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posted by martyb on Saturday September 10 2016, @01:54AM   Printer-friendly
from the free-juice-from-the-sky dept.

The Sion has seating for 6, a range of 150+ miles, 7.5 square meters of solar cells, an air filtration system that uses moss, and a price of less than $18,000.

A German startup, Sono Motors, has just finished a successful crowdfunding campaign to take its Sion electric car prototype to the next step, and if all goes well over the next year or so, it could go into production as early as 2018. At a time when many auto companies are quickly trying to catch up to the electric car trend with their own electric models (thanks, Tesla), the Sion is one of the only examples of an electric vehicle that includes a self-charging aspect, which could make it the perfect vehicle for enabling free 'fuel' for those with short commutes.

Although the Sion can be charged via a plug like other electric vehicles (EVs), this car also has solar cells integrated into its body, which the developers say are capable of delivering a charge to the vehicle's battery that can power it up to 30 km (18.6 miles) every day. With a top speed of 140 kmh (86 mph), it's not designed to be an electric sports car, by any means, but with seating for 6 and a 250 km range (155 miles), at a price of under $18,000, it just might be the affordable solar electric car we've been waiting for.

It's a product promo but it shows the inevitable evolution of the electric car concept. It seems they're also missing the opportunity to generate power with Stirling engines that exploit the temperature differential between the inside of the hot car and the outside.


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  • (Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Saturday September 10 2016, @01:50PM

    by Phoenix666 (552) on Saturday September 10 2016, @01:50PM (#399981) Journal

    In Dearborn, MI, there's a turn-of-the-century, time capsule town called Greenfield Village where they drive Model T's and men ride penny-farthings (those old-fashioned bikes with the big front wheel) around the streets. Henry Ford had it built and he paid to have historic buildings like the courthouse where Lincoln practiced law and Thomas Edison's laboratory physically relocated within its neighborhoods. Somewhere in there, whether it's when you take the ride around town in the chauffeured Model T's or one of the encounter buildings they mention that when Henry Ford came out with the Model T he had the seats stuffed with Spanish moss because the stuff was so ubiquitous as to be practically free. They had to stop because there was a problem with insects in the moss.

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  • (Score: 2) by JNCF on Saturday September 10 2016, @06:25PM

    by JNCF (4317) on Saturday September 10 2016, @06:25PM (#400061) Journal

    I'm guessing the moss was dead? I don't see how it could be continuously alive while stuffed in a seat and sat upon. Interesting on-topic anecdote, but dead moss doesn't make the Model T any more of a cyborg than any other vehicle with a leather interior. The insects, on the other hand...

    • (Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Saturday September 10 2016, @08:06PM

      by Phoenix666 (552) on Saturday September 10 2016, @08:06PM (#400081) Journal

      The same thing would have to be true of the moss in the Sion, too, because while the air conditioner could readily supply moisture, it would not be able to supply the necessary sunlight unless the car is transparent. Even if the car were transparent, it would be quite inconvenient to replace the moss when it keeps dying and rotting in the system.

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      Washington DC delenda est.
      • (Score: 2) by JNCF on Saturday September 10 2016, @09:08PM

        by JNCF (4317) on Saturday September 10 2016, @09:08PM (#400104) Journal

        I, too, am skeptical of how well it will work in practice. In this part [youtube.com] of the video embedded in TFA it does look like the moss is behind a transparent pane, though sunlight has to go through the car window as well before getting to it.