Re:How Cheap Can Electric Vehicles Get?
by djrogers on Thursday April 28, 2016 @11:58AM
(#11589809)
Sadly, safety regulations make what you're asking for nearly impossible in the 'Land of the Free'...
Sure, things like crumple zones are cheap because they're just metal and space, but regulation never stops. Mandatory tire pressure monitors, mandatory backup cameras (and no, your smartphone screen won't suffice for that requirement, must be fixed in the cockpit), mandatory LATCH, mandatory airbags, ABS, etc etc etc.
And that's just the list of things that have to be in a car today or in the near future. Regulations never shrink, so expect collision warning, lane departure warning, collision avoidance, etc to all be mandatory in vehicles in the span of time it would take you to develop one or two generations of your minivan...
Sure, things like crumple zones are cheap because they're just metal and space, but regulation never stops. Mandatory tire pressure monitors, mandatory backup cameras (and no, your smartphone screen won't suffice for that requirement, must be fixed in the cockpit), mandatory LATCH, mandatory airbags, ABS, etc etc etc.
And that's just the list of things that have to be in a car today or in the near future. Regulations never shrink, so expect collision warning, lane departure warning, collision avoidance, etc to all be mandatory in vehicles in the span of time it would take you to develop one or two generations of your minivan...