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Open Source Car — 20 Year Lease, Free Fuel For Life
ruphus13 writes "The race for a hyper-fuel-efficient car is on in a big way. Now, Riversimple has tried to leverage the knowledge of the masses to bring its vision to reality soon with a car that gives the equivalent of 300 miles to the gallon. 'The idea to build an open source car isn't a new one, but you've got to give vehicle design company Riversimple credit for originality. The company plans to unveil its first car in London later this month, a small two-seater that weighs roughly 700 pounds. If you agree to lease one for 20 years (yes, 20), Riversimple will throw in the cost of fuel for the lifetime of the lease...The team decided to release the car's designs under an open source license in order to speed up the time it takes to develop the vehicle while also driving down the cost of its components.'"
It looks similar in size to the G-Wiz, an all-electric car which can only be legally driven in the UK because it's not classed as a "car", it's a "quadricycle". Quadricycles are basically thought of as a four-wheel motorcycle, so there are almost no safety requirements.
There is little to no chance of these being legal to drive in an US state, other than those that allow "neighborhood vehicles", like golf carts and Japanese Kei-class cars - here in Ilinois you can drive those on streets that have a maximum speed limit of 35 MPH, but no faster.
I especially recommend Clarkson's G-Wiz review. The G-Wiz is beaten by a table in the drag race test. Golf carts move faster and are roomier.
Putting moderation advice in your
I guess you'll find it isn't actually a car, but it is registered and taxed as a quad bike. A popular electric vehicle in London, the GWiz, is classed as a quad bike.
I hear you, and I bike to work rain or shine (but only 2 miles). Still, there are some serious disadvantages of a bike.
In the rain, it's much harder to see anything than in a car (particularly with glasses), and coat or no coat, it is considerably less comfortable than in a car.
Splash guards take care of the "brown stripe" problem well enough, but you still have to be careful not to get bike grease on your stuff. I've ruined a few pairs of pants by absentmindedly hopping on the bike without pinning up, or by parking the bike and brushing my leg against the chain. Even my hat has some "character"... got greased up while strapped to the rack or in one of the baskets... dunno how exactly. I would not want to ride with a suit.
Carrying capacity is pretty limited, even with rack+baskets+backpack. 30 pounds of groceries for 5 miles, fine, but a CostCo run is out of the question. Furniture, computers etc are also more difficult (I did haul a desk chair once, though). What's more, the lack of suspension makes carrying glass, eggs, etc a risky proposition.
And of course, it makes a long, tiring day full of errands even longer and more tiring.
On the other hand, biking is the only fast way to get around my campus. Parking is hideously expensive, there are bollards all over, and it's too big to walk everywhere. Plus, it helps keep you in shape.
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