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Old 10-12-2011, 04:29 PM   #145 (permalink)
brucepick
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Outasight - '00 Honda Insight
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sven7 View Post
... Due to the nature of glass (and the extreme plan view curvature) I believe it is impractical to put a compound curve on the windshield. It is done on side windows because the curves are very subtle. Well, that's what my all car design professors tell me. ...
I assumed my Civic's front and rear glass were simple curves. Not so. There is a modest curvature that's perpendicular to the main wraparound curves.


Somewhere else there was a discussion of 3 wheels vs. 4. If I recall, that discussion came down in favor of 4 wheels for the additional safety/handling/traction benefits. If you want "Aunt Martha" to be willing and able to drive it like a car, four wheels help a lot.

The Aptera opted for 3 wheels, with a single (driven??) wheel in the rear. That configuration is already established as better handling than 1 front + 2 rear, but the Aptera had serious handling difficulties at the X-Prize competition and did not win its class.
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