• jaykrown@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
    162·
    2 months ago

    How did they let these die? They’re so stylish, we should bring them back immediately except with solid state batteries that can let them drive 200+ miles and charge in 5 minutes.

    • zurohki@aussie.zoneEnglish
      31·
      2 months ago

      Those older cars with the huge windows and great visibility handled rollover accidents by crushing the heads and necks of everyone inside.

      At some point we decided the passenger cabin shouldn’t be the primary crumple zone, so you can’t make cars like that anymore.

      • jaykrown@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
        31·
        2 months ago

        I think one of these except more modern with all the advanced necessary features would actually be awesome.

        • Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.worldEnglish
          5·
          2 months ago

          But we gotta keep the 1920s car design. You csn put a modern battery, and bluetooth, and inputs for auxilery audio devices, and modern stereo syatem, and gps, and all this other stuff…but we gotta keep the old car vibe.

          • mkwt@lemmy.worldEnglish
            6·
            2 months ago

            Without the monocoque, I doubt it can pass modern crash safety tests. Nor is there any safe place to install air bags.

          • spongebue@lemmy.worldEnglish
            31·
            2 months ago

            Honestly, people love to shit on the PT Cruiser but at least it tried to be a little different - arguably in a cool retro way!

        • Telex@sopuli.xyzEnglish
          1·
          2 months ago

          You could probably make one with a bit of time and effort. People in wild west did.

          (Driving it legally in most places would be a different thing.)

  • finallymadeanaccount@lemmy.worldEnglish
    6·
    2 months ago

    Remember when thought was given to the beauty of the design of cars (like above), and nowadays we have the mutant electric shaver that is Teslas?

    • jaykrown@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      111·
      2 months ago

      The cyber truck is disgusting. It’s what happens when you give billionaires all the decision making authority. It seriously looks similar to a dumpster.

      • edgesmash@lemmy.worldEnglish
        2·
        2 months ago

        I highly suspect Musk had the idea for the swastikkkar as a kid and told some people, who proceeded to laugh at him. He then never let that grudge go, deluded that he is always the smartest boy.

    • captainlezbian@lemmy.worldEnglish
      7·
      2 months ago

      No, by the time I was born beauty was secondary to aerodynamics. It was the right decision, but I do understand what we lost is something to be sad we’ve lost.

      With teslas my bigger issue is build quality. Though the dumpster they sell is ironically one of the few deviations from the modern prioritization of aerodynamics over aesthetics, it’s just done by someone who doesn’t understand good taste. Compare it to those Honda EVs to see a similar idea done much more beautifully.

    • Tattorack@lemmy.worldEnglish
      3·
      2 months ago

      I dunno. I recently saw the new Twingo and it’s a very nice and cute looking car. Their 2025 hatchback was also very cool and futuristic looking.

  • fubarx@lemmy.worldEnglish
    4·
    2 months ago

    An even earlier manufacturer was Baker Electric of Cleveland, Ohio: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baker_Motor_Vehicle. They werem’t the first (EVs had been around since 1880), but by 1906 they were the biggest car maker, running the largest manufacturing plant in the world.

    Main market was for those who made frequent short stops, and didn’t want to get their hands dirty hand-cranking the gas or steam motor starters. Their coupe model had a ‘boat-tiller’ instead of a steering wheel.

    Jay Leno has a restored 1909 Baker Electric he showed on an old car show: https://youtu.be/OhnjMdzGusc

    There was a glut of electric cars, then gas-powered ones with longer range showed up. In 1912, the electric starter was introduced for gas cars, taking away one of the main features of EVs. By 1914, Baker would merge and then shut down.

  • PumpkinSkink@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    2 months ago

    The most fascinating thing I saw on that wiki page was that Lizzie Borden owned an electric vehicle… and she isn’t even the worst person on the list. lol