The Ora R1 Is a $8,600 Electric Car from China

That actually looks better than 90% of new compact cars on sale now. Note to Americans: a focus / golf is not a compact car.
 
A car for suicidal people, you never know when it will happen, but it will happen.
 
It would come with the warning label "for off road use only" if sold outside of china.
 
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TFA mentioned an Artificial Intelligence that wakes up via verbal command. Hope the Ora isn't a connected car or this isn't going to end well. Stand alone AI connected to the Internet seems to turn to the dark side fairly quickly. How long before the cars start committing suicide because they get depressed from dealing with stupid humans?
 
For the price I’d buy one. I was looking into electric cars because my work has free charging stations and so my 40min commute would be entirely free since I could charge at work, but I’m not interested in paying 35k for a small electric vehicle. $8600 i’d pay.
 
Looks about as good as a fiat 500, better than a honda civic. Those are flops right? This would be an instant purchase for me as a daily commuter in the city.
 
The GREAT WALL motor company.
I'd almost buy one just for the WINNING company name.


If under $10,000 for an electric car doesn't jump start the electric car industry, I don't know what will.
 
M76 said:
That actually looks better than 90% of new compact cars on sale now. Note to Americans: a focus / golf is not a compact car.
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Note to foreigner: while y'all may feel like wrapping yourselves in tinfoil stretched over a modified moped frame, in the Land of the Free, we ride with a bit more comfort. It's the horrible cost of capitalism imposed upon us...

I don't know how we will survive.

So. Yes. Compact cars.
 
SixFootDuo said:
I would rock that all over town for my running around.

I can't wait to the Chinese come over here and build those. $10K .. all day long.

Electric cars are about to revolutionize the world over.

Cheaper, a lot less parts, a lot less maintenance.

You young people .. don't make the mistake and buy a new car .. ever. I don't care how much money you have. Get pre-owned, pay a lot less. Trust me, over a 20 year period it will save you $50,000 dollars. That's a hellva chunk of money.
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Electric cars "might" revolutionize the world if the battery technology improves. Currently cobalt is an essential component of lithium ion batteries and there is a world-wide cobalt shortage with a low probability of a short-term resolution. If demand increases for electric cars so to will the demand for cobalt and by consequence battery prices will also increase. Until a new battery technology is developed around abundant materials electric cars will become more and more expensive. Long live the ICE...
 
thejokker said:
Electric cars "might" revolutionize the world if the battery technology improves. Currently cobalt is an essential component of lithium ion batteries and there is a world-wide cobalt shortage with a low probability of a short-term resolution. If demand increases for electric cars so to will the demand for cobalt and by consequence battery prices will also increase. Until a new battery technology is developed around abundant materials electric cars will become more and more expensive. Long live the ICE...
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I think these companies are working on improving their battery chemistry to the point where cobalt content is almost nothing now, Tesla, for example, is at around 3% cobalt content now, and moving toward zero. Other battery manufacturers are also moving in that direction.

That should help the market reduce dependency significantly on that resource in time for much higher production numbers, which is a good idea, planning ahead is good for progress.

Also another interesting point mentioned here:
if the ratio of cobalt to nickel is 1:33 or less, that's below the cobalt:nickel ratio in the raw ores, and therefore shouldn't be a problem as long as there's enough nickel being producted.
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Joust said:
Note to foreigner: while y'all may feel like wrapping yourselves in tinfoil stretched over a modified moped frame, in the Land of the Free, we ride with a bit more comfort.

So. Yes. Compact cars.
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The fact that you took it as a personal insult means it's true :p

Actually us market cars I've seen that have-been re-imported like VWs are low comfort compared to their european counterparts. Of course if you equate size with comfort crazier things can happen like the F650.

Another bubble I need to burst is bigger doesn't automatically mean safer.

It's the horrible cost of capitalism imposed upon us...
Click to expand...

Wait, I hope you're not suggesting that there is no capitalism elsewhere. Otherwise I don't know WTH do you mean by that.

I don't know how we will survive.
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With your butt clenched while being offended by small things like this it seems.

tinfoil stretched over a modified moped frame
Click to expand...

And I know you're trying to be absurd, but that's actually a thing.
 
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I could see the thing as a viable commute vehicle, instead of beating the shit out of my SUV daily here in the Midwest. If it's anywhere near the crash test ratings of a Smart For Two (Smart Car), which isn't great but about as good as most compact cars, it would be fine. It will be interesting to see what it costs in the US after the safety commission adds 25-50% to it's structural framework for safety alone. I don't really care where the car comes from, my taxes go to the US where I live, just like any other damn car. I doubt this thing will put anyone out of business, however, it just might bring electric vehicles to the masses and actually do something positive for the environment (assuming they don't turn into driving coffins with integrated cremation on impact... which might be good, I wasn't planning on a formal funeral anyway).

Who gives a shit, more competition is good competition, no matter how many companies China stole the basis of the car from, lol...
 
Did they steal the correct plans?
I mean hydrogen power is great, as long as they're not from a hydrogen bomb!
 
M76 said:
That actually looks better than 90% of new compact cars on sale now. Note to Americans: a focus / golf is not a compact car.
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They are in the US. Anything smaller is a micro/mini or a sub compact. The R1 would prolly be a micro/mini by US standards. Stuff tends to be bigger here. Cars, open spaces, waistlines, military spending, etc.

