Rented GoCar's FUV last week!

[CharonPDX]

Was in San Francisco for a conference, had a free day Friday, so figured I'd head over to Fisherman's Wharf and tour the area in a vehicle I'm familiar with.

Person at front desk "uh.... None of us knows how to turn it on, you'll have to wait for {person} to get back who knows how."

"Oh, it's fine, I know how." (They made me wait anyway.)

They have two now - #6 and #83(?) I drove the newer one. It already has almost as many miles as mine. (I'm at a little over 1000, theirs was in the mid 800s.) It drove great, other than the friction brakes being *VERY* squealy when using them. I did notice that the dashboard software had been tweaked slightly. Not a huge change, but the "regenerative braking reduced" warning looks a lot nicer.

Sorry, I was too busy having fun driving it to take any action shots!

[Odi]

There was also someone who posted on FB about the other FUV on Feb 25, which had 411 miles and a broken regen trigger. Michael from AM had also posted on Feb 25 that they had just serviced the FUVs there, so this person rented it before servicing and you got there after.

I’m reservation holder 729 and an Arcimoto stockholder. (I’m also a Tesla performance S and BMW i3 BEV owner)

Until last weekend I’d never seen an FUV in person. I was in San Francisco and located a business called “Go-Car” that had an FUV available to rent. I got it for 3 hours. It was FUV #6 and I understand that since it was built there have been various production upgrades.

Here are my impressions:

Overall, I enjoyed the experience. More importantly, so did my wife.

To be fair this rental FUV was unfortunately beat up and needed maintenance. The brakes were completely shot, the regen was broken, and in general it had been put through the ringer. I took that into account in determining whether my reservation status would continue.

True to it’s name the FUV is lots of fun. It’s quick, efficient, and “comfortable enough” (I’m 6’4”). The seating position takes some getting used to. My one big complaint is that the motor was crazy loud. My Tesla has 2 huge motors and puts out over 700 HP, but it’s super silent. I’m not sure if later models have quieter motors, but this FUV was loud. The info screen was a little basic. It’s serviceable, but in today’s world of info-glitz, Arcimoto would do well to upgrade the very basic (golf cart style) screen, if they haven’t already.

The verdict is I enjoyed the FUV, and plan to keep my reservation. Hopefully my production number will come up soon.

[harriska2]

Actually, it sounds like the other person rented the only one they had, #6, before regen was fixed. CharonPDX rented the new one.

[CharonPDX]

As to the being loud - yeah, that's true of all FUVs - the fact that the motors are "open air" right in front of you, versus a Tesla (or any conventional-style-four-wheel-vehicle EV) having its motors behind a lot of structure and sound padding.

And yeah, they got GoCar's original one, I purposefully chose the new one. (He gave me the choice, they were both there.)

[Odi]

harriska2, you shared a picture on 2/20 which you guessed is the second FUV delivered to GoCar. Gabriel sounded like he rented it on 2/22 or 2/23 based on "last weekend" and a post on 2/25. Michael had commented on 2/25 that they just serviced the FUVs there. On 2/28, CharonPDX found it already had 800+ miles.

[harriska2]

There is a definite whine with the Arcimoto. Tesla is designed with all sorts of cabin sound deadening features. The Arcimoto doesn’t have a cabin so comparing the two is a bit ludicrous. I think the brakes are a problem and they likely know this. They require you to take it in at 500 miles for a checkup. I suspect at some point down the road the hydraulic brakes will be redesigned or have differently sourced parts.

[Odi]

I read that Arcimoto used semi-metallic brake pads, which seems to be an upgrade to the cheaper NAO most car manufacturers use.

https://www.autoanything.com/resources/w...-metallic/

[SparkE]

Was in San Francisco for a conference, had a free day Friday, so figured I'd head over to Fisherman's Wharf and tour the area in a vehicle I'm familiar with.
{...}

Out of curiosity, how much are they charging for a rental? And by the hour, or by the mile, or just for "a day"? I don't live THAT far from SF, I could drive up and rent one and test drive it.

[harriska2]

Out of curiosity, how much are they charging for a rental? And by the hour, or by the mile, or just for "a day"? I don't live THAT far from SF, I could drive up and rent one and test drive it.

About $75 for the first hour and about $25 or $35 per hour thereafter. The gocar people said they will be selling both of their arcimotos on ebay.

[SparkE]

Hmmm. PLEASE let me know if/when you see them appear. I am a huge fan of "used" (because I am a cheap bastard).