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BMW Introduces GINA Concept Car, Covered In Fabric
smithtuna33 writes "Ever wondered what the metal skin on your car is actually good for? Engineers at BMW have decided that fabric might work just as well. The doors literally peel away from the side of the car, the engine bay opens up down the middle, and pretty much everything (such as headlamps) is hidden until the fabric reveals it. It is a stunning concept that has already been influencing BMW's designs. The video is well worth watching."
I'd call a car made out of nice fabrics a 'gina too!
the skinnable car!
Do it yourself, because no one else will do it yourself. [beta blockade 10-17 Feb]
Any car that winks at you has to be taken seriously... ;)
I'd hate to see that car after someone keys it.
I can see some of the benefits - you won't have to worry about dents and the such, but the isn't the possibility of having something tear right through the fabric pretty high (if you hit something on the highway the kinetic energy on it is rather high)?
Behold! The future is now!
The video is really cool, but was it a real car or a computer model? And I wonder how the fabric behaves at high speeds. And how do you wash the car? I have loads of other questions but I think the concept is fantastic. Cars that can change shape! Mmmmm... :)
-- Cheers!
So the chassis is still rigid right? Imagine unintentional impacts with external objects. The skin was meant to be protection for the car and driver. Flying rocks, small animals while the car is parked, pranksters, and thieves of engine parts make this not work so well. As well psychologically the driver will feel less protected in this new concept of a fabric skin. Imagine if your house was made out of cardboard... On the other hand I always like making cars lighter. I can see this becoming the norm if all the kinks are worked out.
I would buy a Volkswagen beetle before I would buy one of those. I mean an OLD Volkswagen beetle.
very cool concept, but if you've ever taped some plastic to a smashed car window, you'll know this whole thing will turn into a sail when driven at any real speed.
Is it that hard to make the car lighter? You think fabric is going to help much in a collision? It's good in some places that are unimportant but not the doors! They should just use some sort of composite material that's light and strong or perhaps something with carbon and nanotubes in the name :D
Google's Super Secret Search Algorithm: SELECT @search_results FROM internet WHERE @search_results = 'good'
...Durability. Also, since the fabric ovviously stretches and such when opening the doors (looking at the video), I'd wonder how long it would keep its original shape, before it would stretch and start flapping & making noise when you're driving down the freeway. Not to mention that someone could rip up the entire 'skin' when keying your car, and a dab of paint won't be enough to fix that.
planes and gliders been doing this since the late 1800's?
First off it's a concept vehicle. The point is to try new things, good or bad, to see how it works.
Moving forward, the skin of this car is almost purely for aerodynamic effect. There is a certain amount of visual additive, and it keeps the wind and dirt off the occupants. In reference to other mechanical value, there are plenty of cars which have no skin at all and are faster than pretty much any other production road going vehicle. Ariel's Atom, to name one. Cars don't need skins. Hell, look at motorcycles. The passengers aren't even contained in the vehicle!
I think it's an awesome idea. Of course, my current roadster is paint chipped all to hell and being able to replace body panels of fabric would be rather appealing, but think about washing your car. Strip it down like bed sheets and throw the skin in the washing machine. Want a new paint job? Maybe a thousand dollars of fabric, or perhaps even just a dye job. You could change your car's color in a matter of minutes.
That brings up a really interesting point. How do the police identify cars? Color and shape? Well those two are irrelevant with this vehicle. You can change the shape while you're moving and theoretically the color in about 10 minutes, I figure. It goes into a parking garage as a red roadster and comes out as a green pickup truck.
Most importantly, and realistically, I'm sure the weight savings are impressive. And saving weight improves performance both in the go fast and the save fuel sense of the term. Imagine this combined with the Tesla Roadster. Shazam!
No sig for you. YOU GET NO SIG!
Which is exactly what that is, a concept, BMW comes up with an idea and floats it with the public to see what they think. Saturn did this with plastic bodies, "you'll never get a dinged door from a loose shopping cart.." While the metal skin of a car doesn't provide much protection, I bet it does add quite a bit to the weight of a car, and quite a bit of manufacturing (stamping, painting etc..) than a textile based covering.
At least they're thinking different.
I'd love to see this car in the shower. Or, at least for the instance of cars, either the front yard or the car wash.
How the hell would you wash these things? Something makes me think that a sponge and a hose just wouldn't cut it....
