Slashdot Mirror
The Future of Cars According to Toyota
Paulrothrock writes "HowStuffWorks has an interesting story about Toyota's concept, um, car, the PM. In addition to seating only one person and having its hubless wheels driven by electric motors, it incorporates wireless networking so that drivers could surrender control to another human-driven PM and relax as someone else drives them to work. And it reclines!"
This concept reminds me of a Slashdot story last year about putting radar on snowplow trucks. There was a post about how people tend to form convoys behind the snowplow in really bad conditions, and how if the snowplow driver runs of the road, a whole string of cars runs off the road right behind.
Old-School
Since HSW is grinding to a halt and no longer serving up images, you can see pics of the rolling coffin and more info from Toyota here.
Sex? That would be green. Or have you never had a mood ring?
For the on person who didn't get it,
Steve Urkel drove one of these beauties:
http://www.cqql.net/bmw.htm
- sig? who is this sig of which you speak?
The jury is still out about whether this business model can be profitable in the long run, but Zipcar and Flexcar are selling easy access to loaner cars for people who only need wheels a few times a month.
Right now, they're not offering large vehicles to owners of small vehicles. They're offering small vehicles to people who primarily use public transportation -- or to single-car families who occasionally need a second vehicle. But if they succeed, it makes sense that they would branch out into a wider variety of vehicle sizes.
Something like this?
>> How are you gonna go to a rave and take 10 people with you in that thing Well, when the mini minor was the student transport du jour, seeing how many people you could get in one was part of the fun. The other team sport was seeing how far you could carry one.
Squirrel!
You can actually see the controls.
Never attribute to malice that which can be explained by mere idiocy.
I have a toyota prius. It's about the same price as a regular car. I get > 50 miles per gallon. It let's me haul stuff around. Go drive one - it has a lot of space (despite what it may look like from the outside). It also handles very well, and, contrary to recent cnn stories - is as safe as any car for rescue workers to get you out of.
A lot of people's observations seem to be based on the assumption that the PM was designed for the American car driver in mind. Just based on its function and design, this seems to be a vehicle designed for high density areas (i.e. Asian metropolitans) where space is a premium and large vehicles like SUVs are non-existent to smash up the PM. You take any idea out of its context and it will sound foolish.
The difference being, when you get to where you want to get off of the "train", you just retake control and drive to your final destination. Trains can't take you to your exact destination, you still have to walk or take a cab. This gives you that flexibility that keeps some people (eg. me) from taking public transit.
For me, the closest bus/train stop is about 2 miles from where I work, so transit isn't an option. If a system like this was in place, I would be able to use it.
It has an output of 13 kw, and runs for 1 hour, so you get 13khw. On my electric bill, 1 kwh costs me $0.1206, so 60 miles costs me $1.56. To make things fair, let's look at gas prices before the recent upswing, say $1.60/gal. Say you have a fairly efficient car, 30mpg. 60 miles at 30mpg = $3.20, more than double. Even more in the case of an upswing like this one (comes to nearly $4 for 60 miles in my area).
Not to mention the warm, fuzzy feeling of knowing that you aren't polluting as much (provided your electricity is through someone like these guys).
I'm sure there are special case maintenance issues with an electric car over a gas powered one, but I would assume that they balance out. But I'm sure someone will point out that I'm wrong. Regardless, the point is that most people can afford one of these. And they are cheaper to run than what most people use for their commute car today.
There is a reason for everything. Sometimes that reason just sucks.
Electric motors = continuously variable transmission = continuous maximum torque at any speed.
Drive by wire + separately-powered wheels = computer-controlled stability-control on acceleration, braking, turning, etc.
Maximum control under all conditions, incredible ridiculous electric acceleration, and handling that's as impressive as hell.
The only advantage gasoline engines have is a fuel with much higher energy density (range) than batteries provide-- if you want pure performance, electric will own internal combustion every time.
"We have to go forth and crush every world view that doesn't believe in tolerance and free speech." - David Brin
According to the EPA (search for the 2002 BTS report), the average vehicle used for commuting to work contain 1.14 occupants. In other words, 86% of the cars on the road are carrying only the driver.
PM is not an acronym.
I prayed about it, and God said, "Don't do it!" But I thought, "I know better."
If its so good, why are they stopping the production?
Trolls are like broken clocks. They show the truth two times a day. The rest of the day they talk nonsense.
Looks a lot like the Corbin Sparrow, which was billed as an enclosed motorcycle rather than a single-seater car,
Cthulhu Barata Nikto