Urbee fundraiser

[canoeist]

I saw Jim Kor speak a couple years back and have been following the project ever since. It is a daunting task for any start-up auto manufacturer, but this team has developed a lot of interesting research that will benefit fuel efficient cars of the future whether they get the Urbee to production or not. I'm hoping they do produce it!

For those unfamiliar, here are some numbers: 8hp, 130km/h top speed, 290mpg (US)/0.81 L/100km, Cd = 0.15

Here are more details of the project: http://korecologic.com/

They are hoping to write a book about it (fundraising site): Driving for Our Lives - a road trip through the Ecosphere by Jim Kor — Kickstarter

I'm thinking of getting a Mitsubishi Mirage - just to hold me over until I can get an Urbee (I don't think my '03 Focus can wait that long)

[NeilBlanchard]

We've had a couple of threads on the Urbee, starting a while back:

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ids-15069.html

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ing-25070.html

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...tml#post349973

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...car-15077.html

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ove-24129.html

[redpoint5]

Donating $1 gets you a choice of a book, DVD, tee shirt, or bumper sticker- How is cheap merchandise related to building an efficient car? $1 doesn't cover the cost of shipping the merchandise, let alone the product itself.

Their fundraising goal is $30k? Is a measly $30k really the biggest obstacle to putting the car into production?

... and rear wheel steering

... and ethanol

If $30k is all that stands in the way of their dream, then it should be no problem to save that amount up between the 5 of those guys in the video.

The idea clearly isn't good, otherwise there would be a line of investors willing to pony up the $30k.

[a8ksh4]

Their kickstarter is to fund making a book about their car... I got the impression that they didn't expect to be able to raise 3M on kickstarter, so they're just using it for PR to help find other investors.

This is the first I've seen of their car... That looks great! I want one with a slightly more powerful motor... :P If these were available now for ~$10k, I can think of a couple people who would buy them.

[canoeist]

a8ksh4 is correct - they are looking for $30 000 to publish a book about the design process only. They mention in the video that it will take about $3million to get the car to production. Donating $1 gets you the good feeling of having helped out the cause, but nothing more. Starting at $25 you can get an electronic copy of the video.

As to the comments on rear-wheel steering - that issue has been solved in the first prototype.

Thanks to MetroMPG for pointing this out (on the Mirage forum) - for those looking for a car closer to production, the Elio is further along. It has the greater horsepower and is closer to market (they are taking deposits), though it isn't quite as efficient.

[a8ksh4]

QQ w/o searching... does the elio seat one or two?

[canoeist]

I believe it seats two - one behind the driver. I did not notice whether there was trunk space in addition to that.

[euromodder]

Not quite ...

http://korecologic.com
"We are now crowd-funding on Kickstarter to create the greenest car on Earth."


The linked threads date back some 3.5 years.
I hate to think they've gone down the line of many an alternative car manufacturer before them.
Promises that are way off in the future.
Not building & selling what they've come up with, before starting on v2 ...

[Ryland]

Sad thing is, if they were doing a kickstarter to build the car, I'd give money, I don't want a sticker or shirt, I just want to see something like this built.

But to do a book about how great it is? not really in to that.

[canoeist]

"Not building & selling what they've come up with, before starting on v2 ... "

As I understand it, version 1 was to work out the technical details. The seats were rudimentary, there was no dash or interior amenities at all. V2 is not a drastically different car (should look exactly the same from the outside), but is a car one step closer to production with the look of a concept car, more 3d printed parts (including the dash and seats), and possibly some refinements.

They don't claim to be anywhere near production at this time. You must understand that we are talking about five guys who work for a living as engineers and such - none of them are heirs to a fortune or self-made millionaires. Getting a car to production is rather pricey, and what they are doing is all they can to design and refine the product so that they could either partner with an investor and see it through, or sell their work to a major manufacturer who would produce it. As I understand it, they want the car to be made, and ideally would like to make it themselves, but they still have a long way to go.