Embodied energy via Japanese carpentry
 

BBC - Autos - Can a car be a family heirloom?

http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/9...v/p03q6vr8.jpg

You though Morgan was old school? The Japanese know wood and it's working.

This is the same culture that has given us Dekotora trucks. I'm thinking Dekortora woody wagon.

And bumble bees

"With a driving range of 16 miles and a top speed of just 28mph, the battery powered Setsuna is not built to win at Le Mans. Instead, it champions a different cause altogether: a car-owner relationship that’s focused more on an intimate journey than on crossing finish lines."
I can see where it could last for generations. In the garage.

I hadn't notice the performance figures. That's a neighborhood vehicle. If it had a cedar plug for the cockpit; it would be self-garaging.

I don't get the part about bumble bees.

Bumble bees are those big bees that we have in the south that bore holes in wood.

Forget bumblebees, they're nothing.

http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/...20130622230144

Those bees also bore holes in CONCRETE siding boards. I saw it personally on my daughters siding.

regards
mech

I was hoping for a discussion of Japanese saws and joinery. :(

Splinter, the supercar.
 

Wood IS a composite, (better strength-to-weight ratio than steel and aluminum). Inspired by the de Havilland 'Wooden Wonder' Mosquito and using woodworking techniques a North Carolina State University graduate school student spent 5 years to create, Splinter- a wooden supercar concept. Even the wheels and suspension system uses wood!

Splinter: The Wooden Supercar

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBhf...&nohtml5=False

Actually the Albatross D2,3,5 of WW1 was a wooden fuselage very similar to the Mosquito.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albatros_D.III

regards
mech