We need ultra light four wheeled cars

[sendler]

Originally Posted by niky

If the Mirage is already too little car for most Americans, how would you make ultra-light cars work?

I know I am three steps ahead. "People" are totally unaware of resource depletion and have no concept of what "they" will do (or not do) in deep time. Awareness has to spread. A good first step is for the cognoscenti to be early adopters and lead by example. If we were wise we would elect progressive policies to weight the market toward more austerity and material efficiency. ie. 500kg super aero electric cars and smaller living quarters with shared common areas and tools. We are spending (obliterating) our descendants inheritance.

[RedDevil]

Whenever I take the I10 to the road it seems like I'm hunting game.
If I drive slowish some drivers will tailgate or cut me off.
If I drive faster some drivers overtake me, then once ahead the slow down as they don't want to drive that fast...
The 2nd gen Insight does not get that treatment.

The I10 isn't even really small. It stands quite tall. We used to have a Suzuki Alto, that was a death trap - because of other drivers...

[sendler]

As more and more people choose these efficient lifestyle changes there will be a tipping point where they become normal and a new concensus trance.

[RedDevil]

I think we need self driving cars first, then when those do a good enough job we could gradually phase out the heavy safety stuff.

[redpoint5]

The problem isn't really the weight in the first place, it's the shape and size. If I drove a 5,000 pound Prius, I'd get roughly the same fuel economy as the regular weight one. My motorcycle weighs 400 pounds, yet gets worse fuel economy than my Prius.

Vehicles are designed with aesthetics and utility as first priorities. Aerodynamics are a treatment applied to the first 2 priorities.

I like that Tesla has highlighted the lack of grill on their Model 3, and hope that aesthetic becomes the preferred one, replacing our current atrocious monster (faux) grill fad.

[rmay635703]

Originally Posted by niky

If the Mirage is already too little car for most Americans, how would you make ultra-light cars work?

Only way to get people into smaller cars is to provide huge tax breaks for them and restrict the type specifications, like Japan does with the Kei cars.

Agree with the above, in addition higher gas prices made lots of Honda Insights come out of the wrecker

At $6+ a gallon you would be amazed at how we can make light cars work

[sendler]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

The problem isn't really the weight in the first place, it's the shape and size. If I drove a 5,000 pound Prius, I'd get roughly the same fuel economy as the regular weight one. My motorcycle weighs 400 pounds, yet gets worse fuel economy than my Prius.

Right. I am mentioning the difference in weight of 2,000kg vs 500 kg as a quick way of categorizing the overall size and material throughput. A 500kg car with a cd of .2 and 1/2 the frontal area with one + one seating could get by on a 10kWh battery for 100 miles. And sell for $10,000. No airbags, cameras, radar, infotainment.

[jjackstone]

Originally Posted by sendler

I know I am three steps ahead. "People" are totally unaware of resource depletion and have no concept of what "they" will do (or not do) in deep time. Awareness has to spread. A good first step is for the cognoscenti to be early adopters and lead by example. If we were wise we would elect progressive policies to weight the market toward more austerity and material efficiency. ie. 500kg super aero electric cars and smaller living quarters with shared common areas and tools. We are spending (obliterating) our descendants inheritance.

I believe the problem is much deeper than this. And the most important part of the problem is that so many people just don't give a damn. It's my observation that our country has become "infected"with entitlement. I can't tell you how many times I have heard the argument that "I make enough money to afford this, why shouldn't I have it?" These people, and some of them are my friends, just do not seem to care about the future. Their attitude seems to be that the future will take care of itself and that they shouldn't have to apply themselves to helping create a better future. I believe that this attitude is caused by the capitalist system. Make more money, buy more stuff...even if you don't need it. Poor George Carlin must be rolling over in his grave. JJ

[Lemmy]

I think people are, by and large, aware of the resource depletion issue. They either don't truly believe it in their bones, or are too busy being selfish to act.

[Frank Lee]

The default setting for most of humanity is "slob". No foresight. All "I got mine. To heck with all else".