[stretchwithme]

Good question. Can't put a lever on the outside without making it likelier that criminals can open your hood. You can't do it with your remote.

Maybe there'll be a place to use your key that lets gravity take the door out of the way.

[jtheory]

"Can't put a lever on the outside without making it likelier that criminals can open your hood." I'm guessing you meant "door" vs "hood", but... why not?

Are you saying that a regular door handle makes it more likely that a criminal will open your door, so that's a problem with standard car doors as well?

Not that the door design is perfect, but there's no reason they can't:

- put a door handle on the outside, along with a keyhole (or possibly just a fingertip-lip on the window?)

- ...which would allow you to slide the window & door along their tracks manually if needed.

If you've ever had a powered garage door, it's more or less the same thing; sometimes the power will be out, so you have to be able to tug it up anyway (with a bit of extra drag from the motor, but hey, it's on springs so it's not too heavy).

[stretchwithme]

We were talking about opening the hood, which is where the battery usually is.

[jtheory]

Yup, I was confused because the real issue is that the door must be openable without power, and they must have a solution to that regardless of any questions about where the hood lever is.

They should just leave the hood lever inside the car; the door must be openable manually for a dozen other reasons.

[noonespecial]

But it looks like the window has to roll down first to avoid damage. It looks to me like out of power, out of luck.

[stretchwithme]

Damn. I'll put a stop to my patent application.

I guess they'll just have to put a lock on the hood that unlocks with your key.

[jtheory]

Ah, wait, you did actually mean "hood" above.

Nah, they need to solve the door problem, regardless (so the hood latch can be in the car). It's not just a question of opening the hood; you also have to open the door anyway, unless you want to replace the battery when a simple jump would do. (And electrical failures more serious than a dead battery happen as well on occasion...)