Milton
Very impressive little machine for the problem it is trying to solve. Personally not a fan of 3-wheelers, but wish them all the luck in finding a few eco-friendly enthusiasts that have stupidly long commutes.
DaveSpicer
I wish Corbin well with this project, but I also wish he'd talk to some of us LEAF owners about our real-world range. "I don't think any of 'em ever did 50" is ridiculously false. Sure hope that isn't an example of his best thinking...
Sergius
For who already made so much effort to reach the historic and inexplicable craze of supress an wheel of the vehicle, I suggest it is a very short step to reach the fourth wheel and make a vehicle very fun, effective in traffic and great for sports and leisure. Congratulations by the golf ball mimetism smart aerodynamic solution, noone had yet the courage, audacy and brilliance in having this "eureka" moment. But, please, do not waste that in a three wheeled mania...
Bob Stuart
Golf balls use dimples because the shape demands them on the front, which changes location constantly. Elongated shapes with a stable direction but local problems are sometimes improved by boundary layer turbulators. Dimples are not particularly effective, but you seldom need a second row, let alone a whole surface. It looks like it will sell best to golfers and clowns.
HickoryTaylor
I suggest he rename the little machine "the Pelosi" in honor of her dimpled backside
Island Architect
3 wheelers are dangerous unless the front wheelbase is exceptionally wide.
b
jerryd
The Sparrow failed because it was badly designed and Corbin wouldn't listen to anyone. While a well designed 3wh RT can be the best handling vehicle you've ever driven, done badly with a high, aft CG can be dangerous. The Sparrow has to be driven carefully as any hot rodding or even a slow turn backing downhill, can put it on it's side. It's steel frame, FG body weighed way too much and took far too much labor to ever be profitable. To do it right you need to study the Solo EV which did everything right all composite body, chassis, battery weight low in front for 3xcellent handling and only $15k. If Corbin really wants to do this he needs to look how they did the SoloEV and copy them. It is what told Corbin yrs ago and told the Solo EV people last yr. Finally only the aft side dimples will work. The rest are in dead, distrubed air.
Bruce H. Anderson
My first thought was to compare it to an Elio (if/when it ever gets here) or an Arcimoto.
A little pricey in comparison to almost everything in its class, but this is a niche vehicle.
An enclosed cabin is nice.
Stretching it to add another seat with a tall roof would be nice for the occasional passenger. Maybe one door on the left for the driver, one door on the right for passenger/freight. Staggered B-pillars would make both doors plenty big. Elio doesn't care about the passenger, especially if they are a woman wearing a dress, or someone older (like me) for whom ease of ingress/egress is important.
Dimples are interesting. While Mythbusters had fun with them on a Ford Taurus, the guys involved with the World Human Speed Championship http://newatlas.com/human-powered-speed-record-2013/29103/ have passed on them, and for good reason. They are probably more a gimmick than anything.
Tesla's factory is not too far from Hollister. They should talk.
DavidRogerBrown
$33,000? Good luck. Lithium battery range drops like a rock in northern,cold weather. Until there's a battery tech. break thru, electrics just don't make sense. What's it costs to replace the batteries in 7 years? Eilo,without electric, dimples & doors at $7 grand/70 m.p.g. does. Thanks Loz,for another informative article.
danbu
who is gonna want to wash and wax all those dimples? they will be magnets for dust and dirt, especially on the backside.. major pain the the arse