Hmm, well, I can see that these ragtops will be very popular with petty criminals. Just zip her open and take whatever was left behind.
Excuse me, but please get off my Pennisetum Clandestinum, eh!
Why not paper thats stronger then cast iron? Coincidence on /.??? I think not! you know its going to happen colour your own car with crayons!!
This has been done before: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velorex
AccountKiller
It's not slashdotted and it's a very small article.
However, there's no suggestion that the Gina will lead directly to a production car in the short term. Instead, Bangle says that its principles have influenced the infamous 'flame-surfaced' styling of BMW's current crop... and will continue to do so.
Expect to see unusual-looking Beemers for a few years to come, then.
No, I am not new here and I have karma to burn. Go for it.
I wonder how well this holds up under heavy aerodynamic load. Really not a new concept if you think about it: biplanes used "doped" fabric, but I think the "doping" made the fabric stiff, and there were plenty of ribs in the wings. Obvioulsy, a well constructed biplane with a stiff fabric covering the wings didn't have fluttering problems, but the fabric here is plainly not stiff.
Then, there is the vandalism problem people mentioned. It can't be any more prone to vandalism than a ragtop; just a lot more expensive to replace.
For all intensive purposes, "whom" is no longer a word. That begs the question, "who cares"?
All you need is a knife to slit it open. Show cars are just that, for show. They're not practical at all.
The Trabant was produced by the East German auto maker VEB.
Duroplast, a form of plastic containing resin strengthened by wool or cotton was used to save on expensive steel imports.
Does BMW like Duroplast?
Trabant 601LX Deluxe clip
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4VKVnq-GOY
Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
Check out the trailer: you have Linux booting on a huge screen in the background.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1i_sZtw0edo&feature=related
What about vandalism? What happens when someone takes a key to this car or a box cutter? They open up your fabric and go to town on the inside of your vehicle.
in case of a crash, the car itself can blow up in to a big air bag.so effectively it ll be a case of 2 big sponge balls colliding. ll look funny though!
It could be possible that the right type of fabric could reduce air friction. Although water and air turbulence is different, scientists have found that dolphin skin is faster underwater than smooth steel-hulled craft.
Weight reduction is more valuable to fuel efficiency than reducing wind resistance. Both are important, but the biggest hit on fuel economy is generating momentum from a stop. Reducing weight reduces the energy required to put a car in motion. A BMW is going to spend more fuel going 0-30 than wind drag at 60+.
Then there's also the advantage this design would have for active aerodynamics. With a fabric skin, the body could dynamically reshape itself to create downforce only when needed, etc.
Seth
$5 / month hosted VPS on linux = awesome!
Someone else posted an example from the 1950s, but the "concept" goes back a lot further than that. Taking a cue from the doped linen aircraft fuselages of the early years of flying, various car manufacturers used a similar procedure to produce car bodies that were light and protected the passengers from the weather. These were mainly used for both mass-market sports cars and their more bespoke brethren.
1928 Lagonda Speed Model
BMW have just produced a contemporary version of this idea.
I suffer every time I see one of his production car designs. But before this I could at least believe they were simply the best he could do - like Stevie Wonder designing clothing or Stephen Hawking doing brain surgery.
:-)
Now I see he can design a beautiful car.
And so all those other designs must be out of spite. Damn you, you sadistic bastard!
I dunno. Frankly, my first thought, having been thinking for a while of having a custom two-seater built with a styrofoam shell with some sort of rigid outer coat (been thinking of hiring local setbuilders to make it) was "damn! scooped again!" But having seen this I may yet build a little beastie of my own with a fabric shell. And since mine would just be meant for tooling around Portland, mostly on local streets, it doesn't matter to me all that much what it does above forty miles an hour. And doping standard cordura would give me something tough enough and flexible enough for my purposes. The only concern would be to line it with batting and Reflectix to make it sound and temperature insulated. Maybe I'll just make segments from yard sale quilts.
It's all about the information. And what we do with it.
It'll probably go all frootfflllarpflarpfloop when you drive them at certain speeds. Like driving your own private whoopie cushion.
Religion is what happens when nature strikes and groupthink goes wrong.
