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Return of the Bubble Car? (reuters.com)
mikeebbbd writes: Back in the 1950s, many European carmakers (some of which are still in operation such as BMW) made tiny cars for one or 2 people that ran on tiny amount of gas. The remaining examples of bubble cars have become sort of a fetish. Now two Swiss brothers, according to Reuters, are trying to resurrect one of the more iconic designs -- the BMW Isetta. One wonders how it could meet any kind of safety standards, but a prototype is shown in the article. Perhaps it might be registered as a Neighborhood Electric Vehicle, which gets it by a few standards? Oliver and Merlin Ouboter have more than 7,200 orders for their Microlino, a modern version of the Isetta which swaps the old single-cylinder petrol engine for a 20 horsepower electric motor but keeps the famous front-opening door. The brothers, whose father Wim made millions from modernized kick-scooters, plan to launch the car in December. "The average modern car is way too big for normal use," said Oliver, the project's 24-year-old operations chief.
The original opened the whole chassis forwards and had no reverse gear. Presumably all the original drivers starved to death after driving into their garage.
“We have stripped a lot of the needless instruments out,” said Oliver. “In modern cars you have so many buttons I honestly don’t know what many of them are for.”
And yet you think you're qualified to be a car designer?
No sig today...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_1-litre_car
It was a modern version of exactly this concept that would go 100KM on a litre of diesel, hence the name - Euro "mileage" is expressed as liters of fuel used per 100km so 1l/100km. This is an equivalent US mileage of 240mpg.
The car itself had modern safety standards and good visibility, but was never mass produced, due in no small part to the cost, though the per unit costs would have fallen considerably if it was mass produced.
As to how safety standards can be met: EU has a safety category for light 4-wheel vehicles known as "quadricycles." They have to meet the same (lax) safety standards as three-wheel motorbikes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
Charge everybody a hefty fee for driving large personal gas guzzlers downtown in major cities. Provide exemptions for cars like this, electrics and delivery vehicles. They do a limited version of the tax in London already, but it's more of a money grab than a real control on traffic. Even so, it's had an effect.
I've calculated my velocity with such exquisite precision that I have no idea where I am.
It was great fun. The front opening door was really practical - you drove up to the kerb, front on, and us kids got out safely. Visibility was great - although large trucks might find it hard to see you. Mostly it was driven under the same rules as a motor bike. Had a motorbike type gear change as well, but the Heinkel had a reverse gear, I believe the Isetta did not. I think they should not be allowed on motorways though.
A friend of mine had a Messerschmidtt (the car, not the fighter) - not nearly as good, and much less safe. Electric is definitely preferable to a 1950's 2-stroke engine in almost any way you can imagine.
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Who gets to define what "normal use" is?
Anyone with eyeballs. Just watch cars go by. 70-80% have a single occupant. That is "normal use".
These is so much nicer than the offtopic trump-bashing and democrat-bashing posts we've been getting.
Ever see a F150 get hit by a dump truck? That's why I drive one! My average Dump Truck is way bigger. Finding parking though is a bitch.
Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
It only works if everybody drives small cars.
This car is for driving on neighborhood streets at low speed. It is also focused on the non-American market, where people drive slower, shorter distances, and in smaller cars.
A car like this could work well in China, India, South-East Asia, Japan, and much of Europe.
If they are made available on-demand, like Ofo and Mobike do with electric scooters, this could be a really big deal.
Like the original Isetta this car has four wheels. The wheels in the rear axle are more closely spaced than in the front axle. That's why it looks like a three wheeler in some of the pictures. See a diagram here: https://www.micro-mobility.com...