Credits: Article and images by Tim Mosso @ Quill & Pad. See the original article here - https://quillandpad.com/2024/04/18/tim-mosso-visits-the-new-york-international-auto-show-2024-before-it-fades-away-its-a-high-low-and-no-octane-photofest-part-1/
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An indoor EV test track marked the declining show’s single greatest change for the better – ripping around an indoor track is fun. While it was impossible to drive oneself in the cars, trained employees piloting an array of EV performance models provided entertaining joy rides.
Due to the total lack of emissions, the EVs can run indoors all day long, and their eerily quiet accelerator dumps portend the future of automotive performance. It takes some getting used to, but the sensations inside the vehicles are stunning.
While the automotive action was on the test track, the hit of the show was the only vehicle – EV or otherwise – that I was allowed to drive firsthand. Actually, make that “ride” firsthand. Newly launched by Honda’s U.S. arm, the Motocompacto is a crazy electric pizza box that you can ride on public roads.
The EV scooter, which is inspired by the two-stroke 1980s “Motocompo,” is an 18.6kg (41lb) collapsible “last mile” solution developed with commuters in mind.
Each Motocompacto is designed to be stowed until needed on a car ride or commuter train. It has a fold-out handle and an aluminum frame to make it more portable. When deployed, the scooter sports a small seat, a tiny handlebar and steering column, and a fold-out rear wheel.
There’s a kickstand. The handlebar includes an accelerator button, lever-actuated front brake, a tiny bell for signaling your presence, and control over the integrated front and rear lights. Sadly, for friends in Europe and Asia who might get the most use from this concept, it’s a U.S. exclusive for now.
Mechanically, the Motocompacto packs a battery good for 12 miles under an assumed 99.7kg (220lb) rider. Lighter riders will get more range; a 120.2kg (265lb) rider is the limit. The front wheel drives the little scooter, and its maximum of 15mph feels absolutely wild given the miniscule size of the thing under your body at that speed. There are plenty of places in Manhattan where even taxis don’t hit 15mph, and the assembled NYC residents seemed impressed.
Recharging takes place from a wall socket in 3.5 hours, so, in theory, you could use it on a 20-mile round-trip commute with a bit of buffer left over. Truthfully, even Honda doesn’t entertain such long-haul flights of fancy. It describes the Motocompacto as a subway-to-office solution or something to deploy from the SUV after parking in a city.
Honda’s done its research, and it believes the combination of signaling features plus the 15mph speed limit should keep the Motocompacto legal in most parts of the USA. Despite the raft of dream cars present on the show floor, journalists attending the show near-universally declared the Motocompacto test ride to be the most fun they had at the event. And for a Honda-recommended retail price of $990, almost anyone can share that feeling.
The second and final installment of this NYIAS survey will deal with the most popular class of vehicle to most gearheads and showgoers: traditional internal combustion performance.
For more information, please visit www.autoshowny.com
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Credits: Article and images by Tim Mosso @ Quill & Pad. See the original article here - https://quillandpad.com/2024/04/18/tim-mosso-visits-the-new-york-international-auto-show-2024-before-it-fades-away-its-a-high-low-and-no-octane-photofest-part-1/