SAN ANTONIO – There is a new type of vehicle hitting roads across the country and it’s called the FUV, which is short for: fun utility vehicle.
It looks like a three-wheeled motorcycle that comes with a roof.
“You pull that thing back and, whoa, your hair is immediately thrown back. It’s incredibly fun,” said Jon Miller, of Arcimoto, the company behind the FUV.
The company is based in Eugene, Oregon, where this new-look road-legal form of transportation has been 10 years in the making.
“It once had a steering wheel (but) the breakthrough came when we removed the steering wheel. It shed a ton of weight and we replaced it with the motorcycle-like handlebars and that is what allowed us to get down to the weight so we can reach the range out of the battery,” said Miller.
The purpose of the FUV is efficiency — for easy parking, getting to and from work and short trips. But in case you need to hit the open road, it can reach speeds of 80 mph.
One of the biggest pitches is: The unique design allows you to say goodbye to the gas station.
“It’s all electric (and) you just plug it right in. It’s about 100 miles to the charge (and) you just kind of plug it in at the end of the day like a cell phone,” Miller said.
“You wake up at the start of the day ready to rock. Can’t tell you how much fun it is to skip the gas station and save all that money,” he said.
There are 2,800 preorders already and the plan is to create 10,000 vehicles by the end of 2019, with the base models expected to cost less than $12,000.
“I just wish it was available sooner,” said Miller.
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