Go Back   EcoModder Forum > EcoModding > Aerodynamics
Register Now
 Register Now
 

Reply  Post New Thread
 
Submit Tools LinkBack Thread Tools
Old 04-27-2010, 07:47 PM   #1 (permalink)
Master EcoModder
 
aerohead's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Sanger,Texas,U.S.A.
Posts: 16,265
Thanks: 24,391
Thanked 7,360 Times in 4,760 Posts
A new Peoples' Car?

What the world needs is a new People's Car,one with 'lasting design',engineered for the 21st-Century,which will look 'modern' a million years from now.
My candidate ( with modifications ) is the Koenigsegg CCXR.

Lose the wide wheels/tires,taper the body and narrow the track as was done with the 1st-gen Insight,raise the trailing edge of the roofline even with the back of the cars body,and morph the sides into the roofline for a proper Kamm aft-body.
Make it out of stamped-steel,nothing exotic.
Pre-wire it for accessories but offer it 'naked',with 'options' added at the dealer or by owner themselves.
TDI,8-speed trans.
Each year the car gets cheaper,just like the Model-T Ford.Twenty years from now,it's selling at 1/3 the price.
Weight's not an issue when the engineers synchronize the traffic lights and abolish the left turn which makes synchronization impossible.

If we can't change the way people drive we can offer efficiency through what they drive.
Like they say," When you're driving alone,you're driving with bin Laden."

  Reply With Quote
Alt Today
Popular topics

Other popular topics in this forum...

   
Old 04-27-2010, 07:50 PM   #2 (permalink)
(:
 
Frank Lee's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: up north
Posts: 12,762

Blue - '93 Ford Tempo
Last 3: 27.29 mpg (US)

F150 - '94 Ford F150 XLT 4x4
90 day: 18.5 mpg (US)

Sport Coupe - '92 Ford Tempo GL
Last 3: 69.62 mpg (US)

ShWing! - '82 honda gold wing Interstate
90 day: 33.65 mpg (US)

Moon Unit - '98 Mercury Sable LX Wagon
90 day: 21.24 mpg (US)
Thanks: 1,585
Thanked 3,555 Times in 2,218 Posts
Trouble is, "the people" seem to want ever more weight, ever more hp, no end user serviceability, high replacement parts costs, and tons upon tons of gadgets and gimmicks glommed on.
__________________


  Reply With Quote
Old 04-27-2010, 09:27 PM   #3 (permalink)
...beats walking...
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: .
Posts: 6,190
Thanks: 179
Thanked 1,525 Times in 1,126 Posts
...a fiber-carbon battery-hybrid version of the original Ferdinand Porsche "Volkswagen"?
  Reply With Quote
Old 04-27-2010, 11:10 PM   #4 (permalink)
Left Lane Ecodriver
 
RobertSmalls's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Buffalo, NY, USA
Posts: 2,257

Prius C - '12 Toyota Prius C
Thanks: 79
Thanked 287 Times in 200 Posts
Quote:
Originally Posted by Frank Lee View Post
Trouble is, "the people" seem to want ever more weight, ever more hp, no end user serviceability, high replacement parts costs, and tons upon tons of gadgets and gimmicks glommed on.
Yeah, the wealthiest 25% of us get to choose the cars that the rest of us will be driving three to five years down the road. If new car buyers would stop flooding the market with low-priced cars in such good condition, then the sensible people of the world would make a larger portion of the buying decisions.

There are places in the world where you can buy simple cars with the same engines and sheet metal as they had 20 years ago. The second-gen Chevy S10 has been available in Brazil since 1994, and Ford sells pickups based on the '98 Fiesta all over the developing world.



If you can't change how people drive, then people will need highly aerodynamic cars with regenerative braking powerful enough to provide most of their ordinary braking needs, panic stops excluded.


The only shape that will look "modern" in thirty years is the streamlined body. It can be truncated within reason, if you need more interior space.
  Reply With Quote
Old 04-28-2010, 08:44 AM   #5 (permalink)
The PRC.
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Elsewhere.
Posts: 5,304
Thanks: 285
Thanked 536 Times in 384 Posts
I'm currently looking at one of the three vans-with-windows from Peugeot/Ciitroen/Fiat - the Bipper/Nemo/Qubo.

On the basis of a people's car these seem perfect - cheap, big inside, practical, reasonably tough (courier companies take the van versions to Mars and back in terms of mileage) and economical.

