The Citroen Karin was a 1980 concept vehicle that never got beyond the concept stage, but I think that the Tesla design team may have been “inspired” by this Gallic prototype.
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The rear wheel covers are there to improve fuel economy. I would think EVs makers would want to have those covers on their vehicles with range being such a big issue.
I wonder how well that design holds up compared to the standard roof configuration in roll-over type accidents?
The biggest concern currently appears to be the fate of pedestrians who are hit by its unyielding front end.
The CEO–Melon Husk–has bragged that the stainless steel body panels are so rigid that they broke the panel pressing mechanism until they beefed-up the press. It remains to be seen how that rigidity would affect a pedestrian who was hit by one of these trucks, but I surely wouldn’t want to be the guinea pig for that experiment.
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With no visual clue where the front is, drivers could get their share of scratched/dented bumpers, but it’ll likely have some sort of warning system for that. Still, I’d have trouble getting used to it.
I have not been able to see the hood on any of the 3 Corollas or Vibe/Matrix, or most any other FWD vehicle I have owned, most of the time I can not see anything past the dash car wise for visual clues… I can see the hood great on the RR and pretty good on the Chevy truck… So I really don’t think that would be the hard part for me…
I do wonder if radar can see it?? lol
Possibly, in the most generouse sense of shareing an exploration of Trapezoidal Styling but that’s about where it ends,
Besides the Karin’s roots in the traditional sports car, “long nose / short tail” and “Butterfly” (Gull Wing) doors, the French had the good sense to have absolutely no plans to produce something like this, leaving it up to the even more desperate British (Triumph TR7 The Wedge) and Italians (Lamborghini Diablo).
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I’m positive my kids first pinewood derby car looked like that.
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I have a warning system on my Model 3 that tells me when I’m getting too close to objects. The system works at all speeds. It even prints distances to obstructions at slow speeds, like when I’m parking. I’m sure that any more expensive Tesla products have that feature too.
That is one of my favorite features on the 450h+.
That’s what I figured. I’ve always been able to see the fenders, I sit very high in my vehicles.
I like the feature but I’m not fond of the bings and bongs while maneuvering in my garage or backing out of my driveway. I have other cues I use. I will put up with that annoyance to have the feature available when I’m not as sure if my surroundings.
Sci-fi movies of the 50’s were.
Where I do like EVs on the whole, this reminds me of the Lincoln pickup or Cadillac Escalade with a bed. Really just useless status symbols.
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