What kind of breakthrough is this? The undercarriage, suspension is still made of traditional 'old' materials i.e. steel which hasn't changed since the Model T. This is no breakthrough, it's just a gimmick. Show me a car where at least 50% of the undercarriage is made with new materials and I'll be impressed. BMW is just created a dog and pony show to keep the idiots happy.
http://herbopen24hours.blogspot.com or http://tolietman.blogspot.com
the tow truck pulls up to my car and im all like it's dead, wrapped in fabric
Fabric-panelled cars have been built before, but were outcompeted by metal panelled cars because (amongst other things) damage from minor accidents was hard to fix economically.
(research from old ladybird book - this is slashdot after all)
Trabant!!!
Haven't for decades. The kinetic energy involved doesn't get much higher.
Fabric can be made rigid and extremely durable simply by doping it with an epoxy. Think cellulose reinforced plastic if you will, y'know, like motorcycle helmets.
Deleted
Can I get mine in corduroy, or velvet?
... and then they built the supercollider.
"Design fuhrer"? I wonder if that guy has any idea what kind of insult this represents to most Germans. Probably not.
If a train station is a place where a train stops, what's a workstation?
Do you really think that merely because they thought up this one night after drinking the bong water that this would be cheaper than it's metal counterpart is wrong.
... and the last high performance aeroplane to use fabric was IIRC the Hawker Hurricane in WW2 - and that only partially. The Spitfire and Mustang are covered in metal, which like in any modern car provides most of the strength. There is no chassis.
This is a step back to technology that was rejected 50 years ago - the seperate chassis.
Most cars (not trucks) these days are monocoque - they do not have a chassis. Therefor the strength of the vehicle is contained in the entire body as a whole from roof to doors to underbelly. About the only bits that don't matter are the wings over the wheels. Sure , theres extra crash protection built into the engine bay but thats in addition to the stregth of the rest of the vehicle. If you build a fabric car body you're back to using chassis' and the poor compromises they entail.
so it turns into a bodybag when it crashes? that would be most excellent
The visuals of that video are interesting, the soundtrack is beyond condescending.
Here is a literal transcript.
"GINA is an acronym -- a set of letters -- that stand for geometry -- shapes -- and function -- how things work -- an N -- n is a way of saying 'an infinite number' -- of adaptations -- meaning, there is a lot of change possible."
Their target audience does not know that an acronym is a set of letters, that geometry deals with shapes, that function is related to how things work, that N is a variable, and that adaptating means changing.
He goes on to babble a whole lot of meaningless babbling. "Context over Dogma, that's it!" are the last words in that presentations. Seldomly have I heard a saying so devoid of meaning.
Airplanes used fabric skins for years. They travel much faster than automobiles, so the strength isn't an issue. Even during WWII, most aluminum bodied aircraft used fabric covered control surfaces to allow easy repair of combat damage -- it is much easier to sew a new patch over a rip than it is to rivet aluminum patches.
-- http://www.swcp.com/~hudson/
Seeing as fabric skins have been used on aircraft since the Wright Brothers ( there are still tens of thousands of fabric covered aircraft flying today ) I can't see any practical problems with fabric covered cars. Clearly many car buyers will worry that such a car might be less safe than a steel box, but proper research and marketing will reduce this fear. The real plus point would seem to be the light weight and morphing ability. We can buy a the car pretending we are getting it because of it's fuel efficiency, when in reality we just think changing shape at the lights would be cool. Stuart G
Fabric isn't anywhere going to keep it's shape without a frame underneath.
/. a couple of news entry before).
There's a whole metal frame under the skin to stretch into shape. The crash safety is provided by said frame. Think "monocoque with a little bit more holes between the reinforced part that the usual car".
Also the skin is supposed to be made from some futuristic more puncture resistant fabric. Not just the same fabric as your raincoat.
But the lighter weight is going to translate into important fuel economy (just as was mention on
Besides, it's not the first time in car is made of unusual, but cheap and light material : During the communist era, Trabant cars' bodies were made out of compress cardboard.
(ok, not quite exactly, but fibers obtain from coton and paper)
"Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
Cars from the 1920's like the British motor company Austin had fabric bodies because it was expensive to fabricate steel.
the fact airplanes have been and are still being covered with fabric. The current favorite covering material is unsized Dacron glued in place and heated to shrink to a tight fit before painting. This is undoubtedly what the BMW design team used. I suggest those interested in the fabric coverings check out information on home built aircraft for details.
6F 9E A9 1E 96 9F 74 27 ED B8 81 6D 0C 4E 1E 78
My other Sig is a 229.
Great so now it won't be just your tires that get slashed by your angry ex-girlfriend. The entire skin on your car will get slashed!
