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Honda's "Micro Commuter" Features Swappable Bodies
Zothecula writes "Further evidence of the coming fragmentation of personal transportation came today when Honda released details of the next iteration of its electric 'Micro Commuter' prototype which we first saw at the Tokyo Motor Show last year. The new version is close to production-ready, and concentrates the battery and functionality of the micro EV below the floor, enabling the vehicle's body to be easily changed to accommodate different functionality."
GM was working on something like that yonks ago.
rewriting history since 2109
Pure car-show fodder.
I think the "bondi-blue" '98 iMac model is the most humourous. A little late to the party, no?
"Flyin' in just a sweet place,
Never been known to fail..."
All these "commuter" cars are ugly as sin. Why can't we get "commuter" cars that aren't straight chairs with wheels? Get something sleek and futuristic looking and I'll consider buying it. (Like that Lamborghini in the icons above... a single seat, well performing low slung vehicle.)
Every time I start to have faith in humanity, I ruin it by driving to work between 7 and 8 am.
When can I freakin' get one???
3-wheeler, covered, a bit of seat heat and minimal climate control, and a cheap base price like other tiny cars.
Hello..... I've been waiting at least 5 years and seeing an endless stream of cool non-production car-show concepts and test prototypes.
"Show me the MINI !"
Where are we going and why are we in a handbasket?
And there Brave New World dystopia future with no sex, no booze, and really really crappy cars.
Its here. At least for cars.
Why don't all car companies make components to standard, interchangeable sizes? ...and yet we've all just accepted it and gone along with it for decades.
It's bad enough different car maker's parts aren't compatible, but not are only the same car maker's different model components not compatible, even different years of the same model aren't compatible! How did it get to be this ridiculous?
If one car manufacturer had the balls to make standard components that have a level of compatibility across all years of all models then they'll have my business.
Looks like a gokart now...
The last body is actually a battle robot.
It is Japan, people.
IMHO it's just further evidence that small electric vehicles are, and always will be, really dorky looking and totally impractical. Though I'm sure all five people in the target market will respond to this post.
I don't think so...
If the %#$!^ auto manufactures got their &$#* together we could easily see practical EV tech. The answer simply is to have universal interchangeable battery packs that can easily be swapped out at electrical filling stations. Unfortunately everyone is trying to re-invent the wheels instead of making the change from an oil based distribution system possible.
Why not have it so you can either recharge it yourself or just swap out the battery cell if you need to on the road? To answer my own question the jerks are not thinking outside the box that the oil companies have put them in in the first place.
"Only in America: disposable plastic bodies!" --Count Dracula, examining the loot from robbing a blood bank.
Oh, I get it, the "commuter" is a car, not a person...
"Only in America: plastic disposable bodies!" --Count Dracula, examining the loot from robbing a blood bank.
Oh, I get it: the "commuter" is a car, not a human.
Erm, the blogger doesn't not seem to understand the words.
* Fragmentation
* Evidence
* Personal Transportation
When was the car industry ever been unified and standardised. We have umpteen number of trademarked and patented systems for Variable Valve Timing (VTEC - Honda, CVVT - Hyundai, ZETEC - Ford, VVTi - Toyota, VEL - Nissan).
Also people have demanded, from Henry Fords first mass produced car, different types of cars. Some people like big 4WD's, others like sporty Japanese coupes, medium sized sedans, small hatchbacks and so forth (I still cant understand why people want SUV's). This concept is more about increasing choice to the customer whilst reducing the number of factories to produce the car. How many factories does Honda have to produce the various types of Civic?
If anything, this is an attempt at de-fragmentation of the car industry.
Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
Which version comes with the see-through side panels and LED-lit motor fan? Oh, and don't forget those cold cathode UV lights!
I don't know if anybody here remembers the Volkswagen Thing. Modular body for different purposes. The vehicle is probably older than most here..
Sig: I stole this sig.
Driving one of these on US roads is just asking to be creamed. In an ideal world, they'd be great little get-around vehicles. In the practical world, this makes you a little row boat in a harbor full of freighters.
In Brave New World everybody had a social life, regular sex, drugs if they wanted them, free medicine and organised games. Huxley thought he was describing a dystopia, but for 95% of the population at the time he wrote he was describing an unattainable paradise. Who would worry about dick-extendermobiles when all the women are beautiful and forever young?
From scarped cliff or quarried stone she cries "A thousand types are gone, I care for nothing, no not one."
I can't wait for this technology to be made available to normal-sized commuters!
Just imagine the reactions of your office mates if you walk in in a brand-new body...
With very small cars there's always the question of safety.
Now imagine a car that, besides being small and lightweight, is also designed to be taken apart.
Until now I would have said it was impossible, but they did it! They actually made a vehicle that is uglier than the Honda Element.
Astounding!
What's the point of the covers on the wheels? Seems really extraneous.
Oh, it's the vehicle bodies...
Bummer.
"Test"
Welcome to the internets.
They start producing them for under $10,000