and also loved manual transmission cars.
I feel like I'm a very niche audience though. Most people who I have met who love a manual transmission hated the way my EV drove.
Yeah, unless there is a performance benefit, it's just a potential for problems. Theoretically, an electric motor could be designed with the rpm and torque output of an ICE where a manual transmission would be beneficial for a car. Electronically simulating a transmission is ridiculous.
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I didn't read the article, but in a modern ev I can only see merit in maybe 2 or three speeds plus reverse if it's an actual transmission and not just a parameter change.
With the stick shift Honda civic converted to electric that I tried out when deciding if I wanted to convert my own, it had the original transmission and you really only used gear 2 and 4. You came to a full stop geared in, and changed directly to 2 while at 0 rpm. Definitely a strange experience to anyone used to stick shift.
Did they develop their own system, or did they license Koenigsegg's?
This definitely has a place in sports cars. More control is a plus. If it's any good, it will be a hit.
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Maybe an excuse to set two different prices, but charge more overall.
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I love manuals. I daily a car with a manual transmission. I'd drive any other EV before I drove a fake stick shift EV.
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