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A new kind of car - 7/20/2008 7:24:05 PM

MissIsis

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Hybrids Has everyone seen all the hype about Hybrids?

It is simple, really. I wish I was an engineer with the means to produce a car.

Maybe it is time for automakers to produce a more practical car. They could still make the family car we have all come to know & love. That being said, if we look at those of us who commute to work, most cars have the single driver. For many of us, it is impractical & nearly impossible to try to take public transportation. A trip, just to the other side of a town can take 3 hours by public transportation, & that's if we are lucky enough to find a bus that comes close enough at the time we need it, for us to take it.

Face it, many of us, including me, work retail hours, which means we work weekends & evenings, and days & hours that vary. The medical profession & many others face the same dilema.

Most of us don't need a full sized family car to commute to work. Some drive them because not only are they all that are available, but also because it feels safer when sharing the road with big trucks & crazy drivers to be in something that has some substance to it.

What we need, is a small car, sort of a half car, fully enclosed, maybe just one seat, or two. I guess a motorcycle bubble vehicle would be close, but for many of us, it just won't cut it. This car needs to have air conditioning, a great heater, a comfortable ride, an automatic transmission, (no clutch). A car like this would just naturally be great on gas. Our roads & highways would have less wear & tear on them. We could have more lanes on these roadways because our cars would take up less space.

Last, but not least, these cars need to be affordable. I can't understand why all these hybrids & low gas cars have to cost so much. Well maybe I can. The auto makers have to make their almighty dollars. But most of us need an affordable car, something around 5 or 6 thousand dollars. Why shouldn't it cost less to make these. There would be half the amount of metal & plastic in these, & half the amount of glass. Tires could be smaller, saving even more money. We wouldn't need such a big engine to power a car like this.

We could have dedicated lanes on our highways to support these cars. They would be a way for us to be environmentally conscious, & actually, an example of our true pioneering American spirit.

Post #: 1

RE: A new kind of car - 7/20/2008 7:33:08 PM

DarkSteven

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The automakers are NOT making their almighty dollars. They're hurting.

MissIsis, a cartoonist or graphics designer do not need extensive hardware. The automakers do. It currently takes them three years IIRC to retool and make a different production line. I don't know how much it costs, but it ain't cheap.

Making a smaller car will save on materials, obviously. But the changeover of the production line will cost hundreds of millions. If it isn't a big seller, the automakers will lose big time.

Even making smaller tires will be a huge pain. The existing size is standard - a new size will require extra space at Big O, etc., and some tire sellers won't stock them if it's not a mainstream product.

I'm sorry, but it's not so easy.

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RE: A new kind of car - 7/20/2008 7:45:36 PM

MissIsis

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What about a kit to make them? I may be in dreamland today, but good things can come out of dreams. I seem to recall years ago there were some kits to put together special cars. Wouldn't large motorcycle tires work on a car like this? Isn't it possible if we built them ourselves, the parts could be made so we could use simple tools sold in any hardware store?

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RE: A new kind of car - 7/20/2008 8:50:25 PM

Quivver

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There working on it, honestly they are.
They make what buyers will buy, most in the past few years wanted large units.
As Dark Steven said, it's a process that can not happen overnite.
The price of Gas is hurting us all.
Possibly what Chrysler has been working on will prove there trying........

check out www.gemcar.com

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RE: A new kind of car - 7/20/2008 9:06:49 PM

MissIsis

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I love it. That is close to what I am thinking of. Now, something like that would be perfect for me, but maybe just a little more speed. 35-40 mph would be perfect for me.

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Post #: 5

RE: A new kind of car - 7/20/2008 9:13:31 PM

anotherpm

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Definitely too slow. Driving at this speed will get you killed by anything but another golf cart.

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RE: A new kind of car - 7/20/2008 9:18:34 PM

Kirata

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quote:

ORIGINAL: anotherpm

Definitely too slow. Driving at this speed will get you killed by anything but another golf cart.

Try this:

http://www.teslamotors.com

K.

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Post #: 7

RE: A new kind of car - 7/20/2008 9:20:49 PM

Thadius

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If you are looking for more speed there is always electric....

http://floridaeaa.org/modules/content/index.php?id=12
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D07E0DB1F3BF937A35755C0A962958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2

The prices of the batteries will continue to come down with more production, so it shouldn't be too long before they are affordable for most folks.

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RE: A new kind of car - 7/20/2008 9:37:31 PM

DomKen

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I drive a Prius. I do my major shopping and sometimes drive it to work, I live where there is really good public transit. I bought a conversion kit that lets me charge the batteries from line power while its parked in the garage. I get roughly 100 mpg and haven't filled it up since May.

Someone who drives a lot more often and further than I do would likely get less than that but its still a big savings.

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Post #: 9

RE: A new kind of car - 7/20/2008 9:47:54 PM

Termyn8or

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They could do it, you could have a V8 and get forty miles to the gallon, it would require some batteries and other shit, and of course a special transmission, but I just typed all that out and lost it, it took a fucking hour.

I can explain EXACTLY how to do it. I mean zero to sixty in about four seconds AND forty MPG. But I am doing it in Word. Fuck this. One errant hit of the Ctrl key and that was it. I lost it all. But, just one person ask and I will tell you EXACTLY how to build a car with a 350 V8 in it that will perform very nicely, and get forty MPG.

