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Grant Sinclair, nephew of Sir Clive Sinclair, is promoting a new version of the C5, his uncle's electric trike of 32 years ago. The new one, called IRIS, is faster and has a weather enclosure. Both can be seen in this BBC article. The original C5 was launched back before people had become punch-drunk with announcements of personal transport revolutions; and in the UK, before the launch, there was great excitement and a general expectation of a small electric car.
However the C5 turned out to be an open three-wheeled pedal car with feeble electric assistance. The C5 (and Clive Sinclair himself) instantly became laughing stock, and it has been described as the "worst gadget of all time" and the "biggest technical flop ever". Nobody thought it was "cool", as the BBC commentator claims.
Arguably, the C5 set back the cause of EVs by a generation, as people assumed that any EV would be similar. One commentator said that it seemed axiomatic that EVs had to be "quirky, ugly and tiny". Indeed, IRIS joins quite a range of similar tiny EVs, none of which are showing much sign of revolutionising transport. Meanwhile conventional car type EVs look set to thrive.
[Ed. Note: The BBC link is a short video. This article on techmash has more words.]
(Score: 3, Interesting) by theluggage on Thursday February 16 2017, @10:07PM
Arguably, the C5 set back the cause of EVs by a generation,
Yes, the BBC reporter seems to be deluded about this. Trying to play on the Sinclair name with a new product? - home computers, maybe, electric "cars" - kiss of death.
One of the tricky market research questions they should ask is "why is there no demand for covered, regular, bikes"? (e.g. they don't fit in cycle parks?)
The other delusion is that you could ride this bike on cycle lanes - I can't see cyclists welcoming 30mph bike-lane-hogging three-wheelers to the cycle network and it will soon be pointed out (by lycra-clad 'concerned citizens' if not the police) that there are legal limits (at least in the EU/UK) on ebikes that can be ridden like bikes (no license/insurance, use bike lanes): 250W and max assisted speed 15mph (you can do 30mph if you like, but it requires mark 1 muscle-power).
We already have decent e-bikes. We also have mobility scooters if you want space for the shopping (maybe re-style a mobility scooter to appeal to the zimmerless?)