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Old 04-12-2013, 08:39 PM   #61 (permalink)
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Oliver Kuttner writes on Facebook:
Quote:
To clarify some of the publicity we are getting which misunderstood some of the points I was making: If we build a gasoline car it would likely be a 2 cylinder four stroke. I was referring to designs like ours needing to replace the 2 stroke low end cars often still sold in emerging markets.... , The base car with gasoline we are targeting $20,000.-- retail, as a hybrid or electric the price ail be in the mid to upper 20s. There is no creep to speak of in the cars. Now at 1400 lbs as a target for an electric or hybrid I believe that can be reached with all comforts you need and have come to expect. It is based on a metal car which means it is easy to recycle and lower in cost and can be made in large numbers.... . The front and rear metal frames were place holders to demonstrate the size and luggage space. The crush boxes are still in development. The beams holding the wheels are high so that the bumper structure defined by FMVSS in height can double to carry the suspension in order to keep aerodynamic efficiency and weight down. A gas only car will be lower mass. Top speed has not been decided upon but will likely depend on engine and performance choice. The cars should be able to do everything normal cars of today do... , Last, the current issue of Autoweek (Earth day) has an article written by a journalist who drove the chassis, hard... Work remains to be done but it will be the simplest lowest mass 4 seater on the planet and likely the most efficient car... And It will be fun. Thank you all, I thank my team, This car will be the originator of a new segment, created through a different and more efficient structural architecture with many possibilities.. If you want to hear more I will be speaking at the Tom Tom festival on Saturday, and on behalf of BASF at the SAE conference in Detroit on Tuesday.
New article.
https://wot.motortrend.com/350-mpge-...ok-354429.html

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Old 04-15-2013, 01:19 PM   #62 (permalink)
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This is a good picture, that shows the scale of the suspension components better than the others I have seen:



I'm wondering if the black rectangular object under the center front floor is the battery pack?

It is good to see this news getting broad coverage. Here's the Plugin Cars article: Edison2 Introduces New Iteration of its Very Light Car | PluginCars.com

Here's the AutoBlog Green article: X-Prize winner Edison2 shows off Very Light Car, version 4.0
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Old 04-15-2013, 08:15 PM   #64 (permalink)
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It looks like there are still a bunch of bent and welded tubes making up a fair bit of the structure of the car in the above photo. My understanding is that those are generally pretty expensive to do on a mass basis. Are those structures going to be replaced by stamped or formed steel, or machined aluminum, or other mass-production-friendly ones?

-soD
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Old 04-15-2013, 08:26 PM   #65 (permalink)
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My understanding is those are placeholders to show the amount of cargo space both fore and aft, and to give an impression of the scale of the car without the body on. Theyre still making/designing the front and rear bumper which is currently absent on the car. So those tube wont be there.
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Old 04-17-2013, 03:43 AM   #66 (permalink)
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I'm a fan of an hybrid monocoque tub/tubing rollcage-roof. Like these Porsche 962 knock-offs:


The VLC implements this very well, with the cast and sheet tub and the way they carry the tubing over a central rollover box. Those struts they hang the suspension on are beautiful.

I'm less and less interested in making my own car as I see their progress. Although if their in-wheel suspension/disk brake is available as an after-market part, I could use that in my Type II panel van.

Various places I've seen mention of 150mph top speed and 250cc. I assume those are two different drive trains?

I see it's now being billed as a 2+2. Could it could work with rear doors if it had two swivel bucket seats in the back?

Back in the 70s I said I would just drive VW Beetles until I could trade up directly to a UFO (skipping over the flying car). I guess this is close enough. If I got a job now, I could be ready to trade up.

Edit:
Quote:
Originally Posted by some_other_dave
It looks like there are still a bunch of bent and welded tubes making up a fair bit of the structure of the car in the above photo.
That's crushable space, front and rear; it's a very safe car, especially in the 40% offset front collision. It's intended as a global car with lots of local content. So ferinstance, in Nepal they could have little gold tassles and lots of polychrome painted panels.

In the rear I'd go with a little pickup bed and dual rear tires.

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Old 04-19-2013, 05:23 PM   #67 (permalink)
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Here are the human-written, original source, non-reblogged/non-copied articles from the first 8 days. Enjoy.

Edison2 shows off an updated Very Light Car EV by exposing its unique frame (hands-on)

X-Prize winner Edison2 shows off Very Light Car, version 4.0

350 MPG-E at $20,000? Edison2 Very Light Car First Look - WOT on Motor Trend

Edison2 Unveils New Super-MPG Car At The Henry Ford « CBS Detroit

Next generation Very Light Car revealed | Fox News

Former X-Prize Winners Unveil New Car That Kind Of Looks Like A Duck

Edison2 Introduces New Iteration of its Very Light Car | PluginCars.com

Edison2 Unveils Next Iteration Of Very Light Car

Edison2's New Very Light Car 4.0 Weighs Less than 1,100 Pounds | Inhabitat - Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building

Edison2 Reveals New

Prize-winning Edison2 reveals its sci-fi-looking, 100-mpg car

Edison2 unveils new VLC | Digital Trends

Edison2 Unveils New Car Architecture at the Henry Ford | Altair Enlighten

X-Prize Winners Unveil the 1,400-Pound Edison2 'Very Light Car' | Autopia | Wired.com

Edison2 Unveils Very Light Car Version 4.0, To Be Sold For $20,000 (PHOTOS/ VIDEO) : Auto News : Auto World News

Edison2 Unveils New Very Light Car Design

Edison2 unveils new light car architecture : CompositesWorld

Edison2 'Very Light Car': 150 MPG-e and 150 MPH

Edison2 debuts latest "Very Light Car"

Edison2 Unveils 100 MPG VLC 4.0

Edison2 Unveils Latest Version of Very Light Car in Michigan - Greener Ideal

Edison2 update looks even more like a land-based spacecraft | DVICE

The Latest Generation of the Lightest Car in the World ~ automotive|car|manufacture

Edison2 Moves Toward Production > ENGINEERING.com

Edison2 unveils Very Light Car (VLC) Architecture - Car Body Design

Next-generation Very Light Car architecture takes center stage

Edison2 Unveils New Very Light Car Design

COUNTLESS INFORMATION

Car of the Day : Edison2′s revolutionäres neues VLC 4

On the Path to Commercializing a $20,000 Very Light Car with over 100 mpge
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Old 04-19-2013, 06:43 PM   #68 (permalink)
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Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
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.
Have I posted this in this thread?


I could see a middle ground where the in-wheel suspension is available as an aftermarket part. Mr Kuttner talks about being able to take 200lb out of any vehicle? The early Beetle was ~1750lb.
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Old 05-29-2013, 11:11 PM   #69 (permalink)
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I was looking at a NASA video on composite materials and who shows up? Oliver Kuttner and the VLC. Here are two screen grabs of things I hadn't seen before.


Six pound wheel



Style renderings. It looks like they turn the pontoon fenders upside down.
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Old 09-05-2013, 03:22 PM   #70 (permalink)
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Hi gang, Discovery Channel Canada did a piece on Edison2 in the DailyPlanet series. You have to sit through 2 commercials and a show intro, but it's worth it.
Enjoy!
Daily Planet | Videos

There's excellent footage of car #95, inside and out showing recent mods in prep for land speed attempts as well as aero test vids and more footage inside the shop and a quick view of the consumer VLC. Excellent commentary from Ron Mathis and Brad Jaeger.

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