Chrylser's electric car

[tcnohead]

Forgive me if this is a repost

Chrysler's first electric car to be two-seat sports car - Apr. 15, 2009

[kestrel74]

yup.

[carlover]

I've seen this talked about before, but it was a while ago. This is a new article that suggests the car is still in the works.

Thanks for the post.

[Tejs]

Does anyone else feel a bit of annoyance that a lot of the electric cars are basically lotus derived?

I mean in one respect, I love the fact that Lotus is badass in this area and such, but it seems lame that everyone is basically taking a Lotus chassis and then tweaking the exterior to look moderately different.

[...m...]

...not really annoyed, no - lotus are in the business of consulting, and being one of the only manufacturers to have pursued this line of lightweight chassis design amidst a sea of road tanks it's nice to see their diligence reap its due reward...

...it is annoying to see client manufacturers reap credit for 'designing' a producton lotus chassis, though...maybe not so much when it's a bespoke frame, like certain other manufacturers with lotus-engineered aluminum chassis technology in current development, but in the case of the tesla and dodge EV, yes, the recurring hail of innovation for a direct copy is a bit annoying...

[300hpMR2]

That one looks different from the yellow one I've seen. That one is more orange-ish and has the dodge cross hairs in the front intake opening.

would be nice to see that on the road. i kind of like the looks of the Europa.

[ivan1]

I know I have seen that somewhere before....

Photos from the 2009 NY Auto Show

and one more pic...

[ChrisB]

Originally Posted by Tejs

Does anyone else feel a bit of annoyance that a lot of the electric cars are basically lotus derived?

Absolutely not. Lotus is an engineering company that also builds cars. If all Lotus did was build cars, they would fold within a year. Their engineering services to other car companies is what allows them to provide us with these great little cars. There is a lot of Lotus engineering in way more vehicles than most people realize.

Some here criticize Tesla for spending so much on development instead of just putting the electrics in an Elise. Now people are criticizing Chrysler for doing just the opposite.

[tcnohead]

Originally Posted by ChrisB

Some here criticize Tesla for spending so much on development instead of just putting the electrics in an Elise

HAD they done this, I believe the Tesla would have ended up being more affordable due to the low, almost non-existent, cost of R&D. But they didn’t and I believe they are suffering because of the outrageous cost of their cars.

[ChrisB]

Originally Posted by tcnohead

HAD they done this, I believe the Tesla would have ended up being more affordable due to the low, almost non-existent, cost of R&D. But they didn’t and I believe they are suffering because of the outrageous cost of their cars.

Could be. I wasn't taking either side, just pointing out that no matter what you do, armchair business whizzes come out of the woodwork to criticize it.

Tesla's intent was to create a halo car that would put them on the map for their real intended market...the higher volume sedan. An electrified Elise wouldn't do that. Like most new car ventures, there may have been, in Greenspan's words, "irrational exuberance", in their business plan.

On the other hand, Chrysler is being very economical in their development of the electric two-seater, though I'm not sure their business plan includes ever actually producing it. And, if it did, could they even accomplish it now.