http://www.forbes.com/sites/bertelschmitt/2016/03/04/toyota-launches-a-wooden-car/#107407c819c9 Toyota Launches A Wooden Car Mar 4, 2016 Bertel Schmitt
[image http://blogs-images.forbes.com/bertelschmitt/files/2016/03/Sersuna.jpg The Setsuna concept car (Picture Toyota) ] The Ise Grand Shrine, dedicated to the sun goddess Amaterasu, is the holiest shrine of the Shinto religion. Every 20 years, people tear it down. Then, they build it new, all from wood, without a single nail. They have been doing this for around 1,300 years. Instead of preserving a single structure, the original design, and most of all the skill to build, are preserved from the eroding effects of time. “It’s secret isn’t heroic engineering or structural overkill, but rather cultural continuity,” writes the Long Now Foundation. Now, Toyota does the same with cars. In a month at the Design Week in Milan, Italy, Toyota will show the Setsuna concept, a roadster (not a convertible) with the main chassis and body parts made from wood. The body consists of replaceable wooden panels, and the overall shape reminds of an Italian Riva speedboat. Setsuna means “moment” in Japanese, a reference to the ephemeral nature of our lives and cars. The car is using Japanese cedar for the exterior panels, and Japanese birch for the frame. The floor is made from elm wood (Japanese zelkova, to be precise). The prickly castor oil tree supplies the material for instrument panel and front seats, Japanese cypress provides for the steering wheel. To join the exterior panels with the frame, the same traditional Japanese joinery technique is used that keeps the sun goddess’ shrine together for 20 years. In traditional “okuriari,” no nails or screws are used. Concave and convex shapes hold the pieces together. Machined aluminum parts and leather covers create a contrast against the wooden materials. In the cockpit, a functional 100-year meter tempts the effects of time. [image] The designer and the engineer (Photo Bertel Schmitt) The car is the brainchild of Toyota’s chief engineer Kenji Tsuji, and Kota Nezu of znug design. Tsuji and Nezu are an inseparable couple; they gave birth to Toyota’s Camatte three years ago. When I met the two at that occasion, the engineer looked like a Toyota engineer. The designer had his hair is dyed red, there were jewelry implants in his teeth, two piercings in the right ear, and who knows how many elsewhere. Similar to the Camatte, the pedal and seat positions of the Setsuna can be adjusted, so that even a child could drive the car. The display vehicle is drivable (up to a top speed of 45 km/h, or 28 mph) but Toyota has not made it street legal. Surprisingly for Toyota, the Setsuna is an electric car. With a full charge of its six 12-volt, lead-acid batteries, the vehicle's range is approximately 25 km. The car is not for sale, however, according to Toyota’s Tokyo-based spokesperson Leela McMullen, the Japanese carmaker plans “to collect feedback from a wide range of people—including experts such as cutting-edge designers and creators, as well as the general public—and maybe even use the results in developing future vehicles.” Knock on wood they will. The Salone del Mobile.Milano 2016 will open its doors from April 12th through 17th. The Setsuna alone would be worth the trip. [© forbes.com] https://www.inverse.com/article/12441-the-toyota-setsuna-is-an-electric-wooden-roadster-you-d-love-to-drive A sweet Japanese ride on which you'll never get your hands. March 5, 2016 Liz Tracy [video https://youtu.be/oeq0CWJT_IE Toyota Setsuna concept car to debut at the Milan Design Week TTAuTo WW Mar 4, 2016 Toyota Setsuna concept car to debut at the Milan Design Week ] Fashionistas of the world are currently transitioning their stylish get-ups from Milan to Paris Fashion Week. But those more interested in slick shit you can use instead of simply wear are readying for that posh Italian city’s Design Week, The Salone del Mobile Milano. It is there that they will begin their quest to set eyes on the Toyota Setsuna — a wooden, electric car that resembles an adorable roadster. Don’t think of your grandma’s Woody, this Japanese concept car looks more like a speedboat about to take you way Back to the Future. Or maybe nowhere at all —since it’s not approved for riding on the road, not for sale, and basically a prototype Toyota is using to collect feedback to create future neat-o driving machines. The company has dedicated itself to getting carbon dioxide-omitting vehicles off the road within 35 years, so this is a further stride in that direction. The hot little thing was produced by Toyota’s chief engineer Kenji Tsuji and znug design’s Kota Nezu who also together created the Camatte. And it is all Japanese. It’s made from replaceable panels from the nation’s wood sources — cedar for the exterior, as well as birch, elm, the castor oil tree, and cypress — and uses the “okuriari” or a no-nails technique. Also, “setsuna” means “moment” in Japanese — a moment in time before the wood needs replacing. Highlights (or low lights?) of the car include adjustable seat and pedals for the very small, it’s electric and run by six 12-volt, lead-acid batteries, and you can drive it up to 28 mph. If it ever gets street-ready, that last fact will make it the perfect slow-moving vehicle for those attending Fashion Week 2017, all starving for a paparazzi to take their snapshot while looking like they’re going somewhere, and just don’t care. [© 2016 Inverse] For EVLN EV-newswire posts use: http://evdl.org/evln/ {brucedp.150m.com} -- View this message in context: http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/TMC-s-Setsuna-roadster-okuriari-wooden-nEV-r-25km-ts-45kph-v-tp4680887.html Sent from the Electric Vehicle Discussion List mailing list archive at Nabble.com. _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org Read EVAngel's EV News at http://evdl.org/evln/ Please discuss EV drag racing at NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
