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Porsche's new companies are all about electric bikes:
In the future, you may come across a lot more two-wheeled Porsches on the streets. The luxury automaker has launched two new joint ventures with Dutch company Ponooc Investment B.V., and they're both all about electric bikes. Porsche eBike Performance GmbH is based in Ottobrunn near Munich and will develop components, including motors and batteries. Anything it creates will then be used by P2 eBike GmbH, the second joint venture based in Stuttgart, to manufacture Porsche-branded e-bikes for consumers that the company plyans to launch starting in the middle of the decade.
Porsche is far from a newcomer in the e-bike space. In 2021, it debuted two electric bikes inspired by the Taycan and were made to complement the Cross Turismo, which has a rear carrier. Those bikes, however, along with their motors and gear shifting systems, were manufactured by Japanese bicycle industry giant Shimano. With one company developing parts and another working on the consumer bikes themselves, the upcoming products the joint ventures will release will be all (or at least mostly) Porsche.
The components business will use the e-bike drive systems develop by Fazua, a company Porsche recently acquired, as noted by Electrek. However, it will also develop e-bike systems under the Porsche brand name — it will even sell the technology it designs to other brands. As with anything Porsche, the bikes under the new ventures will most likely not come cheap: Its Taycan-inspired bikes, for instance, set buyers back at least $8,500 at launch, with the sports model selling for prices that start at $10,700.
(Score: 2) by legont on Saturday August 06 2022, @03:35AM (8 children)
A few years back ford came to the office and propose an investment into a mass self driving car at... $500,000 starting price. Wall Street boys passed.
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 2) by mcgrew on Saturday August 06 2022, @03:55PM (7 children)
The original 8 bit 64k RAM IBM PC was $4,000 forty years ago, the Apple was even more expensive. I've watched tech prices drop all my life, and I'm 70. In 1977 a 24 inch color TV was $600 in 1977 dollars.
Impeach Donald Palpatine and his sidekick Elon Vader
(Score: 2) by legont on Sunday August 07 2022, @04:33AM (6 children)
A reasonable computer have had the same price all over the years. To be on the cutting age you'd have to spend the same $4000 inflation adjusted now.
As per TVs, it's a different story.
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 2) by mcgrew on Monday August 08 2022, @05:49PM (5 children)
Yes, but a $4000 computer from 1995 wouldn't even display a modern web page using the U of I browser. My $120 cell phone has more computing power than NASA did when men walked on the moon. ENIAC wouldn't even power a singing Hallmark card.
Impeach Donald Palpatine and his sidekick Elon Vader
(Score: 2) by legont on Tuesday August 09 2022, @12:44AM (4 children)
I am not sure I get your point.
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 2) by mcgrew on Friday August 12 2022, @01:19PM (3 children)
The point was that electric technology always gets cheaper and never more expensive. I've never in my 70 years seen technology get more expensive, just cheaper and/or better. That was an example. Another is an electric drill I have that my dad bought for $50 in 1960. I've lost the chuck. I bought a new professional use drill that uses rechargeable batteries, is lighter and more powerful, and needs no chuck that I paid $100.00 for. Remember, a McDonald's hamburger was 15¢ and is now $2.49 for the same burger.
Impeach Donald Palpatine and his sidekick Elon Vader
(Score: 2) by legont on Saturday August 13 2022, @05:26AM (2 children)
Well, compressed air driven tools are still 5 times cheaper than electric ones and they never go bad if a drop of oil per day rule is followed. I don't know how much they were in 1960, but nowadays I have them all as they are dirt cheap and still better than electric for many applications. My compressor was made in 60s though and I got it for free on a garage sale.
You can, off course, argue that a compressor itself is electric, for which I'd reply it does not have to be. Regardless, the main issue is and ever was the battery. It does go bad used or not. Actually, if a battery is not used it goes bad much faster which is an issue for an occasional user.
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 2) by mcgrew on Saturday August 13 2022, @08:06PM (1 child)
I was comparing a 1960 electric drill to a 2019 electric drill. Comparing an electric drill to a pneumatic drill is apples and oranges.
Impeach Donald Palpatine and his sidekick Elon Vader
(Score: 2) by legont on Sunday August 14 2022, @11:34PM
You compared two electric drills and implied that electric technology develops well.
I compared electric technology to pneumatic one and implied that it's even better tech.
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.