EVDL Administrator via EV wrote:
IMO, Rick's idea with the Tango was brilliant... The problem was the car's
price.
Also, people with money don't want tiny, weird cars. They want big, luxurious
cars. Elon Musk understood all this intuitively...
I'm glad he's still pursuing his dream. I hope he catches it someday.
I agree. The Tango is a great idea! It's like the marriage of a
motorcycle and a car. Compared to a motorcycle, it's safer, you're
protected from the elements, and have a heater, A/C, radio, etc.
Compared to a car, it's 1/4th the size, so it doubles space on the
highways, and quadruples parking and garage space. Fits sideways on
train cars, so you could even take your car with you, if the railroads
could get "on-board".
Being smaller, it could be a lot lighter and cheaper (like the microcars
they have in other parts of the world). With half the frontal area, it
can also use half the energy.
But, it's too different. People want cars that look like everyone else's
cars. He wasn't able to find a market for them. Without a market, there
is no mass production or economy of scale; so they are hand-built and
the price is high.
His investors also did not want to build commuter cars; they wanted to
make luxury sports cars for the very rich.
I wonder if the USA is the wrong market for the Tango. Many other
countries do not have our preconceived notions of what a car "must" look
like. There are places where roads are packed, most cars are tiny, and
many strange little vehicles are on the roads. Or, maybe there are
resort communities where golf carts are the norm for transportation. The
Tango is like a luxury golf cart with all the amenities of a car.
--
The belief that there is only one truth, and that oneself is in
possession of it, is the root of all evil in the world. (Max Born)
--
Lee Hart, 814 8th Ave N, Sartell MN 56377, www.sunrise-ev.com
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