The R1 is pretty bad looking, but a different front or even just a decorative grill and some decent rims would make it look pretty decent for what it is. A very inexpensive electric micro.


Edit: https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/info.shtml#size-class How the EPA classifies cars in the US.
 
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M76 said:
That actually looks better than 90% of new compact cars on sale now. Note to Americans: a focus / golf is not a compact car.
Click to expand...
European streets and cities necessitate the use of subcompact cars, the US doesn't.

Driving a subcompact in the US around soccer moms driving their SUVs to take their single child to school is basically a safety hazard.
 
dgz said:
Which is exactly what I've been waiting for. Screw the big monsters. I want small and cheap electric cars for the cities. Everything else is for hookers and fat people.

The electric car is going to revolutionize things because now almost everyone can make one. Good luck developing your own ICE lol
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Good luck getting that thing certified for sale in the US. By the time they get it upgraded to meet US DOT standards and tested, the price will double. I wonder if you will think it's such a good deal then?
 
I'll buy an electric vehicle when they can make one that has the style of my '02 Firebird AND isn't horrendously expensive for the common people. (Tesla roadster is nice but too much $ IMHO)
 
Vader1975 said:
I just want them to step foot out of China with it and see all the international patent lawsuits it will cause.
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This is actually a valid question. We all know how little the Chinese pay attention to patents, so given that tendency it is highly likely there would be long (possibly successful) patent challenges. Unfortunately collecting is another story, but they could get the car barred from importation.

halo000008 said:
In addition to the patents I'd love to see the safety ratings!
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This may, or may not, be an issue. Heaven knows if they're going to pass the European safety requirements it will have to be tested, include features such as anti-lock brakes, et al. Will certainly be interesting, but it looks like a box on wheels so, depending on the materials engineering it might not fail. My guess is, unless they managed to get licensing *really* cheap or stole the technology, it won't have the necessary safety equipment to go on sale in Europe for that price.

Rizen said:
European streets and cities necessitate the use of subcompact cars, the US doesn't.

Driving a subcompact in the US around soccer moms driving their SUVs to take their single child to school is basically a safety hazard.
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Right because most European roads were built for human traffic not vehicular. Therein the roads are narrower, and many use paving stone instead of blacktop or concrete in the cities necessitating weight limitations. Not that a full size transport would really want to navigate city center (unless necessary) anyway.

The US SUV addiction is really an issue, because most people can't drive their over sized vehicles properly. Many smaller vehicles are safe, not to mention mid-size vehicles. So indeed while it might destroy the Tesla in terms of ever being driven again, I wouldn't expect an SUV that smashed into a Tesla hard to be driving away either given the crash ratings. TBH I saw a VW Golf get smashed in (right rear quarter impact) and it didn't drive away. Then again the oversized Chevy grocery getter was effectively destroyed as well, no insurance company was going to pay for all the front end work (and possibly a new motor) to make it able to drive again. Both passenger compartments were (apparently, I was walking by for lunch not stopping for an inspection) free from intrusion and the passengers seemed unharmed.

We do have the tendency to hang onto the old idea that bigger automatically equals safer. This is not necessarily the case, and many times is only applicable in a fraction of accidents. Not to mention that road design (city and highway) is being changed rendering the advantages of a larger vehicle moot, or even making them less desirable in the case of city design. I don't know about you, but Wisconsin has many cities/towns putting in roundabouts when upgrading intersections to handle more traffic. They can effectively remove traffic lights, the impacts become a much lower speed, and the angle of the impact is such that the energy is (much) lower. We also have diverging diamond interchanges being installed which, again lessens the advantage of larger vehicles by changing the impact dynamics. I actually like the diverging diamond better in some ways, as it is more pedestrian friendly. I do, however, recognize the advantages of a roundabout. The irony being that in both, larger vehicles (other than full-size tractor trailers) lose almost all advantages in a crash with those designs. In fact they stand a good chance of continuing further into an accident after knocking the other car aside, resulting in an off-angle (often nearly flat sidewall) impact against the curb wrecking the wheel and/or H frame and axle. I've seen a couple of accidents where the smaller vehicle was damaged but able to be driven, while the larger SUV was on a bed because it wrecked a wheel/axle.

However this is all relative to the person, their style of driving, where they drive, and indeed how the roads are by that person. I know people that need full-size SUV's. They wouldn't have them everyday, but don't want to own 3 cars so they have a full-size SUV (which also pulls the travel trailer / RV / trailer) and often a smaller SUV for the wife like an Escape.
 
SixFootDuo said:
I would rock that all over town for my running around.

I can't wait to the Chinese come over here and build those. $10K .. all day long.

Electric cars are about to revolutionize the world over.

Cheaper, a lot less parts, a lot less maintenance.

You young people .. don't make the mistake and buy a new car .. ever. I don't care how much money you have. Get pre-owned, pay a lot less. Trust me, over a 20 year period it will save you $50,000 dollars. That's a hellva chunk of money.
Click to expand...
$50k over 20 years? It'll save a hell of a lot more than that :)
 
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