What if we told you that a limited production electric car designed by Pininfarina was sitting in a junkyard somewhere in California? three Some of them are just there, baking in the bright California sun.
If you’re thinking it’s nothing but millions of dollars. pininfarina batista …Actually, that’s not the case. It’s a Coda electric sedan! And just to be clear, it’s technically not designed directly by Pininfarina, but rather based on a Chinese design. Hafei Saibaowhich one.
But wait, what was the coda?And what were the three of them doing? at the junkyard• Learn more about rare and esoteric EVs from over 10 years ago.
economic competitors
Unveiled to the world in 2011 and in the hands of the press by 2012, the Coda EV was built to compete with the Mitsubishi i-Miev and Nissan Leaf. With a range of 150 miles, 6.6 kW charging, and more than 200 pound-feet of torque, it was a promising product for its time.
These specs may not be all that impressive by today’s standards, but they were class-leading at the time. This little 3,723-pound sedan put out 134 horsepower and 221 pound-feet of torque, outperforming the Leaf and i-Miev and still outperforming them. motor trends It reported an actual range of 138 miles, compared to the Nissan’s 73 miles and the Mitsubishi’s 62 miles. There was also a Ford Focus EV that traveled 76 miles on a single charge.
Additionally, the MSRP was $38,145, less the $895 destination fee and $7,500 federal tax credit, which was lower than the Ford but significantly higher than the Nissan and Mitsubishi.
What was it like?
“I don’t know if this is the case, but it feels like the electric motor’s abundant torque is being filled by a teaspoon here,” one tester wrote of the Coda. edmunds. “It’s really slow off the line and I think the tires can hold up a lot better than we’re asking them to.”
A quick search revealed similar sentiments from other publications. Reviewers generally liked the ride and handling, but the cabin was a little noisy on the highway, and there was a noticeable noise that sounded like an electric drill at high speeds. Hey, how far have you come?
Overall, it just looked like a boring econobox EV, which wasn’t a bad thing. Coda Automotive’s products were received as very bland and unappealing when new, and it didn’t help that they were priced a little higher than traditional automaker options. But now I wish there was more of a boring econobox EV. There aren’t as many affordable options as you need.
What happened? Why are all three on the same land?
The company sold just 117 cars in California alone in just over a year. mass layoffs And then it disappeared. It was left in stock and left as is. In fact, our own Jason Torchinsky wrote about their sad fate. Yalopnik About 10 years ago: Chinese company Mullen threw a badge at them and tried to wipe them out.
This is interesting. Apparently, as of 2019, some of them still existed. new Maren Coda floating around California, according to the Sacramento Electric Vehicle Association Comical ancient website. However, the website also states that these vehicles are only available as second-hand items. What kind of crazy person in the Sacramento metropolitan area has a warehouse full of these vehicles and is slowly restocking them for the used car market? What a great feature that is.
As for why they’re in a Southern California junkyard, one wonders if whoever owned the remaining inventory thought it would be more economically beneficial to just throw it away.Whether junk collectors can make a profit from them or not is another matter. Story.
Which is a total shame, since it’s not a half-assed-looking EV econobox. It’s a story about what could have been, as well as an attempt to bring futuristic technology to the mass market through a lesser-known or simply unknown automaker.We’ve seen similar stories over the years, all of which are currently underway fisker For now, it will be interesting to see who emerges as the next Coda Automotive.
