Slashdot Mirror
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."
Just having watched the vid, it's quite a cool concept. Though I can well imagine a jealous walker-by accidentally slashing it with his pocket knife. That would ruin it a bit methinks.
Do it yourself, because no one else will do it yourself. [beta blockade 10-17 Feb]
I'm more concerned about security. Would this feature make it easier to break into my car? Would it make it easier to sabotage or steal from my engine? My gas tank?
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!
This has been done before: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velorex
AccountKiller
I tested this theory by keying my jeans... while it somewhat hurt my thigh, the cloth was quite unaffected.
My conclusion: cloth is more resistant to minor cosmetic damage than painted sheet metal, and harder to cut than flash.*
Seriously though, cloth is actually quite resistant to things like impact and scratching, which to me sounds like a great reason to make parts which are really prone to little other than cosmetic damage out of it (keep in mind that in a serious accident, the damage which we are concerned with is not to the painted sheet metal on the outside, it's to the frame and chassis... if those are essentially undamaged, then any damage is really just cosmetic). Even a flimsy t-shirt requires some serious twisting or a tremendous amount of blunt trauma to take any noticeable damage, and something like canvas is substantially tougher, not to mention Kevlar and other synthetics which are highly resistant even to sharp trauma.
*Do not try this at home, goodness knows I didn't. All experimental data is fabricated... get it ated. I crack myself up.
Try not to take me more seriously than I take myself.
My favorite: Brake fluid. Very passive-agressive. Spray it on, and after a couple of days, the paint just sloughs off. I've never done it on purpose, but I did do it accidentally once 8-(.
Tiller's Rule: Never use a word in written form that you've only heard and never read. You will end up looking foolish.