Arcimoto: Functionality overcomes a lack of features

Of course, minimalism is the point of creating a vehicle that needs less parking space, requires smaller driving lanes and doesn’t directly emit carbon dioxide.

For those who subscribe to a less-is-more aesthetic, this electric vehicle may be a high point of auto design. It’s going to become either a prophecy of the weirder future of urban transportation or an anemic, goofy-looking golf cart looked back on as a joke.

Arcimoto chief executive officer Mark Frohnmayer, an engineer who made his fortune in video games, is betting that the cars of tomorrow won’t always resemble those of the present.

To me, this is the sweet spot between the motorcycle and the car,” he said. “It’s perfect for 85% of our daily trips — going to get coffee, going to work, going to the gym, you name it.

You might not want to own an Arcimoto — that’s OK by Frohnmayer — but the idea is that you might not need to.

The concept of owning a vehicle is quickly starting to look passé as ride-hailing and car-sharing fleets expand. Arcimoto and its ilk of differently designed cars invite us to imagine that this trend will continue to free drivers from the pressure of finding one vehicle that can do it all.

Instead, the theory goes, we might choose a car to fit the mission of the day. And maybe that car will need to be just big enough to complete a short trip.

A shift in ownership patterns could bring about a step change in automotive evolution that opens space for odd critters like the Arcimoto. Biologists call this punctuated equilibrium: Everything in an ecosystem seems pretty much the same for quite a while, and then suddenly there’s a new species.

Consider Marseilles, France, where public transport operator Keolis SA runs a system that costs €50 a month and comprises a range of options, from rail to ride-hailing to shared bikes.

“I’m a big fan of these ultrasmall vehicles,” said Andreas Mai, executive vice president for market development at Keolis. “It’s all part of a scalable transportation system.”

But what’s it like to drive in a minimalist car? The Arcimoto turns heads in traffic.

The questions come from all comers on all corners. “We call it ‘parketing’,” Frohnmayer said. “You park them, and they market themselves.”

Driving the thing is a giddy experience. Two electric motors linked to the front wheels have enough power to reach 80 mph. With the low centre of gravity common to all vehicles powered by a big, heavy battery, the Arcimoto careens around corners with little drama and can travel as far as 130 miles on one charge.

It’s easy to overthink it, however, on a rainy day in gridlock. Doors would be nice, though apparently the startup is working on a version with this feature. The throttle is touchy, with little subtlety between a slow roll and a sprint.

There’s a similar harshness in the regenerative braking, which charges the battery while slowing the vehicle. Between the two systems, a rookie can spend much of the trip lurching forward and back in the seat.

Arcimoto had a modest IPO in September 2017, using new US Security and Exchange Commission rules carved out for small, unproven companies. While its shares have foundered, the company still plans to ship the first of its machines to buyers early next year —with a guide price of €15,000.

Elio, meanwhile, has gone crypto. Late last month it began selling the ElioCoin security token, an alternative to venture firms and private equity groups. Elio said the former were put off by the size of its spending plans and the latter lacked the patience to wait on a profit.

The company hopes to collect at least $25 million in the cryptocurrency sale and start delivering cars in 2019 or 2020.

“We are Columbus,” Elio said. “We’re in the middle of the ocean, and I don’t know how far land is.” While the metaphor may be apt, the journey is in a much smaller vessel.