Slow, but may be thats not a bad thing.
__________________
[I]So long and thanks for all the fish.[/I]
  Reply With Quote
Old 04-28-2010, 10:57 AM   #6 (permalink)
Master EcoModder
 
Patrick's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Northern Florida, USA
Posts: 510

Hot Tamale - '10 Toyota Prius III
Thanks: 27
Thanked 96 Times in 70 Posts
Quote:
Originally Posted by aerohead View Post
Weight's not an issue when the engineers synchronize the traffic lights and abolish the left turn which makes synchronization impossible.
If you can't turn left, then won't you have to drive a block past your intended street, make a right, go down a block, make a right, go down a block, and make another right? This will take you back to your intended turn (had you been allowed to turn left), but you have now driven 4 extra blocks and made 3 extra turns, some of which you may have had to slow down or stop for. Also, you might have to stop and wait now at the original intersection if you happen to hit the light wrong. Is there some study that shows this is more efficient than allowing left turns? Seems like a lot of extra mileage, and I'm not sure people will put up with it.
  Reply With Quote
Old 04-28-2010, 02:51 PM   #7 (permalink)
Basjoos Wannabe
 
ShadeTreeMech's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Arkansas
Posts: 870

The Van - '97 Mercury Villager gs
90 day: 19.8 mpg (US)

Lyle the Kindly Viking - '99 Volvo V70
90 day: 25.82 mpg (US)
Thanks: 174
Thanked 49 Times in 32 Posts
I think there should be more round abouts. There's one in Branson, and it's a cool idea for a low traffic intersection. You turn right, circle around till you get where you need to go, then turn right again. Absolutely brilliant.
__________________
RIP Maxima 1997-2012


Quote:
Originally Posted by jamesqf View Post
I think you missed the point I was trying to make, which is that it's not rational to do either speed or fuel economy mods for economic reasons. You do it as a form of recreation, for the fun and for the challenge.
  Reply With Quote
Old 04-28-2010, 07:16 PM   #8 (permalink)
Master EcoModder
 
aerohead's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Sanger,Texas,U.S.A.
Posts: 16,265
Thanks: 24,391
Thanked 7,360 Times in 4,760 Posts
the people

Quote:
Originally Posted by Frank Lee View Post
Trouble is, "the people" seem to want ever more weight, ever more hp, no end user serviceability, high replacement parts costs, and tons upon tons of gadgets and gimmicks glommed on.
Frank,yeah,I got a plan for that too,but I won't dare mention it at EcoModder for fear of getting booted off.
Very un-PC !
  Reply With Quote
Old 04-28-2010, 07:24 PM   #9 (permalink)
Master EcoModder
 
aerohead's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Sanger,Texas,U.S.A.
Posts: 16,265
Thanks: 24,391
Thanked 7,360 Times in 4,760 Posts
carbon-fiber

Quote:
Originally Posted by Old Tele man View Post
...a fiber-carbon battery-hybrid version of the original Ferdinand Porsche "Volkswagen"?
The exotics are just way too expensive.Steel is cheap,easy to form and bond and design for crumple.Tool and die-making is in the bag.
With the exception of the windshield,there is no reason why this car would cost any more than a Kia Rio or entry level Hyundai.
If the traffic engineers will time the traffic lights ( which is their duty to do ) and lose the left turns ( which can be legislated by any Chief of Police ),all cars will get double their City MPG with no change to the car whatsoever and the streamlining will take care of the Hwy.
My other recommendations cannot be mentioned here.
  Reply With Quote
Old 04-28-2010, 07:32 PM   #10 (permalink)
Master EcoModder
 
aerohead's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Sanger,Texas,U.S.A.
Posts: 16,265
Thanks: 24,391
Thanked 7,360 Times in 4,760 Posts
regen braking

Quote:
Originally Posted by RobertSmalls View Post
Yeah, the wealthiest 25% of us get to choose the cars that the rest of us will be driving three to five years down the road. If new car buyers would stop flooding the market with low-priced cars in such good condition, then the sensible people of the world would make a larger portion of the buying decisions.

There are places in the world where you can buy simple cars with the same engines and sheet metal as they had 20 years ago. The second-gen Chevy S10 has been available in Brazil since 1994, and Ford sells pickups based on the '98 Fiesta all over the developing world.



If you can't change how people drive, then people will need highly aerodynamic cars with regenerative braking powerful enough to provide most of their ordinary braking needs, panic stops excluded.


The only shape that will look "modern" in thirty years is the streamlined body. It can be truncated within reason, if you need more interior space.
If you can envision a driving environment where you don't apply your brakes 'til you arrive at your destination,the regenerative braking becomes superfluous and an unnecessary expense.

  Reply With Quote
Reply  Post New Thread




Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Electric car conversion: Project ForkenSwift MetroMPG Fossil Fuel Free 1046 Today 02:41 AM
EcoModding for Beginners: Getting great gas mileage. SVOboy EcoModding Central 55 08-21-2012 12:34 AM
Electric Car Wind Generator Charger demo unit bennelson Fossil Fuel Free 12 04-28-2009 12:20 PM
Aero suggestions for my car atomicradish Aerodynamics 17 07-27-2008 03:29 PM
$500 and 30mpg car? possible? olderthanme EcoModding Central 6 07-15-2008 10:37 PM



Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Content Relevant URLs by vBSEO 3.5.2
All content copyright EcoModder.com