"Ah dammit, the dog smells like wet car."
Well you could add your post. Seriously get over yourself and find something else to get upset about.
I want to shoot the messenger!
How do you key someones car with that fabric on it? You'll have to knife it instead.
Can I bum a sig?
First thing is that yes it is easy to hide a bomb in a metal skin car. But think about that extra room a terrorist can take advantage of. Like the man in the video said it only takes 2 hours to put the fabric on the car. This doesn't seem at all possible with a metal skin car that requires welds and several screws. What is keeping a terrorist from removing the fabric and placing a bomb within the frame? Then 2 hours later voila an extremely well hidden bomb. There is no way a gate guard or regular person is going to see something that is under the skin of a car.
I'll say. I finally learned what acronym means.
German cars: Drivers are super-aggressive. They drive fast and push the car to its limits. Ignore them and they will accelerate away. Usually equipped with electronic countermeasures. If a German car is speeding, you can too. Never pass a German car. If it's going slow enough for you to keep up, there must be a reason. The German car driver is a fanatic -- willing to tolerate any amount of maintenance expense because of the joy of driving on those days when the car works properly.
Japanese cars: Drivers THINK they have a German car, when in fact they don't. These people have an inferiority complex -- anxious to prove that their Honda Accord is a drop-in replacement for a BMW 745LI, while secretly planning to buy a BMW next time. Well known taking risks that the German car drivers cannot afford to take. If you are passed at high speed by a Japanese car, rest assured they will draw out whatever law enforcement might be around. Be prepared to call 911 on your cell for an ambulance.
Korean cars: These people are trying to optimize the Total Cost of Ownership. They don't enjoy driving very much, but they spend very little money doing it. Similar to the Japanese car owner, the Korean owner is anxious to prove that his Hyundai Sonata is a drop-in replacement for a Honda Accord, while secretly planning to buy an Accord next time. Let's take a moment of silence to remember those early Korean car buyers and their dreadful machines.
American cars: Drivers are not paying attention. They didn't pay attention when they bought the car, why would you expect them to pay attention while driving it? Some will exceed the speed limit, but only in a straight line -- often beyond the limits of the brakes and suspension. The American car driver laughs about Korean cars, until he discovers that his own car is a lemon. Secretly planning to buy a Hyundai Sonata next time. American cars are the car of choice for people who like to complain about all the OTHER cars and drivers.
Well this nicely ties in with the Lighter vehicles improve fuel effeciency story yesterday, fabric is much lighter than metal.
It looks expensive (BMW.. never) but it does make me think that a colored plastic might be an option for body work on cars for the regular man.
In the not too distant future, next Sunday A.D.
Noise.
Rain.
Branches.
Evil is the money of root.
In this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1i_sZtw0edo, at around 0:41, you can see some lines of a linux booting.
...and racecars use tape for body fixes during a race.
However lots of fabric can still be heavy. Keeping the convertible top clean (and cleaning out things in the fibers) can be a pain. I know some convertible drivers who intentionally don't lock them. I've heard of a top getting slashed despite the doors being unlocked to steal things (because thieves are not smart after all). I've driven fiberglass cars (Saab Sonnett III) and plastic (Pontiac Fiero) which were wonderful.
I would sure hate to see the dry cleaning bill for my car though! -Randy
The sailcloth tops used on a number of convertibles are essentially a fabric automotive skin that is not even as strong (nor nearly as high-tech) as what they are experimenting with, and it works amazingly well.
Airplanes from years back traveled at significantly higher speeds than cars and they used much lower tech fabrics as their skins.
I see no problem with the concept and it should make re-finishing one's car an easier process.
"Flame away, I wear asbestos underwear"
Hmmmm... what does this remind me of? Oh yeah... http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/Hindenburg_burning.jpg Of course the Germans have learned from their mistake and as a result you won't be able to buy any in New Jersey.
Anybody twisted a t-shirt up between the fingers and a little nipple stays in the fabric?
Now imagine it being done to your car.
--josh
Homer: Marge, you can stand there finding faults or you can knit me some seatbelts.
Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
Interesting concept, and has a cool look to it... except for a few things.
1. How would it stand up to a winter involving snow and below-zero temperatures.
2. How well does the inside retain heat or air-conditioning?
3. I hope that fabric is ridiculously strong, otherwise it'll be broken into in about 3 seconds. Silently, no less... no worry about the sound of glass breaking.
