Edison2 Very Light Car: Chapter 2

[Rokeby]

Originally Posted by XprizeRoadTrip

*opinion alert* my opinion only here

What does it take to get this forum excited? Edison2 is doing some of the
coolest eco-modding in existence and it's landing on dead ears in an
ecomodding forum... I don't get it. Can anyone clue me in here?

I suspect that there is no one simple reason why enthusiasm for the VLC is so
restrained here on Ecomodder. That said, I'll take a stab at identifying some of
the reasons that while the car excites me, I'm not showing it to any great extent.

In no particular order:
* Edison2 has been adamant that it will not be producing the car for sale. Who
then will be? It's going to take big money to make that transition and at least up
to this point there are no clear indications that any big money players are
interested -- whether an established car maker or a new player.

* Edison2 has not yet shown a showroom ready VLC v4. Near as I can tell, a
production prototype does't t exist yet. Is there really head/shoulder/hip/leg
room for 4 passengers? How is the engine space configured. How easy is the
access, especially to the rear seats? Etc, etc, etc…

* At a purely visual level, the VLC somewhat resembles the Aptera. That's good
for aerodynamics, but bad psychologically speaking. There are probably 100 very
good reasons why the VLC is not an apple-to-apple comparison with the Aptera.
But the not-really-all-that-close visual similarity dredges up bitter memories of
the Aptera's stumbling around and finally imploding in a cloud of final configuration
decisions and funding failures after such a promising beginning.

As a result, I'm more than a little skeptical that the VLC by any name, by any
manufacturer, in any recognizable configuration will reach the market at under the
target $20K price… and that would truly suck.

I hope that I am wrong.

[user removed]

Originally Posted by Rokeby

I suspect that there is no one simple reason why enthusiasm for the VLC is so
restrained here on Ecomodder. That said, I'll take a stab at identifying some of
the reasons that while the car excites me, I'm not showing it to any great extent.

In no particular order:
* Edison2 has been adamant that it will not be producing the car for sale. Who
then will be? It's going to take big money to make that transition and at least up
to this point there are no clear indications that any big money players are
interested -- whether an established car maker or a new player.

* Edison2 has not yet shown a showroom ready VLC v4. Near as I can tell, a
production prototype does't t exist yet. Is there really head/shoulder/hip/leg
room for 4 passengers? How is the engine space configured. How easy is the
access, especially to the rear seats? Etc, etc, etc…

* At a purely visual level, the VLC somewhat resembles the Aptera. That's good
for aerodynamics, but bad psychologically speaking. There are probably 100 very
good reasons why the VLC is not an apple-to-apple comparison with the Aptera.
But the not-really-all-that-close visual similarity dredges up bitter memories of
the Aptera's stumbling around and finally imploding in a cloud of final configuration
decisions and funding failures after such a promising beginning.

As a result, I'm more than a little skeptical that the VLC by any name, by any
manufacturer, in any recognizable configuration will reach the market at under the
target $20K price… and that would truly suck.

I hope that I am wrong.

My thoughts precisely.

regards
Mech

[sheepdog 44]

I can at least dispel one thing. Their Production Prototype though made from machined aluminum, is designed to be made using cast and stamped mass production techniques.

Originally Posted by XprizeRoadTrip

Progress report from week 12:

Edison2 - Very Light Blog - PROGRESS REPORT - 2013 week*12

On April 11 we are unveiling the consumer production prototype at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, MI. Preparations are well under way for this exciting event featuring the vehicle we’re currently testing and inspecting.

In the economies of scale enjoyed by mass manufactures, i see no reason why it couldn't eventually get to be well below $15k. There are so few parts with much less raw material. A sparse interior. And all the body panels should be made of some sort of plastic.

They've said they do want to build it. I believe in the Google video they said that, i'll find the reference and give you the context for it..

[XprizeRoadTrip]

• Estimated at around 2,000 actual parts vs. around 10,000 parts on typical car
  
• A fraction of the metal castings
  
• 1/2 or less physical material input mass
  
• Designed for mass production
  
• Price too early to nail down, but given the above, it's likely financial mortals could afford vs. current options
  
• Kit car option has been circulated several times, probably too early to discuss
  
• Manufacturing is also probably too early to discuss. There's industry interest, ongoing dialog, ongoing outreach, multiple options and strategies that continue to evolve as regulatory timeline plays out and consumer prototype comes together

Originally Posted by sheepdog 44

I can at least dispel one thing. Their Production Prototype though made from machined aluminum, is designed to be made using cast and stamped mass production techniques.


