Is America ready for this quirky Jeep-looking EV that can park itself?
Is America ready for this quirky Jeep-looking EV that can park itself?
美国准备好迎接这款外形古怪、能自动泊车的吉普风电动车了吗？
Chip Motors is the latest startup with aspirations to disrupt the golf cart market. Its $15,000 EV can only go 25 mph, but it can park itself using remote operators. Chip Motors 是一家最新的初创公司，立志要颠覆高尔夫球车市场。其售价 1.5 万美元的电动车时速仅为 25 英里（约 40 公里），但它可以通过远程操作员实现自动泊车。
Are we living through a small car renaissance? There’s the Slate Truck, Amble’s dune buggy, and the Fiat Topolino, as well as a whole galaxy of kei cars and trucks from Japan that have their own built-in fan base. While microcar sales in the US are still as tiny as the vehicles themselves, there are some signs that Americans might not be as closed off to the idea of downsizing as you might think. 我们是否正处于小型汽车的复兴时期？市场上出现了 Slate Truck、Amble 沙滩车和菲亚特 Topolino，还有来自日本、拥有固定粉丝群的各类轻自动车（kei cars）和卡车。虽然微型车在美国的销量和车辆本身一样微不足道，但有迹象表明，美国人对“小型化”这一概念的接受度可能比你想象的要高。
The latest example is the launch of Chip Motors, a Miami-based startup with an adorably boxy, open-air electric vehicle that defies easy categorization. Is it a golf cart? A Jeep Wrangler that got hit with a shrink ray? A bit of both? 最新的例子是总部位于迈阿密的初创公司 Chip Motors 推出的产品。这是一款外形方正可爱、采用开放式设计的电动车，很难将其简单归类。它是高尔夫球车吗？还是被缩小射线击中的吉普牧马人？亦或是两者兼而有之？
The company calls Chip a “life utility vehicle,” or LUV for short, but a more accurate acronym would be LSV for “low speed vehicle,” similar to neighborhood electric vehicles from companies like Gem and Wink. It’s top speed of 25mph means it’s only legal on roads with 35mph speed limits or below. It’s intended as a second vehicle for short trips to the grocery store or for kid pickups. There’s a roll bar and a flat battery pack along the floor to protect occupants. And an LED screen on the front bumper acts as Chip’s digital “face” as it smiles and responds to verbal commands. And it even parks itself using teleoperation, with the goal of eventually getting to Level 4, fully autonomous driving. 该公司将 Chip 称为“生活多功能车”（Life Utility Vehicle，简称 LUV），但更准确的缩写应该是“低速车辆”（LSV），类似于 Gem 和 Wink 等公司生产的社区电动车。其 25 英里/小时的最高时速意味着它只能在限速 35 英里/小时及以下的道路上行驶。它旨在作为家庭的第二辆车，用于去杂货店购物或接送孩子等短途出行。车身配有防滚架，地板下铺设了扁平电池组以保护乘客。前保险杠上的 LED 屏幕充当了 Chip 的数字“脸庞”，可以微笑并响应语音指令。它甚至可以通过远程操作实现自动泊车，最终目标是实现 L4 级完全自动驾驶。
In terms of the hardware, Chip runs on in-wheel motors and a 15 kWh lithium iron phosphate battery that can recharge overnight on a standard 110-volt household outlet, or in 4 hours using a Level 2/240-volt charger via a NACS charge port — though on its website, the company notes that charge times are “illustrative,” pending final specs. The LFP provides an estimated 100 miles of range, but that’s just an estimate as well. Chip comes in four- and six-seat configurations, with the former starting at $15,000 and the latter at $18,000. You can reserve one today for $250, and the company says it will start deliveries in 2027. 在硬件方面，Chip 采用轮毂电机和 15 kWh 磷酸铁锂电池，通过标准的 110 伏家用插座可在一夜内充满电，或使用 2 级/240 伏充电器通过 NACS 充电接口在 4 小时内充满——尽管公司在官网上注明充电时间仅为“示意”，最终规格尚待确定。磷酸铁锂电池预计可提供 100 英里（约 160 公里）的续航里程，但这同样只是估算值。Chip 提供四座和六座两种配置，前者起售价为 1.5 万美元，后者为 1.8 万美元。现在支付 250 美元即可预订，公司表示将于 2027 年开始交付。
Microcars may be a dead end in the US, but sales of golf carts have been growing steadily since the pandemic, said Chip Motors CEO Jameson Detweiler. But Chip is more than just a gussied up golf cart. He says the tiny EV is designed to capture the feeling of freedom associated with scooters and bicycles while removing much of the “mental overhead” that comes with owning a traditional automobile. Chip Motors 首席执行官 Jameson Detweiler 表示，微型车在美国可能是一条死胡同，但自疫情以来，高尔夫球车的销量一直在稳步增长。不过，Chip 不仅仅是一辆装饰过的高尔夫球车。他表示，这款小型电动车旨在捕捉滑板车和自行车所带来的自由感，同时消除了拥有传统汽车所带来的大部分“心理负担”。