I get the feeling this vehicle would only be useable in an area with a comfortable temperature, with virtually no temperature change throughout the hear... and with extraordinarily low crime. Good luck finding that place.
Planet Zebeth - Metroid with a twist
when GINA goes through the car wash will you get a glimpse of what's underneath like in a wet t-shirt contest?
given the history of the female form being used to sell cars, I'd love to be on the advertising team for this car.
ôó
Car manufacturers pay little attention to what aftermarket body shops want, and are probably in competition with them.
As far as protection, many cars either have; aluminum skin (my Porsches trunks), plastic body panels (my old Saturn), or fiberglass (my Dads old Corvette).
Forces involved in a car wreck essentially ignore the thin sheeting of various body panels. The only protection I can think metal might offer over cloth might be projectile, or spear type intrusions. But if the car is going much over 10 MPH, the metal skin will offer little protection.
I did my surgical training in Newark New Jersey and saw many cars driven into the ER parking lot, after the owner was shot. Bullets don't pay attention to the metal on car doors, but often make cool looking exit wounds on the opposite side door.
If car manufacturers introduce some Kevlar variant, mass production costs would make it cheap enough to be profitable.
Aerodynamics, and having debris "bounce back", might be (inversely) related. The skin will have to be tight enough to keep from flapping in the wind, which probably wreck the air flow, Mammalian skin rippling, as seen in dolphins, might improve this.
I can see the aerodynamics being improved if various car openings (radiator/brake cooling) could be stretched or closed, depending on the cars speed.
Sounds like a winner. Plus people can get a new set of "clothes" for their car every few years, as color choices change.
They have plastic skins. The thin metal/plastic/fiberglass on car body panels contribute little to structural rigidity of a car.
Any small contribution they make can be offset by the weight reduction from losing the skin, and adding to the metal frame/unibody.
You're a liberal, aren't you. No way you could be that cynical and not be a liberal.
The skin on the belly of the Dyke Delta airplane I am building is made of fabric. http://ernest.isa-geek.org
Basically, it is dacron that hasn't been shrunk (shrinked? shrank?) at the factory. You attach it with a PVC type cement that permeates the weave when the fabric is wrapped loosely around the frame. A household iron is used to shrink the fabric, with the iron set at a maximum of 350*F. A fire suppressant is applied which also fills and seals the weave. Then aluminum powder filled latex paint is used to block UV, which would otherwise turn the fabric to powder in short order. A topcoat of colored latex paint makes it look nice. This is the Polyfiber system, and there are several others with minor variations. Many aircraft designs, both certified and experimental, still use this technique for the weight savings.
The problem is that it is EXTREMELY delicate. It is all but transparent to a flying sharp object like a pebble thrown from the tire of a construction truck; although, you can bounce on it like a trampoline if you take your shoes off. It makes a nice bass drum, too. The delicacy usually isn't a problem for small planes. Not many construction trucks to follow on the runway, and not many stones at altitude; however, my friend is selling his ultralight because he doesn't have a hangar. He never gets to fly, because it gets holes punched in it every time there's a storm.
I could only imagine what this thing would look like after a typical year of driving, and I wouldn't even think of buying a fabric covered car.
Aah, change is good. -- Rafiki
Yeah, but it ain't easy. -- Simba
We all know that metal doors in cars stop bullets, right? What am I supposed to do when I'm in a Hollywood-style road rage shootout with the bad guys, and I'm kneeling down behind my door to use it as a shield? What good is fabric going to do for me then?
Polyester car, it's just missing the chest hair, multiple gold chains and a curly perm.
This seems like something that might have stealth applications. Trying to avoid accidentally dinging the special paint apparently makes stealth bomber maintenance expensive. With fabric, you could remove it completely first! (Assuming you had fabric that wouldn't wrinkle at high speeds.)
Sames goes for bomb bay doors. Instead of having flaps that open, you'd just have a slitted bulge (c.f. the GINA headlights) that squeezes out the bomb. (Fire away with more vagina analogies.)
My convertible is warm in winter, fairly quiet, cool in the summer. People usually just don't break into convertibles either - a screwdriver to punch out the lock gets you into most cars in about 2 seconds. It would be easy to place a few metallic strips onto the skin to detect if it is cut.
Try giving it a little more thought next time. Don't just dismiss it because it is something which challenges your pre-conceived ideas.
