Steve Jobs Met With 'V-Vehicle' Creator in 2010 to Discuss Interest in a Cheaper, Lightweight Car

[yaxomoxay]

Here's a page that gets into all of the various possible ranges of Tesla cars, depending on model and type of driving:
https://www.teslamotors.com/blog/driving-range-model-s-family

Correcting the math, when you start each day, you would have available nearly the maximum range, which could vary by model, highway versus city driving, and speed, all the way from 183 to 295 miles. Using your example as a guide, I'll pick 270 miles. Then, when using the supercharger for a half hour, your get the 170 miles.

Of course it's very interesting, so I thank you for the link.
However, my point (and my math) doesn't change, and the math depends on how you drive. As of today, an electric car either increases travel time or decreases your freedom of movement. You can't have both ways (and I won't even mention that fast recharging stations aren't everywhere, which is more of an infrastructure/political problem rather than a technology problem).
You have to plan your trip according to the battery life. You can't do like I did. I used the car for two or three hours around here and then I went to KS. Ok that I am kinda crazy, and my driving style and day trips are not your average trips, but using an electric car would've been simply impossible for me. Again, I am simply pointing out that (unfortunately) with electric cars something gotta give. I am sure that the technology will mature, and I am sure and hope to see reliable electric cars, but this is not now especially given the price the customer pays to get less.

 

[Altis]

I have the utmost confidence that an Apple car will...
1. Be hideous beyond words
2. Be crippled for two weeks following every "automatic" update
3. Have to wait til 2nd gen to be what it should have been from the start.
4. Have the most blinding bright-white displays even at night

Oh, and it'll come in Space Grey, Silver, Beige (Gold), and Dusty Rose.

 

[wikiverse]

So anyone who has been saying Steve wouldn't have done this can stop now.

But... he didn't do it.

 

[dannyyankou]

But... he didn't do it.

He never lost interest though, and he didn't live long enough to develop a project out of it.

 

[Karma*Police]

I would agree to an extent, but remember that the i8 is pitched as a niche coupe going up against something like the Porsche 911 so the starting design is inherently aerodynamic.

The key with electric and hybrid vehicles is the the lowest Cd (coefficient of drag) rating they can achieve in order to maximize the range of the vehicle. This automatically limits design options, hence why the Chevy Volt, Toyota Prius and Honda Insight all have a very similar 'wedge' profile.

I personally think Tesla has done a good job working within that basic shape to make a sleek car that maximizes interior space.

The i8 is actually quite impractical... I feel like a contortionist just getting in and out of it. But I think a lot of posters on here equate sporty with good design and eschew boxy designs, even if they're functional and distinctive like the i3 which is why I brought it up.

Also, CD is important for EVs but they don't have to all look the same to achieve low CD. In fact, the new C class has a lower CD than any EV I know and they look fantastic.

I just don't think Tesla achieved anything special from a design standpoint (gull wing doors on the X notwithstanding... Absolutely brilliant) whereas BMW's i Series pushes the envelope.

 

[Rogifan]

But... he didn't do it.

Yeah because he died before he could.

I have the utmost confidence that an Apple car will...
1. Be hideous beyond words
2. Be crippled for two weeks following every "automatic" update
3. Have to wait til 2nd gen to be what it should have been from the start.
4. Have the most blinding bright-white displays even at night

Oh, and it'll come in Space Grey, Silver, Beige (Gold), and Dusty Rose.

I have the utmost confidence that posts like this will continue to be as lame as ever.

 

[MarkCollette]

Of course it's very interesting, so I thank you for the link.
However, my point (and my math) doesn't change, and the math depends on how you drive. As of today, an electric car either increases travel time or decreases your freedom of movement. You can't have both ways (and I won't even mention that fast recharging stations aren't everywhere, which is more of an infrastructure/political problem rather than a technology problem).
You have to plan your trip according to the battery life. You can't do like I did. I used the car for two or three hours around here and then I went to KS. Ok that I am kinda crazy, and my driving style and day trips are not your average trips, but using an electric car would've been simply impossible for me. Again, I am simply pointing out that (unfortunately) with electric cars something gotta give. I am sure that the technology will mature, and I am sure and hope to see reliable electric cars, but this is not now especially given the price the customer pays to get less.

Definitely it requires a lot more planning, and as you say, there aren't superchargers everywhere. I'm in Canada, and they've just now connected two main corridors, but you still can't cross the country using superchargers. So for anyone planning a road trip in or across central Canada, it's just not an option right now. And with electric cars costing twice what a cheap sub-compact does, they're not in reach of many as is.

But I think the thing with disruptive technologies is that people are often willing to take some inconvenience, or lose some non-core features, for something new that's less expensive overall. Because it's precisely when driving long distances that electric vehicles are drastically cheaper, I do see people putting up with the planning overhead. Right now, I'd expect to pay $80+ dollars (Canadian) per day in gas when doing a long road trip. Taking that down to zero with superchargers, or $10 with metered electricity, would be noticeable to some, like fleets. I think that in 3 years, it will be a whole other ball game.

 

[kdarling]

He never lost interest though, and he didn't live long enough to develop a project out of it.

As I pointed out in a previous post, if you go read the source article, there's no indication that Jobs wanted Apple to make cars.

Instead, Jobs was simply acting as an informal advisor to a group of investors, and was asked by them to comment on the project's visual design aspects. That's all.

Moreover, if you think about it, if he really was planning at the time on getting into electric cars, then viewing this prototype could've opened himself up to all sorts of legal problems.

 

[wikiverse]

Yeah because he died before he could.

He never lost interest though, and he didn't live long enough to develop a project out of it.

But he didn't do it.

Let's not give him credit for being interested in something but doing absolutely nothing at all.