The perfect urban vehicle.... (solar panel, organic, gas, bicycle)
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Another useless "Green" toy for wealthy trendy metros. See "Segway"
This is not innovative or practical. Visit Taipei, Delhi, or any of a dozen cities in the developing world, and you will find pedal-powered versions of this glorified bicycle rickshaw rolling up and down the streets, pedaled by elderly trash collectors and tinkerers, who's time costs very little. The vehicles themselves cost around $100 USD. Gas or electric powered versions go for around $500.
Here in the US, My bicycle was 1/60th the price. If I don't want to arrive at work sweaty, I can install a brushless electric motor and battery, myself--or just buy an e-bike, for a fraction of the price. With a top speed of only 20mph, riding my bicycle is faster, cheaper, more versatile (can go on public transit or cut across rough terrain/narrow sidewalks). The only benefit is the weather shell, and that's not worth $3000.
The cargo version might be practical for very limited small business customers who have to make many short-range deliveries of heavy goods in the inner-city. However, the most expensive part of a delivery vehicle is not the fuel or parking/tickets but the operator's time. These vehicles are reducing fuel costs at the expense of operator costs. The battery will die after just 30 miles of deliveries (probably less fully loaded in stop-and-go traffic) meaning that the operator will have to haul 700lbs of cargo by pedal power alone for the rest of the day. I've seen people do this, and the top speed is around 8mph once the battery is gone. Unless you can find some poor jerk willing to pedal around all day for $0.50/hour that just doesn't make good business sense. High-speed bicycle messenger services barely make enough money to get by. No way will a low-speed tricycle delivery service be able to compete.
There are all sorts of alternatives, I don't see any reason to debate which is best as several members are, each of us have different wants/needs/means. All of the above have their appeal. Let the marketplace decide which attract sales...there is no "best" any more than there's a best automobile.
I do see an advantage over a bicycle in the trike design; it is more stable on ice and snow, holds more cargo easier, and the weather shell is useful. Added bonus if it can hold 2-3 passengers and be used for short-distance family transit.
However, the price point is just astronomical for what is--essentially--a 3-wheeled ebike with a shell and a gimmicky solar panel. If you iterate around this thing, you will find yourself running into existing designs:
- Extend the battery life and widen the tires for offroad/snow: Golf Cart.
- Add a gas-powered (evil, I know) engine to increase speed/range: Autorick/motorcycle rickshaw.
- Remove the electric engine to lower price: Aeroshell tricycle (which nobody uses).
I don't know why the company thinks that they can make the aeroshell recumbant tricycle a big seller by adding the gimmick of an electric motor and a solar panel, but maybe they've got a really good marketing division.
It's cute and it beats the heck out of a bicycle when it is raining.
It doesn't look like it would fit into the bike lane and I suspect it would get flattened by a car if it is out in the road. It isn't big enough to see it through a car window under too many circumstances.
I narrowly missed killing a guy on one of those bikes you peddle laying down. There were cars parked all around the intersection and he didn't show above the parked cars and he wasn't looking to see if anyone was about to pull into the intersection. I didn't hit him, but it was a miracle that I didn't.
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