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PaperclipPerfector  4d ago (text post)   2381 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for June 21, 2026

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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Does anyone else feel like there's a capability gap between neighborhood electric vehicles (NEVs) and full blown, highway capable cars? Most states that allow NEVs have severe restrictions on where they can be driven, which frequently renders them unusable for daily use.

I long for something smaller, cheaper, and more efficient than a car that can still drive on a road with a 45mph speed limit. I can already hear some of you revving up your keyboards to tell me that motorcycles exist, but they fill a very different niche. I don't want to ride a two wheeled, open vehicle when it's 40 degrees outside and pissing rain. I want something with a roof that keeps me dry and a passenger seat.

What's keeping that market from being served? Is it a regulatory thing? Are the economics fucked? Am I just a nut job and nobody else wants something like that?

What's keeping that market from being served?

Regulations. There are lots of safety requirements demanded for a four-wheeled vehicle (automobile) to be deemed street legal. What you're describing, essentially an E-UTV, is already a pretty well-served market, but couldn't be titled as a passenger vehicle in most locations. Your best bet would probably actually be an electric three-wheeler, which is classified as motor/autocycle and falls into a completely different regulatory regime. Vehicles like the Trinova are designed to deliberately exploit this.

ETA: I believe in most places you can legally operate so-called "Low-speed vehicles" incapable of exceeding 25MPH on roads rated for similar speeds, but that limits you pretty severely, as you note.

Vehicles like the Trinova are designed to deliberately exploit this.

RIP the Elio.

The Elio’s expected range is 672 miles, based upon an 8-gallon tank and 84 mpg highway, and greatly exceeds that of electric vehicles (typically 100 to 300 miles) and that of most other vehicles of its size (typically 300 to 400 miles). Configured in a three-wheel format, it is conceived with tandem seating for two passengers to travel in a front-to-back layout. With a targeted retail price of $7,450 per vehicle, we believe that the Elio provides the efficiency and environmentally friendly benefits without the price premium, driving range anxiety or safety risks of electric or hybrid vehicles.

But of course it turned out to be a scam.

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