Their target audience does not know that an acronym is a set of letters, that geometry deals with shapes, that function is related to how things work, that N is a variable, and that adaptating means changing.
BMW's target market is (pick one):
(a) rich mathematicians;
(b) rich linguists;
(c) rich idiots.
It is, of course, a trick question: categories (a) and (b) don't exist, so it's necessary for to explain everything in words Paris Hilton would understand.
Seldomly have I heard a saying so devoid of meaning.
"Context over Dogma" makes perfect sense, unless you believe that one solution fits all problems (or you're part of BMW's target market and don't actually know what the words mean). He could have just said "change with the times", but you have to expect a little pretentiousness coming from a designer. And "Think Different" was taken.
Blank until
I use a vehicle every day that was covered in Ceconite (http://www.ceconite.com) over 30 years ago. Ceconite is nothing more than special fabric and has been used as an outer skin covering for vehicles for at least 50 years.
Ceconite has a strength factor that's in the 125+lb/sq inch range and has been used in vehiles with 35 to 10,000+ horsepower. It's paintable, sewable, and lasts forever.
I used to carry a 1 inch ball bearing around and invite people to throw it at my vehicle as hard as they could. The ball bearing would just bounch off. Of course they would never let me throw it at their car.
... he is still the arrogant salesman in the sharp suit who owns the road and has a small willy.
Gentoo Linux - another day, another USE flag.
Double advantage - if anything *does* manage to put a hole in the fabric - and that would probably be something which could punch through most modern car skins anyway - the cloth panel is easier, cheaper, and faster to replace.
About the only disadvantage I can see is cloth skins possibly not being as long-term durable and shape-retaining as current hardskins. Is the original cloth covering still going to be shiny and wrinkle-free after 20 years' exposure to the weather, high speeds, and microcollisions with gravel, twigs etc, or will it be sagging? Especially if it's being continually stretched about by shapechanging elements like headlight covers and seamless doors, or being faded by having strong light shone through it?
What if the skin is highly tear resistant, and it acted more like a trampoline, slinging any flying debris away from it?
Shit, what if it was bulletproof fabric?
Depending on the fabric makeup, one might have to replace the 'skin' every 3-10 years due to UV damage.
Can't you just hear it now...
Honey, what are you doing out there??
Oh, just putting sunscreen on the 'gina!
Did you actually watch the video? They demonstrate the fabric at one point and it's more like a rubber sheet than a cheap cotton t-shirt. Just because the cheap common clothing fabrics you deal with every day behave a certain way doesn't mean all fabrics do.
Some of the very early sports cars (1930's) had bodies made of fabric stretched over a wooden frame. Apparently some early hot rods did too, because I think NHRA rules specifically ban this kind of body. Its a fire hazard.
Your post is brilliant! The only reason it isn't +5 Funny is that it offends practically all car drivers, e.g. I drive a BMW M3 and you hit the nail on the head :)
It's a BMW. You've seen the people that drive them right? Here's a hint: most have MBAs or are involved in something called "marketing."
So, how does it affect gas mileage? I'll drive a crazy fabric car if I'm spending less on gas.
A car made of fabric would be lighter, obviously... so I'd imagine it would have way better gas-mileage too.
Vivin Suresh Paliath
http://vivin.net
I like
I was on a team in college that built both hybrid-electric and straight E85 racecars. In this competition, power-to-weight and handling were everything!
So this is exactly how we built those cars. They were a space frame covered with aircraft fabric. Prior to that, we had been using fiberglass shells, but the aircraft fabric was so much lighter that I expect it's what we'll use for the foreseeable future.
After it is stretched tight over the frame and heat-shrunk, that stuff is like a drum head. I don't see flutter as a problem!
It's not. The purpose of the fabric is to resist cutting merely enough to jam the teeth and stall the saw. It's tougher than denim (a chainsaw will eat bluejeans--and whatever they're covering--and keep spinning at full speed) but touting it as being able to "withstand a running chainsaw" as if it were chain mail is overstating the case by a good bit.
Obviously the parent comment was made in jest, yet as i read it, it has a +5 insightful!
I owned a 2000 volkswagon golf 1.8 turbo and it was far from bulletproof.
They made the window motor transmissions out of plastic, and them failing within a year was quite common. The sunroof broke and stuck in the open position. Several of the famously nice looking/feeling interior plastic surfaces became quite worn, and all of this occurred in the first 3 years I owned the car (purchased new).
