The SkyNomad—with heated floors, a projector, a pop-up roof, a fridge, swiveling seats, and over 1,000 miles of range—is a “luxury” ride that undercuts Range Rovers by tens of thousands of dollars.
I want a mostly analog microbus body on a kei size frame. Standardized universal plug ins with easily swappable parts. Basically easily accessible media/electronic wiring internally where we can swap the wiring harness, speakers and receiver. A standard sized motor slot for each wheel and same for battery slot and hookups. If new battery technology comes out, they make it to fit the same size slot with adapters pre-fit so no modifications are needed.
If a motor goes bad set to a temporary mode where all power goes to front or back wheel depending on which died… drive into shop lift car, put on standardized lift… Mechanic knows where full shut off switch is that disconnects battery from all components, lift already grounds frame by setup and pulling the bolts removing the motor and swapping it with a standardized replacement should be able to be done in minutes. The mechanic shouldn’t need to know much at that point, but still good to have someone who does multiple a day than someone who does 1 every 7-10 years.
Universal light sockets blah blah blah.
So if you want “smart” features, they are in your chosen swappable part, Bluetooth, wifi, CD, 8-track, whatever, your choice, your slots. Obviously, 8 track might not fit but if everything is standardized, accessory hookups become easy to make
That would be ideal; something of an Open Platform with fully interchangeable parts.
It’s not quite fully everything we’d want, but that Slate truck that was announced (launched?) last year seems like it’s a step in the right direction.
The issue at play largely is that customer demand needs to make such options not only viable for manufacturers - but an outright requirement in order for them to remain competitive and relevant.
I want a mostly analog microbus body on a kei size frame. Standardized universal plug ins with easily swappable parts. Basically easily accessible media/electronic wiring internally where we can swap the wiring harness, speakers and receiver. A standard sized motor slot for each wheel and same for battery slot and hookups. If new battery technology comes out, they make it to fit the same size slot with adapters pre-fit so no modifications are needed.
If a motor goes bad set to a temporary mode where all power goes to front or back wheel depending on which died… drive into shop lift car, put on standardized lift… Mechanic knows where full shut off switch is that disconnects battery from all components, lift already grounds frame by setup and pulling the bolts removing the motor and swapping it with a standardized replacement should be able to be done in minutes. The mechanic shouldn’t need to know much at that point, but still good to have someone who does multiple a day than someone who does 1 every 7-10 years.
Universal light sockets blah blah blah.
So if you want “smart” features, they are in your chosen swappable part, Bluetooth, wifi, CD, 8-track, whatever, your choice, your slots. Obviously, 8 track might not fit but if everything is standardized, accessory hookups become easy to make
That would be ideal; something of an Open Platform with fully interchangeable parts.
It’s not quite fully everything we’d want, but that Slate truck that was announced (launched?) last year seems like it’s a step in the right direction.
The issue at play largely is that customer demand needs to make such options not only viable for manufacturers - but an outright requirement in order for them to remain competitive and relevant.