On our 2018 Trip to Fushun China, we had the opportunity to try a few other Electric Vehicles. This time, Xiaolei FINALLY let us take one of the Mini Trike-Taxi's. Now, the funny thing is, when I had my Car and Motorcycle Dealership (Mr. Kman was Wisconsin's FIRST EV Dealer!) I actually SOLD these Mini-Trike cars. They were more primitive back then though and weren't very popular in the states.
Now, at one point I did have Xiaolei ask what the range is on these vehicles. The only response the owner/driver would give was that one charge would last all day.
Trip cost about $1 USD. If we were in a Normal Taxi (Which in Fushun, run off CNG), it would have been around $3 USD. The same ride in Beijing would be around $6 USD in a normal taxi. Prices in Northern China are lower than other parts. Food, Lodging, and Transportation.
It was a fun ride, but the three of us Barely fit in the back. In Hind-Sight, I and Xiaolei should have squeezed in the back seat and had Gene sit behind the driver. There is always 2019
The ride wasn't bumpy, and the quick and nimble little trike-car quickly got us to our destination----- Quicker than if we took a large normal size taxi. Due to its size, it was able to squeeze through traffic with ease!
The neatest thing was the built-in recycling system! I say that Tongue-In-Cheek.... But neat none the less. As Electric Heat would Zap quite a bit of power from those Lead Acid batteries, greatly reducing the range. Especially once Winter arrives, ingenuity found a solution. A GARBAGE BURNER! I, unfortunately, was not able to get a close-up shot of it. It is basically a small metal box, with a steel pipe coming off, going up to the ceiling, and then exhausted out the back. This gives more surface area for heat to transfer. The driver would start a small fire in the box. They use whatever they find laying around (Which is why I call it a recycling machine!). They may start it in the morning with part of the morning newspaper, or advertisement that was blowing down the street. Keep it burning using old pallet wood, branches, twigs laying on the road. Reusable insulated thermoses are very common in China, however, if someone were to leave an empty or not empty disposable cup after visiting Coco for a Milk Tea, or from some other food stand etc... It would be emptied and burned Basically, if it's garbage, and it burns, it will be burned to heat the cabin of these trucks. It gets VERY Cold in Northern China, and it's just not economical to use the electric for heat (Until they start putting more lithium in these little buggers, but cost to do so is very high. $300 USD worth of batteries in one of these will allow it to be a local taxi all day!, and still the batteries would last 2-3 years before excessive degradation, and then recycled).
