The GM EV1 weighed 2920 pounds and reported 164 Wh/mile used. It achieved this incredible efficiency with a very smart design. It had a ground breaking 0.19coefficient of drag
The trouble with the track difference like that is in fresh snow: Your rear wheels want to follow in the tracks cut by the front wheels. With a significant difference in track, pointing straight down the road is less stable than being cocked to one side or the other, and you end up doing a sort of continuous butt-shimmying maneuver to stay in your lane. It's intensely fatiguing as a driver.
A true trike doesn't suffer from that because the third wheel is far enough from either front wheel, it'll never fall into their tracks except on very sharp turns which are done at very low speed, where it's not an issue.
@billy allen I suppose in 2007 when it was a show car - presaging the modern CUV... By 2012, though, it was a vehicle of the past with not much of a future! 😁
Neat
I always amazes me that...
The GM EV1 weighed 2920 pounds and reported 164 Wh/mile used. It achieved this incredible efficiency with a very smart design. It had a ground breaking 0.19coefficient of drag
Plus the track of the EV1's rear wheels was narrower than that of the front wheels, moving it closer to having a "three-wheel stance"!
The trouble with the track difference like that is in fresh snow: Your rear wheels want to follow in the tracks cut by the front wheels. With a significant difference in track, pointing straight down the road is less stable than being cocked to one side or the other, and you end up doing a sort of continuous butt-shimmying maneuver to stay in your lane. It's intensely fatiguing as a driver.
A true trike doesn't suffer from that because the third wheel is far enough from either front wheel, it'll never fall into their tracks except on very sharp turns which are done at very low speed, where it's not an issue.
@leadacid The EV1 rear track was 9" narrower than its front. As they were leased primarily in CA and AZ I'm guessing snow wasn't a major concern.
This article mentions the wonky handling characteristics.
Well this is appropriate for a used subaru exiga 2012 to be in this list of the future vehicles from the past.
@billy allen I suppose in 2007 when it was a show car - presaging the modern CUV... By 2012, though, it was a vehicle of the past with not much of a future! 😁