Freeway-averse Peapod runabout to go on sale in April

Back in September we reported the development of Chrysler's Peapod neighbourhood electric vehicle-cum-self propelled iPhone dock. Good news, everyone - come Earth Day, 22 April, you can buy one. Providing you live in the US and have $12,500 (£8,424/€9,635) in spare cash, that is. Chrysler Peapod Chrysler's Peapod's Peapod: …

[Anonymous Coward]

Awww Bless it's lil' cotton socks..

If that isn't the cutest, smiley-faced car, I don't know what is.

Designed by Disney?

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh my...

...they don't really look like that, do thay?

Was someone having a joke when they designed that?

[Martin]

Stupid or really clever

So have they just built the most pointless vehicle ever -

Or is someone being really clever by 'proving' that electric cars are just a joke so we had better all get back to buying $30K SUVs with a 100% markup

[Tony Hoyle]

Why?

It looks awful, it costs an arm and a leg, and even on quiet roads it'll be an annoying obstruction with such a low top speed. And with a piss poor battery as well the streets will be littered with broken down electric cars that'll need to be towed by real ones every time they run flat (not that they'll sell any).

[John]

so it's a golf cart

"There's nothing new on the technical front, so buyers will still be getting a front-wheel drive vehicle with a 8.95kW (12bhp) electric motor, a range of 30 miles and a top speed of 25mph,"

Sounds like a golf cart.. $12k is a bit steep even for an enclosed cabin links cruiser. Guess Chrysler really needs the money though. :p

Cheers,

John

[Anonymous Coward]

One word

Shit....

[Conrad Longmore]

Finally..

Finally.. a vehicle that Smart car drivers will be able to take the mickey out of.

[Lionel Baden]

oh dear

this reminds me of a 2cv

fabric seats !

[Mike Moyle]

I couldn't help it...

When I saw the line at the bottom of the article:

"Next page: The Peapod Range"

...I momentarily imagined that page 2 would contain nothing but a photo of a hand with thumb and index finger held about an inch apart .

[Chris]

RE:so it's a golf cart

That was my initial thought as well. For just about every one of these short-range, low-speed electric vehicles.

I live halfway between Baltimore, MD and Washington, DC, and work in the DC suburbs. If I stand on my back deck on a quiet night, I can hear the trucks on I-95, about a mile away, maybe two miles by road. Then it's 15 miles of freeway, and another mile or two of surface streets, to work. Until they make something that will make that trip at highway speed and give me a fighting chance in a collision with a semi, an SUV, or even a Japanese sedan, I'll take a pass.

Black helicopter, because I'd make the trip in one of those, if I could...

[vincent himpe]

and this is what

we are wasting taxpayer dollars on ? Next time they come beg for a bailout they can have a couple of army boots up their behind..

[Warhelmet]

Estuary English...

Blimey - I first read is a 3way adverse car. Where would Stan Collymore be with that?

[Martin]

I think

I'll stick with my 350-mile range 150mph petrol car for the moment, thanks.

Like another poster said, I do wonder whether some organisations/designers/engineers intentionally design crap, useless electric cars; either to promote conventional cars (for the established MoCos) or to cast doubt on the future of cars in general (for certain hyper-'greens').

And yes indeed, Tony Hoyle. What some people don't realise is that in many situations a proliferateration of 'abnormally slow' vehicles (yes cyclists, I'm looking at you) increases overall fuel consumption, as hundreds/thousands of motor vehicles are forced to slow to 15mph before tentatively overtaking.

[J. Cook]

re: john (so it's a golf cart)

I've seen golf carts go faster then this thing's top speed, actually.

But yes, my first reaction was 'So it's a fancy overpriced golf cart, then'.

[Pete James]

Good grief

Where one earth do you start with this?

Derisory range and performance, immature styling that gets worse across the derivatives and the design has a couple of minor features but nothing more.

How did this get approved?

[uhuznaa]

2CV?

Now, a lightweight 2CV remake with about 30kW motors and decent range would be quite nice, actually. These were really useful cars, other than this toy.

[Shadow Systems]

This thing's effectively worthless. =(

30 mile range with a top speed of 25mph?

I live less than a mile from my local grocery store.

When I go buy groceries, I have to buy more than I can reasonably be expected to carry (I have a family), so I'd need something with at LEAST enough "trunk space" to hold a week's worth of groceries.

This vehicle wouldn't cut it, because unless I'm mistaken, it's about the size of a malnourished golf cart.

I couldn't use this vehicle because, in order to GET to said store, I have to travel on a 45mph surface street.

I couldn't LEGALLY operate that "car" on the road because, without a giant orange "SLOW VEHICLE!" triangle on the back (like you see on tractors & horse drawn carriages), I'd be the cause of major traffic accidents from the speed differential!

So, oh goodie, a "car" I can't use around town because it's not fast enough to drive the main road.

AND you want to charge me the price of a new (albeit low-end) car to boot?

No thanks.

I'm better-off with a three-wheel trike & big basket on the front - at least I can carry enough groceries for the week, still don't use any gas, and I've saved myself $15,800...

[Anonymous Coward]

How much?

I would imagine that the average electric motor is rather less complicated, and therefore less expensive to build than a petrol engine.

These things need to cost much less so you can afford both this and a car. Otherwise, these won't be bought.

As someone else mentioned, maybe that's the intention.

[Anonymous Coward]

Daft...

...to build such an egg.. its not the 70's anymore..

its no jyolk to see your kids spilt all over the road.

whoever designd this either has not seen a modern car or is wearing the asshat.

PAY ATTENTION: We Want Mainstrem EV's not quirky slippers.

As for the seperation perhaps as chrysler et al are already so close to being listed on FailBlog they dont want a definitve reason for thier listing, and a 'peapod' with the word FAIL across it certainly would do the job.

[Steve Anderson]

That motor...

I just pulled a motor which I calculate to be about 3HP from a broken (and cheap) vacuum cleaner with my son. Had a speed controller and everything. One of them on each wheel - that'd be under £300 to provide the same traction and control. Absurd.