Both announced new (concept) electric scooters, article here: http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/28/mini-and-smart-to-unveil-electric-scooters-at-paris-show/
the speed and range is enough to make the weenie wilt. toss in the long recharge time, and the gonads go south as well.
till going to get gas station make you want to rob fort Knox to pay for it most are never going to buy one. Electrical scooter that are really good for everyday use run 3 grand and most of us don't want to spend the cash. It's neat they are jumping on the band wagon yet they may never be more then vapor ware. It's kind of like for 10 years you could find car and bike that used a wood burner to run them in the war years. the hot gasses were used to drive cars and bikes. it work very well. It's was cheap because wood is free. All the same it faded away. Till gas fades out most aren't going to change how they travel.
Same for all electric cars. Unless they get instant recharge, or as quick as a gas refill, no way you could travel with them.
Twenty-eight miles per hour? I can go faster than that on my bicycle! Though I do admit, the range at that faster speed is rather limited, and only reached on the downhill... but still, if they can't make it any faster, if they can't give it at least a hundred miles range (worst case, not best), then I see no real point, better to just pedal a bike. Or spend the money on a gas scoot. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Well, considering their market, which will be cute envirohipsters, 28mph and 62 miles is fine. They'd only be competing against 50cc scooters and probably almost entirely amongst people who don't have and wouldn't want to get a motorcycle endorsement, which means a 30mph limit in many states. And in that case, a 62 mile range is plenty.
If the range is 62 miles, then it is a 100, but Kms., not miles. Rest of the world computes differently than we do.