In the economies of scale enjoyed by mass manufactures, i see no reason why it couldn't eventually get to be well below $15k. There are so few parts with much less raw material. A sparse interior. And all the body panels should be made of some sort of plastic.

They've said they do want to build it. I believe in the Google video they said that, i'll find the reference and give you the context for it..

[XprizeRoadTrip]

Speaking of coming together, epic news on their April 1 Facebook post:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Edison2/255167146132

[XprizeRoadTrip]

New safety article posted to Edison2 facebook and blog:
https://www.facebook.com/notes/ediso...51594290474104

Edison2 - Very Light Blog - Edison2 on Impact Avoidance: Float like a Butterfly, Sting like a*Butterfly

PHOTO

ARTICLE

It takes two to collide. But in official crash tests, only one vehicle is instrumented to measure impact forces and damage. What happens to the opposing car and the people inside it?

In accidents, people are killed by acceleration forces and how they arrive. Edison2 is very serious about occupant protection. Serious enough that we created a new automobile architecture which reduces these fatal forces by deflecting their crash energy. We recently achieved exceptional results in an official Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) 40% offset head-on crash test. In that crash, the human test dummy in our Very Light Car experienced less than half the acceleration forces imparted by conventional cars with crash test ratings of “good”.

Because it’s designed to deflect crash energy, our VLC provided twice the protection in this IIHS test. Did we kill the dummies in the other car? That’s hard to answer with certainty because, as we said above, the opposing vehicle is not instrumented.

In fact, there is no another vehicle. In 40% offset head-on crash tests, the “opposing vehicle” is a standardized target made of aluminum honeycomb. When crashed into, this target deforms in a way that realistically and repeatedly mimics how the “opposing vehicle” is damaged. In the IIHS test, this target is mounted on a concrete block weighing 1000 tons. The test car is driven into the target at 40 mph, and the results are recorded by very precise instrumentation.

What isn’t recorded is what happens to the target, which for test purposes represents a real car with real people. But consider the evidence in our photograph: it shows two identical IIHS targets; the one on the left was hit by an ordinary compact car, the one on the right by a VLC. The difference is not subtle. The ordinary car absolutely slammed its opponent and the people inside it. In contrast, by deflecting away from the collision, the VLC protected its own occupants and, as our photo suggests, greatly reduced the impact suffered by people in the other car.

The phrase “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee” was invented by American boxing legend Muhammad Ali. And like Ali himself, the record-breaking efficiency, exceptional handling and crash deflecting design of our Very Light Car means it too floats like a butterfly – in all the right ways.

And if there’s an accident, the VLC does what the best conventional cars do, it protects the people inside. But it also provides a level of safety others can’t. These crash-test targets illustrate something unique to our VLC: it protects occupants without generating huge accelerations on the people in the opposing car. We float – and sting – like a butterfly.

It’s less well known but Muhammad Ali also said: “Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.” At Edison2, we do our best to pay rent in advance.

[Frank Lee]

What does it take to get this forum excited? Edison2 is doing some of the
coolest eco-modding in existence and it's landing on dead ears in an
ecomodding forum... I don't get it. Can anyone clue me in here?

I like what they're doing, but I'm not in the new vehicle market and I don't ever foresee being a new vehicle buyer. That dampens my enthusiasm somewhat.

[pete c]

What frank's saying is, he's a cheap bastid too.

I look forward to the day that I can pick up a used VLC. Maybe something with some cosmetic challenges, for 1200 bucks.

[Frank Lee]

Yep, I am, I admit it.

I have bought brand new a few times and each time came to regret it.

[pete c]

I finally let the wife talk me into buying new ('09 Sonata) a few years back. It's been a good car so far, so I can't say I regret it, but, I doubt I'll ever do it again.

There are just way to many good 1000 dollar cars out there it you know how to fix them yourself.