This is not a new concept and maybe it is time for it again. Since I have the years, I do remember the 1950´s and the three wheel Messerschmidth that a friend of mine had and which I tried a few times. The VW concept is a modern version of it,
It was also an other one in this class, forgot the name. like a bubble with the whole front as door. I drove that one too. Both of those cars were out competed by the VW Beetle, so it is quite a full circle, when VW now is working on a new concept car like this. Hakan At 07:50 AM 5/13/2009, you wrote: >There are a couple of things that bother me about this. > >1. If it's aimed at China it is intended to >replace not a full-size American pick-up truck >but a bicycle. That is to say, it is intended to >increase dependence on motor vehicles in a >context that has survived on bicycles and feet >for a long time: though my suspicion is that >that state of affairs was hitherto maintained >through force rather than sound spatial >planning. But even then, is it not better to >introduce sound spatial planning to suit the >bicycles, rather than cars to suit the unsound spatial planning? > >2. That level of aerodynamic efficiency etc. >rather suggests high-speed movement along roads >of very good quality. How suitable is this >vehicle for bad roads? How suitable is this >vehicle for roads intended primarily for >pedestrians, bicycles, hand-carts, animal-drawn >carts, etc. because there aren't enough motor >vehicles to warrant special high-speed roads? Or >must one increase the vehicle fleet in order to >justify the roads in order to justify this >"paragon of efficiency" vehicle? It's the same >problem I have with the Aptera: the whole >business of aerodynamics for efficiency is >overblown and misplaced. It's making the problem >big enough to suit the solution, rather than >small enough not to need a solution. > >3. Where does the pig go? Where does the bolt of >cloth go? Where does M. Boulanger's basket of >eggs go, if it was a very large basket he had in >mind? This vehicle seems aimed primarily at >moving one or two people with briefcases a >fairly long distance, regularly, at a fairly >high speed, between a place of residence and >another place where one does something more or >less senseless in order to get money to pay for >the vehicle, among other things. Is it desirable >to introduce this pattern where it does not >exist? Is it desirable to turn almost-peasants >into wage-slave commuters, when the system of >economy that supports that pattern is the very >cause of the problem this vehicle purports to >solve? If the almost-peasants were instead to >become proper peasants, true yeomen, the problem would virtually go away. > >Best regards > >Dawie Coetzee > > > > > >________________________________ >From: bmolloy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >To: biofuel@sustainablelists.org >Sent: Tuesday, 12 May, 2009 3:03:20 >Subject: [Biofuel] New el cheapo VW commuter car > >Has anyone heard of the new single seat VW? This is >not a toy, not a concept car. It is a fully developed, single-seat car in a >highly aerodynamic tear-shaped, road-proven and very practical commuter >vehicle format. The new Veedub will go on sale in Shanghai in 2010. > >Designed to cruise at 100-120 Km/Hr it has an incredible consumption of >0.99litre/100Km (258 miles/gallon), thus in terms of fuel bettering the >electric car. The vehicle took three years from conception to production. >The company is headquartered in Hamburg, Germany. > >The car will sell for 4000 yuan, equivalent to US$600. Gas tank capacity 1.7 >gallons;Speed 62-74.6 Miles/hour; Fuel efficiency 258 miles/gallon; travel >distance with a full tank 404 miles. > >I have pics which show a very impressive, aerodynamically efficient vehicle, >not at all cheap in appearance. Sadly can't post them here due to the site's >formatting restrictions but will supply to anyone who emails me directly. > >Regards, > >Bob. > > > >-------------- next part -------------- >An HTML attachment was scrubbed... >URL: /pipermail/attachments/20090512/bc3fb5b7/attachment.html >_______________________________________________ >Biofuel mailing list >Biofuel@sustainablelists.org >http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainablelorgbiofuel > >Biofuel at Journey to Forever: >http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html > >Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (70,000 messages): >http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ > > > > >-------------- next part -------------- >An HTML attachment was scrubbed... >URL: /pipermail/attachments/20090513/5688a509/attachment.html >_______________________________________________ >Biofuel mailing list >Biofuel@sustainablelists.org >http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainablelorgbiofuel > >Biofuel at Journey to Forever: >http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html > >Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (70,000 messages): >http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ Hakan Falk http://energysavingnow.com/ http://linkslujo.com/ and http://lujo.com/ Tel. Spain +34 972 32 05 89 Tel. Sweden +46 (0)40 692 82 10 (skype) Skype user hakanfalk [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________________ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainablelorgbiofuel Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (70,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