The technology exists right now, today, but they just won't do it.

Realize one thing though, a car like this would have to be rear wheel drive, and I am prepared to explain why. I know this will work and I know it can be done with today's technology. But it would be alot harder in a front wheel drive.

But think about it, 400 HP and 40 MPG. Perhaps I need a new resume, because I know for sure it can be done. If this gets done though you don't get it for 8995 and no payments for two years. In my estimation it would cost 30-35 grand. But once you got one you probably would never want rid of it. I get 40 MPG in this thing, and then PUNCH IT.

All it needs at this point is a good chassis design. Something like from the seventies dressed up, but it would need a full frame with that kind of power. The whole secret to doing what this thing could do lies in two things, an electric motor/generator right in the transmission and a big flywheel. If you give me the body of a full size1973 Oldsmobile, I can do it.

The prototype would cost alot, but I know what I am talking about and I know it can be done within the constraints of current technology. Once it hits mass production on an assembly line, thirty grand or so, maybe in time even less.

But they won't. This combines hybrid technology with the use of a flywheel and all of that. Yes it is complicated and will require computer control, but 400 HP and 40 MPG, how can you pass that up ?

I will post about just how to design one of these, in detail, but now that I have lost over A FUCKING HOUR of typing, I will generate that file in Word or something.

If anyone is super interested in it, it is a simple matter to mail me. But I would like to put it out here in the open and show all these graduates just how they have no monopoly on thought. So keep the thread alive, I'll be around.

It may be tomorrow, or even later today, I will give specifics. IF you are a machinist you might want to contact me, no problem. But I am telling you I know how to do it.

I WILL be back.

T

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Post #: 10

RE: A new kind of car - 7/20/2008 9:48:35 PM

DesFIP

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http://www.smartusa.com/smart-car-fortwo.aspx

I've seen these, but not ever driven one. I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable being surrounded by Ford 150's in this thing.

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RE: A new kind of car - 7/20/2008 10:56:09 PM

Shadow-tiger

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http://www.fev-now.com/

Bottom line is that our countries' current goals aren't even a good baseline. As Termyn8or wrote, it's possible to get much more with the technology around today. There are all sorts of alternatives being developed, and a few that were given up on sadly. Personally I'm still a fan of steam powered cars. Back in 1996 there was a new development in steam engines for automobiles, but it got shelved because the world wasn't ready for it.

Heck for a pure mileage perspective a 1985 Honda Civic gets better mileage than a 2008 Toyota Yaris. How the heck does that work?

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RE: A new kind of car - 7/20/2008 11:04:45 PM

Emperor1956

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I'm on my second hybrid (traded the 2002 Prius in for a 2008 Honda Civic Hybrid). I don't know what the OP means when she talks about "all the hype". They are superior vehicles in almost every sense of the word. The Honda (which I bought because (1) its cool (2) it prices out MUCH better than the current Prius (3) no waiting list and (4) did I say how cool it was? The car priced out fully loaded (and I mean loaded) in the low 20s. So, OP, why are you bitching?

and Termy....I'm sorry, but I will not trust high voltage engineering to a guy who can't use Word. I just roll that way *GRIN*

E.

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RE: A new kind of car - 7/21/2008 12:21:03 AM

Vendaval

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Thanks for all the links to the hybrids, folks!

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Post #: 14

RE: A new kind of car - 7/21/2008 1:12:22 AM

slaveboyforyou

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From: Arkansas, U.S.A.
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They've made cars like this for many years. Geo Metro, Ford Escort, Chevette, etc. A number of American car companies are getting ready to introduce microcars in North America that have been sold in the rest of the world for years.

The reason we don't have a lot of small car models is because people didn't buy them. I remember when they came out with the Geo Metro. People would laugh at someone driving one of those things.

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RE: A new kind of car - 7/21/2008 4:24:09 AM

MissIsis

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Sorry, Termyn8or, about all the typing you lost. I have had that happen to me.

I know the Prius is a great car. Unfortunately, at about 20 thousand dollars, it is out of the reach of many of us to be able to afford it. The initial expense is too high, at least for me. I have all I can do to keep food on the table & pay the mortgage. Financing a 20 thousand dollar car is just something I can't do right now. I didn't mean to diss the Prius.

I like the little gem, but it really is too slow to be practical for long commutes. I'll look into the rest of the replies here when I get home from work tonight.

Have a great day everyone & thanks for all the responses to my post!

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RE: A new kind of car - 7/21/2008 5:32:45 AM

petdave

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Shadow-tiger
Heck for a pure mileage perspective a 1985 Honda Civic gets better mileage than a 2008 Toyota Yaris. How the heck does that work?

The '80s econoboxes were much lighter than a modern subcompact. Many of them were also woefully underpowered by most people's standards- highway merges could be... exciting. Modern safety standards have made it just about impossible to produce a four-place sedan in that weight class today.

i expect that a car to fit the OPs requirements will be out in the next three years, coming from either Geely, Chery, or Tata Motors (first two are Chinese companies, the third is Indian).

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RE: A new kind of car - 7/21/2008 5:45:02 AM

servantforuse

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I bought a Honda Civic hatchback new in 1989. I had it until April of 2006 ( 17 years )..It got 42 mpg. until they changed the blend of our gas to 'save the enviroment'. After that it got 35 mpg..The govt. needs to stay out of it..

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Post #: 18

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