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SparkFun will be closed on Tuesday, November 5th to support our team in being able to go out and vote! Orders placed after 2 pm MT Monday, November 4th will ship on Wednesday, November 6th. Thanks for your patience and understanding.
SparkFun Motors - First Release
Register as a spectator for the AVC! And watch SparkFun's foray into the electric vehicle market.
AVC registration is up! Please register if you plan to come as a spectator this year. Last year we had around 100 people come to the Autonomous Vehicle Competition. This year we're expecting more like 400. Letting us know you're coming will help us figure out how many bleachers to rent - oh, and you might win some free stuff too.
Speaking of (not quite autonomous) electric cars, if you're an electrical engineer with a pulse, you've heard of the Tesla Roadster. It's the ~$120,000 electric catapult. The thing is amazing! And it pains me to walk past the Tesla dealer in Boulder thinking that I couldn't buy one even with the $42,000 tax credit. Someday...
To help deal with my frustration, I asked Chris and Juan to help me put together a spoof on the official Roadster video. I recently bought a very cheap kids power wheels for use as my AVC entry this year (maybe it will be the pace car?). Out of shear coincidence, this little plastic car had 'Roadster' written on the side. And being electric, well, we just had to do something fun with it. So watch the official video first, then enjoy the first (and probably last) release by SparkFun Motors...
And yes, my little plastic roadster makes that noise when you turn on the power switch.
uh-oh, I see a Cease and Desist letter coming in your near future. You sell electronics, cars have electronics... the connection is obvious.
Cool song, what was that?
Car was sweet too. Tesla is amazing, but they hold a special place in my heart, they put my sleepy hometown of San Carlos on the map.
Sadly, several execs there recently died in a local plane crash :(
Haha, the little spin at the end is wicked-sweet! :]
LOL, love it!
I took apart a PowerWheels like that before, and the insides surprised me. It has one motor for each of the back wheels, and there about the size of the motors in a cordless drill, but with a ridiculous gear ratio. Cool seeing one go unmanned, maybe next year my autopilot will be ready to fly around your building.
So much cooler than a Tesla!
I think you could get it to go 60. I mean it must have a terminal velocity of at least 200mph, you just have to drop it from high enough.
As for the 200 miles... does it float?
So what is the top speed?
How far does it travel on a single charge?
You should have saved that for April 1st. :D
I like the Heidelberg license plate :-)
Damn, you guys need to get into producing ads. You made that crappy toy look almost cool ;)
Right here: To help deal with my frustration, I asked Chris and Juan to help me put together a spoof on the official Roaster video. Did you mean 'roaster' or 'roadster'? Just wondering.
Fixed! Thanks.
Sorry to point out another mistake but I figure Nate is quite busy so I figure we can forgive him:) Last sentence, "And yes, my little plastic roaster mak...". Isn't that 'sposed to mean "roadster"? Although, a "roasting" roadster would look quite cool.... maybe.
Don't feel bad - I appreciate it. I think my eyes just read over "roaster" as "roadster." Thanks!
WOW....Nice Car...When will be the next F1 pole position???
When USF1 makes the grid, sigh, I really wanted to see them this year. Sure they would have suffered the same fate as Virgin and Hispania at Bahrain, but it would have been nice
Thats Awesome. I love the end.