Posted on 05/01/2012 5:31:06 PM PDT by Brilliant
With electric vehicle technology becoming more desirable to the average consumer, Ford applied its innovative design sense to the two-wheel market and created the E-Bike concept vehicle.
Unveiled at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show, this sleek, cross-gender bike is powered not with gas, but by a lithium-ion battery. The drive system is subtly embedded in the 5.5-pound aluminium-and-carbon construction frame for a cool, minimalist lookperfect for the energy (and image) conscious city commuter.
Why now? More than 30 million motorized bicycles were sold globally in 2010, with an increasing market share in Europe. Because the E-Bike can also be ridden with pure muscle, the fear of running out of power far from a charging station is eliminated, giving E-Bikes the potential to become the preferred choice for short- and medium-distance destinations, replacing traditional bikes or larger cars.
There is a synergy between car drivers and potential E-Bike users. A Ford dealer already has the potential E-Bike customer in his shop, says Juergen Gruner, manager in Accessory Planning and Communication at Ford of Europe.
My back hurts just looking at it.
Looks more like a Lego product than a Ford.
What an amateurish CAD rendering. Is this legitimately from Ford?
Where’s the training wheels?
Look for the Obama BeanieCopter to hit the market next year.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Nd13ARuvVE
Fabian Cancellara was ahead of the curve, using electric drives to cheat
Might as well get in on the ground floor on this.
Once nobama (in his second term where has has more “flexibility”) and his minions fully implement Agenda 21, we’ll all be riding something like this.
It is, but I suspect that this is some Ford designer’s way of humoring the leftists. Sort of like the artists who make crap artwork and then watch with feigned seriousness the reaction of the haughty-taughty elite as they admire it.
It looks like a device to sterilize SWPLs.
It all depends on how far or fast.
Tooling around town would be fine, but fldefinitely nothing serious.
Well, I’m not automatically opposed to such efforts, if there’s a market for a hybrid electric bicycle then by all means, build one. But that rendering is very slapdash, it’s not going to help sell the thing.
In reality we all be riding around on Al Bore's wooden bicycles.
(channeling Rodney Dangerfield here :) )
Bamboo has a lot of potential for something like this. It’s a nice hardwood and light and very fast growing.
LOL I figured out what Obama will put in Presidential Library , all this green crap and pictures from his vacations
And sacraficing all those lovely trees? Gaia Damn you!
Pee Wee had a better bike than this.
My crotch hurts looking at it.
Frankly, I like the union designed, government issued bike better.
You can paddle like hell and never get anywhere.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.