I call shenanigans!
Drive around with all four doors partly open and see how the gaps around the doors alter as the car body twists and bends. Granted, the doors aren't a huge contribution to rigidity, but the contribution is certainly there.
Many years ago a friend had a 1970's FIAT that was so crap that when five fat people got in it, the doors wouldn't shut (solution : only allow one door open at any one time whilst getting in).
They whose government reduces their essential liberties for temporary security, receive neither liberty nor security.
wouldn't the fabric vibrate and create noise at high speed, like every ragtop does now? Plus, this is hardly a new idea... weren't all airplanes fabric covered about 80 years ago?
the car is RIBBED...
Ass for lubing, will Jiffy Lube enjoy this car? How about Lube-n-Go? Would Meineke vie for some of the muff-ler end of the business? Will it say "Hallelujah" when crossing by churches (or Church's Chicken"? Will the dashboard have the game "Condom.exe" installed. End-quiring minds want to know...
Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
There were cars covered in fabric and leather in th 1920's.
Move along.
Nothing to see here . . .
And why does Slashdot scan port 6588 on my machine???
Back when I was a kid, I used to love watching the Disney movie Flight of The Navigator [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_of_the_Navigator]. In the movie, there's several parts where the ship (of the same metalic color, ironically) "changed shape" to shift between normal cruise and super-speed modes. And now we apprently have a car that can also "changes shape" in a similiar fasion? Wow...we've come so far in only 20 years, huh?
When I was shopping for a car about four years ago, I looked at two different hatchbacks. A Golf from the mid-90's, and a '93 Civic.
/2cents
The Civic handled better, was more comfortable, and imho had nicer lines. The Golf had a funky clutch, was hard and uncomfortable to sit in, and looked like crap even though it was in fine condition. It handled okay, but the clutch was just weird.
Guess which one I went with?
Ever wonder why hardtops have less break-ins than cloth tops? Making a car out of fabris is stupid as long as there is crime and chopping carts.
This is a fun concept and features an intriguing video that has the "gee whiz" factor down pat. But various practicalities need to be considered:
In the real world, cars get dirty - fast! How do you clean it? Strip it and throw the fabric pieces in the washer?
What about security? I have a friend who always leaves his convertible unlocked when he has the soft top on - otherwise it costs him $800 every time someone slashes the top to break in.
What about Longevity? What's that fabric cost to replace? If convertible tops are an indicator (and this stretchy stuff will probably be more per square foot), it will be a small fortune! I wonder how long it lasts? What does pollution do to its life span?
As proofs of concepts go, this one has real potential. Now let's see some engineering prototypes!
I wouldn't say "condescending". It's a freak'n ad, is all. Like the make-millions-now docu-ads on late night cable. GINA is retarded as an acronym; it's barely plausible as a backronym. The ad designers pulled in a scientist-looking guy and gave him some Jeff Goldblum-esque technobabble lines. The travesty is not giving us a real behind-the-scenes documentary as well.
The car is OMG gorgeous though. There's amazing fabrics out there, and I'd love to buy one of these in 2009.
I wrote "stereotypes" post. I drive a 528i so I know what I am talking about. I was thinking about my co-workers when I wrote about the other car nationalities.
But don't you think there may be Prius or perhaps Camry drivers in Complain About Other Drivers category? People buy Camrys because they don't want to even have to think about their car -- maybe a few people get them because they can be limo smooth, but mainly anti-car people drive them when they have to get a car. And Prius is a whole other league in this regard.
At least it's not a GNAA car. =/
You must explain everything in simple therms when you are dealing with an american audience.
You can't just use complex words, such as "geometry", you would scare Average Joe...
1. This sounds kinda strange until you consider that most animals actually have skins rather than shells.
2. You could make the whole car be one giant airbag. Just before you detect an imminent crash you could inflate the whole car.
3. While driving you could extend the bumpers by a foot or two to improve safety. As you slow down to park the bumpers could retract. This would also improve your aerodynamics.
4. If this were used for a sedan or mini-van you could collapse the rear-half or passenger-side when not being used to improve aerodynamics.
5. For cold (or hot) climates you could add insulation by using fabric with (synthetic) fur. It might be better to put the fur on the inside.
6. Rather than having the front wheels turn for steering, you could put a large pivot in the center of the car and keep all of the wheels fixed.