“It’s not small, —it’s light,” Detweiler said. “And it’s designed to be, like, hyper functional. And then also, like, it’s cool!” “它不是小，而是轻，”Detweiler 说道。“它的设计初衷是实现超强的功能性。而且，它真的很酷！”
A serial entrepreneur, Detweiler sold his camera tech company to one of the largest e-scooter operators in Europe in 2022 before fully pivoting to Chip, which he says he’s been working on for nearly 15 years. The idea was born from conversations he had while living in a hacker house in San Francisco around trends shaping cities and transportation. From there, Detweiler said he developed a belief that using large, heavy, expensive vehicles for short local trips is inherently inefficient. And as autonomous technology develops, he argued, transportation systems will become more efficient by matching the vehicle to the task. 作为一名连续创业者，Detweiler 在 2022 年将自己的相机技术公司卖给了欧洲最大的电动滑板车运营商之一，随后全身心投入到 Chip 的研发中，他称自己已经为此工作了近 15 年。这个想法源于他住在旧金山黑客之家时，与人讨论塑造城市和交通的趋势。从那时起，Detweiler 坚信，使用大型、沉重且昂贵的车辆进行短途本地出行本质上是低效的。他认为，随着自动驾驶技术的发展，通过将车辆与任务相匹配，交通系统将变得更加高效。
The pandemic allowed golf carts to “escape the golf communities,” he said, noting that the biggest driver in sales are young families in warm weather markets who are using them as second vehicles for short trips. This sparked Detweiler’s curiosity: Where were the compelling electric versions? 他说，疫情让高尔夫球车“走出了高尔夫社区”，并指出销售增长的最大驱动力是气候温暖地区的年轻家庭，他们将高尔夫球车作为短途出行的第二辆车。这激发了 Detweiler 的好奇心：那些引人注目的电动版本在哪里呢？
Of course, small cars exist. There’s your Nissan Versas, your Mini Coopers, and your Honda Fits — all of which can be driven on surface roads and highways, aren’t speed limited, and typically sell for around the same price that Chip is selling its EV. Detweiler argues that many compact European-style vehicles aren’t built for the American market because they’re not designed to coexist safely with large pickup trucks and SUVs. Chip, by contrast, is engineered specifically for US conditions. 当然，小型车是存在的。比如日产 Versa、Mini Cooper 和本田 Fit——它们都可以在地面道路和高速公路上行驶，没有速度限制，售价通常也与 Chip 电动车相当。Detweiler 认为，许多欧洲风格的紧凑型汽车并不适合美国市场，因为它们的设计无法与大型皮卡和 SUV 安全共存。相比之下，Chip 是专门针对美国路况设计的。
Beyond that, Chip is designed to have emotional appeal. Detweiler said he wants the vehicle to be unique and expressive rather than just affordable. But the lower cost of ownership, from zero dollars spent on gas to lower insurance premiums, could make Chip a better choice for a variety of consumers. 此外，Chip 的设计还具有情感吸引力。Detweiler 表示，他希望这款车不仅价格实惠，而且独特且富有表现力。但更低的拥有成本，从零油费到更低的保险费，可能会使 Chip 成为各类消费者的更好选择。
And then there’s the self-driving aspect — or, to start, a remote driving feature called “Chip Go!” The pitch is that owners will be able to summon their Chip EVs with the tap of an app, or even a vocal command. Likewise, they can tell it to park itself or send it out to run errands without anyone behind the wheel. 最后是自动驾驶方面——或者说，起步阶段的一项名为“Chip Go!”的远程驾驶功能。其卖点在于，车主只需轻点应用程序，甚至通过语音指令，就能召唤他们的 Chip 电动车。同样，他们也可以让车辆自动泊车，或者在无人驾驶的情况下将其派出去办事。
Detweiler’s philosophy is that driving can be enjoyable, but parking almost never is. Speaking from his own experience living in Miami with two young children, he says the worst part of any outing is navigating parking garages, unloading children and strollers, and making multiple trips between the car and destination. Chip will eventually get to Level 4 autonomy, he predicts, but for now will require remote operators to power these features. Detweiler 的理念是：驾驶可能是一种享受，但停车几乎从来不是。以他在迈阿密抚养两个年幼孩子的亲身经历为例，他说任何出行中最糟糕的部分就是穿梭于停车场、卸下孩子和婴儿车，以及在车和目的地之间往返多次。他预测，Chip 最终将达到 L4 级自动驾驶，但目前仍需要远程操作员来支持这些功能。